"The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

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What kinds of Let's Plays do you prefer to watch more?

Blind Playthrough (They have no idea what they're doing)
10
71%
Pro Playthrough (They know the game like the back of their hand)
4
29%
 
Total votes: 14

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Ketzal
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"The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#1 Post by Ketzal »

Been a while since I made one of these XP

I thought about making this topic after watching the latest episode of the Game Grumps playing Paper Mario. As a huge Paper Mario fan, I was ecstatic to see them playing this, and I was already expecting an amazing playthrough. Now, while I still enjoy the fact that they're doing Paper Mario, I couldn't help but find myself groaning and face-palming at the various mistakes they kept making: not using basic commands during battle, forgetting half of the battle options and abilities, things like that. Admittedly it's not as bad as some other playthroughs they've done (Ocarina of Time...), but it got me thinking about Let's Plays in general and how the player's skill factors into how enjoyable the video is.

Now I will say that sometimes the person's skill at playing the game can have nothing to do with how much fun a video is; just watching them try to play a train wreck of a bad game or a tear-jerking soulful game can be enough on its own. But when it comes to the Game Grumps at least, sometimes the lack of ability or proper understanding of the game can make it too frustrating or cringey to watch for me; on the flip side, seeing them breeze through a game can get boring to watch.

What do you guys think? Do you feel like it's better to watch a Let's Play where the player(s) don't have a clue what they're doing, or do you prefer to watch them play a game that they have down pat?

(I feel like I've made this topic before. Oh well!)

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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#2 Post by Cyon »

Oh boy! It's been a while since I watched any lets plays, but one of my favourites was watching Jacksepticeye learn how to play Kerbal Space Program. He didn't have a clue what he has doing which made for some amazing fails that could easily have been fixed, which I guess was a bit stressful, but definitely worth the laughs...

Then again, it's great to watch people who know what they are doing. It gives you someone to idolize S:P
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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#3 Post by Akira110 »

As a let's player, I'd much rather watch someone that knows what they're doing. Mainly because the commentary can be entertaining and I would sometimes like to be able to use those LPs as a guide. Blind LPs are fine, but only if live commentary, post commentary blind LPs aren't interestin' to me.
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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#4 Post by SirJahar »

It really depends on the game.
I mean, if I know the game, I can't stand to watch blind playthroughs of it. If I don't know it, I'd almost rather watch a blind play.
But live, as you're recording commentary is a must.

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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#5 Post by TinyVoices »

Really depends on why I'm even looking up gameplay at all. I hate watching others play games, and so usually I watch somebody else play for actual entertainment or else to figure something out.

Walk-throughs obviously should be expert and with minimal flaw, especially because it's awkward to have a guy say "here's how you do this" and then forget a step and have to backtrack for 30+ seconds to correct himself.

I also prefer nostalgia games to know what they're doing, but not trying to speedrun or anything unless that's why I'm watching them play. Like, there usually comes a point where somebody is so skilled, they can beat a long level in under 2 minutes. I don't want that if I'm watching somebody just play through Banjo-Kazooie or something similar, unless I'm watching them to see how they actually beat the whole game in under 50 minutes. :P

Games with emotional parts to it are often great to watch with someone who is competent, yet blind. Fumbling or loud and obnoxious vocals over stuff is annoying. I especially hate people who talk about random [censored] while cutscenes are playing. Like, [censored], come on dude, play the [censored] game. And shut up, I can't hear what they're saying, and you're probably not even listening to them give you important info on your blind run. (And then they proceed to not know how to play the game, despite it all being explained in the opening cutscene that they ignored for the sake of talking about how the character reminds them of a cartoon character the player drew in 3rd grade or some [censored]...)

I think leading off of that last point, I also hate it when it's obvious somebody isn't focusing on the game. I never got into Let's Plays, so I don't get the idea of having to be entertained by the personality versus the actual mechanism of the game itself. I don't like Markiplier, for example, because he tries a bit too hard to be funny all the time and I'm not into that. For example last night I looked into gameplay of FNAF: Sister Location, since I don't plan on playing it but wanted to watch the gameplay because I heard it's the best game of the series. I stayed away from Mark's videos because I didn't want a personality or humor with the gameplay, I just wanted to see gameplay. I ended up settling with a guy that could have still been better, however, as the guy was obviously so used to playing through the game that he seemed to be doing side things while playing a no commentary play through (I noticed because there were often times where after a "cutscene", of sorts, happened, he wouldn't move the mouse or interact with anything for 10+ seconds. As if he was responding to texts or something.)


