Extra Punctuation: Let's Talk About Let's Play

[GiantRaven]

Did Yahtzee just link ChipCheezum? Have I just fallen into internet nerd nirvana?

I'd love to start a Let's Play series myself, but I need to find a unique angle instead of doing the same thing everybody else does. I find that it's a really good entertainment medium. I'd much rather watch a Chip & Ironicus Let's Play than anything on television. All the terrible Let's Players on youtube make me sad though. How could so many people miss the point so badly?

Ooo. Shame that one of the 50 Cent guys retired, so no more stuff from them.

General Ironicus is currently working with ChipCheezum on a MGS 4 Let's Play.

So hard to find good Let's Plays. I know it's pretty subjective, but I find it hard to believe anyone enjoys reading the ones written in first person from the point of view of the game character. They always come across as some junior highschool English level piece of crap, with an emphasis either on failing at humour or trying to sound badass.
This problem only plagues the written/screenshot ones, but the videos have their own drawbacks such as increbidly fucking annoying voices.

You should read the Let's Play of Arcanum [http://lparchive.org/Arcanum/]. I found it to be a great read.

 

[aldowyn]

No love for Shamus' LP series, Yahtzee? He has one, it's called Spoiler Warning, and they're doing (almost done) with Mass Effect 2 at the moment. They've also done, with various members, the original Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Fallout 3. It's awesome, people should check it out.

Anyway, now that I'm done plugging that... I really like LPs. They give me a chance to see what a game is like if it's just not something I'd play, like Dead Space 2, or whatever. Sometimes they start their life as tutorials and just keep going, those are really nice. Minecraft does that a lot, I think.

Speaking of Minecraft, there's actually a really awesome Minecraft LP community on Youtube (the one I follow the most is Paulsoaresjr), and there's at least one other that does hilarious LPs for other things (TOBUSCUS! Oh, and he does awesome trailer voice-overs too. "Just kill him with your awesome...") That's not counting the CoD players doing MP, since I don't really count that as a Let's Play.


I've actually been thinking of doing a LP of ME1 and 2, finishing sometime around when ME3 comes out, and then doing that. I'm a big fan, but I've discussed its downsides a lot, so I figure it'd be a good one to do.

 

[MasterSplinter]

I've often seen LP's if i get stuck somewhere, sometimes just looking at things from different points makes me realize what i have to do before actually seeing it done.

If anybody is looking for good LP of old games I'd recommend this youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/cubex55#g/u

They do new games too but i think many would appreciate the old games because they are harder to find and play, having to mess around with emulators and shit like that.

I recently saw their longplay of "I have no mouth and i must scream" for the PC, Awesome game but they didn't commentate so it was like a long movie.

 

[lacktheknack]

I was attempting to do my own LP series when my computer decided to die and take all my work with it. I was more interested in the game than talking about myself anyway...

[sub]I really want to make a successful LP.[/sub]

The only way to do it is try.

I'm going to continue mine today, trust me, having four or five dedicated fans is all you need to stay motivated.

 

[lacktheknack]

I don't like watching let's-plays because, like everything else on the internet, I absolutely hate the people recording them. They're usually made by horribly irritating japanophile nerds with high pitched, shrill voices who scream and screech into abysmally low quality desktop microphones.

They talk like idiots, spewing out "DUUUURRRR LOL TEH RANDOMNESS HERE'S SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE SAID ON 4CHAN AND I AM NOW REPEATING IT DUUUUUHHHHH" comments, they emit horrible shrieking noises when the game isn't going their way, and they spend about a 3rd of their time trying to recall information about unrelated media that I don't even remotely give a shit about. That same "let's spend the next 30 minutes trying to remember the origins of some pop culture artefact because we're alcoholics with memory loss" makes a lot of gaming podcasts difficult for me to listen to.

Most of the time when I try to watch an LP I want to murder the person recording it within seconds. Maybe that's just what they're like on youtube, but I'm not going to actively seek out some secret "less retarded" archive of people playing through video games. We waste enough time on the Internet as it is. Watching a first person video of someone playing through a video game while they shout snivelling remarks into a low quality microphone honestly seems like a psychotic activity to me. Its like something out of a William S. Burroughs novel.

The high quality ones are awesome, though. If I hate the commenter within seconds, I stop watching.

I understand if they've been ruined for you by creepy shrieky Japanophiles, but they aren't ALL like that.

 

[VGFreak1225]

I don't really have a whole lot to contribute to the topic, but I figured I might as well make the obligatory reference to The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing. [http://lparchive.org/Animal-Crossing/] That's all.

