Asking Sterling, A Patreodcast

When you moved to the US, what made you choose bumblefuck Mississippi?

As you are getting into anime now Jim, especially jojos, then have you seen anything by hiroyuki imaishi as his work is 100% yakuza in terms of silly fun times and serious story telling. His best works are gurren lagann and space patrol luluco if you are looking for more of that style of media. Hope you check it out and continue your descent into the depths of anime. Love your content by the way, just thought that needed to be said.

As I'm getting older, videod games seem to matter less and less to me. I still play every now and then, but I honestly watch your stuff more because I like you than anything. Does this happen to people working with (covering) games as well? Do you ever feel really fatigued with popular culture and just want to go for a walk and smell flowers and stuff?

As of late, are there any guilty pleasures that you partake in? Any lovely side ventures that peak your interest?

What is Sterdust's origin story? I don't mean why you started him. I mean: where did he come from? and is there a video (a fight or something like that) that shows it?

I love Boglinwatch so much. Is it really gone for good? I miss my #1 Boglin boy.

Wanted to ask you personal questions I was curious about, but a little internet dig up answered most of them :S would you mind terribly answering how you got to meet your wife which as I understood, is the main reason why you moved to the US?

Are you going to get back in to Warframe?

Are you ever going to try playing Mass Effect 2 and 3?

Ever plan on further tackling how a lot of FPS games lack creativity? or compare to the ones that do but are underrated. I've also wondered if the Nuke system in F76 would be exploitive.

How is your book progressing? I'd love to hear a bit more about it.

How is Chip doing? (I might add a more serious one when I think of one, but I figure this one's worth a giggle :-P)

A lot of horror games (and horror in other mediums, to be fair) tend to latch onto certain concepts and antagonist types (think angry ghosts, mentally aberrant murderers, biological weaponized abominations, monstrous anthropomorphic mannifestations of guilt and violence ala Silent Hill, humanoid Slender Clone entities, etc) bleeding them for all they are worth. Are there any underrated and/or underutilized monster types you think deserve time in the spotlight? Mummies spring to my mind almost immediately, someone should make a properly scary original IP about them.

What do you think about Microsoft choosing not to release games like Halo onto the PC?

Whenever I argue for games like Bloodborne and Cuphead being made more accessible to Autistic people and folks with Anxiety disorders, who can't handle screen crowding and overstimulating visuals, I'm told that accessibility would ruin the integrity of the game. What do you think about this argument?

Hi, Jim. I'd just like to ask a fairly simple question: do you think the constant increase in complexity of games is a positive, negative, or neutral factor in the industry? Many games with very simple control schemes are very popular, and very fun. Some games with extremely complex control schemes are also popular and (I'm told) fun. But we've been seeing a return to simpler controllers in some areas and simple side scrollers, beat 'em ups, and pixel games continue to roll out to good reception in many cases. I'm curious about your thoughts on the matter, thanks!

Hey Jim, how do you see the gaming industry, specially the indie gaming industry, evolving as more and more people learn to code? Do you think we're ever gonna see an indie revolution 2.0?

Hey Jim, I've got one question that's a little off topic, but since I also need medicine to make my brain work properly I would like to know how you deal with anxiety in general, how do you keep yourself from panicking about things. Slamming triple aaaaaaaaaaaaaaay game publishers is quite therapeutic mind you :)

Yes, alright, if you insist.

What do you think will happen with the trend of live services on AAA video games? Some games seem to be working well with it, like Rainbow Six Siege, gathering passionaite communities of players that continue to give money to the developer/publisher for years. Siege came out December 1st, 2015 and is still actively supported. I believe that is potentially a success for live services. However, live service economies in games with annual sequels (as you mentioned in today's Fortnite video) don't appear to be sustainable unless the consumers always hop over to the newest one.

