Coffee Talk #464: Aziz Ansari, Kickstarter, Creativity, and You

Publishing content is getting awesomely cool. I’m sure that all of you have heard about the millions of dollars Double Fine and InXile Entertainment have raised to develop their games. Recently, Aziz Ansari has followed the steps of Louis CK and Jim Gaffigan by releasing a direct-to-Internet…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, The Situation’s prescription-drug problem, T-T-T-Tebow and the Jets, or wishing RPadholic Thundercracker a belated happy birthday, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Publishing content is getting awesomely cool. I’m sure that all of you have heard about the millions of dollars Double Fine and InXile Entertainment have raised to develop their games. Recently, Aziz Ansari has followed the steps of Louis CK and Jim Gaffigan by releasing a direct-to-Internet comedy special for $5. I love that creatives are using modern methods to find new ways to release content. This has been tried in the past (remember Public Enemy and Sellaband.com?), but new Internet services have made it more feasible.

Giving content creators more freedom is fantastic. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that publishers are evil. In many cases, publishers can help creators succeed by reigning them in and marketing them well. However, in some cases, publishers can get in the way and stifle creativity. I love that services like Kickstarter and the ease of selling video content on the Internet  are giving creators more freedom and consumers new ways to enjoy their favorite artists. As someone that generally has problems with authority, I love that it takes power away from “The Man” (bonus!). This is, quite possibly, the start of a massive change in how content is created and consumed; it’s exciting and new (like Love Boat).

Are you as excited by modern methods of self-publishing as I am? Do you think that services like Kickstarter will lead to more self-published games and developer empowerment? Are you digging the crazy possibilities that can be had by giving creatives more freedom? Or do not care how your content as published, so long as you can get it? Kindly discuss in the comments section and let me know!

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

40 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #464: Aziz Ansari, Kickstarter, Creativity, and You”

  1. Yes. This is a good thing as long as consumers are educated. The masses who will only buy big budget AAA will never be a part of this.

  2. From a musician's point of view… I've been having this conversation for about a decade (give or take).

    If we throw Indie labels into the fold, then 2 decades.

    However, there are certain benefits that large scale publishers can provide that are ridiculously hard to do independently. At the end of the day, there is only so much time in a day and one person can only be in one place at one time. Therefore, the larger your team, the better the reach you can achieve. I always allude to the model set forth by the Beatles.

    Here were 4 kids from a not so great community. At first, they wore those suits for the mainstream, had matching hair cuts, and did poppy little ditties like "I Want To Hold Your Hand". They were making HUGE money for EMI. But, like with all contracts, theirs expired. Did they re-sign?… Hell no. They started their own label, dressed the way they wanted to, and changed the world in which we live. They established THE precedent for sticking it to the man.

    The moral of that story, is shut the f#%k up, do what your told, get that limousine from the bastards who think they own you, and when they ain't looking… THEN you try to spread your message.

    The bottom line is that publishers can't afford to worry about art. It's not their job. They find what sells and make money off of it by exploiting it. THAT'S their job. You have to play their game and sometimes that requires sacrificing your Queen, but later in the game, there's a chance you could get a pawn to the other side of the board and you win.

  3. I bought the Louis CK special first day, He was incredibly open about what the special cost him to produce, film, edit, etc. From what i understand, he has made a ton of money with this business model, and i don't see him moving away from it in the future. I enjoy it, he is currently my favorite comedian.

    1. Louis CK is a really talented comedian and writer. I'm glad he did well with his special. I think Aziz will also do well. I like Jim Gaffigan too, but I don't think he has the reach of the other two.

      1. Yeah i switch lives with Andrew Ryan. I guess i should get to work on figuring out who the hell Andrew Ryan is.

      2. Bioshock! Probably one of the greatest video game-based stories ever! Andrew Ryan makes Ayn Rand look like Karl Marx. The consequences of his actions are what you experience during your play of Bioshock (1). If you don't feel like playing the game, you could try reading the book: "Bioshock: Rapture". I've never read it before, but it sounds like the events that happened leading up the the first game.

        -M

      3. Yeah, thats right. I played the first Bioshock. I also have the second one still in the plastic. Maybe one day i'll get around to it.