 

[Kojiro ftt]

This sounds great. I will def check it out!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I was attempting to do my own LP series when my computer decided to die and take all my work with it. I was more interested in the game than talking about myself anyway...

[sub]I really want to make a successful LP.[/sub]

The only way to do it is try.

I'm going to continue mine today, trust me, having four or five dedicated fans is all you need to stay motivated.

I've got the motivation, I just lack the time now.

 

[Supercathead]

nm

 

[WolfEdge]

There are plenty of LPs on "Youtube" as well if anyone is interested.

That said, I have little sympathy for Yahtzee on the matter of not having enough time to play games. To be honest he's a professional, and apparently making enough money off of his internet fame to open a bar (since I seem to remember him mentioning his very humble beginnings). It comes down to the amount of time he chooses to spend on his profession... and simply put, anything becomes a boring chore when you do it professionally. Any hardcore gamer out there who suddenly had their gaming and commentary held to a professional level would rapidly feel the same way about it. Saying "well, I only play a few hours a day because I want to have a life" is kind of silly when you consider that most people have their lives seriously effected by having to work a job. Playing games 10-12 hours a day for a week straight is pretty much the equivilent of what most people would do at their job considering travel time, and be left with very little to do otherwise.

The point here being that while his comments about LP videos are interesting, to be honest I also find his reasons for endorsement kind of disturbing, my basic attitude is that he needs to get back to work, even if that work is playing games so he can entertain us. If it's a chore for him to do... well, welcome to employment.

Trust me, before I became a total wreck (disabled) I worked as casino security, which was a giant dog and pony show where I got to hold up a uniform and get blamed for things that went wrong that I couldn't do anything about (professional scapegoat... and understanding that is part of the job). I dealt with drunks, thefts, reports, and tons of things, not to mention gazing at monitors watching nothing happen for many, many hours on end, or worse yet walking around rows of slot machines being a deterrant... or even more fun, spending hours in doorways to the gaming floor checking IDs to prevent minors from getting on the floor. Not to mention the stress my problems that eventually rendered me disabled caused, being the guy who gets griped at for pacing and talking to themself (without realizing it) isn't the most fun thing in the world. The point is that while there were worse jobs, I have little respect for people who complain about how they job is boring, or just a general chore. If your the guy who sponges down the peep booths at an X-rated shop or something... okay then you have a right to complain. If you play video games for a living, own (or partially own) your own business, then you really don't have much room to complain and talk about your need to cut corners (so to speak).

God, as I was reading the article I was wondering to myself how many comments I would read before coming across someone who would take the whole damn thing as a horrifying slight rather than a simple and informative essay about a topic Yahtzee apparently finds enjoyment in. Let's set the fucking record straight: He wasn't whining (shock!) he wasn't bitching (gasp!) and he certainly wasn't complaining about his awesome job that he loves or the life he lives (inconceivable!). Indeed, the only thing Yahtzee is guilty of in this article is providing a solid context in order to allow the reader to better understand his position on an interesting subject. You know, the way a good writer does.

 

[InnerRebellion]

Me and a fellow Escapist, along with some of my school mates (well, they TRY to), produce LPs on our channel. I find it fun, even though we're amatuers. I hope to some day be like the Let's Players like Chuggaaconroy. (Never like Darksydephil. I used to love him cuz I know him, but I hate him now.)

 

[Tharticus]

How could anyone not forget Chuggaconroy. Of course, he does LPs outside SA and he's probably the only famous person on Youtube doing so.

I would like to point out that there's a variety of Let's Play. You got your informative Let's Play, your funny Let's Play (If you manage to play a bad game) and even narrative type Let's Play.

If I plan on making an MMO let's play, it's gonna get painful. As in, sucking massive amount of time.

 

[Therumancer]

God, as I was reading the article I was wondering to myself how many comments I would read before coming across someone who would take the whole damn thing as a horrifying slight rather than a simple and informative essay about a topic Yahtzee apparently finds enjoyment in. Let's set the fucking record straight: He wasn't whining (shock!) he wasn't bitching (gasp!) and he certainly wasn't complaining about his awesome job that he loves or the life he lives (inconceivable!). Indeed, the only thing Yahtzee is guilty of in this article is providing a solid context in order to allow the reader to better understand his position on an interesting subject. You know, the way a good writer does.

Your actually being far worse in intentionally misreading what I was saying. Besides I hardly think Yahtzee needs you to white knight him.

The bottom line is that the entire bit leading into him talking about LPs was about how he only gets a week to play each game, and no more than a couple of hours a day at specific times because he has a life. He mentions specifically using LPs to fill in details about games and such that he wouldn't otherwise pick up on due to him not putting in the time.

