Waypoint+ |OT| "Fuck Capitalism, Go Home"

[Pikachu]

Today escalated quickly...

 

[UnInvincible]

No he's going to go back to the job he was meant to do, dunking on Destiny raid bosses.

 

[Deleted member 2752]

You better like shooters for this week's podcast lol

I did not expect these low Breakpoint review scores after that segment.

 

[JimD]

Ouch, had a busy day and just came across the news. I'm glad that Austin is taking the steps he feels are best for his career and his health. But it's also a bit sad and frustrating. I still love listening to the pod, but boy did Waypoint have some missed opportunities. I don't mean to criticize too much, and they've been pretty upfront about some issues they've had. But a part of me wonders that if they had figured out stuff like properly categorizing Waypoint on podcast services, better pod ads and more live reads in the early days, or even if they were Twitch partnered during the period when they streaming a lot, then the core team would have stayed together a bit longer. I'm not sure if the fault for that lies on Vice for not supporting them or just the general difficulties of starting a brand new games site. But it's a sad "What If?"

Or maybe none of that would have mattered. This is a tough, crazy industry. Looking forward to anything new they try in the future.

 

[deepFlaw]

Considering that FatT makes pretty decent bank on Patreon, it makes sense that Austin feels confident enough to commit to it more than a side-gig.

Click to shrink...

Wow, no kidding. Never checked, but for some reason I've never thought it'd be that successful.

Yeah, I totally get this. FatT has always been the project/thing Austin has seemed most passionate about, and if it's actually viable to to it as more than just a side-thing while being swamped with work at your actual gig... absolutely.

Like, being a manager of a site at VICE has always seemed the most draining thing of his job. I absolutely understand not wanting to do that anymore.

Click to shrink...

I feel weird talking about this stuff and a little more so now that Patrick's in the thread (this is not a bad thing, it's good to see you in here!), but.... Not only do I not think his comments on this = FatT full time to begin with, but there's 8 different people involved in FatT and I believe their producer's (Ali) role is (or at least it was) her full time job as well. So I wouldn't see that amount and view it like it/a lot of it could be a single person's salary, and so on.

Very very happy they've succeeded to that degree, of course. Just don't think it's gonna end up going like that (though I'm sure being, theoretically, less busy going into season 6 is gonna be a plus).

 

[BearPawB]

Patrick, what are you going to do to avoid the same burn out? I mean that with sincerity and care. It's gotta be hard to be not at the office while now having more demands.

 

[kyle mechlachlan]

I feel weird talking about this stuff and a little more so now that Patrick's in the thread (this is not a bad thing, it's good to see you in here!), but.... Not only do I not think his comments on this = FatT full time to begin with, but there's 8 different people involved in FatT and I believe their producer's (Ali) role is (or at least it was) her full time job as well. So I wouldn't see that amount and view it like it/a lot of it could be a single person's salary, and so on.

Very very happy they've succeeded to that degree, of course. Just don't think it's gonna end up going like that (though I'm sure being, theoretically, less busy going into season 6 is gonna be a plus).

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Yeah I know that the Patreon money isn't going all to Austin. I would assume they have a fair split for all involved based on their commitments. I believe Ali went full time awhile back and they were around 14k. It's probably not a coincidence that Austin decided to commit more time to it now that they're at 20k. I doubt he's full time FatT, but the split is more even than it used to be. Whatever else he's doing it probably going to allow him to spent more time.

 

[Deleted member 9399]

Patrick, what are you going to do to avoid the same burn out? I mean that with sincerity and care. It's gotta be hard to be not at the office while now having more demands.

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Not to speak for him, but I kind of kept thinking about this whole thing in the context of Waypoint still existing as a singular entity and had the same concern about Rob and Patrick having to carry an entire site's editorial alone. But with them being VICE games I believe they share staff / resources / workload with Motherboard in a way that will (hopefully) prevent burnout.

 

[Joeku]

You better like shooters for this week's podcast lol

I did not expect these low Breakpoint review scores after that segment.

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I was gonna come say the same. I saw the first wave of reviews and am now listening to the segment and the sentiment could not be more different.

But this is a crew that loves Far Cry 2. "Shit goes wrong sometimes, good luck!" would of course be their jam.

 

[LiQuid!]

With Austin remaining on the podcast I'm almost completely unfazed by this news. Sounds like exciting times ahead for all involved, whether they be leaving to pursue passions, or staying and getting a promotion. I do wish I had the time to spend on the FatT podcasts cause I love me some Austin on his world building bullshit. Sadly, it's a bit too intensive a time commitment for me to get into an RPG podcast in addition to all the gaming and wrestling podcasts I currently struggle to find the time for

 

[Patrick Klepek]

Patrick, what are you going to do to avoid the same burn out? I mean that with sincerity and care. It's gotta be hard to be not at the office while now having more demands.

