4 ms·

> This phenomenon is similar to how people enjoy watching others play video games. Agreed, in that I can't understand why somebody would be interested in eithe

> This phenomenon is similar to how people enjoy watching others play video games. Agreed, in that I can't understand why somebody would be interested in either.

pavel_lishin 12y ago
Do you watch sports? I sometimes watch people play video games. Some of my reasons are: 1. I'm bad at video games, but like seeing the story unfold. 2. I'm not sure if I want to buy the game or not, so I watch someone play it to decide. Some other people also watch others play games to learn, to increase their skill, because they find the player/presenter amusing, etc.
- morgante 12y ago
  > Do you watch sports? Nope.
  - pavel_lishin 12y ago
    But you do understand, in principle, why people watch sports rather than play them themselves, right?
    - innguest 12y ago
      Could you explain it anyway, for those of us that are interested? I've noticed that I enjoy watching youtube videos of other people coding, and I like where you're going by tying watching sports with watching unboxing videos. I've always thought I liked watching coding videos because I secretly wish I could just think about programs and make them happen, instead of having to sit up, type, switch between contexts, etc. Coding videos go straight to the point and quench a specific thirst I have when I don't feel like coding anymore but would still like the high I get from seeing the coding process unfold.
      - pavel_lishin 12y ago
        > Could you explain it anyway, for those of us that are interested? Not well, because I don't watch sports. I also don't watch unboxing videos - I just watch videogames, for the reasons I explained above. I'm just sort of assuming that sports are fun, and they're also fun to watch, and a lot easier than spending thousands of dollars and hours of time on equipment. (I also hate watching coding videos - they never go at the pace I prefer. I'd much rather read a blog entry with code inlined that I could copy, paste, play around with, etc.)
    - morgante 12y ago
      > But you do understand, in principle, why people watch sports rather than play them themselves, right? Nope. Generally speaking, I don't understand second-degree entertainment (ie. watching other people have fun & do things: sports, video games, unboxing videos, reality TV).
      - eru 12y ago
        > I don't understand second-degree entertainment [..] I guess you have a lot to learn about humans. (Not saying, you have to enjoy it.) By the way, do you like stories?
SixSigma 12y ago
I enjoyed watching my boy play Final Fantasy on the PS1 much more than I would have enjoyed playing it, which is to say, quite a lot. I even had the emotional connection and cried a little tear when one of the main protagonists is murdered as part of the story arc, I have posted it as "most emotional response to a video game" type threads on Reddit.
VLM 12y ago
Several responses have focused on rail games where you watch a predetermined story unfold. I learned how to make an automatic egg/chicken factory in minecraft from watching a video. I'd never have imagined something so crazy without seeing it live in 3-D first. You do what with wooden signs, and then pour flowing water on them, and then throw chickens on it? Madness! Yet it works! I imagine this has a lot to do with 3-d and open world type games where having an experienced field guide walk you thru a real world-ish experience helps. (edited to add, I live in a geographic area where many people make a living as hunting and fishing guides; the "experienced field guide" phrase for video games is very intentional, I suspect in the next decade or so of video gaming, there will be people making a modest living off literally being field guides for video gamers... just kinda escorting noobs and showing them the ropes, maybe not a lot of money but more than they'd get off the mechanical turk)
- DanBC 12y ago
  I watch a few different YouTube videos for different reasons. XisumaVoid [1] does nice, clear, tutorials of a bunch of different stuff. Etho [2] also does some tutorials, but he embeds them into his "Let's Play" series. He's also part of a server and I enjoyed the derping around they did. BDoubleO and GuudeBoulderFist (as OOG [3]) had some funny videos of them playing a challenge map while drunk. Yogscast [4] had one series that appealed to me at a particular time of my life when I just needed disposable nonsense. [1] https://www.youtube.com/user/xisumavoid https://www.youtube.com/user/xisumavoid [2] http://www.youtube.com/user/EthosLab http://www.youtube.com/user/EthosLab [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXpOn5V_NWw&list=PL57E50DFE29CD4465 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXpOn5V_NWw&list=PL57E50DFE2... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOKorN4Dg64&list=PL535DD4748A99318D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOKorN4Dg64&list=PL535DD4748... [4] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF60520313D07F366 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF60520313D07F366

