LP Preferences

[mrthejoshmon]

Depends on the situation with the playthrough;

 

Do I want to see the wad? say for instance I wanted to see what secrets or strategies I had missed or if I wanted a walkthrough, maybe I am wanting to see if I will like it or if I wanted to show someone the wad. If any of these apply, then I would love it without commentary.

 

Do I want to see what others think? Do I want to Be entertained? This is rather straight forward, if there's something I have no intention of playing in the Wads/Mods section but for instance Biodegradable or Clippy (listed as examples, not limited to just them) did a video on it then I will load that video up on the other monitor to watch and listen to.

 

If it is one of mine? Commentary, please, I want to know what you think in real time.

[esselfortium]

Both are nice, but I like commentary especially if it's a playthrough of something I've worked on :)

[IcarusOfDaggers]

Commentary. You can learn a lot more, how players frame of mind and state of mind shifts in and between each combat, scenery and room just by their commentary alone

[sandwedge]

3 hours ago, Wyrmwood said:

 

Yeah, I don't really watch let's play videos on You Tube for that very reason, my kids watch popular Youtubers like Unspeakable and FGTV and I absolutely loath they way they scream and fake all the time, it's totally put me off watching anything on You Tube other than music vids or DIY tutorials.

 

Recently though I've watched some video's on here by @sandwedge and really enjoyed them, maybe I should give others a chance but truthfully I'd rather play games than watch someone play them.

 

3 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

Yeah, none of the stuff I'm talking about applies in any way to any of the members here who make videos. I love watching folks like Sandwedge, Biodegradable, and Doomkid. I wish all videos were like that.

 

Oh hey that actually warms my heart, thanks so much guys!  I wasn't sure if I was gonna be lumped in with some of the other lets players out there lol, I agree I hate people who overact and such but I can also see why they're popular.  I would hate doing that and just try to be me so it's great to see people enjoy them too :)

[Doomkid]

I remember finding this video like a year ago and it was legit the PERFECT cartoonishly-exaggerated stereotype of an annoying Lets Player who tries to make jokes and spaz out the whole time frenetically while not paying any attention to the game, doing terribly, and blaming the game:

 

 

 

I don't know of anyone in the Doom-O-Sphere quite this bad - or hell, anywhere even close - but I just wanted to mention this as the most perfect "what not to do" video for people considering jumping into the world of LPs.

 

EDIT: LOL just re-watched this video to make sure I wasn't being overly harsh but came to the same conclusion. Even for LP standards it has to be the most "nothing" video ever, not one of the jokes was remotely funny, and someone interested in the game itself would be 0% enlightened by it. It served ONE purpose, ad revenue.

 

18 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

If it's a wad that I made and someone in the forum is making a video of them playing it, I perfer commentary. They usually don't have much to say, because I don't create any wads.

Just quoting this because it made my face hurt from smiling..

 

18 hours ago, segfault said:

I'm personally not that interested in watching somebody play a video game -- I'd rather be playing it myself!

I love sitting in with groups of friends and chatting while someone plays, or commenting my own playthroughs here and there - but generally I'm the same. There's quality LP channels like decino, who is certainly top-dog in terms of Doom LPs due to his professionalism, skill and good sense of humor, but even then I watch basically none of his playthroughs (though like MagicMushroomMan, I'd be watching intently were he ever to cover a wad I worked on).

[Kes Gaming YT]

I personally consider myself the Gold™ standard in the Doom LP community.

I made a list of basically every Doom mod I could find, and am systematically working my way through it, livestreaming my blind runs, in a frustratingly anal-retentive manner that often involves attempting to tick 100% in all endscreen categories. All while only paying about 65% attention to the actual game because I'm reading one of my viewer's messages about the grilled cheese he ate before playing Chicken Golf the hour prior.

Reading the comments here, I do realize that my content often suffers from a lot of the cliche, autistic LP tropes, except for the rare occasions I put the work into decent editing. But given that that's the truest form of my personality, I stand by it.

