Power Pak - Jack Nicholls
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Update: Projects of the Future
🕑 Added 2024-03-02 14:00:02 +0000 UTCHello everyone! It's time to let you know what I'm working on right now.
I've got several fish in the fryer right now at varying levels of readiness. After Signalis I didn't have any work done on any other project since it was so all-encompassing, and tied with needing a bit of a break after that, it's taken some time to get going again. But we're there now, so let's go over the future plans. Though there's every chance something else not listed here might catch my eye and I'll end up working on that before anything here is done. This is how I ended up working on MyHouse after all.
1. SPACE QUEST
I mentioned this was my next planned video in a previous update. What I hadn't done at that point was actually play the game, which was foolish. I got through King's Quest 1 and 2 in a single day each and expected the same here, but Space Quest took longer, needing to be chipped away at over a few days with breaks.
I've finished it now though, and there's a lot to talk about. First draft of the script is already done, probably recorded next week, and the big edit will begin. The script is longer than King's Quest 1 and 2, which is unavoidable for this and possibly future Sierra Adventure Games too. We're entering new and fascinating territory with these, but I'll let the video speak for me on that once it's ready.
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2. BAD AMAZON BOOKS
I teased both here and in the demo fest video that I might have some non-game topics to cover, and this one has been eating away at my brain for a while.
Whilst I was working on Signalis I encountered some very bad books in my research. Not the contents of the books, the stories and prose within, but the books themselves were bad. The paper and binding, meant to project the author's imagination to me, was bad. And after getting THREE of these bad books from Amazon (inadvertently, I didn't want a single bad book, I prefer my books "good", thank you) I decided to look into this a bit, discovering the market of Print-To-Order books online, and how the public domain and Amazon's open marketplace has let chancers come in and deliver truly shoddy and awful books. I'm talking about books so bad I feel like I've been scammed. Books that rob you of the joy of physical ink on textured paper, never mind that new book feel or smell.
The two books you see above are two of the culprits (you'll note the King in Yellow copy is not the one I used in the Signalis video) whilst the third is so terrible that I want to keep it something of a surprise. It is the worst book I have ever seen in my life. I realise I'm sounding mighty passionate about this topic, but I wouldn't have said I was this into the quality of a book until I encountered the third book. Now I believe it's my duty to talk about it.
Anyway, as for the video, I'm still scripting it. I'm trying to be thorough and fair in my research about this whilst also hitting on some key points that tell why I feel strongly about this. I want to also ask if any of you have bought any books on Amazon that were maybe not what you expected? Did they feel cheap, oddly-shaped, or even, dare I ask, missing pages? Perhaps the text inside was different or unnaturally worded, like it had been machine-translated, even if the original text was in English? These are real examples of what's possible, and why I'm likely naming the video "Don't Buy Old Books from Amazon".
Might also ask on Twitter and to others about this. I know I'm not the only one who's suffered at this.
I'm looking forward to making this also because it's going to consist of mostly camera work, so it'll be an interesting change of pace to actually create. But I need to finish the script first.
This might come out before Space Quest. The script for Space Quest is quite long, and the adventure game videos usually require more editing time besides. But we'll see.
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3. TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 1+2
Yes I do enjoy throwing curveballs.
I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I love the old Tony Hawk games, being one of my favourite series when I was growing up. I played so many of them and got pretty good at it, and indeed loved the last entry in the series from Vicarious Visions (RIP). So, I want to talk about it.
I've already replayed the game as a new skater, and played a bunch more online (there are still people on the servers! Yay!) so that's all settled. Still making an outline for what I want this to be and will likely only properly get into the scripting once at least one of the other two videos are done.
There is more to this project than meets the eye, though I won't go too much into specifics. I genuinely want to share my love for a game series that means a lot to me, and why it depresses me, especially in the current climate of the gaming industry.
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These are the main things I'm working on right now that I at least feel confident enough to talk about, but there are others in the wing. Project Rogue, for one. A secret project. I'm currently reading a couple of books for research on that, and this video will likely be over an hour long due to what an insane rabbit hole it's turning into. Originally it was only going to be a small thing but there's so much more to talk about once you look into it.