Like it or not, he did say that, and it is horribly unprofessional. While he's mostly talking about LPs I do indeed think he was whining. He wasn't being as obnoxious about it as some people have been in similar situations, but there definatly did seem to be that undertone of justification.

 

[Supercathead]

nm

 

[FallenMessiah88]

I dont really watch that many Lets Plays, mostly because of a guy called Cloud8745 (Yeah Youtube FTL!). The only good LP's I've watched so far are SWAT 4 by Spoonyone and some from a guy called Kikoskia (on Youtube no less). So yeah it really is something that i should do more often, because when done right it can be really entertaining. Mostly because it caters to that old school notion of sitting down with your friends and playing a game, while exchanging witty banter and whatnot. Might also have to check out the Somethingawful forums sometime

 

[DanDeFool]

To anyone who likes or plans to try Animal Crossing, never, ever, EVER read The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing [http://lparchive.org/Animal-Crossing/] LP.

That shit is scary; like Lord of the Flies mixed with Apocalypse Now type scary.

 

[Something Amyss]

People used to ask how I could just sit there and watch my friends play games. I don't really like FPS, for example, but sometimes I'm interested in the story. Plus, while I wouldn't apply this part to a LP, there's a social element. But it can give you an experience.

I guess I'm lucky enough to not want too many games too badly, which means I can generally afford the ones I DO want. But there are games I'd otherwise miss, wouldn't play due to the mechanics, etc. They certainly can be a good thing.

 

[Supp]

I usually watch Let's Plays for strategy, but in the case of JRPGs, they're a suitable substitute to buying a console just to play one game. I never understood why Chuggaaconroy is so popular. Maybe its because I watched his first commentary, but even watching the newer ones, I can't hear his voice without getting annoyed. And I've never found any of his jokes funny. NEVER. Its just awful.

 

[WolfEdge]

God, as I was reading the article I was wondering to myself how many comments I would read before coming across someone who would take the whole damn thing as a horrifying slight rather than a simple and informative essay about a topic Yahtzee apparently finds enjoyment in. Let's set the fucking record straight: He wasn't whining (shock!) he wasn't bitching (gasp!) and he certainly wasn't complaining about his awesome job that he loves or the life he lives (inconceivable!). Indeed, the only thing Yahtzee is guilty of in this article is providing a solid context in order to allow the reader to better understand his position on an interesting subject. You know, the way a good writer does.

Your actually being far worse in intentionally misreading what I was saying. Besides I hardly think Yahtzee needs you to white knight him.

The bottom line is that the entire bit leading into him talking about LPs was about how he only gets a week to play each game, and no more than a couple of hours a day at specific times because he has a life. He mentions specifically using LPs to fill in details about games and such that he wouldn't otherwise pick up on due to him not putting in the time.

Like it or not, he did say that, and it is horribly unprofessional. While he's mostly talking about LPs I do indeed think he was whining. He wasn't being as obnoxious about it as some people have been in similar situations, but there definatly did seem to be that undertone of justification.

"White Knight"...

So you think that by defending his position I'm somehow a lackey of his? That I'm championing some noble cause out of a sort of intense zealotry? If that's the case, then are you not doing the reverse? Are you not condemning him for DARING to speak seriously about his job?

Does it feel good having your opinion blown so wildly out of proportion?

You talk about a "bottom line" that doesn't actually exist. You cite his reasoning as being "Because I have a Life!" And yet, lo and behold, we find your claim completely without merit. To wit, "...I myself only being able to devote a week to each one, and even then only a few hours in the afternoon and evening, less if I want to follow the advice they keep giving in game manuals to take a fifteen minute break every hour (which nobody does.) But there are a lot of games that require a lot more commitment, and many that considerably benefit from analysis after long term play.

He didn't say, "Oh woe is I, with my one measly week to revue this content! Pity me, you mortal fools, for I despair!" He essentially stated, "I have a week, which causes many games to suffer unfair analysis," which, assuming he isn't lying, isn't actually complaining, it's just a fact of life. He isn't trying to "justify" his schedule, what he's justifying is his usage of LPs to experience content he couldn't spend time on otherwise. I fail to see the lack of professionalism here.

 

[SlugLady28]

*Cheers* Yay! Lets plays are getting some coverage!

Lets plays actually got me into gaming again. I still don't play often, cause i don't have the time or the money for consoles, but they introduced me to Silent Hill and a slew of other games that i may rent if i have a chance to commandeer my brother's consoles