Hey Jim! Some questions.. 1. Will we ever see Jim Boglins on the Jimporium!? 2. Will we see more Nitpick Theater? 3. What would be the no. 1 game you want ported to Switch? And the more thought provoking question: Do you see digital/streaming fully eclipsing physical games and do you have any concerns with that? Enjoying your stuff and keep up the good work Jim!

Can you see an alternative to YouTube appearing in the near, mid, or far future? Patreon, perhaps?

Hey Jim. I am a great fan of your work and I honestly believe that you are one of the last remainig upstanding, honest and most of all integer game-journalists that we have left. Same goes for Laura. :) So my question is this: Even though the Jimquisition is already very political and you don't make a secret out of your political views, did you ever think about doing a more politically motivated show or podcast? Like maybe a debate podcast, a video series concerning the current political climate or even a format that looks at those issues from a videogame-angle? Or would that endanger your show because it could split your fanbase too much or could turn toxic too quickly? Well, thanks for reading this. Never stop what you are doing, you beautiful man. <3

What do you usually have for breakfast? :D

Ever considered doing a table top RPG podcast with any of your mates?

Also, what inspired the Jimquisition's visual design?

How much time does it take to record and edit an episode of the Jimquisition? Are you recording it at home? Also, how did you come up with the Cornflakes Homunculus and the Pogfucker?

Hi Jim, Been a fan of yours for a long time, and i generally agree with most of your views when it comes to the gaming industry/corporate/steam culture in general, but every time i try to share your videos with my friends, they immediately dismis them as the rantings of a condescending fearmonger, and no matter how much i argue for the valid points you give, and explain that the condescending tone you sometimes take is mostly for comedic effect, they simply refuse to see past it....So my questing is this, do you ever feel tempted to mellow down to reach out to the "Mythic Broader Audiance", or are you fully accepting off the fact that yours is a limited audiance?

Hi Jim! I seem to recall from Podquisition an anecdote about being lead around (London?) on a dog lead as a way of publicising an old stand-up comedy gig. Do you have any more stories from those days you'd like to share?

What's your favorite game of all time?

Hi Jim, been a fan for a long time, despite my friends not liking you. I have a few questions that are out of curiosity. What was the first video game you ever played? And the most important question: Do you like pineapple on pizza?

Are things getting better in the games industry for women, people of color, and other marginalozed people? As in, characters created, being hired for jobs, etc

Hey Jim, how does being promiscus (non monogamy? Fuck, words..) work with having a wife (partner??) And child (her child? Not yours?) I've always been inappropriately nosy. Loved your work for years, all the way from New Zealand. Carry on man.

You often talk about crisps and sweets from your youth in Britain, but what snack foods would you recommend from the US of A?

Hi Jim. Not to waste the valuable writing space (and you are more than happy to skip to the next paragraph), but I first wanted to say that I love your work and I'm happy to call myself a Jimquisition supporter. Whist I don't particularity like people who do a little too much preaching on any particular subject, you are the only person I give a hard pass to. Please don't take this to mean offence or a backhanded compliment, as I do think that your work is really important. You and your work does lend a voice to all of us who see the obvious tomfoolery that is happening in the games industry. Keep up the awesome work! :) As for my actual question, you do mention on some of the Podquisition episodes that you have a lot of friends that don't get involved or play video games. You mentioned that you do play boardgames at times, but is there anything else that you do with your friends that might not be in anyway linked to some of your other ventures?

I think my comment got eaten up so here I go again, yay. Would it be possible for sake of ease and exposure (Your favourite word) to have Podquisition episodes up on Youtube? Soundcloud is sometimes a bit of a chaff to navigate for me. Also, butts in the gaming, which is the best? People demand answers.

Let's give this a go! Feel free to answer both or neither of these ones. Would it be possible, for the sake of ease and exposure (Gotta love that word), to put the Podquisition episodes up on Youtube? Soundcloud is a bit of a chaff for me to navigate to find the episodes I want to listen to again and forgot to download. Second question is butts, who has the best butt in gaming and why? The people demand answers!

