I've had an impromptu hiatus this past two weeks spurred by: finals, flying back from Japan, changing time zones, celebrating Christmas, etc.... I sincerely apologize for that, but let me assure you guys the wait has not been for naught. I've decided to spice things up from now on, so apart from the regular weekly post on sunday/monday, I'll be having at least one other post that same week with the same level of depth characteristic of the Fool in the Cave. Also, I'll be making up for the missing posts from this past two weeks before the end of the year, so expect 4 posts this week starting now. Today's topic: Let's Play.
Michael "Slowbeef" Sawyer, who is usually credited with inventing the Let's Play video, has a TV Tropes page where he eloquently describes Let's Plays saying "[...] have you ever seen a DVD, you know, how they do director's commentary and stuff? Well, imagine if some jackass who was not involved with the creation of the movie at all decided to just comment on what he thought watching the movie would be like. Well, that's kinda like what we are here now", and really that's about as accurate a description as you can get for these things. Thanks to the magic of websites like Viddler or the omnipresent Youtube, millions of people have jumped at the chance to film their videogame playing footage and do for videogames what Mystery Science Theatre 3000 did for old movies.
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| The Something Awful forums are usually regarded as the birth place of the Let's Play |
The more cynical ones among you might be asking why anyone would want to watch somebody else play a videogame, listening to their ranting, instead of just playing yourself and talking to your TV; there's nothing wrong with wanting to have long thoughtful conversations with your television set, but the great thing about Let's Play is not so much getting to watch a videogame being played, but rather having the very particular chance to see and experience the same game in a different way.
Videogames, like movies, books, music, paintings in a museum, etc..., are experienced slightly differently by everyone. This variation in experience however, is all the more clear with videogames because, unlike other forms of art and entertainment, videogames are completely dependent on player agency. It is because of this that Let's Play, and even just gameplay footage in general, is such a popular thing on Youtube and its ilk; the opportunity to experience games from a completely different point of view.
That's it for today, check back tomorrow for my personal experience with Let's Play and a list of different good Let's players for differing tastes.
Videogames, like movies, books, music, paintings in a museum, etc..., are experienced slightly differently by everyone. This variation in experience however, is all the more clear with videogames because, unlike other forms of art and entertainment, videogames are completely dependent on player agency. It is because of this that Let's Play, and even just gameplay footage in general, is such a popular thing on Youtube and its ilk; the opportunity to experience games from a completely different point of view.
That's it for today, check back tomorrow for my personal experience with Let's Play and a list of different good Let's players for differing tastes.
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