# Flip Flopped – Memory Card #59 👋🏻 Kind of blindsided you all with a shadow drop [How Astro Bot Breaks the Fourth Wall](https://youtu.be/nFlGhgdu3sc) essay [[Memory Card 58 - How Astro Bot Breaks the Fourth Wall|last Friday]]. Sorry about that. The reception has been great, but I'll save that for the behind-the-scenes article later this week. I wanted to spend this newsletter talking about why I flip flopped from [[Memory Card 54 – Mellow Runway|building a runway]] to—in keeping with the flying theme—taking off. > Last month, I had film essayist Danny Boyd aka [CinemaStix](https://www.youtube.com/@CinemaStix) on *[[MFP47 - "when a youtuber shares their secret sauce" with Danny Boyd from CinemaStix|MFP]]* and that's [what he said](https://youtube.com/watch?v=bu6OmaNmfwY&t=2003) about a runway. Danny tried the YouTube game for awhile, bounced around channels, and in his last effort, he brought all the film essays under the CinemaStix channel as it is today. This back catalog gave him a runway for when a video popped off, he was ready in a timely fashion with another and another and another. > > If I had heard this advice before launching the [dedicated essay channel](https://www.youtube.com/@MaxRobertsEssays), I would have kept my essays unlisted until I had a backlog; would have given me a four video head start. 😅 When thinking about this approach, it makes sense for my current state of life. I was captivated by Danny's approach from the moment I heard it. I intended to do it myself. Then I crept closer and closer to finishing the *Astro Bot* essay and my creator "I want to share this as soon as it is done" brain kicked in. Could I really sit on something for an indeterminate amount of time? Turns out I am capable of that. Just look at my seasonal retrospective podcast [[Chapter Select]]. We have been producing our seventh season all on *[[S7 - Metroid Prime|Metroid Prime]]* for almost two years now. Hindsight makes us look like visionaries—timing it with the release of *Metroid Prime 4: Beyond*—but really, we kept procrastinating and life took hold. The point is that I *can* sit on a project for ages. So why not stick with it for the video essays? As the desire to hit publish grew, I went over to the little essayist Discord I am a part of and asked the lads for their input. Two key points stuck out to me as to why backlogging the way Danny did may not be the best for me. The first was simply that by banking videos, I give my future self little flexibility. I'd be stuck with the videos, so to speak. Without feedback loops, I may create four duds in a row and not even be aware of it. Maybe there are new techniques or styles that'd be more appropriate for an idea, but I made them in six months ago. The other obvious point was organic growth. When making my essays, I try to keep it timeless/evergreen. I'm not tying myself to the moment and what's [so hot right now](https://pack-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/thumb_so-hot-right-now-information-about-mugatu-meme-so-hot-51516126-300x203.png). This gives the world and the algorithm time to find my video and let it grow. I've already had an experience with this and my essay about [The Spirit of a Galaxy Game](https://youtu.be/2VpIId7YjcQ). From its original premiere in mid-February until mid-April, that video gained 275~ views. Then my pal [wizawhat](https://www.youtube.com/@wizawhat) mentioned it in [one of his videos](https://youtu.be/bfs-F8Sw6Yw?si=7yPgtmqT8byhkIFv&t=844) and it doubled in two weeks. As of this writing, it's just shy of 1K~ views. That kind of growth, response, and feedback couldn't have happened if I hadn't published. I had the same reaction to "[The Games That Got Me Through Our Miscarriages](https://youtu.be/bfqu3lOoQD8)" essay when it was [mentioned](https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx6e-_sOaYbmzXkQKNmH4NFpiFFltjJbCF?si=-Ghr0KwH7eZgmif5) in i am error's [Top Ten Video Essays of 2024](https://youtu.be/PRJ4nktzdk8?si=Ki5GKuMo1Xk_UbsL) courteous of Razbuten—still can't get over that one. And, by unlisting the video from my main channel and reuploading it to my essay channel, I am sure I have irrevocably hurt the algorithmic desirability of that video. I stand by the dedicated essay channel move, but I think that helps illustrate the point of organic growth even further. Feedback loops are vital in this kind of creative work and I can't get those if I horde a bunch of videos away. How else am I going to know that all of my video titles should include the structure "X stole from Y!"? I can only complete the loop if I ship (there's probably a rogue-like/lite essay in that sentence). I'm not in the same position as Danny was with a rich, feedback-ed catalog of essays that I can polish up and resend into the YouTube ether. Call me [Mr. Flip Flop](https://www.relay.fm/connected/447) cause I am back to shipping close to the end of production. And speaking of production, I've been outlining the next essay...and it's not what I committed to in [[Memory Card 55 – Corrupted Desks]]. I've had this idea about how we all played *God of War: Ragnarök* wrong and I'm very drawn to it right now. I was outlining the essay just the other day and it was flowing out of my fingers. Helps that I have been chewing on this complaint with the game since I played it nearly three years ago. Plus, I don't need to record any new footage. I have all of my gameplay from my second playthrough of *Ragnarök*. It should be a fun one. Plus, I am chipping away in this research / vibe check phase with one on *The Last of Us Part II* and Christopher Nolan's *Memento*. That's a much bigger time commitment, but I am super into the idea I have. Currently at Seattle Day 1. I think it is important, to a degree, to follow what you are interested in at the moment. I think it helps keep me engaged with the making of The Thing™. Until next time... > [!email]+ Memory Card Newsletter > This letter is one block from the newsletter **[Memory Card](https://buttondown.com/MaxFrequency)** by [Max Roberts](https://www.maxfrequency.net/about). Thoughts? Send *me* an email at [email protected]. > > Max is the writer and producer behind [Max Frequency](https://www.maxfrequency.net), a place where he cultivates and curates curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings. > > He's written a [[Chasing the Stick - The History of Naughty Dog during the PS4 Era|rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II]], celebrated the [[MFP23 - “A Passion for Smash” – Celebrating 15 Years of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Peter Spezia|15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype]], and examined how [Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic](https://youtu.be/kc2l_9Fdpek). > > **Memory Card** is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s *how* The Thing™ gets made. You can sign up below. (Look down) > > It's all powered by [Max Frequency](https://www.maxfrequency.net) and [patrons](https://www.patreon.com/maxfrequency). > > Wanna see The Thing™? [Check it out on YouTube](https://youtube.com/MaxRobertsEssays). Read it on [The Blog](https://www.maxfrequency.net). > <iframe scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important;height:220px;border:1px #ccc solid !important" src="https://buttondown.com/MaxFrequency?as_embed=true"></iframe>