Completely understand where you are coming from but I think you are looking at it the wrong way.
I mean, I don’t listen to streams that find boring. Can’t bear it. So I don’t “mute” it, I generally turn off the stream if I’m not enjoying the commentary.
So I’m just doing something in one of the styles that I Personally like to experience. If you like it, great, if not, you can watch something else like I do if I come across a presentation I don’t find pleasing.
Everybody else has that choice, and it’s not an “F u” to anybody. It’s just what I have best to offer and enjoy doing.
That’s on purpose chuck. Nobody wants to see the same crew for 12 hours straight, and NYCPC already has enough of me as it is. Variety is the spice of life
I personally was cracking up listening to the team team of koi and FLR. Lewis bevans and Fred C also did some fantastic work during the weekend under difficult circumstances, and really everybody who stepped in over the course of the weekend brought something distinctive to the booth. Always proud to showcase local talent like Greg, storm, FLr, Lindsey, and provide first-time opportunities for people like Jade and koi. And jack tadman is one of the best in the business. All in it was always easy to find enthusiastic people willing to slip on the burgundy jacket and lay it all on the line for your entertainment, and that’s always encouraging and makes our job easier.
A big thanks to Jeff teolis who did a FANTASTIC job on intros and awards on day 3. Part of it was my blow out voice but I also thought it would be good to mix it up and bring a different voice to the stage. I’m glad we did that because he did a much better job than I would of. Absolutely killed it and we look forward to working with him in the future.
The more talented people you have on your team the better, from top to bottom.
Is the stream up on YouTube somewhere? Twitch doesn’t play nice with my phone. And ultimately any commentary that isn’t based on trying to explain the rules to Monster Bash to an audience likely well aware of them is a good thing. A lot of commentary is aimed at a fictional viewer who apparently tuned in because I Love Lucy is all reruns these days.
Koi is amazing to work with, and I would gladly work that trio with Elliott and Koi again. The diversity of broadcasters was great to listen to - and even more fun to commentate with.
Another outstanding event. This is exactly the energy pinball events should have! Great addition with having music playing during the entire event, it really does drain out the monotonous sounds of 30 pinball machines in one room. So many people were singing and dancing while waiting around and it was awesome to see. And holy cow, the live band and rapping Grant was the icing on the cake. MORE COWBELL PLEASE!!!
I honestly don’t really care what people do our don’t do on streams. I have personal preferences (dear god I’m glad nobody really eats on streams anymore) but I also know the market will drive that, and what will be will be. What does confuse me is that before the event some clear guidelines were set out, and I’m not really sure the point of setting up such guidelines if they aren’t going to be followed. It sets up an expectation that doesn’t get met, and that actually has a real potential for alienating viewers. Any thoughts on this? Or do you feel your stream commentary is still in line with the guidelines as set out?
I feel like maybe I should have said “adult audience intended” instead of PG-13. I should have known I’d get carried away when the level of play started to explode into the goatosphere.
I also feel like it’s about 25th on my concerns in a post-mortem of the event. But it will be addressed within the next 360 days I’m sure.
Much like how we were moving pinball machines around till 7 am a year ago monday morning, followed by one of our team members puking for 10 minutes on 26th street, whereas last night we were 100 percent done and eating dinner by 10pm, there’s always room for improvement and adjustment. It’s a learning experience!
I do think we stuck pretty close to our guidelines - and so did our huge crew of commentators over the weekend - which is why it turned out so well. There’s honestly only one comment I personally regret which was calling Marc P our “streaming bitch” by way of trying to compliment him. He was a perfect broadcasting partner who probably gave the NBP (Never Beef Productions) team more leeway to do it our way than anybody else gets. Much appreciation!
Not me. When I watch a competition stream, it’s all about the gameplay. The playfield and display views tell me everything I need to know. The commentating really doesn’t matter. I may not be a typical viewer, but that’s how I watch.
