Escapist Podcast: Used Games, B-Movies & JRPGs

[vortalism]

I think the only Let's Play that I watch with any vigour would be for comedic purposes. Guys like the Yogscast or TotalBiscuit and even our very own Yahtzee Crowshaw are Let's Play mainstays for me, and the reason I enjoy watching them is that they're either really good at the game and have commentary that's funny (i.e. TotalBiscuit with anything MMO related) or they're really bad (games or they're really bad AT the game) and have hilarious commentary. Usually it's latter that ends up being funnier for obvious reasons. THis is where I guess the appeal for Let's Plays' (???) comes from. Also these Let's Playssss' are just snippets or the beginning of a game or areas that don't spoil the story for me (e.g. WTF is... by TotalBiscuit). On the flip side however those people that just randomly watch gameplay from an entire game through and through are just weird in my opinion...

Also (slightly off topic), more people have to check out Yahtzee's non-ZP material.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Good timing. I was just considering getting a 2nd monitor to watch TV while mindlessly playing MMOs like I did when I had a laptop + TV. But apparently using a VGA spliter can make one or both screens weak and look shit so I dunno if all the gamers that use 2 monitors get a booster thing or if its just fine.

My multi-tasking sometimes gets weird like listing to a WoW podcast while playing TOR or vice-verse. Messes with your head.

The only LP I have watched (unless u count WTF is) is a guy called Theradbrad, which I found cos his LPs are named and tagged as walkthroughs even though they are really not. He is kinda funny sometimes shouting at the game and being very average and making the same dumb mistakes I did. Most are boring though.

 

[Revolutionary]

I only watch Lets plays If the people doing them make funny commentary.
Also My monitor actually is 1440x900, and I do Plan on upgrading to 1920x1080, so that's actually a thing.

 

[OniaPL]

I thought I'd just throw in my own League of Legends experience, and how other players affected it. This happened about a month ago.

Now, I was a platinum level player who was ranked within the top 5% of players in the server or so. I have written a guide for the champion Zyra, and I can tell you the base damages and how the damage scales with Ability Power for multiple champions off the top of my head. In general, I'd say I was pretty invested into the game.

Then, one evening I was waiting for a ranked game.
I get into championselect. Our 4th pick ends up picking Heimerdinger (currently a bad champion by design that has a rework coming up) and saying "FU didn't get mid I will feed", which forced me to dodge (leave the game) which game me a 30 minute penalty prohibiting me from getting into a game.

30 Minutes later I return and look for a game. 3 times in a row somebody dodges because they did not like our team composition (after cursing everyone to hell, of course). This whole farce takes around 15 minutes.

Next championselect I get into has two players with "PL" in their username. Player A says: "Gg, 2 retarded polish kids on our team. Free win for them."
Massive flaming and cursing ensues.

I was forced to dodge again.

But what I realized was that the "negative fun" had exceeded the amount of fun I got from playing the game. All this was present in nigh every game I played (or even tried to get into), and it was just making me more stressed and annoyed when I was trying to enjoy myself. In the end, I never returned to the game after this; other people drove me away from the game I so enjoyed playing.

 

[Panayjon]

I think the only Let's Play that I watch with any vigour would be for comedic purposes. Guys like the Yogscast or TotalBiscuit and even our very own Yahtzee Crowshaw are Let's Play mainstays for me, and the reason I enjoy watching them is that they're either really good at the game and have commentary that's funny (i.e. TotalBiscuit with anything MMO related) or they're really bad (games or they're really bad AT the game) and have hilarious commentary. Usually it's latter that ends up being funnier for obvious reasons. THis is where I guess the appeal for Let's Plays' (???) comes from. Also these Let's Playssss' are just snippets or the beginning of a game or areas that don't spoil the story for me (e.g. WTF is... by TotalBiscuit). On the flip side however those people that just randomly watch gameplay from an entire game through and through are just weird in my opinion...

Also (slightly off topic), more people have to check out Yahtzee's non-ZP material.

Is it time to share links? I think its time we should share links...

Yahtzee
http://www.youtube.com/user/yahtzee19

TotalBiscuit
http://www.youtube.com/user/TotalHalibut

Game Grumps!
http://www.youtube.com/user/GameGrumps

LittleKuriboh
http://www.youtube.com/user/ObeyMyRod

TwoBestFriendsPlay
http://www.youtube.com/show/twobestfriendsplay

 

[Malconvoker]

For Let's Plays, I really like comedic group Lps. My favorite Lps are done by the Freelance Astronauts because they are a group of friends who know each other well and play off each other in funny ways. They tend to not have much commentary on the game but they just are something I like to put on to listen to like a podcast while doing other stuff.