Have you seen the Azumi movies? If not then you should definitely make some time for them. If you love Dynasty Warriors, then this is perhaps their closest cinematic equivalent. The first one was made in 2003 and if you want to see a teenage girl in a cape take out a village of angry bandits, this is your movie.

Hey Jim, what was the process (if any) in creating Duke Amiel du H'ardcore? How did you think up the character and what went in making him the 18th century aristocrat we all know and love?

To what extent did Youtube/Google miss the boat with Patreon? Patreon does three things: 1) Provide a blog for creators to communicate with their supporters. 2) Maintain a database of which supporters contribute to which creators, and how much. 3) Act as a financial intermediary, collecting cash from supporters and dispersing it to creators (less their cut). Youtube/Google does all these things already, in some form. And as irritating as they are sometimes, they do all of these things better (and on a larger scale) than Patreon. Patreon's blogs aren't very flexible or customizable. They seem to have difficulty with simple things like mass-messaging and time-based controls (if you're a $10 patron, you have access to all $10-level posts, going all the way back, which is not how some creators want to run their rewards, wanting instead to only grant access to months that someone has paid for, leading those creators to (ab)use the messaging system, which often fails for unknown reasons). Patreon's failings with payment processing (like switching to a UK-based credit card processor, flagging every credit card's fraud alert system, and not bothering to warn anyone about what they were doing ahead of time) are well-known. Also, I almost forgot--comments on posts in Patreon are so lame that to get anything resembling paragraphs, you need to type out your post in a separate text editor and then copy-paste it into the comment box. Could Youtube/Google have eaten Patreon a few years ago by offering a payment system built-in to Youtube, or do you think it was necessary for Patreon to be a separate firm?

I know you don’t do game reviews anymore but have you also stopped reviewing porn parodies of them? I think one for fortnite was released a couple of months ago but I don’t think you have talked about it?

If you were in charge of making your own 80's merchandise-driving cartoon show what would it be like, and how would it stand out? P.S. Watch Thunderbolt Fantasy

Do you know Lucha Underhround? If yes, how do you like it and what do you think about the way the handle female wrestlers in contrast to WWE?

Hiya Jim! My question might open a can of worms but here it is! QUESTION: Coming from the UK how do you feel about the health care system in America compared to the UK?

Hi Jim, If you grouped all questions you have been asked into 3 to 5 categories, which one would be the one you like the most? Can you sort the list from the least favorite to ones you wish were asked more often / you like the most?

That's the ParaPod dude.... heh, who knew? Also QUESTION: Herr Sterling, will you be at some point in the near future at any convention in Germany? And if not which would be most tempting? Spiel in Essen, GamesCom in Cologne or something completely different? Good morning, here's your coffee and thank Jim for Patreon!

Could you go into what defines good 'pacing' in your opinion in video games? You have mentioned it a few times, and I was curious if you could talk more a bit about it. Thank you

Do you have any thoughts on how one would devise a distribution service that would curate games without locking out a significant amount of worthy content, charging an unfeasible amount of money to applicants, turning everything over to inadequate screening software, or simply leaving the barn door open?

Was it difficult to get medically cleared for professional wrestling, with your history of back issues?

My main question for you is this: Have there been any episodes of the Jimquisition since going independent that you've ever been unhappy with? Like if you could redo any episode from the current era, what would it be?

Often game devs are said to be subject to, and victims of, the whims and fee to play shenanigans of AAA publishers. How true is that narrative really?

Dear Jim, Sorry if this is a bit personal but have you ever had a parent career day at your kids school? I just have this fantastic image of you in a middle school classroom with your dildo bat screaming at kids about loot boxes.

Also, do you think there are any viable alternatives to YouTube for video content creators (non-streaming), or does everyone just have to stick with it and deal with the bullshit because it's where the viewers are?

Is teeth skeleton?

