The rise of the lets play and what it might say

[FolloweroftheApoetic]

So Letsplays have come to a point where commentary on the media is kind of treading the line in becoming the media or a form of media apart from its source.

I know what your thinking duh dude. Nice broad strokes forum bait. Well shhhsh.
The LetsPlay as popular as it is and as many questions as I see it raise is just like a lot of things that make me say "well you know..." is a legitimate art in my own opinion. Lots of things are like that and just like lots of art its more about how good it is at being art rather than questioning what it is.

So that "well you know..." part or I guess I should say one of them that I'd like to address here is how much volume the voices of prominent letsplayers have its not a bad thing in and of its self, allow me to preface this with that but what does this say about the modern celebrity, what does it say about comedy and socialization via the internet and what does it say about consumer culture.

I think that these things are something that many of the high profile names in the genre think about and I'm fairly certain its the source of some of the more high brow..or..tactful.. jokes they can bring to the table. I'm personally not to big on lets plays as much as other kinds of video game themed material for me its when videos lean more towards informative and friendly that I find the best balance in what I'm watching.

There is a lot I could go on about but you. How do you dudes, dudetts and hamaphrodudes feel about this. Your dialog is appreciated have a wonderful whenever you read this post.

 

[Super Cyborg]

There is only one Let's Player I watch, and his name is Jesse Cox. Dude is hilarious and seems to add to the value of the game he's playing.

I've heard that there are basically two types of Let's Players, those that do it as a profession, such as Jesse and others, and those that just post it on You Tube because they want others to think they are funny. There are the good ones and the bad ones as with anything. I will look up random gameplay footage of games I'm interested in if I feel the need, but beyond that, I don't watch lot's of Let's Plays. Even for Jesse, I only watch certain videos, usually his Fan Fridays, and every once in a while I'll watch one of his longer running series.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I mostly watch LP's to see how someone else reacts to an event or approaches a particular situation, or just what tactics they may employ. Rarely I'll also watch an LP of a game I'm mildly interested in but have no desire to buy myself. I do not watch any LP's for the purpose of comedy, though I may get a laugh out of it from time to time on occasion. That isn't the focal point of my interest in LP's, though.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Considering that I used to watch "let play" with my brother before it became a thing, I do watch other let plays. I just find it the same as watching my bro playing a game except the person can't hear my comments.

 

[Continuity]

LPs have shown that they have a definite place, frankly there are so many games these days that there is no way I'm going to play all of them, or even all of the ones I think I would like. LPs are a new way to experience games without the commitment of buying, installing, and getting into the game yourself, and it works great for story lead games especially if you have the right person doing the LP - smart/funny commentary can add a lot to the experience.

Its not even that its purely an alternative to playing the game, for many LPs i've watched, maybe more than half, I've already played the game, or am playing it side by side with the LP.
Games like Rage, Amnesia dark decent, Dead space, Shadow warrior.. I played along side the LP, many others I watched the LP after completing the game myself as a way to revisit a good game with the bonus of seeing it though the eyes of someone else and getting to laugh at their mistakes and funny commentary.

 

[Elijin]

There is also a significant audience which view them in a 'There are way too many games to throw money around without some insight, and no demos...' and treat the whole Lets Play experience as a demo.

I know about 90% of the times I have watched them are 'I need to know how mechanic A works before I buy it, because the reviews arent being clear.'

 

[L. Declis]

I have read your OP about four times. I have studied English Literature at university. I speak three languages.

I still have no idea what you are trying to say.

----------------------------------

Well, as a Let's Player who puts a lot of work into trying to make sure the standards are high, being a good Let's Player is really bloody hard and people like Jim Sterling or the Rabbit guy make it look effortless when they are pretty damn good at it. Only now I've begun putting together my own can I appreciate that.

The reason I am putting out a Let's Play is because I really like the games I've chosen and I haven't seen many Let's Plays of them actually follow through, and I think the games are wonderful. I'm not particularly funny at the moment, but I'm never been able to tell jokes, I'm more a reactionary kind of guy. Hopefully that'll improve, but the game takes centre stage to me.

In terms of Let's Play as art, Let's Plays are the kind of art like the bed covered in condom wrappers for the majority of them.

Considering that I used to watch "let play" with my brother before it became a thing, I do watch other let plays. I just find it the same as watching my bro playing a game except the person can't hear my comments.

Exactly this. I've been watching friends and friends have been watching me play games at each others houses for years. Hell, I watched my cousin play all the Resident Evils when I was 4, explains my love of zombies (before it was cool) *hipster glasses*