So, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed that things look pretty different around here all of a sudden. Now, I know what you’re thinking, (“OHGODOHGODOHGOD CHANGE! I AM SCARED AND ANGRY!”), but before you freak completely I want to run down some of the new things around here, why they changed, and what they mean for the future.
If you’re a member of our forums, (found here: http://www.loadingreadyrun.com/forum ) You’re probably aware of the fact that we have signed a distribution deal with The Escapist (http://escapistmagazine.com) for our videos. If you aren’t a member, and you were heretofore unaware, well, now you know. The effect of this on your viewing experience should be fairly minor, though the link to our video above will now direct to The Escapist, rather than to a video page on this site. There will still be a discussion thread for our videos in both our forum and on The Escapist though, so you can feel free to comment in either, (or both!) if you wish. In conjunction with video link above, you will also notice the addition of links to our other Escapist video series, ENN and Unskippable. From now on we’ll be linking to those updates directly as well. We will still be hosting all of our Loading Time, Phailhaus, ISC and bonus videos through YouTube, with video pages here, though, it’s just the regular Monday updates that will be distributed via The Escapist.
Another major change that you’ve already noticed is that the last 3 posts from the blog are now displayed right here on the front page. In the past, our blog has been somewhat underutilized – both because we slacked off in writing for it, and because it wasn’t drawing a whole lot of readership. So, In the interest of communicating better with our viewers, particularly those who haven’t joined our forum community, we’ve bumped our recent updates right onto the front page. You can look here for news posts, appearance announcements and con schedules, behind the scenes photos, and preview pictures, along with a variety of other content.
To the right, you’ll notice that we’ve also included a repeater for the @loadingreadyrun Twitter account. We use our twitter account to post little updates from day to day about the goings on of the crew, filming, podcasting and so on. So, if you’re not on Twitter, you can just hit our main page to see what’s going on between updates, and if you are on Twitter, you can follow that account to get the updates directly in your timeline.
You’ll also notice that the “About Us” page has been updated with a more complete and expanded cast roster. The people listed as part of the cast are the people you can expect to see in videos nearly every week, and they’ll be the people producing content, updating this blog, and interacting with the forums the most. The contributors section is devoted to those people who support us behind the scenes, make guest appearances and who help us out whenever they can. We wanted to make sure that all the people who regularly help make our videos what they are got the credit they deserve. We couldn’t do all this without them, and they deserve to be recognized for their contributions.
Finally, we’ve also updated our LRR Store (found here http://loadingreadyrun.com/store/) with a new layout and t-shirt design that you can order. From now on we’ll be introducing shirts via pre-order system, with a new shirt design every month! Watch the video on the store page for more information on exactly how it’s going to work.
Hopefully this post has answered most of your questions, and will help ease the transition to LoadingReadyRun 7.0 and our partnership with The Escapist. If you have any further questions or concerns, I’ve set up a thread in our General forum for you to comment in. You can find it here: http://lrr.cc/f/11350. Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy watching our future videos as much as much as we enjoy making them!
-mw
Morgan and Bill have been ousted as crewmembers then?
Comment by Lyinginbedmon — January 11, 2010 @ 6:11 pm
It’s a shocking difference. When I first loaded I thought the update had scrambled everything & exploded the blog everywhere. I’ll get used to it tho’, & I’m very happy to finally see links to Unskippable & ENN on the main page as I’ve been forgetting to check for months.
Pointless question since the redesign is up: So the Escapist has distribution rights to the videos, but they still have a “Embed” link on the player. Why not use that on the LRR main page?
Comment by Evil Jim — January 11, 2010 @ 6:24 pm
@Lyinginbedmon: No, that’s the wrong word. “Ousted” sounds like we kicked them out or something, which is absolutely not the case at all. We’re also not giving you a rundown of all behind-the-scenes discussions, so don’t ask.
Comment by Graham — January 11, 2010 @ 6:34 pm
I”m really liking this new version of the website! also, having the blog on the homepage is a good idea :3
Comment by Wilsonx1999 — January 11, 2010 @ 6:43 pm
Just a note, the search on the videos page is down.
Otherwise thanks for putting Unskippable and ENN on here, I always forget to go the Escapist
Comment by NJT — January 11, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
When I first loaded the new front page it was all jumbled together into a completely incoherent mess with the video links merged together and the blog text under it. Fortunately a refresh seemed to fix it.
Comment by pigmy wurm — January 11, 2010 @ 6:56 pm
Didn’t Bill say he would spend less time with LRR for school, and is majoring in Physics?
Anyway, I’ll have to start paying attention to the Escapist forums. And Bionic Trousers Media is the best production company name ever.
Comment by Dash — January 11, 2010 @ 7:02 pm
In addition to putting links to the monday videos on the front page, you could also make updates to the LRR RSS feed whenever a new video comes out…
The RSS feeds for individual video series on the escapist are (still) not trivial to find and subscribe to. I will anyway, but I like to complain, too.
Comment by yanamal — January 11, 2010 @ 7:16 pm
All this negativity, and all these questions… -Sad face-
I, for one, embrace our new overlords.
Comment by Chuckles — January 12, 2010 @ 12:14 am
Glad to see the blog being utilized better, and links to Unskippable and ENN. Also, twitter repeater FTW (and good job getting or making one that would work in the C64 theme, not the standard square thing). And I had been wondering when/if we would get 7.0.
Oh, and I AM SCARED AND ANGRY!
Comment by Zivlok — January 12, 2010 @ 2:14 am
Its everything I hoped for and more!
Comment by Emperor Gum — January 12, 2010 @ 3:05 am
I’m secretly hoping for a return of the weekly video preview pic, which is what got me checking the blog on a regular basis in the first place.
Comment by Evil Jim — January 12, 2010 @ 8:15 am
@yanamal – Try http://www.escapistmagazine.com/rss/ – linked from the RSS icon at the top of every page.
Comment by Virgil — January 12, 2010 @ 9:15 am
I would ask some sarcastically obvious questions about the changes such as OMG WHY ARE YOU NEVER UPDATING LRR EVER AGAIN but I’d like to wait to be the millionth customer. But I’m too lazy to keep count.
Comment by Monica — January 12, 2010 @ 11:12 am
Longtime watcher, first time poster. Great video, as always, and great news about more Escapist partnerships. Escapist is fast becoming my regular vid-spot, and more LRR is exactly what it needs.
P.S. – I hope the disclusion of Bill and Morgan in the video ws merely for the video, and not a glimpse of the future.
Comment by WickedBoy6 — January 12, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
I’m fine with all these changes (and personally I fear for the future of our race when people complain about having to visit a different site to watch a video), but I do have one concern. It seems that The Escapist uses a Flash player only for the videos, which means we can’t view the videos on the iPhone. Is that just something we’ll have to deal with until Flash comes to the iPhone, or are you planning to provide alternate videos like you have in the past?
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