Your enthusiasm is definitely contagious. We need more of that in pinball. Your commentating style pretty much matches your posting style. It’s authentic. No BS. I like that. That said, is this really the direction we want to go? WWE style commentating + cursing? Is this style of commentating popular in video game casting? It certainly won’t fly on ESPN, which a lot of us are hoping for.
In your first post in this thread, you talked about helping the sport grow. Your getting plenty of attaboys from regulars in the hobby, but do you think your style of commentating brings in new people to the sport and hobby?
I think you’re authentic AF and would never ask you to change your style. Probably wouldn’t work. But I’m not sure this is the best way to grow the sport and hobby.
I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it helped draw more people in, simple as that. I think all of us at NBP have designed NYCPC around satisfying the experienced tournament player while at the same time making the entire experience - from being there live, to watching it remotely - more interesting, welcoming, and exciting for the civilian or newcomer.
And yes this style is very popular in other Esports, and I do think it’s best to think of pinball as an esport.
The future for Pinball does not lie on espn, thats always seemed like a pointless pipe dream to me.
It lies in places like Twitch I think.
Nothing we are doing is intended as an affront to any other tournament or tournament style - people all over the world are doing great work and putting a lot of time and energy into what they are doing. We just want to try some different things and see what works.
NYCPC 2019 rocked and I wanted to give a huge THANK YOU to the Never Beef team and everyone who helped put it together. Thank you for all the months of planning and your hard work that goes into putting together an event like this. You guys and gals should be very proud for running such a smooth event.
From a player perspective, I loved the game selections - a good mix of the tournament mainstays and games you do not see used often. Scorekeepers were always at the ready to manage queues and scores. It was my first time scorekeeping, and I wanted to thank Austin for helping to guide me through it, as well as all the players for being really courteous. The performances by the Knobs and The Storm were awesome, and added to a really fun atmosphere for the entire tournament. The streaming set up was great for spectators in the crowd to follow the action, and the crowd was into the finals all day long. The venue was perfect and it was nice to have plenty of room to sit or walk around and still be close to the games when it was your turn on a machine. Having a Wonka to play in the Free Play area was a really nice bonus. The best part was meeting a ton of fantastic players from around the country and world, and I hope to run into many of you again at the next tournament! Can’t wait for NYCPC 2020!!!
Best, - Harry
A few years ago the NYCPC didn’t exist and with that we would have no commentary from a stream to dissect. This thread exists today because folks busted their butts to create an amazing event from an idea. The way to grow the sport and hobby is to have people like Levi and team create a spectacle which is the NYCPC. They created a new event from scratch which is a TON of thankless work. They’ve brought a lot of attention to both pinball and competitive pinball. This is where I think the majority of “attaboys” are coming from. I give all the organizers a thank you and want to tell them they did a great job!
Moving onto the stream I think I watched about 90% of it and just like a tournament you’re never going to make everyone happy. Some people might be put-off by Levi’s enthusiastic and colorful vocabulary but some people are put-off by mundane and boring commentary too. I’m 39 years old and personally I’ve met my quota with hearing certain 4 letter words. It isn’t necessary, especially when you can replace them with other 4 letter words like BEEF and BOOM.
What a great weekend. So good it almost didn’t seem like a pinball tournament. They took the look and feel to the next level. None of it was by accident. Very smart guys, and proud to have them represent pinball in NYC to the wider community, congrats.
I hope you’re right. I’ve said in the past that I don’t think pinball should ever be a spectator sport because it’s so easy for a noob to step up and play. But the sport and hobby both continue to grow. Streaming has to get some of the credit for that.
The only thing we know for certain is that no one really knows where pinball will go from here. It’s been around almost 100 years now and it’s currently in a place it’s never been before. Thanks to you and all the others involved for your part in helping to grow the hobby. It is appreciated.
Thanks. It’s good that there’s some healthy discussion here as nobody wants to talk about tournament pinball on other forums unless a drunk tries to ruin it.