Ragdoll Ramblings | August 31, 2024 Newsletter

Ragdoll Ramblings

Monthly Newsletter

August 31, 2024


So. Here We Are Again. 

Once again I’m attempting to do update posts. We’ll see how long it lasts this time - hopefully for a good while. Really, I thought it would be fun to get back into the habit of writing again, since it’s certainly been far too long since I actually allowed words to flow from me. Perhaps I’m still holding onto old teachings that journaling in whatever format is good exercise for any writer. At the very least, I’ll be using these update posts to keep track of what I’m doing, goals and my progress towards them, and a way to hype myself up for my future projects. 


Let’s start with what’s been going on with me personally. Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately in the long run - I have moved out of the apartment I’ve been sharing with my lady love for four years. Rent increases but my income tends to stay the same. But, and I’ll not divulge much for the sake of possible legality, it may turn out to be for the best. At the very least, I know my stress will be less, now that my bills and responsibilities won't be as demanding. And less stress perhaps will make for more and better content. To be clear as well, I am not in any danger of homelessness despite the jokes I’ve been making about it. I will still have the nourishment and housing required to continue churning out the content that y’all have tolerated from me.


Speaking of said content, and if you are perhaps new to this blog and my works - Hi, I’m Bradley. I make things that can generally be broken into three categories. Videos, Streams and Writing. And before I break down each umbrella, I’d like to first show something exciting - an excel table!




SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdayBlog
RPG1NCU2Retro3BL4Thought5Flip6BS7
RPG Sunday | Episode 10.1 | Remembering the MerchantThe BradicalRadical Show | Rock n'Rush: Battle Racing | Episode 4 - World ChampionshipRetro Tuesday | Season 4, Episode 7 | HateBonus Stage | Old School Runescape | Episode One - That Time I was Reincarnated Into An MMOThought Thursday | Season 6, Episode 2 | Reunion, and TurnaboutThe BradicalRadical Show | 007 - The World Is Not Enough (GBC) | Episode 3 - A MINE!?Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Day 58 | July 21, 2022Ed-N-Seek | Ed, Edd N' Eddy Season 1, Episode 12 Review
RPG8NCU9Retro10BL11Thought12Flip13BS14
RPG Sunday | Episode 10.2 | Remembering The KnightThe BradicalRadical Show | Rock n'Rush: Battle Racing | Episode 5 - Bwain BwastRetro Tuesday | Season 4, Episode 8 | That Won't Stop Me From TryingBonus Stage | OldSchool RuneScape | Episode 2 - Delicious in RuneScapeThought Thursday | Season 6, Episode 3 | Fey Family SecretsBonus Stage | BOTW | Trial of the SwordAnimal Crossing: New Horizons | Day 59 | August 4, 2022Movie Review | Alien: Romulus
RPG15NCU16Retro17BL18Thought19Flip20BS21
RPG Sunday | Season 1, 10.3 | Remembering The DancerBonus Stage | Fall Guys | It's the BeansRetro Tuesday | Season 4, Episode 9 | Sorry, X... I've FailedBonus Stage | Old School RuneScape | Episode 3 - Stream Art OnlineThought Thursday | Season 6, Episode 4 | I Forgot TittiesBonus Stage | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe | So... Mario KartAnimal Crossing: New Horizons | Day 60 | January 1st, 2023Game Review | Outer Wilds
RPG22NCU23Retro24BL25Thought26Flip27BS28
RPG Sunday | Season 1, Episode 10.4 | Remembering the AlchemistBonus Stage | Fall Guys | Falling With These GuysRetro Tuesday | Season 4, Episode 10 | I'm spinning, send helpBonus Stage | OldSchool RuneScape | Episode 4 - A Bit of This; A Bit of ThatThought Thursday | Season 6, Episode 5Bonus Stage | Mario KartAnimal Crossing: New Horizons | Day 61 | January 3rd, 2023Look Into My Eds | Ed, Edd N' Eddy Season 1, Episode 13 Review
RPG29NCU30Retro1BL2Thought3Flip4BS5
RPG Sunday | Season 1, 10.5 | Remembering TheBonus Stage | Fall Guys |Retro Tuesday | Season 4, Episode 11The Pillow Fort of Horror | Season 1, Episode 1Bonus Stage | OldSchool RuneScape | Episode 5 |The PIllow Fort of Horror | Season 1, Episode 2Thought Thursday | Season 6, Episode 6The Pillow Fort Of Horror | Season 1, Episode 3The BradicalRadical Show | 007 - The World Is Not Enough (GBC) | Episode 4The Pillow Fort of Horror | Season 1, Episode 4Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Day 62 | January 5th, 2023The Pillow Fot of Horror | Season 1, Episode 5 |Ragdoll Ramblings