Click to shrink...

On some level, I've been burnt out for a years now, but this work pays the bills and it brings me a measure of satisfaction.

But more specifically, I hopped from Kotaku to VICE when my wife was only a few weeks from birthing my daughter. As a couple, we talked a lot about what the next few weeks, months, and years would look like, and that was part of my pitch to Austin and company: if you want me, it comes with the pre-condition that I will, with reasonable exceptions, only work from 9:30 to 5:30 every day. After that, I'm out. I've stuck to that. It means I don't have time to write a book, even though I've been given the chance to write one. It means I dropped streaming (for three years!) until recently, but tho now use subs to raise money for my kid's education. I'll stop streaming again eventually. It means my wife and I dropped our horror podcast, because we realized we'd rather spend that time relaxing on the couch next to one another. I gave up a lot to achieve meaningful work-life balance, a lot of stuff that basically involved ditching side project creative pursuits, but it's been worth it. 100%.

 

[AncientReptileBrain]

:( :( :(

 

[Bigkrev]

 

[kyle mechlachlan]

that's not what i expected!

 

[Ashby]

Dan Ryckert in shambles

 

[Brakke]

I bet Austin's psyched at least?

 

[jviggy43]

Danielle is leaving too huh? That sucks. I loved her and natalie.

On some level, I've been burnt out for a years now, but this work pays the bills and it brings me a measure of satisfaction.

But more specifically, I hopped from Kotaku to VICE when my wife was only a few weeks from birthing my daughter. As a couple, we talked a lot about what the next few weeks, months, and years would look like, and that was part of my pitch to Austin and company: if you want me, it comes with the pre-condition that I will, with reasonable exceptions, only work from 9:30 to 5:30 every day. After that, I'm out. I've stuck to that. It means I don't have time to write a book, even though I've been given the chance to write one. It means I dropped streaming (for three years!) until recently, but tho now use subs to raise money for my kid's education. I'll stop streaming again eventually. It means my wife and I dropped our horror podcast, because we realized we'd rather spend that time relaxing on the couch next to one another. I gave up a lot to achieve meaningful work-life balance, a lot of stuff that basically involved ditching side project creative pursuits, but it's been worth it. 100%.

Click to shrink...

Ok now I know what I have to check out next, didn't even know about this!

 

[Nappuccino]

I normally stay away from threads like this, but today is an exception. I can tell you they are honestly disconnected; Danielle's offer letter for her new gig (which will make sense when it's announced, it's exciting) just happened to come in as Austin has formalized his next moves (which we had to wait on, to make sure he could get paid for his labor on the pod going forward). We only figured out we could announce both moves together right before the podcast recording.

Anyway, I can answer some questions if people have them.

Click to shrink...

Nothing much to say other than I love the work you all do at Waypoint, and I hope you keep finding ways to highlight great voices.

 

[goblin]

All the best to Danielle and Austin on their new ventures. I'm excited to follow what Danielle does next and I hope this helps Austin achieve the work/life balance he needs to stay happy and healthy.

Lots of love to Rob, Patrick and Cado for all their work, too. I'm relieved to hear that one of the site's goals is adding diversity; I'll listen to the current crew talk about anything, but I do miss hearing women on the podcast.

Also glad that Austin will still be writing about games because I love reading his work. Although it would have been perfect in a way if he just took a bow and stopped after Daemon X Machina.

 

[DarthSontin]

I have been worried about this happening, but I wish all the best to Danielle and Austin.

You know what would be the coolest thing in the world? Spawn on Me and Waypoint teaming up. Khaleif lost his cohosts, and he has been doing an amazing job hosting their podcast solo.

 

[Jintor]

best to all

hoping dani will maybe have the chance to reduce her job load instead of simultaneously teaching game design/saving lives/educating young journalists/talking about video games????? she does SO MUCH

 

[Salarians]

much love to Austin and Danielle, I know they'll do great things
gonna miss not hearing Danielle on a podcast but I'm glad Austin will still be on

and sending my love to the remaining waypoint crew <3

 

[Deleted member 51646]

On some level, I've been burnt out for a years now, but this work pays the bills and it brings me a measure of satisfaction.

