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MSPaintR0cks

Lets Play`s and your opinion

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Since they started appearing on Youtube some years ago, I can`t find anything entertaining in them. What is so entertaining about watching someone play a game? I kind of get it when the one playing at least says some interesting or funny stuff about the game or when it is a new game and it lets you see something more of it. But as far as I have seen, in most cases it`s just lame and not really that funny.

Well, at least I got that impression from these countless german Lets Plays that fill almost half of the screen when I go on Youtube in Germany. And there are countless people eagerly awaiting a new Lets Play every day from the most popular "Lets Players".

The few times they were almost entertaining was when some kiddies tried to appear cool and witty in their Lets Play, but only ended up saying emberassing dumb stuff all the time, almost begging to be trolled.

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I like playthroughs and let's plays because:

1. I want to see a non-interactive demo of that game (by making sure only to watch part 1, to avoid spoilers).

2. I want to see how others are enjoying the game. Inane commentaries help, unless they're boring or badly voiced. I like seeing their reactions.

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I think it's making a single player experience a shared one, where you get impressions from others playing the game as they play the game, as well as the stupid hijinks they can get up to playing them. It's also a bit of a filler for TV, where I can listen to what they're saying/have some background noise while I surf the web.

Some LPers I'm following now are nintendocaprisun and pcgamer999, if you're interested.

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printz said:

1. I want to see a non-interactive demo of that game (by making sure only to watch part 1, to avoid spoilers).

Pretty much this.

These days, when demos of games are few and far between, I need something to give me a good idea what the game actually plays like before I buy it. Let's Plays are the next best thing to a demo.

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I mostly watch LPs of RPG games for two reasons. First, I don't have the patience to play through RPGs so having videos where the most of the repeat random battles are cut out is nice. Secondly, given that RPGs are usually based heavily on story it provides a lot for the commentator to commentate. Action games usually have a virtually non-existent story so the commentary can get dull unless it's a particularly/notoriously bad game.

So then someone might be wondering why I'm slowly recording an LP of descent maximum. Mostly because I haven't seen anyone else do it on real hardware. (Most videos of Descent Maximum I've seen use the PC port which beyond having the level names wrong, doesn't showcase the glitchy Playstation engine.)

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I'm guessing you don't enjoy Doom demos?

Sometimes you just want to see how other people play video games. No two people are going to play the game the same way.

Of course this depends on the game. Most people don't want to watch a CoD single player playthrough, but CoD multiplayer videos/commentaries are very popular.

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A good LP will have a host that is well versed in the source material and the various dynamics of the game/s they play. A good host will also do multiple trial runs of the LP first before a final one is recorded and uploaded. A good LP will then be interesting, entertaining and a very good visual walkthrough all at the same time.

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I'll often have the desire to watch a playthrough of a game that I haven't played / don't own myself. I never have the desire to hear someone's commentary while they're playing it.

To use an analogy, I enjoy watching movies, but I don't enjoy watching "cammed" movies with someone talking through the whole thing.

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I watch Yogscast and Total Biscuit because they're both entertaining. I watched some Mincraft videos even before I found Yogscast because I wanted some tips on playing the game, and I leanred some valuble techniques this way. Also, Total Biscuit's "WTF Is..." series is pretty good, as it showcases a lot of indie games that would otherwise go unnoticed, and usually gives a pretty good run-down of what the game is like. I've bought several games because of what he's show in the series.

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It can kind of depend on the game they're playing and how skilled they are at it. Some LP's can double as video walkthroughs that contain some degree of humour. Others act as hilarious riffs of certain terrible games. Of course, if you're watching something like iJustine playing Portal 2, it's boring.

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Full nearly unedited length LPs tend to be rather boring indeed, especially so if the commentator is unable to provide anything interesting most of the time, or resorts to hijinks in an attempt to create humor or artificial interest.

That being said, it's not exactly a Let's Play as they normally are, but GooseGoose's commentaries on the Half-Life 2 games I particularly remember as being enjoyable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3dr4C5OT3Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH7YN-5-AO4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q51tsN3s6sM

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Danarchy said:

I watch Yogscast and Total Biscuit because they're both entertaining. I watched some Mincraft videos even before I found Yogscast because I wanted some tips on playing the game, and I leanred some valuble techniques this way.

I spent part of last summer watching the first two seasons of the Yogscast Minecraft. I became one of those people who watch it more than playing the actual game. I need to get back into those.

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Sometimes I like watching someone insane play something insane... like Raocow playing Kaizo Mario.


Or anything really. He really is batshit crazy.

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I find play-throughs especially useful when I'm trying to %100 some older games I've always wanted to fully complete. Let's plays are fun if the Let's Player is well-versed and anecdotal.