Maybe it’s my OCD riddled brain - but excel spreadsheets make brain go brr. Anyways, here’s an official schedule for September! I’ve briefly mentioned on stream that September is going to serve as a soft relaunch of the channel. I’ve always intended on being a month ahead on videos and blog posts but could never actually get there. And while there is more Bonus Stage than I would like, I’m still proud of myself getting ahead of the content for once. If it weren’t for the move - I know, excuses are like some outdated saying - I would’ve found time and energy to record more BradicalRadical Show videos but y’know…. Shut up. Not featured on this schedule are the Twitch Streams but those have always followed the same schedule, so not much point in including it. 


Youtube

So on the Youtube front, I’m attempting to return to daily uploads. This includes RPG Sunday… on Sundays. I’m back to uploading OctoPath Traveler and have a few streams in the bank. This should go on, uninterrupted, until it is completed. If I were to wager a guess… maybe around 30ish episodes? It’s hard for me to tell since this is a virgin playthrough of the game, and I’m only guessing based on how many chapters there are. 


On Mondays - It’s The BradicalRadical Show! Specifically, Rock n’Rush Battle Racing is coming to an end with only two episodes left. I don’t recall if I ever explicitly stated this, but Mondays have been used to clear through my backlog. Between the games I irresponsibly purchased during stream sales, the itch.io Humble Bundles, or the physical library I’ve amassed - there are a ton of games I’ve either not played or not finished. So much, in fact, that I have a master list of everything I own in Alphabetical order, and I’ve been using Mondays to go down the list one by one. Part of my methodology is that after each playthrough, I’ll put out a Bonus Stage as a buffer before starting the next project. Again, the move has consumed both my hands and wrestling the void for them back is a lot more challenging than you would think it would be, so there’s a bit of an extra buffer but I promise the next game will (probably) begin in October. 


Tuesdays, of course, belong to Retro Tuesday where we are still - S T I L L - working our way through all of Mega Man. Look. Capcom continues to (thankfully) put out legacy collections of everything so of course I’m gonna play them. September’s uploads consist of the MegaMan X4 playthrough and I’ve been making fair progress in getting these edited and prepped. 


Wednesday takes us back to The BradicalRadical Show! And by that I mean Bonus Stage because I’m terrible at recording Earthbound. Look. Here’s the deal. The thing is. I may have lost my progress because my laptop decided to leave this mortal coil when I attempted to punch the fan into submission. So I have to replay, off screen of course, back to where I left off and then I can begin the recording process. I’ve been holding out until I can reacquire Nintendo Online so that I never have to worry about losing progress again. Probably. So instead, for this month at least, you get to watch me grind myself to godhood in RuneScape. Completing Earthbound will bring an end to the Bound-like (These are my own magic words. Please do not steal them) series I was doing. We have such a long road to go. 


Thursdays are for Thoughts and I think a lot so Thought Thursday it is. As the schedule dictates, you get to watch the worst Phoenix Wright game, Justice For All. This is another one where I am able to edit and upload fairly quickly, so I’ve no trouble keeping up with the demand. Probably about a 20ish long episode series so still plenty to go. 


Fridays bring us to the final day of The BradicalRadical Show and Jumes Bund returns… for one episode before I ran out of footage to show. Similarly to Mondays, Fridays I’ve started using for console jumping. After I complete a project, in this instance the GameBoy Color, I switch to the next console in the line up. The only way to effectively work through this backlog is through some arbitrary structure so that’s what we’ll do. I promise Jumes Bund will make a more official return once I get the chance to amass more footage. … Huh. The word footage is comprised of foot and age and I think that means I have to invest in a foot cam. 


Saturdays! Possibly my favorite day of the week. This is where Bonus Stage is supposed to live normally but instead it sees the return of 365 Days of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’m stubborn. No I will not let it go. Yes I will keep streaming it even though I decided to switch to recording it instead. No. You can’t stop me. I think I have up to Day 70 edited and ready to launch, so there’s still at least 100 more days to go. 


Twitch

So. 365 Days of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, huh? Y’all want daily streams again of me bumbling through Animal Crossing while barely awake? Cause that’s what I’m prepared to give you. Granted, I’ll have to see how well streams handle the new setup with new internet. And I’m partially at the mercy of my lady’s hyperfixation if our sole laptop will be available, but I’m kinda ready to start doing these again. I’m sure I can dumbly ramble for 2 hours every day. I mean, look how much I’ve written so far in this newsletter. Outside of daily Animal Crossing streams, RPG Sunday, Retro Tuesday, and Thought Thursday continue as they have been. Thankfully, my streams have remained mostly consistent this entire time. 


