TF2maps Youtube Channel Video Submissions

[Egan]

Mapper Interviews
Episode 1 Icarus

Watch on youtube.
Upvote the reddit thread.

Next to be interviewed is Heyo, maker of Junction, Egypt, Harvest and Borneo. If you have any questions you'd like to ask him reply to this thread or to my comment in the reddit thread.

 

[Ravidge]

Mapper Interviews
Episode 1 Icarus

Watch on youtube.
Upvote the reddit thread.

Next to be interviewed is Heyo, maker of Junction, Egypt, Harvest and Borneo. If you have any questions you'd like to ask him reply to this thread or to my comment in the reddit thread.

The last answer about not being a slave to feedback is a great one. When he said "no one knows the map better than you do" I was thinking to myself 'holy shit someone gets it'.

Lots of feedback is made from what the player observe in a playtest right then and there, and then they suggest fixes based on a pretty limited understanding of the map. The complaints are often valid, but suggesting fixes is extremely hard for a player who probably didn't take all parameters of the area into consideration.

I enjoyed the interview overall, good work.

 

[Haromnyuszi]

I have video showcasing my map which was made as a portfolio pice so it is a bit egocentric perhaps for this channel.
Heres a link tell me if you are interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0hjMKZyYL8

 

[Fantaboi]

I was just thinking with the interview series, maybe with every contest the winner (or 2nd depending if first doesn't want to) can get interviewed about the map in particular.

 

[Egan]

The last answer about not being a slave to feedback is a great one. When he said "no one knows the map better than you do" I was thinking to myself 'holy shit someone gets it'.

Yeah when he mentioned that I smiled as well. Was told a few years ago and I guess its one thing to hear it and another to understand it. I had to reread what I was told, 2 years ago, a few times to really wrap my head around the idea. But I do feel as well that it's a very good lesson to learn.

I have video showcasing my map which was made as a portfolio pice so it is a bit egocentric perhaps for this channel.
Heres a link tell me if you are interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0hjMKZyYL8

Yeah you're right it is a bit egocentric. I'd personally like to see the tf2maps channel as a resource / tutorial / community base instead of individually promoting its users. (The interviews aren't promotions, they're reviewing perspectives).

I was just thinking with the interview series, maybe with every contest the winner (or 2nd depending if first doesn't want to) can get interviewed about the map in particular.

I do kinda like the idea, maybe a shorter interview, could be an okay piece of content.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

To be quite honest, TF2M just "liking' Harmonyuszi's video wouldn't hurt. It's an analytic view of his plans for a map, challenges he hit and what he did to over come them. To me, that is a great resource as it provides people with an idea of how to think about or approach their map and designs.

 

[Harribo]

Doing the top 3 for a contest as a single episode could work maybe.

 

[takabuschik]

I suppose it's not too late for an interview question suggestion, right?
I wanted to ask what technics did Heyo use, to keep the players focused on the main route and objectives in cp_egypt (apart from signs, obviously). Since the map uses a very "flat" color palette, it could easly get really hard to navigate, yet it's easy. How was that achieved?

 

[Tumby]

Demo: plr_butterzone_a2 - Sunday, June 8 2014 1:23 AM
Tick: ~5000
Players: Tumbolisu and Yoghurt (I hope I got the name right)
It's just some silly fail.

 

[Egan]

Mapper Interviews
Episode 2 Heyo

Watch on youtube.
Upvote the reddit thread.

 

[Grizzly Berry]

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a video version of "The Hammer Times." Basically, it would be a video released once a month (1st of each month?), recapping everything that had happened in the previous month. Map progress, releases, contest news, that sort of thing. So pretty much "The Hammer Times" but in a video format. I think it would encourage people to catch up on everything that's been going on, as videos are much more enticing than a wall of text.

I just wanted to hear everyone's opinions on whether you'd be interested in it (or think others would). If nobody else wants to host, I'd be more than happy to.

 

[ellacourn]

I would be more then happy to be the host of the video version of "The Hammer Times", I just don't know if I would be a good host. I do have some sound equipment that I haven't used but it's a little knackered. I can get it fixed before the month ends. So yeah, definitely would be interested in it if allowed.

 

[Egan]

So the topic of 'Showcase Videos' came up in the steam chat about a half hour ago, specifically who should host the videos for showcases or 'fly-throughs' of maps. I want to get some perspectives on this so that we come to a conclusion as a whole. Currently it is just my perspective, but some people have mentioned my perspective sucks, so.

Personally, I'm comfortable with the idea that TF2maps.net's youtube channel represents the community as a whole, and doesn't host individual showcase videos for specific maps. It does however have showcase videos for contests and events, and does have a playlist of fly-through videos for maps uploaded by other youtube users for their maps.

The question then comes to 'can I just host my video of my map's fly-through (or showcase) on the tf2maps.net youtube channel?'. I'd prefer to say no to this because I feel like it would confuse people of our representation. I wouldn't feel comfortable being in a situation where someone puts their not-so-good map directly onto the channel which is what tf2maps.net 'represents and supports'.

Looking at other mediums, the TF2maps.net map showcases' target audience is of server owners who are looking for quality-tested maps for their servers. In that situation it would then be unwise to allow all maps to be included in the showcase, to be represented equally, because evidently the maps are not all equal in quality. I feel mostly the same way about uploading to the TF2maps.net youtube channel. Currently I feel like videos uploaded should either represent the community as a whole (contest showcases, the hammer times, tutorials) or be a showcase of the best (interviews of important mappers). This then leads into the question of 'who is TF2maps.net's Youtube Channel's target audience?'. Should we be treating hosting videos on the youtube channel like we do with the showcase, or should it be essentially open to anything from our community?

