Do you watch "Lets play" videos?

Stengah wrote:

Never. My thinking goes that if I have time to watch a video of someone else playing it, I could better spend my time playing it myself.
I have watched "Freeman's Mind" but like mrtomaytohead, I don't really consider it a "let's play" video.

Yeah, I don't understand where people are getting all this time. Every time I've tried to watch one of these things, my only thought is how desperately it needs an editor. Do we really need to sit through dudebro selecting "one player", entering in his name and going through all the options? I might watch them if they cut out all the hemming and hawing and highlighted the most interesting parts.

I don't really watch them to find out about games since I find them a bit slow, but they can be enjoyable if they're being done for laughs. Day[9]'s Amnesia playthrough was pretty funny, and some of PewDiePie's stuff has cracked me up too. His stuff is a bit more variable and won't be for everyone though - pretty silly and OTT, but goes well with a beer or two.

kazooka wrote:
Stengah wrote:

Never. My thinking goes that if I have time to watch a video of someone else playing it, I could better spend my time playing it myself.
I have watched "Freeman's Mind" but like mrtomaytohead, I don't really consider it a "let's play" video.

Yeah, I don't understand where people are getting all this time.

This is what a second monitor is for Let's Plays have mostly taken over the slot I would have previously used for podcasts for "games I can play with the sound off/low" like Minecraft, etc.

kazooka wrote:

Every time I've tried to watch one of these things, my only thought is how desperately it needs an editor. Do we really need to sit through dudebro selecting "one player", entering in his name and going through all the options? I might watch them if they cut out all the hemming and hawing and highlighted the most interesting parts.

Depends on the LP'er. If it's a 'blind' run then there can be a lot of what you describe but many people tightly edit their stuff, or at least cut out anything that's dull repetition. Others (like MagicLorelai I linked to earlier) already know the games inside and out and try to make it as interesting for someone to watch as possible (such as her run through the Blackwell games or The Dig). In any event, for me at least it's less about the game itself and more about watching/listening to a personality I enjoy listening to, reacting to a game and offering up perspectives that aren't neccessarily my own...which is probably why half my youtube subscription list is female LP'ers.

I've actually not seen very may I would describe as "dudebro's" either.

Not a fan of Pewdiepie though...bit too heavy on the silly voices.

LP's for me have three main uses.

1. To confirm whether I would like a game in which I have some interest (or not) - examples of this include Fallen Enchantress, Warlock.

2. To help me get going on a game that I have already got - watching CK2 LP's saved the game for me, I was well floundering before I watched a few good ones. Sometimes they almost act as a tutorial, or tell you things that the manual/in-game tutorial should have been telling you. Same goes for ship upgrading and modification in Distant Worlds.

3. To look at games which I know I would never play, but would like to see - best example of this is Dark Souls. I know darn well that I don't have the patience for a game as wilfully obstructive as this, and that I would either ragequit after 10 minutes or propel my controller into the wall. So watching someone else do it can be therapeutic (and saves me money).

Some games lend themselves to LPs better than others, it seems. CK2 has quite a few good ones, but I've never really found ones for Vicky2 or HoI3 that I've been able to sit through. Turn based games seem slightly easier, as there are natural pauses.

Ones that I would recommend - try Das24680, (who does mainly turn based stuff), or SeeKayEm99 (CK2), William Ferrell (almost makes the X3 series playable...almost), and for Dark Souls I watched sillEScottGames.

LobsterMobster wrote:

the only LPs I watch regularly are the Game Grumps.

Same. Those two are a good time.

I love listening to a "let's play" video on in the background whilst I am working. I also youtube a lot of longplay videos, (especially the old classic Amstrad and Amiga games !)
With this, it is critical to have great hosts, and that they moderate their tone of voice (or have good sound editing, no ANGRY JOES).
I won't especially be watching the footage, but will listen to the experience of them playing, but jump in to watch the bits where it sounds like there are interesting or funny segments.
I use this more on retro games, especially if I have heard you guys talk about something that you are excited about, and hasn't been on my radar.
The other instance, like with SimCity or GuildWars for example, is where I am looking for strategy tips or interesting character builds.
Lastly, if I am super super excited about something, like DayZ, I'll watch an absolute stack of videos to try and learn as much as I can, and add even more fuel to the fires of my addiction.

I watch let's play while playing games like minecraft. Basically what I am doing is building stuff when the lets player builds stuff. So our worlds will be different but we will have the same stuff in it.

Sometimes I watch them to get a feel for the game before buying. I did this with Tomb Raider. I wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't watched the lets play.

Sometimes i don't feel like finished a game. I'll watch the rest of the game on youtube.

There are games I don't feel like playing but want to watch the game. I watched the first Witcher game and the DLC to Enslaved.

I like watching how other people played a game I finished. I watched a few people play The walking dead for example.

Also I could sit here all day and listen to Naomi Kyle, even if she was only painting her nails ...

Right now, the only "Let's Play" channel I really pay attention to is World of Tanks/War Thunder aficionado SideStrafe.

He doesn't do a broad variety of games, but I like his WoT/WT stuff, and his mentality RE: wargames/realism matches mine, and it's cool stuff to watch.

Plus, he's gotten me more geeked for War Thunder: Ground Forces than anyone else possibly could've.

