You gather up the pile of mail. Astoundingly, a bulldozer pokes through your wall. However, you have no time for surprise because the ceiling is collapsing on you as your home is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new bypass. You are seriously injured in the process, but on your way to the hospital a fleet of Vogon Constructor ships unexpectedly arrives and demolishes the Earth to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. Better luck next life. We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) > Your score is 10 of a possible 400, in 19 turns. Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game? (Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): > [It's a time sensitive puzzle. If you take too many turns to get outside and stop the bulldozer, you'll die horribly. There is another death scene that you can get if you die outside, though, so you may as well get that if you're going for 100% completion.]
But you are the centre of the universe. Everyone is. Your life is your story and everyone else is just the supporting cast, side characters, and extras. The same goes for literally everybody else whether they realize it or not. No you can't. You can experience watching someone else play it. Dude, I already said that you've convinced me. What more do you want?
I get that it's subjective. I don't look down on people who enjoy Let's Plays. I just put my opinion about all others because from my perspective I am the center of the universe. Unless you have some serious self esteem issues, you should put your opinion about all others because from your perspective you should be the center of the universe. I was going to do a big thing on this post, but then I realized that it would come off as stubborn and pigheaded, so I'll just say what you're all thinking. I'm too stubborn to be convinced of anything other than my opinion. If I doublethink anything hard enough, I can stay in my cozy cocoon of hate for all things that I don't fully understand. No, I'm saying that they aren't playing the video a video game at all, which completely ruins the purpose of there being a game in the first place. However, there are lots of people who think that they are getting the same experience as if they had played the game themselves. Also, I didn't ask if it was the same as listening to the song. I asked if it was a valid way of experiencing the song and it isn't, especially when actual sheet music for it is probably available by now. I'm not saying it isn't worthwhile. Obviously the uploader has a sense of accomplishment from making the video, and that by itself is worthwhile to him or her or them or xer. I think my Let's Listen of Before My Body Is Dry was worthwhile because I had fun doing it and am proud of it. That doesn't make it good, though. Anyway, I'm just saying it's not worth money. Actually, I lie. It's worth money in the same way that a pet rock is worth money. People "buy" it (by dealing with ads), so of course the company is going try and sell it (by putting up ads). And I suppose that making as many pet rocks as were sold when they were popular took as much effort as making a halfway decent Let's Play series. Then there was the marketing and shipping to stores and all that, but it was worth it because the guy became a millionaire off them. Or something like that anyway. Congratulations, you've changed my viewpoint.
Yeah, most of it is my opinion, but the thing about Let's Plays being a flawed way of presenting games can only be true or false. It's the same thing as this: It begins with what sounds like the same guitar over and over with sounds like a bass and some drums in the background for about 15 seconds. After that, the music gets quieter and a the tempo decreases a bit. The Japanese accented singer begins singing with what I guess could be described as her "neutral" singing voice, not really high but not super low either. The first line goes, "In the dusty basement where we met." The drums start to pick up into a fast-ish beat where they're struck twice, pause for what sounds like half a beat, and then go twice, then maybe a quarter beat pause and then twice again before repeating. The guitar and bass can't be heard very well here, if at all, and the singer sings a bit slower with the second line, "May you surprised me so much because you're talking now." She especially draws out the second syllable of "surprised" and the first syllable of "talking." The beat from where the drums started picking up is still going and the guitar is starting to come back into focus. The third and fourth lines run together as, "I gotta find the truth from many fights but I'm all alone/You're the only one who can help me out. We'll be as one," and the "as" in that last sentence sounds like it has an extra "uh" syllable because of the singer's accent. The base is starting to pick up now too when the fifth line goes, "We're ready to fight, look over there," and the trend continues with the sixth line, "They try to kill us for stars. Our bond has got much stronger than before." In that line, "stars," and the second syllable in "before" are drawn out while "much" isn't very pronounced and really just sounds like a pause to keep with the beat. This is also where the singer starts to get into to that loud "belty" voice like in some parts of "Let It Go." All the instruments pause until the middle of the first line of the refrain, "Don't lose your way in your mind" where they come in really loudly all at once. The line itself is loud and belty like I said before and "way" is drawn out for several beats before half-beat a pause in the singing (but not the intruments) followed by the rest of the line. The instruments continue as they are throughout the rest of the refrain. The second line of the refrain goes, "We have to be as one. Don't be afraid my sweetheart," where "be" is drawn out really long, "as" still has that extra "uh" syllable, the second syllable of "afraid" is drawn out before a barely noticeable pause, and the second syllable of "sweetheart" is drawn out really long. The next line goes, "This is the way to be more strong. Harbour my deep secret," where "deep" and the second syllable of "secret" are both drawn out for a few beats each. In the next line, "It makes me so blue. Run through this game before my body is dry," "makes" is split into two syllables to sound like "make-ess," "so" and "blue" are drawn out a bit. The same "drawn out-ness" applies to "game," the second syllable of "before," and "dry." After the refrain there's a short instrumental break of about