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Easy Allies |OT3| "That sounds like the GameTrailers guy!"

Bahorel

Member
Not sure if throwing my hat in the ring here is good or not, but boy some of the response both in and outside of this thread has been really disappointing.

The number one thing for us is making sure that EZA is welcoming to all. We want everyone to be a part of the community. After we streamed DOA there was a comment from a woman who said "hey, I usually feel welcome at EZA but this made me really uncomfortable." We decided collectively that streaming DOA for a couple of hours was not worth alienating people. It would be one thing if we had a deep love of that game, but we don't. I just thought it would be funny. It wasn't really funny.

When Peach Beach Splash was winning the vote, I played it for a bit to get a sense on whether or not we should stream it. While I personally don't have a problem with overt sexuality ("anime boobs"), that isn't what turned me off. I found that every scene of dialogue was weirdly off-putting. Within minutes, one character calls another a "dumb bitch" and tells her to shut up. A female host is worried about a camera zooming in and seeing her wrinkles. Another character undergoes a test to prove her pervertedness. It was relentless. I said "hey we probably shouldn't stream this" and it was collectively agreed upon. It was a discussion, not an order.

Yes, I gave impressions on the game at E3. I had fun playing it. I genuinely looked forward to checking out more. After playing the full release, I'm personally not into it. I'm not trying to shame people who are. What you do and do not like isn't really the point here. The point is that we're trying to foster a community, one that is actually inclusive and doesn't treat "love and respect" as an empty slogan. As people who put stuff out on the internet, we HAVE to have the right to choose what we do and do not put out there. It is a reflection of us and it's important to care about that reflection. We are not asking everyone to agree with us. Just as we have the right to choose what we do or do not do, you have the choice of whether or not to support us.

Also, to the people saying this is the fault of EZAnime, joking or not, you're not really helping. That's the same sort of generalization that creates these problems in the first place.

Good response Ben. This is the one of the many reasons why EZA is important to me. You think and speak with consideration for everyone in your audience. Thank you and please keep it up
 

Ultimadrago

Member
That's a fine response, Ben.

Lol, I can totally understand why they'd be averse to Senren Kagura, but Jesus what a boring-ass alternative they did stream. That card game doesn't elicit any interest from me one bit.

I'm in this boat. I have no desire to see PBS streamed (and it doesn't look like a very good game on top of the elements opposed to the Allies' image). However, I completely phased out of the stream itself. I mean, I thought it was neat to show some of Swords when Ian showed the initial Youtube video/Easy Update on it for the Kickstarter.

A whole stream of it though? That was dull for me. I probably would have preferred anything else they had on their video gaming shelf.

Of course since the EZA Discord Server is an echo chamber at the moment with a lot of vocal anime fans in support of the game (one of which is a Server Mod), it's just not a place I want to be in or around. They sit there casting ridicule and scorn on the EZA members themselves (mainly due to the decision), as well as people on neogaf and twitter. That community is supposed to represent the EZA community, no?

Is that so? If anything I'd expect more unanimous support from the decision in Discord or an EZA-positive echo chamber. I've never been in there, so that's simply speculation on my part! It's strange that a decision like this would flip it around. I have no doubts it could have been handled better than Jones' short "Crossing the line" introduction on group stream (maybe a text explanation for Patrons beforehand?), but I can't imagine how it'd offend this much.
 

abrack08

Member
I was going to, but it's a tournament and doesn't lend itself well to that. Next week!

I must have misunderstood the post, I thought he was saying the week after the one currently being voted on was going to be the tournament. I agree that's a better regular stream than tournament... Unless the Bracketeering game ends up being a good tournament?
 

Hasney

Member
I must have misunderstood the post, I thought he was saying the week after the one currently being voted on was going to be the tournament. I agree that's a better regular stream than tournament... Unless the Bracketeering game ends up being a good tournament?

Yeah, because it's this week currently, next weeks stream is the tournament, not the stream after the next one. I know, wording isn't great, but the bold part says tournament suitable games. So this is the vote for the tournament!

Bracketeering could, but yeah, I don't want to burn the game on a tournament as I doubt they'll have the same game twice. Probably best in a situation they're all involved in.

Voted for 2K18 Wrasslin so Brad & Huber can give us Styles vs. Nakamura.

Ha, good reason. Even if they're bad games to play, they can still be fun to watch. I just hope the people wanting custom characters and Defaulte realise that won't happen as it's a tournament.
 

Jon

Member
Early contenders are WWE2k18 and JackBox Party Pack 4 - both of which would make for great streams, but not necessarily great tournaments. I hope both of these can make it in the future, but not sure what is going to win for tournament week...
 