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I watch only a few here and there myself, on games I will never play myself (Sorry, Doom 3 is fucking terrifying to me, and I'm a little bitch. I turned it off whimpering after the first half an hour. There, I said it, happy?) or haven't purchased and want to sample a bit of. Or sometimes some interesting version of games (this guy irritates me though so I stopped watching that quickly).

Regardless, I really enjoy producing Let's Plays, even though arguably mine have thus far been boring and uninteresting. My main reasons for enjoying making them are:

  • I get to practice video editing/capturing. I'm working on a computer degree currently, so tinkering with video is a fun little side hobby.
  • Community interaction. I've met some nice people and even made a friend or two through LPs.
  • Personal confidence. I have a manly voice, that I've always always hated, and talking to an audience (even if a non-present one) has helped build self-esteem with myself, as well as develop communication and narrative ability.
  • They're fun to make, in my opinion.
It's an interesting form of entertainment, and can either be good or bad usually depending on things such as personality of the narrator, their knowledge of the game (for an informative LP) and quality of gameplay/video.

I'm doing a new LP project on the Dark Forces series which I'm hoping to do rather professionally looking--informative and whatnot. Might tickle some nostalgia for someone here.

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I find them incredibly dull and tedious. Just another way to fill space on the internet I guess.

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Cypheron48, Durden77 (when he was still active), Necroscope, Kikoskia, and Nack287 are some of my favorites.

Though previously my absolute favorite LPer was ErykkTehDestroyer, but he either died or went off the deep end or was kidnapped by secret agent ninja pirates :/

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The concept doesn't interest me enough to check it myself. I'm quite happy to watch my brothers or friends play a game in person, as they may be playing a game with an interesting story that I'd not be particularly interested in playing myself. Plus the fun of backseat driving in video games :P

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DuckReconMajor said:

I spent part of last summer watching the first two seasons of the Yogscast Minecraft. I became one of those people who watch it more than playing the actual game. I need to get back into those.

Heh, I spent pretty much all my free time April through July watching stuff by Yogscast and Total Biscuit. I even watched the Minecraft videos a second time through when I was holed up with a kidney stone.

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Wouldn't mind them if you didn't have to hear the persons annoying voice and fail attempts on being being funny.

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They clog youtube. Some gamemakers are trying to get playthroughs removed as they spoil the game. More like it prevents people from buying the strategy guides.

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Screenshot LPs at Something Awful are a nice way to waste time at work if I was ever intrigued by the game. I enjoy some of the VLPs like AccountingNightmare's Devil May Cry run-throughs, and the special edition of Sonic 2 is a work of pure beauty. I'm not much of a watcher of the Youtube average, like the quintessential LPer, DeceasedCrab (though I do kind of like the La Mulana LP).

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geo said:

They clog youtube.

I can think of a million terabytes worth of pure shit that could be cleared off of Youtube before Let's Plays.

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Technician said:

I can think of a million terabytes worth of pure shit that could be cleared off of Youtube before Let's Plays.

Pretty much. :)

Usually I prefer watching silent playthroughs, but I also enjoy watching playthroughs with commentary, only if the reviewer doesn't use irritating 4chan memes to get points across, and if the commentator reviews the game like a MATURE adult, and not a 50 year old baby. hehe

I bet I can get Phobus to change his mind about playthroughs, or atleast get one exception. :P

Here you go man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P-2n1NmFGM

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i very much enjoy watching speed runs.

as for let's plays...i watch them when:

1) i am curious about a game, but i have no intention of actually playing through it.
2) i try to play a game that is considered great, can't get into it gameplay-wise for some reason, but still want to experience it in some way.
3) i want to watch someone else play through a game i know like the back of my hand. i don't want to actually play it again myself, but still would like to reminisce.

for each of these, i try to find someone who is entertaining and funny without being annoying.

Edited by The Lag

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@DeathevokatioN: I actually prefer just watching a demo of somebody playing one of my maps, or watching/reading a review (Zero Punctuation amuses me, so I watch all of those, for example). I watched that video the whole way through, but the laid back speech didn't feel very engaging, even though the overall presentation was nice and the opinions were ones I could go with happily.

I just don't find being talked through a game as interesting as either being told about it or watching it in action for myself.

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Other than TB and Yogscast, I don't watch any really. And in the case of Yogscast, I don't actually watch any of their lets plays. Except for their Magicka one wich was pretty awesome.

Though I did watch a Gears of War 2 playthrough, because I wanted to see where they were taking the story from 1. And I couldn't play the game myself because they stopped releasing them on PC.

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