But more specifically, I hopped from Kotaku to VICE when my wife was only a few weeks from birthing my daughter. As a couple, we talked a lot about what the next few weeks, months, and years would look like, and that was part of my pitch to Austin and company: if you want me, it comes with the pre-condition that I will, with reasonable exceptions, only work from 9:30 to 5:30 every day. After that, I'm out. I've stuck to that. It means I don't have time to write a book, even though I've been given the chance to write one. It means I dropped streaming (for three years!) until recently, but tho now use subs to raise money for my kid's education. I'll stop streaming again eventually. It means my wife and I dropped our horror podcast, because we realized we'd rather spend that time relaxing on the couch next to one another. I gave up a lot to achieve meaningful work-life balance, a lot of stuff that basically involved ditching side project creative pursuits, but it's been worth it. 100%.

Click to shrink...

Sorry to pile on to what appears to be a barrage of questions, but if you don't mind answering another, I'm really curious about how you are actually drawing that kind of firm delineation as a game journalist.
I understand that it's unheard of in the industry to get paid for the actual work of playing the games you talk/write about, and although I'm not thoroughly familiar with all your output, it's hard to imagine that you could play as many games as you talk about on the podcast on top of actually producing the content unless you were playing them on your own time.
Are you just superhumanly fast or are you still counting the time playing games as part of your "life" in the work-life balance, even though for you it is actually work? If the latter, are you still just freehanding the balance between worklife and lifelife with zero pressure from Waypoint/Vice?

 

[Sabas]

Does this mean Austin finally has time to check out the pod by eight sleep?

 

[Deleted member 2752]

Finishing the podcast left me quite curious where Danielle is going to work. There aren't that many places with video game podcasts, videos, writing and where she can also talk MMA. And it's in NY apparently.

 

[Zocano]

Finishing the podcast left me quite curious where Danielle is going to work. There aren't that many places with video game podcasts, videos, writing and where she can also talk MMA. And it's in NY apparently.

Click to shrink...

Poached by the Beast Crew, let's go.

 

[Tchocky]

Finishing the podcast left me quite curious where Danielle is going to work. There aren't that many places with video game podcasts, videos, writing and where she can also talk MMA. And it's in NY apparently.

Click to shrink...

The obvious one is Kotaku/Deadspin.

 

[Deleted member 2752]

Oh yeah, Deadspin is a good guess. Not much of a video game focus, though.

 

[Charlotte Lucas]

Unlike when they rebranded from Waypoint to vice games, this news doesn't leave me as alarmed. Danielle wasn't as much of a presence on Waypoint after she got reshuffled during the restructuring so I'm more happy for her that she found something that she's passionate about. I just hope I'm able to squeeze in another podcast/gaming site to follow so I can keep up with what she's doing.

Austin sounds like he's getting a much needed break and I also wish him the best. The podcasts are the only thing I consume on Waypoint so I'm glad he'll still be a presence on them.

 

[Phoney McRingRing]

While there's the uncertainty that comes with yet another change regarding the structure of Waypoint, this seems like it could be beneficial given Austin will still be contributing. Frankly, since Natalie has left the pods have sort of treaded water especially with Danielle devoting a lot of her time elsewhere--this transition might give them the necessary shakeup if they can follow through on having regular guests and/or getting some additional hires.

 

[Amibguous Cad]

Am I the only one that's a little skeptical that Austin is still going to be on the podcast regularly? I'm sure they have the best of intentions, but we hear this kind of stuff every time a major podcast or media crew splits up and the freelancer never sticks around for long. Recording for two hours twice a week at a set time is just a big commitment, particularly for someone who has to be hustling to make ends meet, and it's the thing that's most easily cut.

Meaning no shade to Austin or any of the waypointers, of course - if he's been this burned out and needs a break I'm happy that he's getting what he needs.

 

[goblin]

Am I the only one that's a little skeptical that Austin is still going to be on the podcast regularly? I'm sure they have the best of intentions, but we hear this kind of stuff every time a major podcast or media crew splits up and the freelancer never sticks around for long. Recording for two hours twice a week at a set time is just a big commitment, particularly for someone who has to be hustling to make ends meet, and it's the thing that's most easily cut.

Click to shrink...

I'm optimistic because by all rights he's being fairly paid for his time on Waypoint Radio, which is different than people saying they'll pop in to do guest spots when they're free.

Not to say that the situation will last forever, but it sounds like everyone involved really wanted him to stay on as a paid contributor to the podcast for the time being.

 

[Salty Catfish]

Am I the only one that's a little skeptical that Austin is still going to be on the podcast regularly? I'm sure they have the best of intentions, but we hear this kind of stuff every time a major podcast or media crew splits up and the freelancer never sticks around for long. Recording for two hours twice a week at a set time is just a big commitment, particularly for someone who has to be hustling to make ends meet, and it's the thing that's most easily cut.

Meaning no shade to Austin or any of the waypointers, of course - if he's been this burned out and needs a break I'm happy that he's getting what he needs.

