3 ms·

How do you combat this? Realistically speaking. Here's how: Ask major let's-play channels to explain how it's meant to be experienced firsthand and they should

by Joof 11y ago

How do you combat this? Realistically speaking. Here's how: Ask major let's-play channels to explain how it's meant to be experienced firsthand and they should come watch after they've played. Not for money, but for the experience. Toby fox did this with Undertale on game grumps and it was noted that there is a significant lag time in number of viewers that picked up later which indicates that people actually followed this advice. They trust the let's players' opinion. In reality it probably still helps sales. I routinely buy games that are high up on twitch that I hadn't heard of before.

wmf 11y ago
Don't market it as a game? AFAIK people don't post "let's watch" videos of movies.
- derefr 11y ago
  Sure they do; • MST3K-izations of movies are plentiful. But there's a higher bar to them; viewers expect the commentator to be enhancing a movie that might otherwise be unwatchable, not just adding their thoughts. • "Directors' commentary" (and "actors' commentary", etc.) audio streams are also plentiful. If someone's opinion on the movie as it progresses would be specifically interesting, then people will want to combine the two.
- JoshTriplett 11y ago
  > AFAIK people don't post "let's watch" videos of movies. Many people do post "blind reaction" videos for various series. They're quite popular; many "reaction" channels have tens of thousands of subscribers. In those, the reaction is the valuable contribution; it can be fun to watch something you've previously enjoyed and see how others react to it.
- Joof 11y ago
  You may be on to something; although I think having an actual let's player may be necessary. Now I'm going to get a bit artsy. Games are typically about the interaction between the player and the game and how that player reacts is a significant part of the experience. Let's plays sort of mediate this experience by allowing the audience to see the reactions of the let's player. This is much less powerful, but sometimes the audience actually prefers the less powerful experience. Horrer games are popular to watch because people don't always like being scared (but watching other people getting scared is pretty entertaining). That Dragon, Cancer likely suffers because it's not a game that makes you feel good, it's an intense experience; it's easy to prefer the less-intense, mediated experience. As a result, the sales overall may suffer (and the artists might be frustrated that people aren't playing it 'properly'). It almost needs a new business model. I think we can agree that more games like this is a good thing.
- jerrac 11y ago
  I just saw a "Let's Watch Quantum Break" video while browsing YouTube. Still game related though.
  - lalaithion 11y ago
    The Achievement Hunter guys call it "let's watch" when one of them plays the game and the others watch them play the game, and they all comment on it.
- ino 11y ago
  In the past year I've only watched a couple of movies, but I've watched all movie related videos of Red Letter Media, "Half in the Bag" and others. I'm not a movie guy but for some stupid weird reason I love watching what they think about some movies.
adnzzzzZ 11y ago
Don't make games that can be easily watched and not played. A game with tons of replayability can be played by let's players endlessly yet people will still want to play it themselves.
- blister 11y ago
  Huh? The gaming community has spent the last 10 years or so fighting to get games recognized as an art form and now you think that limiting expressive freedoms is a good idea just so copyright infringement doesn't happen? One of the most impactful games I've ever played was a PS3 exclusive called "Heavy Rain"[0]. That game, while having several branching storylines that create vastly different endings, was basically an 8-hour long interactive movie. It is one of the best games I've ever played but I doubt I'll ever play it again. I'm certain that I would make most of the same choices and reach the exact same outcome. Another recent game that I really enjoyed is called Firewatch[1]. It's basically a three-hour movie. I don't even think it has different outcomes. You experience the story they give you. That game was excellent (though really short for being $15). That sort of game would not exist in your worldview. I watch Let's Plays almost exclusively as my digital content of choice. I first discovered Firewatch through an early pre-release copy that Marbozir played[2]. Luckily his pre-release copy only took you through the first 45 minutes or so and I was able to enjoy the full game on my own. Despite enjoying the game, the first 45 minutes of my game was incredibly dull because I'd already seen it played. Had I watched a full Marbozir playthrough, I would have probably never purchased the game. Without giving away any spoilers, once you've seen the whole game, there's really nothing left to experience. I'm really torn about this article. I'm a game developer myself, so I definitely want to encourage people to buy games and support developers, but I have a family and rarely find enough time to actually play games. I get all of my enjoyment in late-night Let's Play sessions. This is a really tricky problem to solve, and I think being dismissive of a genre is dangerous ground to tread. Thanks for your comment, though. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Rain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Rain [1]: http://www.firewatchgame.com/ http://www.firewatchgame.com/ [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gwFDm21zA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gwFDm21zA
  - adnzzzzZ 11y ago

by Joof 11y ago

wmf 11y ago

Don't market it as a game? AFAIK people don't post "let's watch" videos of movies.

