Poll: What do you think of facecams on let's plays?

Drathnoxis

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I dislike them. I don't want to watch a person watching a screen. Nothing puts me off a let's player faster than seeing a facecam. Well, except maybe an obnoxious voice.

Edit:
Jmp_man said:
Can I propose another question?
What does everyone think about facecams on Streaming. Considering they're pretty similar (One is recorded and one is live) I'm wondering how they differ and if people have an different opinion between the two.
 

Saelune

Trump put kids in cages!
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Mar 8, 2011
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I don't like them. All the ones I watch don't use them (Game Grumps, Beard Bros, Jesse Cox). Markiplier is the exception when he plays a horror game I want to see but don't want to play myself, but otherwise turn it off. I particularly hate green screen face cams. It makes it seem like you are in front of the game and looking the wrong way and its really jarring.
 

Johnny Novgorod

Bebop Man
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I watch Game Grumps and Yahtzee's LDOs, and neither employ facecams. I think they're pretty unnecessary.
 

McElroy

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If they want it in there and think they're a natural lens-magnet, go facecams. I prefer boobcams though. And pec-cams. Oh those pec-cams. (jk, there's never pec-cams).
 

Jmp_man

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Apr 24, 2011
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Can I propose another question?
What does everyone think about facecams on Streaming. Considering they're pretty similar (One is recorded and one is live) I'm wondering how they differ and if people have an different opinion between the two.
 

Drathnoxis

Became a mass murderer for your sake
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Jmp_man said:
Can I propose another question?
What does everyone think about facecams on Streaming. Considering they're pretty similar (One is recorded and one is live) I'm wondering how they differ and if people have an different opinion between the two.
I forgot about streaming! I'm going to edit your question into the OP. My opinion is the same for both though.
 

Mcgeezaks

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I think they're great, I want to see peoples reactions/facial expressions to whatever they're playing.
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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I can take 'm or leave 'm. If the person doing the LP is shit, they'll be shit with or without showing their face.

Obviously without a facecam the LP'er needs to put in more effort since they can only rely on their voice, thus making for a more lively and entertaining Let's Play. But I don't have anything against them in general.
Jmp_man said:
Can I propose another question?
What does everyone think about facecams on Streaming. Considering they're pretty similar (One is recorded and one is live) I'm wondering how they differ and if people have an different opinion between the two.
Streams lack the benefit of being able to edit out dead air, in which case the facecam can sort of fill in that void.
 

Saelune

Trump put kids in cages!
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Jmp_man said:
Can I propose another question?
What does everyone think about facecams on Streaming. Considering they're pretty similar (One is recorded and one is live) I'm wondering how they differ and if people have an different opinion between the two.
Streaming is ok to me because its more casual. Its less about being a show with production values and more hang out and watch x play a game. Still distracting but atleast there is direct interaction with people that having a camera helps. That said, I generally don't watch streams.
 

StreamerDarkly

Disciple of Trevor Philips
Jan 15, 2015
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I'm mostly indifferent about face cams. Some streamers think it's important and others don't. What I find a bit sad is the twitch "business model" of showing cleavage to court the 15-year-old crowd while being terrible at the game, which is depressingly common. Mind you, I'm not saying these kinds of streams should be shut down or anything - just that it's cringey and doesn't hold my interest longer than 10 seconds. The same can be said about streamers who spend 10 minutes at a time talking about inane bullshit with the chat instead of playing the game ... cough, cough ManVsGame.
 

Erttheking

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Case by case. They work better with some Let's Players (usually the more vocal ones)
 

Pirate Of PC Master race

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Jun 14, 2013
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Provided streamer is expressive enough, and I happen to like the person facecam could be entertaining.

on the side note, I detest any facecam in the competitive gaming scene. I watch those for the beautiful gameplay, for f's sakes. You don't directly zoom in to the face of say - Michael Jordan - when he is shooting 3 pointers across the court.
 

Windcaler

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I usually dislike them. If Im watching an LP Im watching more for the game then I am the entertainer that comes with it. Sometimes, like in the case of Jesse Cox and Firewatch,the entertainer can be just as important as the game but those examples are few and far between. I know some people are more there for the entertainer then the game, and thats fine, but its not my approach to such things.

If I want to watch something because of the person then usually its an opinion piece, pundetry, critical analysis, or something like that

In all of these cases I find a face cam is a distraction. If I want to check out the game I just want to check out the game instead of look at the person. If I want to listen to what a persons saying about something then I probably have the audio going in the background while Im playing something else.

As for streaming I almost never watch streaming but in those rare cases its still a distraction which takes away from the game and/or entertainer. Its even worse when you add in all the other nonsense like donation sounds, stupid clips about a lawnmower flying, or other random garbage.
 

Bob_McMillan

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It depends on what they're doing. I hate streamers who constantly talk, even when it's not needed. For Let's Plays, I don't really watch them, but the few I have it also really depends. There are some let's players who for some reason feel the need to constantly praise the game or state how much fun it is even when it clearly isn't.
 

Elfgore

Your friendly local nihilist
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Dec 6, 2010
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I like 'em. My favorite "Let's Players" and streamers do a lot of physical humor. Like facial expressions, hand movements, etc. So the face cam is very key.
 

Wrex Brogan

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...it depends on who's doing the facecam. You need to be doing something with your face (facial expressions, hand movements, etc.) if you're going to put it up there, otherwise it's just a waste. Markiplier and the Roosterteeth/Achievement Hunter ones (they only do it in a few videos) are good examples, since they're fairly animated performers and they often use editing effects to emphasis things.
 

Chessrook44

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erttheking said:
Case by case. They work better with some Let's Players (usually the more vocal ones)
Pretty much this. If a person just has the camera on, and spends the whole video just blankly staring at the screen, barely emoting or putting anything into it, then there's not much point to it. People like Markiplier or JackSepticEye, however, they USE the camera. They talk to it, they emote clearly, they act when needed... THAT is more interesting, and they're actually using the camera as more than a cheap gimmick. For them I'd say it's okay.
 

Nazulu

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I find them annoying. Entertainment should just have one focus point made clear, not clutter the screen up with different things. It undermines the media itself too for the same reason.