Click to shrink...

I think he will, because he's still a paid Vice contractor. When he's on WPR, it won't be just a friendly stop-by; it's a paid position.

 

[Mafro]

Cado and some of the Waypoint community are streaming the new Destiny 2 raid

 

[BlueScrote]

When's Idle Weekend coming back???? If you guys like Rob's ad reads for a bed, wait until you see him talk about tampons.

 

[Sabas]

Start the Patreon for Rob covering the CWverse. the post-pod practice ad read was hilarious

 

[Patrick Klepek]

Sorry to pile on to what appears to be a barrage of questions, but if you don't mind answering another, I'm really curious about how you are actually drawing that kind of firm delineation as a game journalist.
I understand that it's unheard of in the industry to get paid for the actual work of playing the games you talk/write about, and although I'm not thoroughly familiar with all your output, it's hard to imagine that you could play as many games as you talk about on the podcast on top of actually producing the content unless you were playing them on your own time.
Are you just superhumanly fast or are you still counting the time playing games as part of your "life" in the work-life balance, even though for you it is actually work? If the latter, are you still just freehanding the balance between worklife and lifelife with zero pressure from Waypoint/Vice?

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately, playing games in my free time and not getting paid for it is part of the job. Wrong? Unfair? Yes. It's a huge part of the anxiety game critics and journalists have with long games. You're asking people to, basically, work 2X but only getting paid for half of that.

 

[Salty Catfish]

Unfortunately, playing games in my free time and not getting paid for it is part of the job. Wrong? Unfair? Yes. It's a huge part of the anxiety game critics and journalists have with long games. You're asking people to, basically, work 2X but only getting paid for half of that.

Click to shrink...

More than a bit off topic (and probably mentioned on an upcoming pod) but -- your thoughts on Joker?

 

[Sabas]

 

[spiritfox]

But Aqua didn't get norted

 

[Hella]

Aqua Norted

...and a Saiyan

 

[J_Viper]

Hope nothing but the best for Austin and Danielle, and I'm glad to hear that Austin will still be part of the show.

Waypoint Radio has been on fire for the last few months, and I hope it sticks around forever.

 

[SilentMike03]

Austin if you're reading this, let me just say as a Jets fan... you're welcome.

 

[bbq of doom]

Austin if you're reading this, let me just say as a Jets fan... you're welcome.

Click to shrink...

go birds

On a more serious note, I haven't really paid attention to WPR (or Waypoint) for about a year or so. I will follow Austin wherever he goes but as Vice seemingly took more control, it started losing what made it incredible in the beginning. It's a shame, but hopefully he's getting the rest he so rightfully deserves.

 

[Sabas]

Hella think that's just her staff? though if she got that golden cloud mount...hmm...

 

[Salarians]

I think my favorite part of destiny 2's update is that you can make a new character and you'll have full access to the subclasses and stuff without having to go through the campaign and leveling grind

speaking of which, warlock > hunter >>> titan
I love my warlock (flame sword!!!) but I've been playing a hunter and I love him too (knife throw!!!)

also, I've been going back and forth on picking up forsaken so I'm glad to hear Austin speak positively on its campaign

 

[Joeku]

I think my favorite part of destiny 2's update is that you can make a new character and you'll have full access to the subclasses and stuff without having to go through the campaign and leveling grind

speaking of which, warlock > hunter >>> titan
I love my warlock (flame sword!!!) but I've been playing a hunter and I love him too (knife throw!!!)

also, I've been going back and forth on picking up forsaken so I'm glad to hear Austin speak positively on its campaign

Click to shrink...

The hunter knifey flippy finisher is really good.

 

[Charlotte Lucas]

The fall games season continues, server issues and all. Now that Austin has a bunch of free time, he's been seriously considering getting into that MMO that everyone's talking about... Final Fantasy XIV. Patrick tried out this other game you may have heard of, Destiny 2, and was immediately confused by the new player onboarding. Cado has been playing Indivisible alongside leveling for the new Destiny raid, a new "metroidvania-ish" "jrpg" with a really neat combat system and solid writing. Patrick's data-cap situation is getting out of hand, luckily the "iron maiden cover turned contra" game Valfaris wasn't too big of a download.

Discussed: Final Fantasy XIV, Destiny 2: New Light, Indivisible, Valfaris, Pilgrims, Apple Arcade Games, Data-caps, Untitled Goose Game

Click to shrink...

ic austin stepped down so he could play ffxiv

I look forward to listening tomorrow. it's getting late where i'm at

 

[Sabas]

one of us \o/

 

[spiritfox]

Should be playing the hot new game Destiny