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.
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.
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).
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.
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.You better like shooters for this week's podcast lol
I did not expect these low Breakpoint review scores after that segment.
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.
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%.
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.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.
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.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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.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.
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?
More than a bit off topic (and probably mentioned on an upcoming pod) but -- your thoughts on Joker?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.
Austin if you're reading this, let me just say as a Jets fan... you're welcome.
The hunter knifey flippy finisher is really good.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
ic austin stepped down so he could play ffxivWaypoint Radio Episode 269: Canonical Honk said: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