There are other things swimming in my head that I'm not ready to talk about yet, so we'll leave things here. Thank you once again to you all, old members and new, for your support. I hope it's not too long before we talk again.
Stay safe!
- Jack
Comments
Air Stratus
Glad I could help, and I hope some of the sources prove useful! Sources aside, I think the complete lack of quality control on Amazon's end is probably the biggest contributing factor. Glancing over the content guidelines and terms and conditions for Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program, they seem to take an honor system approach to content management. That said, I've been looking at the American policies, and there may be substantial differences depending on the country. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200672390 They also seem to have different Print on Demand options on the seller's side, with an up-charge for 'premium color ink' and heavier weight paper. Even then, their 'premium' option is only 88-105 GSM for both paperbacks and hardcovers. They seem to take a one-size-fits-all approach, with preference for the cheapest materials possible. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834340 Interestingly, they emphasize a commitment to environmental stewardship, but I can't seem to find any information how or where they source their paper.
Jack Nicholls
Wow, thanks for the recommendations. This is fantastic.
Air Stratus
I should also mention Writing Machines by N. Katherine Hayles as a book that's more generally about how the form and medium of a work shapes reader experience, especially since it examines House of Leaves pretty extensively. It doesn't exactly match the substance of your research, but I think it might rhyme with the general spirit. Additionally, Paper Knowledge: Toward a Media History of Documents by Lisa Gitelman is less oriented around books and more focused on, well, documents. However, it still has a lot to say about print technology and the way it's changed over time. I think I've dumped enough book recommendations on your head, but if you're eager for more, Kirschenbaum and Werner's "Digital Scholarship and Digital Studies: The State of the Discipline" is a fantastic guide to a lot of the most recent scholarship on these subjects
Air Stratus
Groovy! I don't want to pile too much on your plate or broaden things too much, so I'm going to pitch some texts/ point to chapters that seem more relevant to your area of focus. - Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century by John B. Thompson-- This book is a comprehensive primer on how the sausage is made, but the industry (and the world) move so fast that it's already a little out of date. For instance, it doesn't include anything about the AI-ghostwritten scam books that are clogging up Amazon's results page - What We Talk About When We Talk About Books: The History and Future of Reading by Leah Price-- This book takes a broader view at the history of books and how they were used/ handled over time, and the way those uses affected handling, consumption, and printing practices - Book Business: Publishing Past Present and Future by Jason Epstein-- This one's a bit outdated as well, but I think it provides important background, especially since Jason Epstein launched the "Quality Paperback Revolution" Self-publishing/ vanity publishing imprints also have a lot of impact on the shape print-on-demand has taken, so I'd recommend looking into predatory self-publishing practices for a broader view. Unfortunately, I haven't found a lot of academic sources in that area, but many writers' forums (ex: https://www.writingforums.com/threads/self-publishing-companies-to-avoid.198347/) and blogs (https://davidgaughran.com/how-the-author-solutions-scam-works/) provide good starting points for investigation and research, and youtube channels such as savywritesbooks regularly cover some of the more predatory imprints. Unfortunately, the nature of Posting means that there's more independent verification that has to be done with these kinds of things, but public filings and news sources like Publisher's Weekly seem to substantiate most of the claims.
Jack Nicholls
Any recommendations would be welcome! Most of my research has been focused on who has published these books that I possess, so I'm willing to listen to broaden my scope on this.
Air Stratus
Can’t express how excited I am for this lineup! Full disclosure: I digitize old books as my job, bind books as a hobby, and put in a master’s worth of time at library school, so I have a LOT of opinions about the quality of these print to order editions. Mostly that they suck and are bad. That’s a professional assessment. The story of How Publishing Got Here is a fascinating one, and I can’t wait to see you dig into the fallout! I’d also be happy to recommend some resources for your research. As for the other entries, I’m thrilled to hear about both the Space Quest and Tony Hawk videos. I always love the Sierra videos, and some of my fondest childhood memories involve playing Tony Hawk with distant cousins. All in all: really exciting news!