What do you genuinely believe will be the state of creators on YouTube 5 years from now? For example with it be same problems and just less and less of the usual faces or do you believe there is some slim chance that things will get noticablly better and it will stop being a semi walled garden that is mostly withered or rotted.

Do you have a favorite video game of all time?

what do you like to do off camera? Particularly things that aren't related to what you do on camera.

Are there any youtube creators you have recently been following that you would recommend?

Hello! With all the time that you put into your content, how do you find time to do anything else (go out with spouse, hang out with local friends, etc.) ?

Dear Jim Fucking Sterling Dad; Will we ever see Virgilio Armandio again? Would you consider doing a new segment on Podquisition in the spirit of the old Willem Dafoe movie pitches? And since the Loose Boys takes so long to animate, could we have an audio-only version of what you recorded for it?

I've seen some people who previously worked for the game industry predict the inevitable collapse of "games as a service" as a viable model and that we will start seeing studios pitching shorter experiences that are lower risk to investors instead. Do you agree?

Jason Schreier defended the micro-transaction bullshit in AC Odyssey. Are you as disappointed in him as I am?

Love the idea. Currently don't have a question but wanted to just say that I like this plan and can't wait to see this Q&A.

Are there any game soundtracks that you are absolutely in love with? If so, which one(s)?

How can one contact you about their shitty industry practices at work? I'd like to share mine and my coworker's stories.

I think this is a swell idea! I do have a question for you. Do you think that emulation has had a large hand in the success of all these classic consoles that are being released? Do you think that if the consoles themselves couldn’t be hacked that they wouldn’t be as in demand? Thanks for you’re time!

Would you join Dice Funk (or other dnd podcast) if given the option? I really want to hear you RPing, whether it be as a DM, or a PC.

Whatever happened to Chip the intern? Are you going to get another intern to abuse on camera?

Have you heard of Kingdom Come: Deliverance? It's a super underrated game that barely anyone I follow was talking about and it came out at the beginning of this year when things were slow. Also, if you're ever in Colorado, hit up Lucha Libre and Laughs, it's wrestling with two stand up comedians as commentators, and stand up comedians do sets in between each fight. It's a once a month thing.

You've mentioned, in passing, having a bit of a shitty upbringing in a very narrow-minded home situation, something I can personally relate to. What was the catalyst for you escaping the cycle of vitriol and becoming the positively ~fabulous~, outspoken lefty you are today? And did the vidya games play much of a role in that?

Why do you spell it "videogames" as opposed to "video games"?

do you feel that you(and your team) have made a tangible difference(good or bad) in the way that customers interact with publishers?

love the idea, was actually thinking about asking you a question the other day. see, i was in mcdonalds and they're doing this thing where they put stickers on the containers that sometimes have prizes, standard stuff right? well now they're awarding entries online, meaning you go onto their website or download their app to spin a wheel and try to win. I know sears does something similar with random prizes online that you fill in a survey to spin a wheel and try to randomly win a prize. TLDR; do you think other companies will try and use things similar to lootboxes to sucker customers in for more recurrent revenue?

What books /literary work has most influenced you and your style of writing?

This is an incredible idea, Jim! Here's my question: Do you think a crash is incoming for the modern games industry (due to bullshit practices by AAA publishers such as microtransactions, shell games, fee-to-pay etc etc) and if so, do you think this is ultimately good for the industry's future? I believe you've spoken briefly about this topic in a podcast before, but I think it would be nice for you to reiterate your thoughts on this subject just once more. Thanks!

What's your favourite game that most people / critics have missed?

Seeing as you're back to doing Steam reviews, is there any chance we'll see a series on Kickstarter games? Some good ones have been made but there are plenty bad ones, especially those of revived series.

Could you describe your finance and marketing model in a bit more of a specific way? Do you think it could translate to someone looking to do more traditional, but independent, journalism? If you were forced to start from square one by some magic dick had wizard, what would be the first step you took? Why doesn't Gearbox get the hate it deserves? RIP in peace Homeworld Remastered.

