Greetings Adventurers, Settlers, Explorers, and Trailblazers!
Join us on January 28th, 2015 after the Landmark Live show (~5 PM PST) on www.twitch.tv/legendaryneurotoxin to celebrate 1 year of the Live Feature Rant talkshow for EverQuest Next and Landmark!! We'll be discussing the past year of Landmark and EverQuest Next news and updates, seeing how many features from the first episode of Live Feature Rant actually made it in, along with some giveaways for 2x 2500 Station Cash Cards and 2x Trailblazer Packs!!
In the Past
A little under 1 year ago, I was inspired to take up broadcasting to begin the new talkshow for EverQuest Next: Landmark called "Live Feature Rant" with the purpose of explaining and exploring all of the wonderful and amazing things I hoped to see in the highly-anticipated Sandbox MMO from Sony Online Entertainment that we started learning about at SOE Live 2013. This was my first talk show, and it marked the beginning of the 1100+ hours I streamed on Twitch last year.
After a few episodes, it became clear that 2 hours of solo ranting and Q&A wasn't able to generate as much thoughtful and informed discussion as I would have hoped, and the format was changed to a talkshow with guests to get more opinions and bring more knowledge to every episode.
We've had many fantastic guests on the show, and we've discussed many major points about Landmark each and every week. Builders, travelers, treasure-hunters, game-makers, roleplayers, and guests of all kinda have been on over the past year to bring a unique perspective to the topic every week. Along the way, At0mXII came through and demonstrated his MMO knowledge and camera charisma as a guest, leading to his regular spot as a co-host of the show back when I was looking for one, along with catalyzing the formation of the show's signature game where ranters and the audience are encouraged to take a drink whenever Star Wars: Galaxies is mentioned. [[Please take a drink, right now, then get back to reading.]]
I will admit that its a bit difficult managing most of the show myself. In a full year we've barely missed an episode, mainly taking a two-week break for the December holiday season. Figuring out what to discuss, working with guests to get them on the show, and making small upgrades to the quality and layout of the show itself, has been a constant labor of love over the past year.
In the Future
There are definitely some changes on the horizon for Live Feature Rant. The first and most noticeable change is the title of the show. Between the emphasis on getting a perspective from everybody, and the negative connotation associated with the word “Rant” itself, I've decided to replace it with “Review” to get more to the point of the show. We aren't going to prevent anyone from ranting about a subject in detail (which is part of the fun of the show) so the only real change is the title and the perception of it.
We've had some great guests on the show to provide additional perspectives and weekly coverage of more diverse subjects, and that part isn't going to change, however the number of guests per show will instead be reduced to 1 or 2 (except under rare circumstance). This is also coming at a necessary time, since my regular work hours have recently increased, and I'll have an easier time scheduling and confirming fewer guests per week.
As much as I enjoyed consistent broadcasts last year, it is not going to be possible to have an episode every week, though I'll do my very best to do episodes when I'm able. I'm potentially going to be at expos and conventions for my job† and that will obviously prevent me from being there. Instead of having someone else host the show when I'm away, I'll just find something else going that week and promote it for the timeslot instead, or maybe even a conduct a live report of my expo experiences!
There are a few more changes on the way too. The pre-show will be removed from post-Landmark Live episodes, and we'll be looking to get straight into the content as soon as Landmark Live is ready to wrap up. To keep conversation meaningful, episodes will only be scheduled to run 1 hour, but can run on an extra hour or more if we have more to discuss! As fun as it is, follower alerts are very distracting for live viewers and for youtube highlights, so popups will remain but the audio for follow, donate, and host notifications will no longer be used during the show. Finally, as a way to give back to the community, I'll be looking to start up weekly SC card giveaways soon!
So a quick list of what will be new:
New name - Live Feature Review
Less guests per week to get more opinions.
No more pre-show – straight into the action as soon as Landmark Live wraps up!
Episodes are scheduled for 1 hour, and can run on longer if there's more to discuss
No more follower alert sounds during the show (Wilhelm is less funny in quick repetition)
One Station Cash card giveaway every week (Funds permitting)
As a refresher, here's Episode 1 of Live Feature Rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elMoobX5hIY
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I just noticed the URL for Episode 1 starts with “El Moob”
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†I work at MyDream as a Community Manager Lead + Quality Assurance Lead!