Is that so? If anything I'd expect more unanimous support from the decision in Discord or an EZA-positive echo chamber. I've never been in there, so that's simply speculation on my part! It's strange that a decision like this would flip it around. I have no doubts it could have been handled better than Jones' short "Crossing the line" introduction on group stream (maybe a text explanation for Patrons beforehand?), but I can't imagine how it'd offend this much.

They believe it singles fans of the game out for ridicule, since the game isn't 'acceptable' (while also at the same time refusing to listen to any reason as to why it might not be deemed 'acceptable' by others). It's all very odd. Again, this is just from a small vocal part of the community, but they're all very active within the discord server.

Early contenders are WWE2k18 and JackBox Party Pack 4 - both of which would make for great streams, but not necessarily great tournaments. I hope both of these can make it in the future, but not sure what is going to win for tournament week...

Two good wholesome games.

LQlJZBG.jpg


Something like Singstar as well.
 

ShadyK54

Member
Ha, good reason. Even if they're bad games to play, they can still be fun to watch. I just hope the people wanting custom characters and Defaulte realise that won't happen as it's a tournament.

Yup. They could always make the exception, or download people off the Community Creations thing (if 2K18 even has that still).

Defaulte for the crunch, though.
 

abrack08

Member
Early contenders are WWE2k18 and JackBox Party Pack 4 - both of which would make for great streams, but not necessarily great tournaments. I hope both of these can make it in the future, but not sure what is going to win for tournament week...

Pokemon Stadium 2 and PS All Stars Battle Royale also high up and more traditional tournament games. And Gang Beasts. It's funny, like 10 more people voted for Jackbox after I edited my post to say it's probably better for a non-tourney stream.
 

Prompto

Banned
I always really liked that idea of a WWE stream being the allies split into two teams creating a character and then those two characters battling at the end.
 

Tregard

Soothsayer
Pokemon Stadium 2 and PS All Stars Battle Royale also high up and more traditional tournament games. And Gang Beasts. It's funny, like 10 more people voted for Jackbox after I edited my post to say it's probably better for a non-tourney stream.

shieeet PSASBR would be a GOAT tournament
 

Auctopus

Member
The comments along the lines of “Is this how you treat a fanbase that supports you?” just reek of entitlement. You don’t support an outfit to control what they do, you support them so they can do more of what they want to do.

Additionally, if hundreds of hours of content that you have “supported” is to be outweighed by two hours of anime titties that you didn’t get to see, you should probably ask yourself where your emotions are really coming from.
 
Ben, I recently pledged to the Patreon, and wish I had done it sooner, as I fell in love with Tabletop Escapades and Fiasconauts (and the other content, too). The group never fails to make me laugh or have a good discussion during the podcast.

I completely agree with your decision to not play that game.
 

Maligna

Banned
Okay guys, you've been playing D&D for years now. It's time to fully fill out your character sheets and learn the rules.

#jokingbutalsonotjoking

:p

Also, maps and miniatures would help you guys all be on the same page about your character's surroundings. Even if we the viewers don't see it, as long as the players get that info it would make things go smoother. As it stands you're having too many misunderstandings which is making forward progress really difficult.
 

Roubjon

Member
My point was if they have a problem with that kind of stuff in principle, they should avoid all games which have that kind of content even if it is a minority part of the game, the game still has that content in it.

Also I dont really, actually have a problem with the fact that they vetoed the game. I believe they should have the right to veto any game they do not think they should stream. I just found the reason the stated for the justification to veto it a bit silly. It should have just been "No one here wants to play this game" and thats justification enough imo.

Stream was pretty fun in the end, irregardless. Dat music.

Anyway, looking forward to todays Tabletop.

I see what you are saying but I don't think you are thinking it through fully. I really enjoy the Yakuza series, but I'm also not oblivious to how misogynistic it can be at times. From the mini-games themselves, to how main cast members will treat women, and how the majority of the time they are used as objects to advance the plot, it can be pretty cruddy. But that's not to say there isn't any value to the story or the characters being presented. There is a lot of great stuff in there, and there are also some great women characters too. I think for most, the good heavily outweighs the bad in the Yakuza series.

At the end of the day, it's okay to like problematic media, but it's very important to understand why and how it's problematic. In Senran Kagura's case, I"ll never touch it because it's fucking gross on a lot of levels.
 
Not sure if throwing my hat in the ring here is good or not, but boy some of the response both in and outside of this thread has been really disappointing.