> This phenomenon is similar to how people enjoy watching others play video games. Agreed, in that I can't understand why somebody would be interested in either.

pavel_lishin 12y ago

Do you watch sports? I sometimes watch people play video games. Some of my reasons are: 1. I'm bad at video games, but like seeing the story unfold. 2. I'm not sure if I want to buy the game or not, so I watch someone play it to decide. Some other people also watch others play games to learn, to increase their skill, because they find the player/presenter amusing, etc.

morgante 12y ago
> Do you watch sports? Nope.
- pavel_lishin 12y ago
  But you do understand, in principle, why people watch sports rather than play them themselves, right?
  - innguest 12y ago
    Could you explain it anyway, for those of us that are interested? I've noticed that I enjoy watching youtube videos of other people coding, and I like where you're going by tying watching sports with watching unboxing videos. I've always thought I liked watching coding videos because I secretly wish I could just think about programs and make them happen, instead of having to sit up, type, switch between contexts, etc. Coding videos go straight to the point and quench a specific thirst I have when I don't feel like coding anymore but would still like the high I get from seeing the coding process unfold.
    - pavel_lishin 12y ago
      > Could you explain it anyway, for those of us that are interested? Not well, because I don't watch sports. I also don't watch unboxing videos - I just watch videogames, for the reasons I explained above. I'm just sort of assuming that sports are fun, and they're also fun to watch, and a lot easier than spending thousands of dollars and hours of time on equipment. (I also hate watching coding videos - they never go at the pace I prefer. I'd much rather read a blog entry with code inlined that I could copy, paste, play around with, etc.)
  - morgante 12y ago
    > But you do understand, in principle, why people watch sports rather than play them themselves, right? Nope. Generally speaking, I don't understand second-degree entertainment (ie. watching other people have fun & do things: sports, video games, unboxing videos, reality TV).
    - eru 12y ago
      > I don't understand second-degree entertainment [..] I guess you have a lot to learn about humans. (Not saying, you have to enjoy it.) By the way, do you like stories?

SixSigma 12y ago

I enjoyed watching my boy play Final Fantasy on the PS1 much more than I would have enjoyed playing it, which is to say, quite a lot. I even had the emotional connection and cried a little tear when one of the main protagonists is murdered as part of the story arc, I have posted it as "most emotional response to a video game" type threads on Reddit.

VLM 12y ago

Several responses have focused on rail games where you watch a predetermined story unfold. I learned how to make an automatic egg/chicken factory in minecraft from watching a video. I'd never have imagined something so crazy without seeing it live in 3-D first. You do what with wooden signs, and then pour flowing water on them, and then throw chickens on it? Madness! Yet it works! I imagine this has a lot to do with 3-d and open world type games where having an experienced field guide walk you thru a real world-ish experience helps. (edited to add, I live in a geographic area where many people make a living as hunting and fishing guides; the "experienced field guide" phrase for video games is very intentional, I suspect in the next decade or so of video gaming, there will be people making a modest living off literally being field guides for video gamers... just kinda escorting noobs and showing them the ropes, maybe not a lot of money but more than they'd get off the mechanical turk)

DanBC 12y ago
I watch a few different YouTube videos for different reasons. XisumaVoid [1] does nice, clear, tutorials of a bunch of different stuff. Etho [2] also does some tutorials, but he embeds them into his "Let's Play" series. He's also part of a server and I enjoyed the derping around they did. BDoubleO and GuudeBoulderFist (as OOG [3]) had some funny videos of them playing a challenge map while drunk. Yogscast [4] had one series that appealed to me at a particular time of my life when I just needed disposable nonsense. [1] https://www.youtube.com/user/xisumavoid https://www.youtube.com/user/xisumavoid [2] http://www.youtube.com/user/EthosLab http://www.youtube.com/user/EthosLab [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXpOn5V_NWw&list=PL57E50DFE29CD4465 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXpOn5V_NWw&list=PL57E50DFE2... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOKorN4Dg64&list=PL535DD4748A99318D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOKorN4Dg64&list=PL535DD4748... [4] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF60520313D07F366 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF60520313D07F366