Any tips on making a Let's Play?

[Machati]

Yess I know that there are a lot of let's play how-to's out there and I have watched/read a lot of them, but I still have some questions.
I plan on doing a (video + audio commentary, non-scripted) let's play.

I will mostly be doing it for people that follow my webcomic and that's actually where some of my questions begin.. If I'm doing a let's play namely to entertain people that like my art/comic, do you guys think I should pick a game that corresponds well to my webcomic's genre? (aka my comic is fantasy genre, so should I stick to fantasy games at first?)

There's also a good chance of me doing co-op/party games with a few other artists/comic people.. My current artist friend I have to join me says that it should just be me and her even if it's a game like mario party (which would mean we have two comp players) while I stand more on the four-human-players side of things.
If we do a four-player game like Mario Party do you guys think it matters if there's only two of us? Should we just steer clear of games that require four people..?

Any answers would be super As well as other tips if you've got any you feel I should know.

 

[Stall]

I usually always give the same advice in these threads: audio quality is of absolute importance. Audio quality is most likely more important than the quality of your video: it honestly would not be a stretch to say its THE most important technical aspect of an LP. Make sure to invest in a good mic and a pop filter. There are plenty of very good USB mics in the neighborhood of 30-60 dollars (I've heard good things about the Blue Snowball), and a pop filter will put you back about 20 dollars (you can make one yourself, but I am unsure of the quality of homemade pop filters). The pop filter is definitely the most important here... nothing is more offensive than listening to someone's mouth-sounds.

Also: google ways to improve your enunciation. Extra practice can never hurt!

 

[jebus4you]

if you're doing a longer game then you should know it really well. I don't like watching people trying to figure out a game if i already know how to do it.

 

[Machati]

I usually always give the same advice in these threads: audio quality is of absolute importance. Audio quality is most likely more important than the quality of your video: it honestly would not be a stretch to say its THE most important technical aspect of an LP. Make sure to invest in a good mic and a pop filter. There are plenty of very good USB mics in the neighborhood of 30-60 dollars (I've heard good things about the Blue Snowball), and a pop filter will put you back about 20 dollars (you can make one yourself, but I am unsure of the quality of homemade pop filters). The pop filter is definitely the most important here... nothing is more offensive than listening to someone's mouth-sounds.

Also: google ways to improve your enunciation. Extra practice can never hurt!

I think I'm set on mics actually.. I have one from my windows computer and then my internal mac's mic. Both work smoothly given I haven't tested them out with games yet (Hopefully I won't have to buy a new one lol..) but I'll definitely get/make a pop filter. I recall hearing mouth noises in a few let's plays I've watched and hated it too!

Thanks for the advice guys I'll make sure not to do a long-running LP if I'm going in blind.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

Here are a few tips

-Do not spoil the game for the viewer
-Speak clearly/audio quality
-Release your videos as frequently as possible
-Do at least one full test play through before recording
-Make sure you know before hand, what you are going to do

for co-op
-make sure you both know what you are doing
-make sure you can hear both players clearly

 

[Jibblejab]

From personal experience of watching and releasing Lets Play's

-Choose a game so that when people watch it, the game itself is a new and interesting experience. For example, a game like Oblivion is good as not every plays the game the same and its an impressive game so whether or not someone has played the game before, the LP will still interest them. Or choose a really obscure title so that you can comment on the game itself without saying the same thing that everyone has already said before.
-Audio quality is key, if I cant hear you, then im not gonna watch it again.
-Do a brief playtest to set up your options and controls to your liking, and so you already have a vague idea of how to play the game before you start, that way you dont have the first episode or two of you trying to figure out how to leave the starting room.
-Dont get too bogged down, its painful when im watching someone else play, and they cant seem to keep the whole experience for the spectators flowing, dont get bogged down trying to get a perfect score on this or that, or trying to do something really finicky, time consuming or tedious. People will get bored at the lack of progress.
-Dont just comment on the game itself, but mechanics in it, and even hearing people's opinions on the medium as a whole and the direction it has taken in the past, present and future years.

Have fun LP'ing

 

[TsunamiWombat]

If you do a game with text dialogue, do not narrate it. That is annoying as shit. I don't need to hear you doing Kefka's dialogue.

 

[Zhukov]

Don't talk over cutscenes or dialogue. It is incredibly annoying.

Don't try too hard to be funny.

Play the game for an hour or so before you start recording. That way you will have sorted out your controls and settings and you'll have the basic mechanics down pat.

 

[Swiftkillz]

1. Have good quality audio
2. Have at least 720p
3. Don't have an annoying voice
4. Do Blind Lp's people love those
5. Do big name games early on so people can hear about you
6. Post videos frequently
7. Be entertaining
8. Try to separate yourself from the other lp'ers

 

[bobert17]

on an unrelated note, wheres your webcomic? im curious now. link me please?