The number one thing for us is making sure that EZA is welcoming to all. We want everyone to be a part of the community. After we streamed DOA there was a comment from a woman who said "hey, I usually feel welcome at EZA but this made me really uncomfortable." We decided collectively that streaming DOA for a couple of hours was not worth alienating people. It would be one thing if we had a deep love of that game, but we don't. I just thought it would be funny. It wasn't really funny.

When Peach Beach Splash was winning the vote, I played it for a bit to get a sense on whether or not we should stream it. While I personally don't have a problem with overt sexuality ("anime boobs"), that isn't what turned me off. I found that every scene of dialogue was weirdly off-putting. Within minutes, one character calls another a "dumb bitch" and tells her to shut up. A female host is worried about a camera zooming in and seeing her wrinkles. Another character undergoes a test to prove her pervertedness. It was relentless. I said "hey we probably shouldn't stream this" and it was collectively agreed upon. It was a discussion, not an order.

Yes, I gave impressions on the game at E3. I had fun playing it. I genuinely looked forward to checking out more. After playing the full release, I'm personally not into it. I'm not trying to shame people who are. What you do and do not like isn't really the point here. The point is that we're trying to foster a community, one that is actually inclusive and doesn't treat "love and respect" as an empty slogan. As people who put stuff out on the internet, we HAVE to have the right to choose what we do and do not put out there. It is a reflection of us and it's important to care about that reflection. We are not asking everyone to agree with us. Just as we have the right to choose what we do or do not do, you have the choice of whether or not to support us.

Also, to the people saying this is the fault of EZAnime, joking or not, you're not really helping. That's the same sort of generalization that creates these problems in the first place.

Bravo! Fuck*n bravo Ben.
 

Sami+

Member
I can't even imagine what place is have to be in mentally to be personally offended at EZA turning down anime smut for a group stream. Makes me feel lucky to not have fallen down that hole.

Swords looks fun.
 
Voted for 2K18 Wrasslin so Brad & Huber can give us Styles vs. Nakamura.

Please no. Brad and Huber would dominate yet again and WWE 2K18 is a genuinely bad game.

I voted for Nidhogg, Fire Pro Wrestling, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime and Singstar (which would be fucking hilarious). I doubt any of them have a chance of winning though.

As for the creeps throwing tantrums over Senran Kagura... Wow. And here I was thinking that was a troll vote. But TBH, I don't really think they're worth the time that's been spent complaining about them in this thread. They're a very vocal minority, best left ignored.
 

Mista Koo

Member
I don't see how it's a conflict of interest when the game was suggested and voted for by patrons, and not the Allies themselves. It's not like Ian rigged the system so he could shill his card game.

Secondly, okay you respect the game for being upfront about what it is, but you can at least see why other people might feel uncomfortable with a game that sexualises young highschool girls, especially streaming that as a group, right?
It doesn't matter who chose it. When your job is to cover games covering your own game is iffy at best.

And I wasn't expecting them to play PBS nor wanted them to do so.

You honestly think there's nothing wrong with a game that objectifies 15 year old girls????????
Pretty sure they're 18 in the US release :p
But I meant H games in general. I don't know the specifics about PBS.

False equivalences aren't really constructive either. Yes SFV is hypocritical and exploitative. It's still, by virtue of its hypocrisy, infinitely less exploitative than PBS. If you need to be explained why, we can have a comparison between Janet Jackon's nip slip and any adult video out there. I'm sure you'll spot the difference.
Most pornography out there is exploitative. Not sure what your point is?
 

Alucrid

Banned
It doesn't matter who chose it. When your job is to cover games covering your own game is iffy at best.

And I wasn't expecting them to play PBS nor wanted them to do so.


Pretty sure they're 18 in the US release :p
But I meant H games in general. I don't know the specifics about PBS.


Most pornography out there is exploitative. Not sure what your point is?

but they cover and review video games? i don't think i've ever seen them review or cover card games.
 

abrack08

Member
It doesn't matter who chose it. When your job is to cover games covering your own game is iffy at best.

And I wasn't expecting them to play PBS nor wanted them to do so.


Pretty sure they're 18 in the US release :p
But I meant H games in general. I don't know the specifics about PBS.


Most pornography out there is exploitative. Not sure what your point is?

I don't agree with this at all. They shouldn't REVIEW Swords, of course, but what's wrong with streaming it? If any of them made a video game (as Ian has) I would want them to stream that too.

Based on previous things you've said about the group streams it seems like you view the streams as them basically advertising games to let people know if they should buy them or not, and I really don't think the allies or most of the audience view it that way. My only objective when I tune into a game stream is to be entertained, I'm not looking to decide what to purchase based on what they play.
 

