Today, June 30, 2019, I am pleased to announce radical changes coming to PSXBoxIndies.com as well as our YouTube channel at youtube.com/gferic. My new project is called Eric Vs. 365 where I will play a different game every day for a full year. Yes, I know 2020 is a leap year, so there will actually be 366 videos, but 365 sounds cooler. In addition to a video every single day on YouTube, there will also be a blog post about that game and video on PSXBoxIndies as well. Intrigued? Of course you are. Continue reading for all of the details.
Daily Videos
The video specifics are like this - The games I choose can be from any genre, any generation, anywhere from indie to "AAA" and in-between, and basically just be whatever I want to play. My intention is NOT to do "lets play"-style videos at all, but rather to approach games from my own unique perspective. I want to goof off and do silly things and just do ridiculous stuff that I personally find fun and funny and entertaining with each game. If I want to spend a whole episode, and thus the only video for that particular game for a whole year, on just the character creator or playing with a very specific objective that I find fun, that's what I'm going to do. Entertainment is 100% my objective via interesting content ideas and creative editing. I will try to make each video at least 10-minutes, just to appease the YouTube monetization gods (and we'll bleep out swearing, too), but I'll still post a video even if it's less than 10-minutes.
I want to make it clear that I'm not worried about capturing high-end l337 hardcore gameplay. I'm not worried about showing off the game. I don't care about playing the latest and greatest hyped up new release. I just want to do goofy stuff and have fun. Hopefully, other folks will like it as well. I should also note that occasionally I'll be joined by other people in videos as well, but I expect the majority of Eric Vs. 365 videos will just feature me by myself.
YouTube Channel Link - YouTube.com/gferic
YouTube Channel Link - YouTube.com/gferic
Daily Blogs
As for the blogs on PSXBoxIndies, my intention is for the blogs and videos to be two essential halves of one daily whole. The videos are going to be about goofing off and having fun with unique ideas while the blogs will complement them in different ways. A blog might share my history with a given game, explain why I came up with the idea for that particular video, or might lean a little more towards taking a critical eye at the game. There isn't really going to be any sort of formula for blog posts, though. Just like I want the videos to all have a unique perspective on the games, I want the blog posts to just be whatever is funny or interesting or entertaining.
Recap
- Post a new video and blog post about a different game every day for a year
- Games can be any generation or any genre
- Videos will feature fun edits, silly ideas, little to no swearing
- Videos will aim to be 10-minutes, but not required
- Videos will feature mostly me, but guests are possible
- Videos will post daily at around 11 A.M. MST with blogs going up at same time
- Blogs will be complementary with the videos and present things from a different angle
- I'm more excited about this than I have been about just about anything over the last few years
- Videos and blogs start posting daily beginning on July 1, 2019 (the three-year anniversary of the launch of PSXBoxIndies)
Why the Drastic Change?
Three years ago I created PSXBoxIndies with the idea that I could fill a niche - reviewing console indie games that didn't really get properly reviewed on most sites - using a familiar coverage style I developed while I was the Xbox Guide / Expert for About.com. I thought it was a good idea, and still do think it was worthwhile, but it turns out that the reason most sites don't bother with most indie games is becasue nobody actually reads any of it. Sorry, that's just the truth.
Our YouTube channel is a similar story. We started in January 2013 and in all of this time we only have a little more than 600 subscribers to show for it. Shameful and embarrassing, I know. Despite having content I was happy with and proud of, we never got that lucky break that so many other channels have. By the way, the biggest lie YouTubers and Twitch streamers will tell you is that "Good content will rise to the top. People will find you if you're good. Keep working". That isn't how it actually works at all. Getting internet famous is 100% luck, and we just never got lucky. Admittedly, we kind of just did the same type of stuff everyone else did, but all it would have taken is the right set of eyeballs watching our content and sharing it with folks and we could have taken off.
Don't worry, I'm not (very) bitter about all of that, but that is why I'm taking one last shot and making all of this work in my own unique way. I'm not going to care about covering games like everyone else. I'm not going to worry about making the same types of videos that everyone else is. I just want to goof off and have fun and share my passion with everyone else. That's what all of this is about. It's going to be a long and soul crushing year if it doesn't take off, but I'm committed to making it happen.
I suppose you're asking by now "Why should we care about any of this?" Well, I was a professional game reviewer for 11+ years at About.com (among doing other things) and can say with a fair amount of certainty that I've played way more games than you have. Through these videos and blog posts I can share my years of experience, as well as my own unique perspective on games, in a way that will be entertaining. I'm taking a big swing at trying to continue doing what I love - playing games and sharing my passion with other people - from a fresh perspective and style that you won't find anywhere else.
Thanks for your support. This is going to be fun.
-Eric Qualls - Owner / Editor PSXBoxIndies and YouTube.com/gferic
Thanks for your support. This is going to be fun.
-Eric Qualls - Owner / Editor PSXBoxIndies and YouTube.com/gferic