derefr 11y ago
Sure they do; • MST3K-izations of movies are plentiful. But there's a higher bar to them; viewers expect the commentator to be enhancing a movie that might otherwise be unwatchable, not just adding their thoughts. • "Directors' commentary" (and "actors' commentary", etc.) audio streams are also plentiful. If someone's opinion on the movie as it progresses would be specifically interesting, then people will want to combine the two.
JoshTriplett 11y ago
> AFAIK people don't post "let's watch" videos of movies. Many people do post "blind reaction" videos for various series. They're quite popular; many "reaction" channels have tens of thousands of subscribers. In those, the reaction is the valuable contribution; it can be fun to watch something you've previously enjoyed and see how others react to it.
Joof 11y ago
You may be on to something; although I think having an actual let's player may be necessary. Now I'm going to get a bit artsy. Games are typically about the interaction between the player and the game and how that player reacts is a significant part of the experience. Let's plays sort of mediate this experience by allowing the audience to see the reactions of the let's player. This is much less powerful, but sometimes the audience actually prefers the less powerful experience. Horrer games are popular to watch because people don't always like being scared (but watching other people getting scared is pretty entertaining). That Dragon, Cancer likely suffers because it's not a game that makes you feel good, it's an intense experience; it's easy to prefer the less-intense, mediated experience. As a result, the sales overall may suffer (and the artists might be frustrated that people aren't playing it 'properly'). It almost needs a new business model. I think we can agree that more games like this is a good thing.
jerrac 11y ago
I just saw a "Let's Watch Quantum Break" video while browsing YouTube. Still game related though.
- lalaithion 11y ago
  The Achievement Hunter guys call it "let's watch" when one of them plays the game and the others watch them play the game, and they all comment on it.
ino 11y ago
In the past year I've only watched a couple of movies, but I've watched all movie related videos of Red Letter Media, "Half in the Bag" and others. I'm not a movie guy but for some stupid weird reason I love watching what they think about some movies.

adnzzzzZ 11y ago

Don't make games that can be easily watched and not played. A game with tons of replayability can be played by let's players endlessly yet people will still want to play it themselves.

blister 11y ago
Huh? The gaming community has spent the last 10 years or so fighting to get games recognized as an art form and now you think that limiting expressive freedoms is a good idea just so copyright infringement doesn't happen? One of the most impactful games I've ever played was a PS3 exclusive called "Heavy Rain"[0]. That game, while having several branching storylines that create vastly different endings, was basically an 8-hour long interactive movie. It is one of the best games I've ever played but I doubt I'll ever play it again. I'm certain that I would make most of the same choices and reach the exact same outcome. Another recent game that I really enjoyed is called Firewatch[1]. It's basically a three-hour movie. I don't even think it has different outcomes. You experience the story they give you. That game was excellent (though really short for being $15). That sort of game would not exist in your worldview. I watch Let's Plays almost exclusively as my digital content of choice. I first discovered Firewatch through an early pre-release copy that Marbozir played[2]. Luckily his pre-release copy only took you through the first 45 minutes or so and I was able to enjoy the full game on my own. Despite enjoying the game, the first 45 minutes of my game was incredibly dull because I'd already seen it played. Had I watched a full Marbozir playthrough, I would have probably never purchased the game. Without giving away any spoilers, once you've seen the whole game, there's really nothing left to experience. I'm really torn about this article. I'm a game developer myself, so I definitely want to encourage people to buy games and support developers, but I have a family and rarely find enough time to actually play games. I get all of my enjoyment in late-night Let's Play sessions. This is a really tricky problem to solve, and I think being dismissive of a genre is dangerous ground to tread. Thanks for your comment, though. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Rain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Rain [1]: http://www.firewatchgame.com/ http://www.firewatchgame.com/ [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gwFDm21zA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gwFDm21zA
- adnzzzzZ 11y ago