Been watching Duncan YOGCAST - Civ 5, which are very very funny. This inspired me to have my first LAN party with friends last night, and it was awesome !
https://www.youtube.com/user/Yogscastlalna/videos?sort=dd&tag_id=UCs4br3aZLU0sOEM-3n0-6xQ.3.civ-5&shelf_id=10&view=46

There are nights at work where not much is going on, and in a 12 hour shift that could leave me with a lot of free time. Let's Play videos have become a great way to pass the time. I tend to gravitate towards Minecraft videos, as it's always interesting to see how someone approaches that game compared to my own play style.

I do tend to watch the "two best friends" let's plays.

Hyetal wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

the only LPs I watch regularly are the Game Grumps.

Same. Those two are a good time.

+1

No one here has mentioned https://www.youtube.com/user/ZetaPlays yet.

Zeta has been playing through every single NES, SNES, and SEGA game ever made as determined randomly by a fun "wheel" he created. His basic structure is to play a game until it becomes terminally unfun and then he moves to the next. Some he goes through entirely, others you only see 10-20min of, and I enjoy his commentary. Some of the Japan only releases are hilarious (how many board games can they have?).

Plugging Zeta because I've spent many a fun weekday evening watching his channel.

I love Let's Play vids, on games that I already own it often teaches me things that I never knew was possible in a game. Especially with Strategy games. I'm still trying to figure out why I never win at Civ V so I just loaded up a lets play and the way the guy narrates his play confirms that I'm approaching the game completely the wrong way.

Then I also watch games that I wont ever play (such as Elder Scrolls Online). And also games that I'm not sure if I want to buy.

Has anyone here ever dipped their toes in the Let's Play waters? I tried to make a Let's Play video once, but I kept getting too engrossed in the game and the result was long stretches of silence while I played Metal Gear Solid. Decided instead that a nice scripted and edited review video was a better fit for me. If I ever try my hand at Let's Play again, I'll have to do it with a friend on the couch Game Grumps style.

I've been doing some lately, but mostly for older adventure games. And yeah, it can sometimes be hard to think of things to say while playing. Because of what I'm doing I have the advantage of being able to play the game for a while (to solve the puzzles or whatever) then recording it while talking about what I did and why.

Channel is in my sig, if anyone wants to mock my efforts.

MechaSlinky wrote:

Has anyone here ever dipped their toes in the Let's Play waters? I tried to make a Let's Play video once, but I kept getting too engrossed in the game and the result was long stretches of silence while I played Metal Gear Solid. Decided instead that a nice scripted and edited review video was a better fit for me. If I ever try my hand at Let's Play again, I'll have to do it with a friend on the couch Game Grumps style.

Maybe try doing lets play of games that are not meant to be so immersive that you get lost in it or do a lets play as your second play through.

This was like my 15th time playing MGS. I know that game inside and out. I tried a few other games, but I just don't have anything interesting to say while playing any game. Going back, picking it apart, analyzing it and making jokes about it, that I can do. I think. I'm still working on the first video, but I like what I have so far. I'd much rather have 20 solidly entertaining minutes with a game than 4 hours of boring rambling.

That's pretty much how I feel about a lot of Let's Plays. PewdiePie bores me, and Tobuscus is funny for a little while, until he starts using the same jokes over and over because there's nothing else to fill the time with. Game Grumps works because there are two people that can have a conversation and bounce off each other, even when they have nothing to say about the game they're playing.

I will sometimes watch a little bit of a Let's Play to get through a part of a game that is stumping me. In gernal, I have a lot going on and it's hard to make time.

One of my kids is addicted to Let's Play videos.

I just watched a few Outlast let's play videos, including player cams.....soooo funny !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdFyk1ct9n8

Not precisely a Let's Play but Game Informer is doing it's yearly Super Replay Showdown which leads to a playthrough of the game of the winner's choice. It's been pretty fun to watch in the past.

I have just made my first let's play for SimCity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu0iVnCRuVA

pinkdino99 wrote:

I have just made my first let's play for SimCity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu0iVnCRuVA

Cool, I half expected that to be some sort of troll link I don't watch a ton of let's play videos but recently I've been playing some SimCity so I'll have to check it out and see how someone else does it.

So what's the opinion on the "new" controversy surrounding Youtuber LP'ers getting paid by publishers for positive content (as revealed in two recent articles on Gamasutra and Eurogamer?

Most egregiously this has cropped up with Yogscast's "Yogdiscovery" venture. Whereby they promote a game (in this case, Space Engineers) with videos and then take a cut of any revenue generated for it*. Note that they only came out and revealed this publicly AFTER it had been uncovered by the articles above.

*Although don't ask me how they can tell if a particular spike in sales is down to them or some other source (e.g: someone ELSES youtube videos or articles). I would assume they have SOME way of figuring out that stuff - otherwise they might well be getting rewarded for OTHER people's coverage of the game, including traditional web media.

Not that I use youtube videos for purchasing decisions, but I'm sure a lot of people (especially younger people) do, so for my small part, I've unsubscribed from all Yogscast feeds and will not be giving them any more traffic, because that sounds like an incredibly dodgy thing to me and one which sets an absolutely TERRIBLE precedent.

* This is the sort of thing I'd expect TB to have a video on but he's probably got bigger things on his mind at the moment with his Kemo. Here's Nerd3's take on it though: (NSFW language)

TotalBiscuit may not have done a video but he's the one being quoted in the EuroGamer article. He's the John Bain they keep talking to.

tanstaafl wrote:

TotalBiscuit may not have done a video but he's the one being quoted in the EuroGamer article. He's the John Bain they keep talking to.

Yep, but he's normally the type to put up a good summary video of the latest Youtube controversy pretty quickly after the fact - at the moment though I'm sure his mind is on more personal matters, understandably so.

*ah. There we go.