So, overall.... Context. Why am I looking at this gameplay, and what kind of experience do I want out of it? I understand why people love Mark, and I'm not hating on him or people like him. But for me that isn't what I look for in gameplays unless it's a highlights reel of something like Prop Hunt or something. (And then in doses I'll watch the better videos.)

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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#6 Post by MeaCulpa, S.C.M. »

DISCLAIMER: I have extremely niche taste in LPs. If you've heard of even one person I mention below, let's hang out sometime. If you haven't, awesome please go check them out they're all great C:

It doesn't depend on the game so much as the purpose of the Let's Play. It's important to remember that LPs are something of an art form too--whether you do a pro or blind playthrough should be based on the idea behind the LP.

Chip Cheezum does some pretty excellent pro play stuff. He's got a combined eye for detail and love for the games he LPs. Considering that he's a professional video editor and his co-host has experience with radio, you don't find much higher production quality either.

Contrast with the Men Drinkin' Coffee streams, where the spontaneity of a blind playthrough gets thrown into overdrive. Their recent Watch Dogs 2 LP is a perfect example.

Supergreatfriend has an almost documentary-style approach, usually looking for extremely obscure games. He's best known for his Deadly Premonition LP--a game the Grumps picked up several years later.

For a very "artsy" LP example, check out (WARNING: EXTREME CONTENT) Oatmeal Raisin's playthrough of Spec Ops: The Line. He actually had a forum thread on Something Awful where he would ask the people in the thread what they should do next. If you don't know, SO:TL is an extremely heavy game with some TOUGH moral choices. About three quarters through the game, (WARNING: EXTREME CONTENT AND SPOILERS) he made this video where he actually had the nuts to request short essays from the thread followers.

I will admit, though, some games are poison to Let's Play blind. Those games are usually awful--but fun to watch people play. Another alternative is--if the game's co-op--have a pro and a blind player play together. My favorite example of this is Mzbundifund's Amulets and Armor Let's Play, featuring Mzbundifund letting the uninitiated Baxter run into every trap and dead end imaginable.

Fun fact about Mzbundifund's Let's Play: It actually reawakened interest in this 1997 game to the point where the developers have a relatively recent patch for it. When that game was originally released, it didn't even sell 100 copies.

In conclusion, LPs should be thought of as a form of combination art and art critique--and the vision of the LPer is every bit as important--if not more so--than the game being showcased.
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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#7 Post by Vintage »

Blind for sure.

1. I don't know most games that people play, so I like to be on the same level

2. Even if it's somehow a game I've played before, it's really fun for me to watch someone try and learn their way around a game I know perfectly well.
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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#8 Post by Ryusen »

While I don't watch a huge variety of LP, I have found what kind that *I* tend to enjoy.

With everyone and their dog having a YT channel these days, and with how popular LP videos have become, there's no shortage of skill levels, games, genres, commentary, and anything else you care to judge them by. But my preferred LP, TeamFourStar, is in that position because of their chemistry together and the quality of the commentary. Like Top Gear (sorry, Grande Tour), the mesh of personalities, humor, and interplay between members is what drives me to watch. If they can keep my entertained, laughing, and just engaged overall in what they're doing, then I couldn't care less exactly how long it takes. I don't mind watching "JimBob's Banjo Maker IV, Part 20" if they can make it interesting to watch.

It's not that I don't appreciate the skill of someone beating Legend of Zelda in 12 minutes, or doing a Dark Souls run without ... whatever it is they do. But when I'm in the mood to gorge myself on useless videos that let me disengage my brain, I like my LPers that dumped all their points into Charisma.

Or as Russel Crowe so elegantly puts it.
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Re: "The **** Are You Doing?!" A Thought About Let's-Plays

#9 Post by Jonesy »

The only LPs I consistently watch are with Game Grumps, who are known for sometimes missing / skipping / ignoring information about how to play the game. Hell, I remember how in Ocarina of Time Arin would refuse to use his shield, since he disliked how it's used by the game to make him 'wait'. That sort of thing can get annoying at times, but for the most part it's not really an issue. Especially in older or more obscure games where struggling to get their heads around it is what leads to hilarity.

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