ToonLink

Member
It doesn't matter who chose it. When your job is to cover games covering your own game is iffy at best.

I think you would have a point if they were trying to objectively review the game, but I don't see any issue with them playing it at the viewers' request. Especially since they made it abundantly clear that Swords is Ian's product. What is iffy about that?
 

Alucrid

Banned
They've played card games before. And this is their biggest stream where they would normally cover video games.

so is the problem that they're breaching some ethical line (they're not) or that they're not playing video games (they've played the pokemon TCG on a tuesday too)
 
Hindsight is 20/20 and yada yada yadaa...but this is the least surprising "controversy" and I'm surprised they didn't see this coming. Thousands of potential people voting on things with no restrictions with upwards of 100+ options is a recipe for disaster. "Joke" games and other riffraff is extremely likely to rise to the top if there are that many options. Not that I'm against either of these, but this is why Pitbull was sent to Alaska and Boaty McBoatface are things that have happened.

Not having a disclaimer that they're able to veto was obviously not the smartest move in hindsight either. Trust me, I didn't want them to play that game either, but a Kickstarted card game from one of them being the replacement was probably the worst thing they could have done to not "fan the flames." This is NOTHING against Ian, and I think Swords looks jolly as hell, just replacing the "winner" with a game that financially benefits one of them looks very much "backdoor shady deals" to some of their audience, which I know wasn't the intent, but still some people are going to run with that.

My suggestion going forward - Kyle/group still nominate 3-5 games and then still have a group nominating process where then Kyle/group will pick 3-5 games from Patreon to put along with the other games so we choose from 6-10ish options. Doesn't have to automatically be highest vote getters, as watching them play something they don't want to is a bad idea as well, but serves as more of a brainstorming process. Nothing against the rest of the EZA community, but picking from the winners from the fan choice exclusively really doesn't excite me all that much and I'd prefer if there were other options as well.
 
just replacing the "winner" with a game that financially benefits one of them looks very much "backdoor shady deals"

That's not what happened though. Swords was nominated by the community along with Senran Kagura. Senran Kagura was vetoed before the poll was posted. Swords went up against the next two games that were nominated, and Swords won.
 
Hindsight is 20/20 and yada yada yadaa...but this is the least surprising "controversy" and I'm surprised they didn't see this coming. Thousands of potential people voting on things with no restrictions with upwards of 100+ options is a recipe for disaster. "Joke" games and other riffraff is extremely likely to rise to the top if there are that many options. Not that I'm against either of these, but this is why Pitbull was sent to Alaska and Boaty McBoatface are things that have happened.

Not having a disclaimer that they're able to veto was obviously not the smartest move in hindsight either. Trust me, I didn't want them to play that game either, but a Kickstarted card game from one of them being the replacement was probably the worst thing they could have done to not "fan the flames." This is NOTHING against Ian, and I think Swords looks jolly as hell, just replacing the "winner" with a game that financially benefits one of them looks very much "backdoor shady deals" to some of their audience, which I know wasn't the intent, but still some people are going to run with that.

My suggestion going forward - Kyle/group still nominate 3-5 games and then still have a group nominating process where then Kyle/group will pick 3-5 games from Patreon to put along with the other games so we choose from 6-10ish options. Doesn't have to automatically be highest vote getters, as watching them play something they don't want to is a bad idea as well, but serves as more of a brainstorming process. Nothing against the rest of the EZA community, but picking from the winners from the fan choice exclusively really doesn't excite me all that much and I'd prefer if there were other options as well.

Except Swords didn't replace anything, it came third (75 likes) and was always going to be in the poll. Secret Hitler was the one that came fourth (72 likes) and "replaced" Senran Kagura in the poll (then lost anyway).
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Hindsight is 20/20 and yada yada yadaa...but this is the least surprising "controversy" and I'm surprised they didn't see this coming. Thousands of potential people voting on things with no restrictions with upwards of 100+ options is a recipe for disaster. "Joke" games and other riffraff is extremely likely to rise to the top if there are that many options. Not that I'm against either of these, but this is why Pitbull was sent to Alaska and Boaty McBoatface are things that have happened.

Not having a disclaimer that they're able to veto was obviously not the smartest move in hindsight either. Trust me, I didn't want them to play that game either, but a Kickstarted card game from one of them being the replacement was probably the worst thing they could have done to not "fan the flames." This is NOTHING against Ian, and I think Swords looks jolly as hell, just replacing the "winner" with a game that financially benefits one of them looks very much "backdoor shady deals" to some of their audience, which I know wasn't the intent, but still some people are going to run with that.