ten seconds where the music stays how it is in the refrain but slightly slowed down and with more emphasis on the guitar. After that there's a rap verse where there's some kind of traditional Asian sounding synthesizer music and what I assume is the drummer clicking his sticks together. I don't really know how to describe rap, so just imagine the following lyrics rapped instead of sung: So it seems there’s no other choice But to go all out Stay with me and let’s stand out and outshine those trying to get our stars now All we have to do is figure out how strong we are and what it takes to stay alive Sync and learn what we can do to take ‘em down It’s revenge and survive For now, we know in part And you can feel my heart So help me to stay focused so I don’t fall apart I wanna be complete It’s not in me to retreat I could lose on my own so I really need you with me After that the synthesizer music changes up to something a little more modern sounding to lead into the bridge (which is sung), the first line of which goes, "I gotta find out who killed my dad," which is a little bit higher more quiet and subdued than the refrain. The next line goes, "I hear the voice of you in my mind," in pretty much the same way. Then those two lines are repeated except a long and drawn out "so" is at the end this time. There's more rap that goes like this: My blood is pumping I’m ready to fight when you are Let’s let no one break the bond that is ours Show them what it means to be a shining star You have my body Let’s fight as one After that last bit of rap there's another bridge that's sung to tune of the refrain, but quiet and subdued like the other bridge. It goes: Can’t move my feet in the dark I don’t wanna be all alone Can’t feel the heat in my blood Do you remember what he said After that, it goes to the refrain one last time. It's exactly as I described it before, but this time there's some rap under it that goes like this: I really need you with me Help me to stay focused I wanna be complete Fight as one with me Let’s take ‘em down Be a shining star You have my body I’m ready to fight when you are After that the singing and rapping both stop and the instruments do a short outro while the singer vocalizes some ohs, ahs, and yeahs before the music stops abruptly. Was reading all of that really a valid way of experiencing this song, which you could probably have listened to several times while reading all of what I just wrote once? I should hope that anyone who is not hearing impaired gives a hearty "Absolutely not!" You can probably also see all the effort I put into describing that song and, just like you with your Let's Plays, I actually really enjoyed doing it. It was also pretty time consuming to write, which should be obvious from the huge time gap between your post and this one. But do I really deserve to be paid for all that time and effort I put into that? At this point you should be laughing at me for even suggesting such a thing. And I'd love to see you get paid to make videos just as long as they aren't just playthroughs of games. Try doing video reviews of games with tidbits of your own gameplay in little sidebars. Reviews actually serve a useful purpose and are more likely to get people to buy games that deserve to be bought rather than think "Hey, I already watched this sexy-voiced girl's playthrough. I don't need to buy this game!" As for anxiety keeping you from holding down a job, I think you'll need to go a little more in depth. When I have a job, I'm always anxious about whether or not I'm doing well enough and that only pushes me to try harder and when I don't (like now) I'm constantly anxious about the fact that I don't have a job, which pushes me to find a new job faster. Maybe I don't have proper anxiety like you were diagnosed with (or maybe I do and I react better to it?), but I feel like it should be the same principle. If it's a social thing, I can't think of anything besides finding a job where social skills take a backseat to good, honest, hard work. You're young and live in the Eastern US, so there should be logistics centers all around. I'm not claiming to truly understand anything, though, so correct me as brutally as you see fit here. (By the way keep that teaching job as long as you can. If you can get up to a full time position someday it'll really save your bones. I swear I've got the knees of someone twice my age.)
Uhm... Also, you were 47 minutes late.
[Who needs dental hygiene or analog tools, amirite?] Front Porch This is the enclosed front porch of your home. Your front garden lies to the south, and you can re-enter your home to the north. On the doormat is a pile of junk mail.
You swallow the tablet. After a few seconds the room begins to calm down and behave in an orderly manner. Your terrible headache goes.
You miss the doorway by a good eighteen inches. The wall jostles you rather rudely.
Ok. [As before] >look around Bedroom The bedroom is a mess. It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone. There is a flathead screwdriver here. There is a toothbrush here. >look in pocket Opening your gown reveals a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is, a buffered analgesic, and pocket fluff. >inventory You have: a splitting headache no tea your gown (being worn) It looks like your gown contains: a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is a buffered analgesic pocket fluff
[It occurs to me that I probably should have linked to this before the game started.] The bulldozer, which you may have noticed outside, just pushed your home down on top of you. **** You have died **** We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) > Your score is 10 of a possible 400, in 20 turns. Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game? (Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): > [Use the same syntax as last time.]
Front of House You can enter your home to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south. All that lies between your home and the huge yellow bulldozer bearing down on it is a few yards of mud. Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch. He looks startled to see you emerge, and yells at you to get out of the way. The bulldozer rumbles slowly toward your home. [At this point, you can use the "say" command. Just use {say to person you're addressing "Thing you want to say."} The brackets are not necessary. You can also use general speaking commands like "Protest" and such without needing the "say" syntax. This applies for the rest of the game as well. Just use your own discretion.]