Octopath Traveler on Sundays - at the time of writing this we just finished Ophelia’s chapter 2 and we still have 2 or 3 more Chapter 2s to get through. 


MegaMan Zero on Tuesdays - I’ve been having such a good time with the game so far and I think we’re maaaybe 25% through the game, so there’s still a fair bit to go. 


Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations on Thursdays - we’re in the 2nd to last case at the time of writing this and it’s going really well. HowLongToBeat.com has the final case at being 8 hours in and of itself so… yknow. That’s a mountain but one we’re happy to climb. And the funnest announcement of all: 

Saturday Steams are back! Originally Social Saturday was a way for me to play games with a focus on chat. They are being changed to Bonus Stage Saturdays and this should allow me to do a wider range of things. I won’t be limited to party / multiplayer games (not that I ever really was) and I can work on the random one offs that I never finished.


Writing

What about my biggest passion? What fun plans have I been cooking up in this regard? Well, at the start of this letter, I stated that my writing has been… lacking. I’ve not worked seriously on something in a while and I’ve been extremely irregular with it. The hope is, of course, that the blog will get the muscle memory and juices flowing once more. Speaking off, as you can see from the schedule above, I have hopes to drop two Ed, Edd N' Eddy episode reviews (yes, I'm still working through the entire series. Again - I've never been able to be stopped.), a video game review for Outer Wilds and a movie review for Alien: Romulus (since it's topical and is SOMEWHAT a new release at the time the review will be up).


Writing is still a joy to me. I've been struggling on my fiction projects. I still have all of a Collector's Wager to finalize - which to my credit I did fully 100% I'll never touch it again edited chapter one. It's a slow process but with newfound determination I may be able to work through it. On the blog I was posting short stories, most of which reside in my fantasy world of From Dawn to Dusk. There is an undying need inside of me to make this fantasy world and develop it and share it with everyone who will care to read it. I've mentioned plans previously to self-publish a short story collection and have been uploading the stories to the blog itself, with only a single story remaining. I've originally planned for it to be an excerpt from Manafest Destiny - a mafia meets Game of Thrones book I've been mentally cooking up for some time - but I've had some bad writer's block in terms of that world and it's characters. Either I'll find a way to brute force my way through and bully my brain into writing or I'll find a different topic and replace it. This is my blog. There are no rules here. I'll, of course, report back here if any development occurs on that front.


Goals


I've done my best to track metrics and *shudders in retail* KPIs. My modest goals for 2024 were to gain 50 additional subscribers on Youtube and garner total of 3,000 views. I can happily report that I crushed the views metric. Currently the channel is sitting at 6.2K views for the year, over double what I had hoped to gain. This is partly in thanks to uploading 30 second clips that I've been able to record from the Switch. I dunno why, but these seem to get some decent traction. As far as subscribers go, I've been able to get an additional 13. For context, I've not uploaded terribly much this year as I've had far too much personal biz going down - so I'll take 13 with a smile. Still plently of time left in the year and with my this soft relaunch, I have high hopes that I'll achieve the goal.

Twitch has seen similar results. I've streamed 111 hours this year which seems absurd (quick googling tells me that is 0.01% which is lower than I thought actually. I gotta do more, I guess) and have gained a total of 11 subs, 4 follows and an average veiwership of 2.1. My goals for the year being 50 subs, 20 follows and 10 average viewers. So, I'm floating right around 25% (if my terrible mental math is correct). Of course, I'd love to bump these numbers up but I think any progress is progress I can be proud of. So I will be. Fight me.

My writing is a different story. Personal goals of finishing Collector's and Declutter are, of course, not met yet. Progress is terribly slow on Collector's and I've struggled with Declutter. I've also wanted to establish the framework for Manifest Destiny. I have a few notes written down but nearly enough to start weiving an epic Godfather of Thrones type story. The blog has also suffered greatly, seeing as I've posted a grand total of once this year and gained a measly 19 views. This blog is sitting at nearly 10K views overall, which is exciting and uplifting. Of course, if I don't post there is nother to view, so there is no suprises here. As you can tell, I'm taking strides to remedy that and hopefully end this year with some decent stats. We'll see. I may or may not reset my goals, seeing as I'm now viewing September as Bradical month and the unofficial new year for my content. But I'm sure that'll get confusing and I'll forget about. I dunno.

Last Word

Before I go ahead and let this come to a close, allow me to thank you. Thank you for reading, watching and hanging out during twitch streams. I would probably keep making what I do even if it was to no one since I do be like that - but the friends I've gained through these hobbies and passions can never be overly appreciated. So thank you and Good Night and Joy Be With You All.





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