      4. Well, if you didn't like the first one, you're not going to like the second one. It's pretty much more of the same, but with a weaker story. The multi-player is pretty cool, but hardly anybody plays anymore.

        -M

      5. It's not that i didnt like it. It seemed to be one of those games whose stories ran it's course. I mean, it was definitely interesting the first time around. I just don't see the need to make a second one. Kind of like Weekend At Bernie's.

      1. That sounds just about right, but I'm relatively sure that Jesus was less sarcastic.

        -M

      2. And I doubt he was killing millions with deadly neurotoxin or singing the praises of science. But wait, does this mean Jesus is a potato?

      3. If you really want to get technical… I would hazard to say the bubonic plague was enough like a neurotoxin. And then there's cancer. There was also a 600 year war that killed billions in the name of Jesus and some would say that Jesus is responsible for death itself.

        Singing the praises of science… is a matter of interpretation. It's arguable that at the time of Jesus, he was describing energy to the best ability that science could at his time.

        As for the potato thing… Jesus is supposedly in everything, right?

      3. Happy birthday, i'm glad n8 caught it, because i wouldn't have!

        #TooLazyToLook

      4. Happy Birthday, man. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck on an island with. Well, except for my wife… and my kid… and maybe some really hot Hooters girls… and Bobby Kocklick… you know what? Maybe being stuck with you on an island really isn't all that great.

        Sorry, but enjoy the rest of your birthday (that happened yesterday).

        -M

      5. Thanks everyone! I'm in the process of moving and haven't gotten Internet set up at the new place yet. Hopefully soon.

    7. "Have the abilities of…"
      My thoughts: 'Oh yes, so many possibilities! Will I breathe fire? Gain the abilities of a medieval assassin? Wield the Master Sword? Break bricks with my head? Make portals/hilarious dark humor? Ooooh, I CANNOT WAIT!

      "10. Jill Valentine"
      Translation: Kill zombies and… look good in latex?

  6. Anyone else using Windows 8????? I can't figure out IE10. I open a page in a new window but I can't figure out how to view my open windows. There are NO tabs. No address bar until I move my cursor to the bottom of the screen for a few seconds, but I have 7-8 windows open and I can only use the one that is always open and you can't close it out, When I hit Open In New Tab they all pop up for around 1 second and then disappear.

    1. No clue bro. But if it's any consolation, everyone I know who's using it hates it.

      I've been doing graphics for my friend's PC Repair shop lately and they can't stop complaining about it.

      1. I think it's more like "Windows 8 is the 'X-Men 3' of Operating Systems".

        They tried really hard and hit on a visual level, yet failed when it comes to basic fundamentals. There's no Start button for Christ's sake! The Start Button has been official since at least '95 (but I swear it was there before that).

      4. That's my thing. It's what I do best. If I were a supervillan, I'd be known as the dastardly Analogy Crippler. No one would be safe from my powers of completely sucking the life out of any analogy.

        Fortunately for you, my powers wouldn't work on your statement since it was a metaphor. (*angrily shakes fist*) Curse you, N8! I'll get you next time! You'll come to rue the day you crossed The Analogy Crippler!

        Also, I can confirm from memory that Windows 3.1 also had a "Start" button. We used it in our office back in the day.

        -M

      6. (*angrily shakes fist*) Curse you, Gyne Lotriman! You may have escaped from my verbal trap, but I'll get you next time! You'll come to rue the day you crossed The Analogy Crippler! … again.

        -AC

      7. Taking it back a few steps, it was a little tricky. You said:

        -"It sounds like IE10 is the "Windows Vista" of web browsers."

        Which is a metaphor, regardless of what it "sounds like". I then said:

        -"I think it's more like 'Windows 8 is the 'X-Men 3' of Operating Systems'."-

        Now… "It" (meaning your metaphor) being "like" another metaphor is then in turn a simile about metaphors. This spun me through a loop, so I just said "analogy" in the next comment.

        The debatable kind of analogy is the idiom. Phrases like "kick the bucket" or "pulled a Homer". I always considered them analogies, but my 10th grade English teacher (who I am still in contact with) begs to differ.

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