My suggestion going forward - Kyle/group still nominate 3-5 games and then still have a group nominating process where then Kyle/group will pick 3-5 games from Patreon to put along with the other games so we choose from 6-10ish options. Doesn't have to automatically be highest vote getters, as watching them play something they don't want to is a bad idea as well, but serves as more of a brainstorming process. Nothing against the rest of the EZA community, but picking from the winners from the fan choice exclusively really doesn't excite me all that much and I'd prefer if there were other options as well.

FACTS:

1. Swords had a high amount of hearts. Wasn't introduced into the comment section by anyone at EZA.

2. Swords won the Patreon vote.
 
That's not what happened though. Swords was nominated by the community along with Senran Kagura. Senran Kagura was vetoed before the poll was posted. Swords went up against the next two games that were nominated, and Swords won.

Except Swords didn't replace anything, it came third (75 likes) and was always going to be in the poll. Secret Hitler was the one that came fourth (72 likes) and "replaced" Senran Kagura in the poll (then lost anyway).

Wait, I must have worded what I said poorly, because I definitely agree with both of you and I'm definitely not alleging anything fishy actually went on here.

I'm just saying obviously there's a portion of the community that voted for Senran Kagura and no matter which game won, that game would be hated on more than usual. That it was a Kickstarted game from one of the Allies that won after some rules had been changed (for the better!), just made that response more vitriolic. Some people love to run with conspiracy theories and create controversies, and that is what is going on here.

Let me be clear, I obviously know this was on the up-and-up and I voted for Swords, it's just glaringly obvious that a portion of the EZA community isn't buying that for whatever reason today.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
I apologise for criticizing Nintendo picks. We should go back to Kyle's choices.

He was only saving us from ourselves.

Top picks right now

PS Stars Battle Royale
Towerfall
WWE 2K18
Gangbeasts
Jackbox
Pokemon Stadium 2


So yeah, lets go back to Fifa and horse racing.
 

Dmax3901

Member
Not sure if throwing my hat in the ring here is good or not, but boy some of the response both in and outside of this thread has been really disappointing.

The number one thing for us is making sure that EZA is welcoming to all. We want everyone to be a part of the community. After we streamed DOA there was a comment from a woman who said "hey, I usually feel welcome at EZA but this made me really uncomfortable." We decided collectively that streaming DOA for a couple of hours was not worth alienating people. It would be one thing if we had a deep love of that game, but we don't. I just thought it would be funny. It wasn't really funny.

When Peach Beach Splash was winning the vote, I played it for a bit to get a sense on whether or not we should stream it. While I personally don't have a problem with overt sexuality ("anime boobs"), that isn't what turned me off. I found that every scene of dialogue was weirdly off-putting. Within minutes, one character calls another a "dumb bitch" and tells her to shut up. A female host is worried about a camera zooming in and seeing her wrinkles. Another character undergoes a test to prove her pervertedness. It was relentless. I said "hey we probably shouldn't stream this" and it was collectively agreed upon. It was a discussion, not an order.

Yes, I gave impressions on the game at E3. I had fun playing it. I genuinely looked forward to checking out more. After playing the full release, I'm personally not into it. I'm not trying to shame people who are. What you do and do not like isn't really the point here. The point is that we're trying to foster a community, one that is actually inclusive and doesn't treat "love and respect" as an empty slogan. As people who put stuff out on the internet, we HAVE to have the right to choose what we do and do not put out there. It is a reflection of us and it's important to care about that reflection. We are not asking everyone to agree with us. Just as we have the right to choose what we do or do not do, you have the choice of whether or not to support us.

Also, to the people saying this is the fault of EZAnime, joking or not, you're not really helping. That's the same sort of generalization that creates these problems in the first place.

Thankyou so much for throwing your hat in the ring. As others have said this sort of response is why I love the Allies so much. You handled Charlottesville and the PDP scandal with maturity and grace, and the same goes for this situation.

I posted a rant in the youtube comments with a similar message but a little more heated (it's youtube after all), it's encouraging to see we're on the same page.

It's also funny to see that it was you who checked out the game and ultimately made the decision to pass. A lot of people are suggesting the other allies bullied you into not playing it. Ridiculous of course.

Also interesting/dismaying to hear that the games issues don't end with the objectification, some of those lines and characters sound atrocious.

Thanks again.

Already happened, Ian played Daddy Simulator during a Easy Update.

Yeah I know, can you imagine the comments if they played this as the group stream?
 
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