Here's their main YouTube account: http://www.youtube.com/user/SAMaxwellAdams

They also have some other videos that got lost when they transferred lots of their stuff from Viddler but they can mostly be found compiled in YouTube playlists by fans.

I recommend their New Super Mario Bros. LP

 

[Airon]

Posted a remix of the podcast. Still listening to it.

https://soundcloud.com/airon-extv/escapist-podcast-2013-01-04

 

[Rakor]

There are 3 reasons I feel to watch a Let's Play. A) The person(s) doing the Let's Play are funny. B) The person(s) doing the Let's play are insightful/knowledgeable of trivia or backstory or such to the game. C) They're just really skilled and doing cool tricks or speed run stuff.

Walkthroughs are kind of different I feel. Entertainment vs. functionality, I guess.

Anyway, good Let's Play series': Two Best Friends Play and Game Grumps. TBFP, always funny and they are super nerds of the stuff they play more in length (Also their extra channel TheSw1tcher). Game Grumps, Egoraptor and Jontron playing just about anything. Game Grumps is a bit more hit or miss in the entertainment category, but it has rather funny moments. Teamfourstar has some Let's Play's, too.

 

[Migs]

Thanks for the early Podcast Guys!

 

[Tanakh]

Best Podcast in a long time IMO, I really like when you keep the discussion on the vecinity of gaming.

 

[TwistedEllipses]

There are 3 reasons I feel to watch a Let's Play. A) The person(s) doing the Let's Play are funny. B) The person(s) doing the Let's play are insightful/knowledgeable of trivia or backstory or such to the game. C) They're just really skilled and doing cool tricks or speed run stuff.

I've watched silent Let's Plays of games I can't play , like Uncharted, or Prince of Persia: Sands of time, or games like Halo 4 where I'm not about to spend $60 for an 8 hour campaign when I'm not going to touch the multi-player. But those are examples of games that are narrative driven, not just watching how the game mechanics play out.

I really like 'Let's Play' videos because I'm looking for old games people rave about, most of which are no longer available. I also use them to 'test drive' new games I'm considering buying because I no longer trust website game reviews.

Collectively, these sum up why people watch Lps:
A. Entertainment - witty remarks, failing (Dark Souls) or jumping at scares in horror games (There's a current trend for face cams, where Lps merge with the old reaction videos format)
B. Insight - Trivia or backstory on the game. Yahtzee's LPs are a mix of the first 2 points (and D, since he plays old obscure games). Shamus Young's (a contributor to the Escapist.com [my favourite website!]) series Spoiler Warning is like a director's commentary, really going into detail about what worked in a game and why.
C. Skill - There are too many Call of Duty vanity video (of 360 no-scoping, etc), but I admit there's always attraction in watching someone do something well.
D. Lack of Access - Price, rarity, platform, age of the game.
E. Curiosity - Instead of blind-buying a game it makes sense to check it out. You can't get a great sense for mechanics, but it's better than most game trailer on TV that barely show game footage.
F. Story-telling - As mentioned, Uncharted 2 is a good example as it's quite cinematic. Other good example are cut-scene heavy narrative driven game series like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid. It was because of E and F, that I watched and then played The Walking Dead long before I heard the buzz about it.
G. Variety - Seeing how someone else approaches the same game. Watching the first episode of Telltale's Walking Dead didn't spoil that much, because I played it in a totally different way. This doesn't just apply to branching choices, but also totheir general approach to combat, levelling up, conversation, etc.

 

[Jedisolo75]

It's not just PC players that multitask while playing games. I was playing Skyrim on my Xbox while listening to this podcast on my laptop. I do this pretty much every week. Some console games, like Skyrim, or FFX, or really a lot of games get repetitive. I can listen to the podcast, or a book on tape, while I am killing Draugr with no problem, then just pause the podcast when I get to something that actually requires my attention.

Love the podcat by the way!

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

Tutorials in games...reminds me of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM

 

[Eleima]

Enjoyed the podcast, as always! To answer Susan, I didn't send any e-mail with Christmas decorations because we didn't have any this year. We've moved abroad, and with no close friends or family to spend it with, plus the tropical clime, I just couldn't get in a Christmas-y mood.

As for New Year's Resolution... my resolution is to cull my game backlog [http://www.backloggery.com/eleima]. Because it's gotten really, really out of hand... I need to get on top of this, and start doing something about it, because it's just getting ridiculous. So that's my 2012 goal.

