Racketboy and the Future

[laurenhiya21]

But at the risk of seeming like I'm shooting down a point I just brought up, we also have to consider that growing Racketboy.com means risking our quiet little corner of the Internet. Are we cool with that?

Well, it would sure be nice to find a sweet spot between keeping our peace and expanding...

I have no idea how to do that though.

That is easy, by creating that extra content like Streaming, videos and podcasts and catering towards a certain type of audience. By being a bit more mature, rational and not relying on ridiculous youtuber tropes to bring in an audience.

My opinion is that sincerity and honesty is the best policy. By being candid and open about games and enthusing about them with love and admiration and making that love apparent to your audience, you bring in great people.

What are considered "ridiculous youtuber tropes"? I'm not really up to date on who/what is popular, other than pewdipie I guess.

But I really like the sound of this idea. Sounds like fun to me. Although, I would need to practice making videos first if I wanted to contribute haha... I haven't made a video in a long while ._.

[Ziggy]

Ziggy, write something up. I remember when you did the write up for the various flash cart options and I thought it was fine. If you'd like, I'd be happy to do an editing pass once you finish writing up one of the guides you're thinking of.

That's pretty much why I mentioned it. I'd be more than willing to have someone edit for me. In fact, for some things, I wouldn't even mind collaborating with someone. Some of the ideas I have, like how every retro gamer (even the non tech savvy ones) can do more than they think, might get pretty lengthy. There's a lot of ideas that I have for such a write up, and I sometimes having a hard time organizing all of those ideas into something that'll make good sense.

A lot of people have thrown a lot of ideas around in this read. I haven't read a bad one yet. But all of our past articles, and a lot of ideas for new ones (talked about in this thread) are all what you'd expect. Game reviews (by game, genre, console, whatever), console 101's, that sort of thing. We never really had any tech articles on RB. I wouldn't mind writing some (and help with that would be great!) and can even suggest a few.

Just thinking out loud here... How about an article like "The 6502 Processor: Past, Present and Future." The 6502 was introduced in 1975, and a variation of it is actually still in production today. A variation of the 6502 was used in a lot of computers and game console. Some notable ones are the Famicom/NES, Commordore 64 and VIC-20, and the Atari 2600. Doesn't that sound interesting? Best part is, the article could be written to attract seasoned tech nerds and tech-illiterates alike!

I could easily think of more. IIRC, there's never been any real tech type articles on RB before. I love reading Hidden Gems, console 101's, etc, so don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking those (in fact, keep them coming!). I'm just saying, we have the broad topic of "tech stuff" that's been untouched by RB. Tech articles don't have to be only for the computer programmer to understand. We can have articles that appeal to both sides, while still drawing in a crowd that we're not currently drawing in.

[Jagosaurus]

Regarding bridging the gap, there's a GoG PC article on the front page now. Good start.

I'd love to see more on chip sets & hardware comparisons. Also, while I they were bigger in the UK, I'd love to see more on Commodore & Atari computer lines, including how to hook them up to current TVs/monitors. We have a lot of software content, but lacking in hardware talks a bit IMO.

[marurun]

One thing a lot of folks who do videos on YouTube don't do is use a good microphone. Far too often I see someone who's carefully set up their gaming corner and have everything laid out visually, but then they just use the mic on the camera instead of recording using a separate mic. Folks also often don't use proper lighting. Those two tricks alone make for better videos.

[Ziggy]

I'd love to see more on chip sets & hardware comparisons. We have a lot of software content, but lacking in hardware talks a bit IMO.

Yep, I agree. Maybe I'll start working on that 6502 article.

[Ziggy]

One thing a lot of folks who do videos on YouTube don't do is use a good microphone. Far too often I see someone who's carefully set up their gaming corner and have everything laid out visually, but then they just use the mic on the camera instead of recording using a separate mic. Folks also often don't use proper lighting. Those two tricks alone make for better videos.

Metal Jesus actually has a pretty good video about how to make a good video. He talks specifically about the importance of these things. Worth a watch, for anyone that's interested.

[marurun]

I'd love to see more on chip sets & hardware comparisons. We have a lot of software content, but lacking in hardware talks a bit IMO.

Yep, I agree. Maybe I'll start working on that 6502 article.

What do you have in mind? Just interested in exploring the design and everywhere it was used? As a long-time PC Engine fan and someone who's first computer was an Apple //c, I have a strong interest in the 6502 core.

[alienjesus]

A more reliable server would be good too. And that isn't a dig at staff or anything, but we've had a lot of downtime on the site lately.

[BogusMeatFactory]

What are considered "ridiculous youtuber tropes"? I'm not really up to date on who/what is popular, other than pewdipie I guess.

But I really like the sound of this idea. Sounds like fun to me. Although, I would need to practice making videos first if I wanted to contribute haha... I haven't made a video in a long while ._.

Ridiculous Youtube tropes include!

- Screaming constantly at the camera
- Giving a really cheesy radio DJ voice from the 70's
- Uploading 4+ videos daily of zero content.
- heavy edits during dialog to make the conversation seem more frenetic.
- Blind Let's Plays
- Doing zero research before playing the game
- relying on a, "character," that is poorly crafted.

It just seems insincere and forced and does not really let you relate to your audience.

[Ziggy]

I'd love to see more on chip sets & hardware comparisons. We have a lot of software content, but lacking in hardware talks a bit IMO.

Yep, I agree. Maybe I'll start working on that 6502 article.

What do you have in mind? Just interested in exploring the design and everywhere it was used? As a long-time PC Engine fan and someone who's first computer was an Apple //c, I have a strong interest in the 6502 core.

Pretty much just the history of it, I guess. I find the 6502 to be fascinating, personally. It's origins, legal issues with Motorola over the 6800 CPU, the missing instruction from the first batch produced (lol), etc. How impact it was to the world of computers. The fact that a variation of it was used in so many popular devices would be really interesting to most people, I would think. And I was shocked when I learned that an incarnation of the 6502 is still being produced today. So, what is it being used for today? And possible future uses. I said in my first post, maybe call the article something like "The 6502 Processor: Past, Present and Future."

I wouldn't mind digging in a little to the design, if only to better explain the difference between (for example) the CPU in the Atari 2600, the NES, and the SNES. But, in my opinion, you don't wanna get too into it and alienate the people that don't know a whole lot about that sort of thing. There's a middle ground that can appeal to a wider range of people, is what I'm saying.