When Am I going to get royalties for you telling everyone your Jim fucking Sterling? I think it's about time all my whoring paid off!!! :D

Is wrestling as therapeutic for you as it certainly seems to be?

A bit of a personal question, as someone who's been contemplating about coming out about their sexuality (pansexual in my case), do you have any advice? Really appreciated your Fallout 4 Jimquisition episode.

What do you see as the next frontier in monetization, both reasonable (pay and get a full product/free to play with unobtrusive microtransactions) and ridiculous (fee to play/lootboxes)?

You work a lot. How is this affecting your privat life? How does it affect your depression? Do you have- or do you even need the time to, well, find yourself?

Is dunking biscuits in your tea a thing out there?

What 3 things do you miss most about the motherland?

If, gods forbid, moving Jimquisition to Patreon hadn't worked out, what do you think you'd be doing instead?

How was it to work with Yahtzee doing the "Uncivil war" and "Rhymedown spectacular" shows? Have you guys talked about doing some other collaboration in the future?

I'd like to ask a personal question. How is your health in general and do you feel as if your health has improved since you started wrestling?

Assuming the push on loot boxes works and they're made illegal, what effect do you think it'll have on both AAA and mobile gaming? Won't AAA gaming find loopholes while mobile gaming will take a hit, deserved or otherwise?

What's your opinion on the big three (i.e. Nintendo, Xbox, and Sony) and what can each of them do to improve?

How much money would it require to restart dismal jesters? Conrad is in for $2m

Do you wipe sitting or standing?

Who is the most handsome pro wrestler and why is it sanada?

To someone who until recently was in a very strict religious cult, what alcohol recommendations do you have?

With all the bullshit surrounding games regarding microtransactions & lootboxes, and with the problem seemingly only getting worse (at least up until very recently [thank you Belgium]), how have you maintained your love/passion for the medium in general? (For additional context, if needed) For me, the love is still there... but it's waning. Rare gems like Spiderman keep me going, but I've gotten to the point where cynicism has replaced excitement for what's coming. Instead of "This looks great - I can't wait til it comes out!" It's more "This looks great... I wonder what they're going to do to fuck it up?". I find my love of games(/-ing) to be dying a slow death, and I hate it.

I feel like I need to ask about it now, what dat ass do tho?

What has been your biggest hurdle that mental illness has thrown at you?

I agree.

Would you rather have dick sized nipples, or a nipple sized dick?

What do you think Ubisoft needs to do in order to redeem itself in yours, and the publics eye?

What do you think are some of the better ways to get your foot in the door of games media? Specifically writing for online articles for news/review sites.

As someone who moves in weirdly similar social circles, just on the other side of the continent: Do you still do much tabletop role-playing? And/or LARPing? Related: Favorite Storyteller System game, and why?

If a woodchuck was chucking wood and about to get a pin on your tag team partner, what ring side piece of equipment would you use to break the count and win the match?

I'd like to know the range of emotions or thoughts that went through your head when you realized that this patreon model was going to work out for you.

Have you considered doing a toy channel in the style of Boglinwatch?

I still think Ian should send out Barry to do a fight with you. If I recall, he's actually a boxer. See if Wresting wins out over boxing. Would you agree to this if Barry were up for it? :U That being said, are you going to do any content with Ian/Barry? they've said you've sorta been quiet. I miss the "Jim Won't Give Ian his VR" podcast!

Wonderful idea. I'm a bit blank on serious questions right now, so I'll just ask, what do you think of my fursona? And while I'm at it, if you were a furry, what animal would your fursona be?

Any chance of coming to the UK at all in the future? Perhaps another Jimquisition live or just on a panel or something? I know your back is a pain and your life is excessively busy though

What do you miss most about the uk

A guy like me can't help but be curious. Are you single?

I agree a lot!

Hey Jim, beautiful idea I must say, I'm sure many of us have had questions we've wanted to ask you for ages and this is a neat way to go about it!

I'm excited to see this in action!