 

[Mr. Gray]

On the not of LoL. I play Dota 2 and other moba with my friends, many of them are super competitive in LoL. It's a very hostile community, but it's not because it's "Part of the culture" It's so hostile because it's a highly technical genre that forces you to play for 30-60min or you're punished for leaving. If you were forced to be killed and over and over because one person was making more mistakes than is acceptable at your MMR then you're going to be angry. Not that I condone abusive behavior, but a game that requires so much skill and reliance on others is going to make people assholes.

 

[Colt47]

On the not of LoL. I play Dota 2 and other moba with my friends, many of them are super competitive in LoL. It's a very hostile community, but it's not because it's "Part of the culture" It's so hostile because it's a highly technical genre that forces you to play for 30-60min or you're punished for leaving. If you were forced to be killed and over and over because one person was making more mistakes than is acceptable at your MMR then you're going to be angry. Not that I condone abusive behavior, but a game that requires so much skill and reliance on others is going to make people assholes.

Oh yeah, I can attest to the aggro in that game. I don't think I've ever been encouraged to avoid PvP based titles before, but seeing my buddy play the game and hearing his conversations over vent, it's worse than hardmode raiding in World of Warcraft, which is pretty brutal on it's own right depending on the guild leader and expectations. However, I've always been more of a challenge game person than a competitive game person. Whenever I'm on break and not burned out on college/university I tend to enjoy games like Dark Souls and Ys Origin, while during the college weeks I'm usually stuck with WoW raids assuming I can keep up with all of the raid prep busy work.

 

[bdcjacko]

Cause I heard it here first, I have a question about the Sony patent. What if you console breaks? If they were to use this disk tying technology, would you have to re-buy your library of games? That seems fucked up because consoles do break.

 

[Greg Tito]

Cause I heard it here first, I have a question about the Sony patent. What if you console breaks? If they were to use this disk tying technology, would you have to re-buy your library of games? That seems fucked up because consoles do break.

Keep in mind, there's no official word from Sony that this will actually be implemented. But I'd imagine if you tied the game to your account and your console breaks, you could then set it up on another console and keep your library intact.

 

[bdcjacko]

Cause I heard it here first, I have a question about the Sony patent. What if you console breaks? If they were to use this disk tying technology, would you have to re-buy your library of games? That seems fucked up because consoles do break.

Keep in mind, there's no official word from Sony that this will actually be implemented. But I'd imagine if you tied the game to your account and your console breaks, you could then set it up on another console and keep your library intact.

Yeah, I was keeping in mind that this was hypothetical. And hypothetically if they went through with this, it would also cause havok with the rental market, unless they sold special disks to rental outlets or you would only get to experience X amount of hours/levels with the game or all the things that you guys were discussing on the podcat.

But if you only got to play a "demo" or limited version through rental, that would undermine the basic premise of like Gamefly's keep it as long as you like policy. So if you only got 5 hours or the game or a handful of plays, why bother keeping the disk for longer than a weekend?

As you guys (and gal) pointed out in the Podcat, this opens up such a big can of worms, I can't see them using it without pissing off everyone.

 

[StewShearerOld]

Enjoyed the podcast, as always! To answer Susan, I didn't send any e-mail with Christmas decorations because we didn't have any this year. We've moved abroad, and with no close friends or family to spend it with, plus the tropical clime, I just couldn't get in a Christmas-y mood.

As for New Year's Resolution... my resolution is to cull my game backlog [http://www.backloggery.com/eleima]. Because it's gotten really, really out of hand... I need to get on top of this, and start doing something about it, because it's just getting ridiculous. So that's my 2012 goal.

Ha. I have that same resolution every year. I really wish the games industry could just stop for maybe a year or two to give me time to catch up.

Oh, and thanks to the Escapist crew for answering my question. My daughter Audrey currently has five six nerdy onesies in her wardrobe. I have no issues dressing her in boy clothes!

My bigger concern is just when she grows older and starts to be aware of that boy/girl clothes divide. If she winds up liking princess crap (Andraste help me) then fine, but if she likes things of the nerdier variety, I don't want her in that position of feeling like she shouldn't like something because of arbitrary gender lines. I don't want her to be the girl who gets bullied for having Star Wars water bottle in elementary school and I feel like half of making it "normal" for girls (and boys!) to like something is giving them a viable way of doing so. Makes me want to start my own clothing line. Kickstarter, here I come!

I also concur that Final Fantasy really lost it's appeal when it took a turn for the sci-fi. I've just been content to replay VI once every couple of years.