Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Let's Plays on YouTube

For anyone who doesn't know what these are, they're basically people who have recorded themselves playing video games usually via emulators and they typically include commentary. Sometimes the commentary is entertaining and sometimes it's bloody annoying. I actually think these things started life a few years ago as video strategy guides for difficult games such as the Ninja Gaiden series or perhaps to find secrets in The Legend of Zelda series. Regardless, they've now morphed into their own form of entertainment since as I said, the game playing is actually kind of secondary. In fact, they've actually split off into 2 forms. If you want to watch a game being played that has commentary, these are called "Let's Plays" but if you want to simply watch the game being played and want to use it as a strategy guide, these are called "Long Plays" so in essence, the idea of a let's play has gone full circle over time.

I personally love watching these things because it gives me the thrill of playing a video game without actually having to learn how to play it. This is especially useful for the Zelda games because I've never played one before nor am I really willing to learn how to play them because I'm not a fan of RPG's or open-ended games as a rule. I like a linear story line with set goals. Perhaps someone would see this and consider it a new evolution in laziness. Me, I see as simple entertainment no different than watching a television show or movie. In fact, this IS a movie. It just takes place in an 8/16/32/64 bit world and has someone controlling the outcome.