See, that's okay. In fact, that's not even what I'd call a Let's Play. Why not just call that a "challenge run" or a "speed run" or something more appropriate? Have they always been like that, or did it just evolve that way? I distinctly remember Rooster Teeth Let's Plays being just as bad as others the last time I saw them. On machinima, I recognize the value in that. I love Red vs Blue because it feels more like good Halo fanfiction than Halo gameplay. Save for the first few seasons, I could actually see it taking place in the Halo universe. Speaking of RvB, I really need to catch up on that. [QUOTE'I mean, if you don't want commentary then you shouldn't watch Let's Plays... That's the point... Luckily, RT never does anything like a single player game and talks over cutscenes like that trash DSP.[/QUOTE] Note that I said "constant" commentary. I don't mind a well timed snarky comment here and there or a genuine chuckle when something funny happens. It's just that in most Let's Plays, the player feels the need to comment on everything all the time and always try (and usually fail) to make those comments funny. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that they clearly don't understand that the core of a game experience is "play" and seem to assume that their viewers are getting the same experience that they are. And before you say that I don't do my research, I'll have you know that while I was in the process of realizing that Let's Plays are trash, I'd always watch a couple of episodes of a couple of different games from each new LPer I saw. While they were unique in many ways, they all had that same recurring flaw. If Let's Plays are ever going to fix that flaw, they'll have to go the way of how golf and professional poker got "sportified" by providing easy to understand explanations of what's going on for people who haven't played the game (and thus don't understand the mechanics) while also not cutting away from the action in-game. But that's not going to happen because it's too much work for the Let's Play genre. I realize that the video maker has nothing to do with how much the devs are paid or overworked, but that doesn't mean it's okay. Would you say it would be okay if Boris Johnson got all the credit for implementing a law when Ken Livingstone did all the work to get it ready to be signed into law? I mean yeah, they're opposing parties so that's pretty much never going to happen, but still. And really? Increasing game sales? If anything, they're decreasing game sales because they encourage the thought process of, "Oh, I don't need to play that game, I've already watched a Let's Play of it." I've seen this happen countless times and really, it's only slightly better than piracy. I doubt there are any statistics to prove either of us right on this, though, so I'll concede this point. Hey, I'm not saying that people shouldn't make Let's Plays. I'm just saying that they shouldn't get paid for it, that I don't find them entertaining, and that they are a very flawed way of presenting games. I'm sure you're just as good as all the most famous Let's Players.
You rush down the stairs in panic. Front Porch This is the enclosed front porch of your home. Your front garden lies to the south, and you can re-enter your home to the north. On the doormat is a pile of junk mail.
That's easy for you to say since you don't even have the window.
I still don't think that changes the fact that they're piggybacking off the work of a large and likely underpaid development team. Besides, how are any of the popular Let's Players "likable on camera?" All the "popular" Let's Players I've seen, from PewDiePie to Tobuscus to Game Grumps and yes, even RoosterTeeth, are just plain annoying due to their constant commentary and disregard for the fact that most games aren't made with non-players in mind. And do you really think someone who's playing video games and collectiong on ad revenue for a living would make an effort to be "likable on camera?" It's just how they are. No effort required. And what would that word be?
Ok. [Here are some basic commands so you guys don't have to go through them again.] >Look around Bedroom The bedroom is a mess. It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone. There is a flathead screwdriver here. There is a toothbrush here. >Look in pocket. Opening your gown reveals a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is, a buffered analgesic, and pocket fluff. >inventory You have: a splitting headache no tea your gown (being worn) It looks like your gown contains: a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is a buffered analgesic pocket fluff
Your score is 0 of a possible 400, in 19 turns. Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game? (Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): > [Say RESTORE and the name of your saved game or say RESTART to return to the beginning. Saying QUIT will end the game and initiate a poll for the next game, but you don't want that yet. You haven't even gotten the babel fish!]
It dances by you like a thing possessed. Astoundingly, a bulldozer pokes through your wall. However, you have no time for surprise because the ceiling is collapsing on you as your home is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new bypass. You are seriously injured in the process, but on your way to the hospital a fleet of Vogon Constructor ships unexpectedly arrives and demolishes the Earth to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. Better luck next life. [Welcome to Dark Souls The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.] We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) > [Sorry, I can't input your commands or the game will bug out and we won't be able to get our score or restore the saved game.]
The difference here is that while actors and writers are actually putting effort into creating things, Let's Players just piggyback off of other people's work. How much effort actually goes into recording gameplay, slapping on an intro (which only has to be made once), slapping on some video effects (maybe), and uploading the whole thing to Youtube? And since it's been mentioned, I also think that, for the most part, reality TV stars shouldn't be paid. The same goes for people who only share their opinions on stuff without adding anything meaningful or unique to the discussion.