 

[Freyja]

Few things to say about that.

1) The maps the community produces are representations of the community as a whole. That's why we exist. We make maps. Saying that map showcases don't belong in that because they're somehow not part of the community makes no sense to me.

2) If you don't want some crazy trade map trailer on there, then do some quality control. The channel is far less of a representation than the forums are and these forums are filled with trade maps, maps that never get finished. But sure, put some loose guidelines on it. If you can control the showcase forum, you can control the showcase videos.

3) I don't understand this point at all. The point of trailers is to show people what the map is about. If they don't like it, then they won't download it. Who cares?

Currently the channel lacks content. You've been adding some, but it's slow going. And only from you. Not very representative of our community.

I have a problem with telling people to just upload stuff to their channels and add it to a playlist too. Firstly, it doesn't show up on people's subscription feeds. What's the point in subscribing to a channel if content never shows up there. And secondly, if you apply the logic from your previous arguments, it should apply to this as well.

 

[Fantaboi]

See look, something like this would have been perfect for the channel.
it shows off a map made by the community, because I did not make this map, this whole damn community did I was just the one holding the hammer.

"Our representation" is entirely up to us to decide, and I think we should change it.
Also map showcase's target audience never was server owners, it was the community as a whole because they enjoy a well done map just as much as anyone else.

 

[Egan]

The maps the community produces are representations of the community as a whole.

In just the 2 hours of retrospect I suppose my point of view is rather narrow and selfish, that point makes sense to me.

If you don't want some crazy trade map trailer on there, then do some quality control.

I'd prefer to do this, yes, if we were going down that route. Quality control is tricky in this sort of situation, same thing happened with the forum map showcase, where it is tough to put hard rules on what specifically is accepted, but I suppose we'll get to that later.

The point of trailers is to show people what the map is about. If they don't like it, then they won't download it.

That makes sense to me.

doesn't show up on people's subscription feeds.

Never thought of that, good point.

Also map showcase's target audience never was server owners, it was the community as a whole because they enjoy a well done map just as much as anyone else.

Actually, no, the map showcase's target audience was and is server owners. If a server owner comes looking for custom maps, we direct them to the map showcase. It wasn't just created for ourselves to feel better about the things we've done.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Actually, no, the map showcase's target audience was and is server owners. If a server owner comes looking for custom maps, we direct them to the map showcase. It wasn't just created for ourselves to feel better about the things we've done.

Actually, no. The showcase was to show off our maps to the community, people who wanted things I play, people who wanted examples or inspiration for their own maps, etc. It was never meant for just server owners. Assuming that it was meant for just server owners is 100% incorrect.

 

[Egan]

The showcase was to show off our maps to the community, people who wanted things I play, people who wanted examples or inspiration for their own maps, etc. It was never meant for just server owners. Assuming that it was meant for just server owners is 100% incorrect.

I agree with "people who wanted things to play" (server owners tend to be the majority of this) and "people who wanted examples or inspiration for their own maps" (I did forget about this, and I agree with it). But I honestly don't think having "to show off our maps to the community" should be a main reason; it can be a side effect, but if it was a main reason we'd end up with people who are just getting into the showcase to brag about it (and it seems this happened with the past unorganised showcase submission format).

For the record I mostly agree with you, just trying to save my skin with specifics because you said I was 100% incorrect.

 

[Grizzly Berry]

I think the main issue with the channel is an individual has to create the content. It's not really a community effort at all. Being a video maker myself, I know how much time it takes to create a video and by spending that much time on something, I want to "reap the rewards," I guess you could say.

I spent several hours on the 72hr Winter showcase video, so I wanted the views. Was that selfish of me? Maybe it was, but I also felt I deserved the recognition for putting in the work. Sure, I want this community to flourish and be recognized, but when you are spending so much of your free time and getting nothing in return, it seems a little unfair.

As for more on topic, I think establishing our target audience should be a priority. Are we wanting to aim videos at beginning mappers or players? Are we wanting to entertain or promote the community? I'm not saying we can't do all of this, just wondering what everyone's opinions are.

By the way, I am still up for doing video versions of the Hammer Times, so if anyone has suggestions for what to put in the July one, let me know!

 

[Fruity Snacks]

This was actually something that I started to work on then got busy. Sorry! Personally, I would love to have the community support the individual Youtube creators in the community, rather than having the creators make stuff for the community's channel.

The way I see it is like this (and others are free to comment/argue against it): You guys make stuff for YOUR channel. the TF2M channel is there for the community created work and for a place for us to share and organize TF2Maps content. So if you make a showcase video, totally go ahead and throw it on your channel, you put the work into it, do it! What the TF2M channel will do is simply like it, favorite it, and throw it into a relevant playlist. (Should note, that showcase videos will also get a Facebook post and twitter post).

Establishing a target audience wouldn't be a bad idea, even if it's just a broad audience like "new to TF2" or "new to level design" or "new to mapping"

... I should yell at Aly and Valk for the hammer times.

EDIT: I know that you (Grizzly), Crash and Melvineer all have channels on YT that are relatively popular, is there anyone else?