[Doomkid]

Kes, you do literally NONE of the annoying over-the-top stuff that the dude in that video does! You're way more calm and genuine, which is like 80% of the battle, imo. Asking people to subscribe once in a while is totally fine imo! It's all about how "plastic" the content feels, and yours isn't.

[GarrettChan]

Personally I do commentary ones because that's my way to practice my English :P

 

From a viewers standpoint, I prefer commentary, but it also depends on whether the commentator can state their thoughts for approaching an encounter properly.

[mrthejoshmon]

3 hours ago, Doomkid said:

I remember finding this video like a year ago and it was legit the PERFECT cartoonishly-exaggerated stereotype of an annoying Lets Player who tries to make jokes and spaz out the whole time frenetically while not paying any attention to the game, doing terribly, and blaming the game:

Genuinely cannot stand these kinds of overacted videos, the worst offenders are when people play "bad" games and act like they are being exposed to 400 rems of ionizing radiation, screaming "OOOOH THIS IS SOOO AWFUL" at the most mundane of minor inconveniences. 

[supersunBRO]

8 hours ago, Wyrmwood said:

 

Yeah, I don't really watch let's play videos on You Tube for that very reason, my kids watch popular Youtubers like Unspeakable and FGTV and I absolutely loath they way they scream and fake all the time, it's totally put me off watching anything on You Tube other than music vids or DIY tutorials.

 

Recently though I've watched some video's on here by @sandwedge and really enjoyed them, maybe I should give others a chance but truthfully I'd rather play games than watch someone play them.

The YouTubers whose primary audience is children are impossible to watch

[supersunBRO]

8 hours ago, esselfortium said:

Both are nice, but I like commentary especially if it's a playthrough of something I've worked on :)

It can be a really good way to get feedback

[supersunBRO]

Im still so thankful for the increasing feedback, so many people with experience here. Thank you all. 

[kwc]

Both have their strong points, I typically don’t see a point in watching someone else play a doom wad unless they commentating, at least when it comes to entertainment.

However, in those rare instances where I’m wanting to share some footage of a wad (or any game) to someone else and I need it right away, I prefer not to have character commentary distracting.

Of course, when I’m watching a playthrough of my own work, I want as many comments about the level, positive or negative, as possible.

So, following that logic, I feel the same way about watching my peers’ work, especially when it’s something I hold in high regard. 
 

Both are healthy and the state of “DoomTubers” right now is really cool, one could view what is being done as community playtesting on a large scale, and having people present feedback at any stage of development, before or after it’s finished, is of course an invaluable asset to the design process.

 

[Lippeth]

I've been trying to record myself playing new maps lately, less to give verbal feedback and more to demonstrate the routes I'm inclined to take while doing a blind playthrough in case the map author happens to find it useful. I've tried to commentate in the past and have never been able to get over the anxiety of recording myself talking to the future, let alone doing that while trying to play a game, but after reading this thread I kind of want to give it a proper go and not even worry how I come across. I don't think my personality really lends itself to having a microphone capture it in a candid way, but now I feel like a fuckass for not even trying to overcome a little anxiety. Some of my most popular videos are of me playing games with no commentary but they're either borderline speedruns, or playthroughs showcasing mods and whatnot, but of course that's just a partial excuse.

 

As far as what I watch, without saying who I watch and don't watch, there's of course room for different styles of let's plays and I enjoy or don't enjoy all of them differently and every rule has an exception. If I'm looking up a game to see what it's all about, I'll typically prefer no commentary, but commentary can be helpful for full walkthroughs. And then there are the personalities that I'll watch play any old game because it's not even about the game.

[IcarusOfDaggers]

6 hours ago, supersunBRO said:

The YouTubers whose primary audience is children are impossible to watch

DGR and Ryukahr being the exception to the rule.

 

[Roofi]

I prefer to watch raw playthrough videos but with a written commentary and not vocal.

 

Often when speaking, the player is caught up in the heat of the moment and does not have time to say relevant things. 

[InfernalMonsoon]

Always commentary for me, it's fun hearing the thought process of what a player is thinking when they come across some tough situations and is nice to have an accompanying voice regardless. Just doesn't feel right to me without commentary but I recognise that's just a preference thing.