Jurassic Park: The End?

Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL368B6F881643E5D0&feature=view_all

So … it’s finally done. I’ve gotta say that, for a game built entirely around quick time events, this game was worth sticking through. The last video of the series pretty much sums up my thoughts on the game. You really should take a look at the playthrough if you haven’t already. Now I just need to finish the SNES game …

Now that this is done I have a lot of plans for the near future. A four day weekend will help accelerate these plans. Look for teasers to start very soon!

Added Value in Let’s Plays

I like Totalbiscuit. I mean a lot. I respect a lot of the work he does because I respect his morality when it comes to covering video games. He really does approach things in a way that honors the integrity of his journalist apporach. I think this is a good reason why so many people respect his opinion when he waxes philosophical on games and, in particular, people covering games. All this said however, I have to disagree with what I think he was trying to explain in his latest VLOG video: I do no think that Let’s Play content is lazy or a lesser form of entertainment IF it’s approached the correct way.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally know where he’s coming from. Hell, I get messages and comments from people advertising their LP content on my channel and I have only the smallest fraction of the viewer base that Total has. He is probably inundated with messages, comments, and twitter mentions either asking his opinion or straight up advertising their videos. I can also see that the vast majority of LP content on YouTube is … for lack of a nicer way to say this … really really bad. I don’t mean to sound elitist or mean – I have been in the same boat – but what some people try to pass off as content is exactly what Total described in his Vlog … or worse!

Does this mean that all LP content can be lumped into this same lazy category? Certainly not! Ian (Verbal Processing) and I have talked many long hours about the value of LP content as a method of channel growth and audience entertainment. We’ve both concluded that straight LP content (the kind where you press play in Fraps and then slap it on youtube) is exactly what Total is describing in the video above – LAZY. However, if one works to elevate the genre beyond the lowest common denominator, LP’s can become not just entertaining but quality videos that you can be proud of putting up on your channel.

So what can you do to elevate the genre? In my opinion the following can help:

  • Add an intro/outro – I’m not just talking about a user name splash screen or network moniker … I’m talking about a legit intro that encapsulates the whole series in 10-20 seconds. This gets the new viewer interested in your content right off the bat and reminds the repeat viewer where they’re heading. Changing the intro/outro slightly during a particularly long playthrough can help keep things fresh.
  • Cut repetitive parts – This is vital in keeping the overall pacing of the episode intact. No one wants to see you cut the same damn tree down over and over. I think I am still very guilty of leaving in parts of videos that detract from the overall quality.
  • Add a second commentator – I hate to pull the Yogscast card … but adding a second person to your commentary takes any video to the next level. It’s just so much more entertaining to listen to two or more people talk than just one.
  • Use editing effectively – Adding sound effects, music (with permission of course), and video effects to an episode can take a run of the mill video to the next level … just don’t overdo it.
  • Involve the audience – I’m guilty of not doing this as it can be quite difficult to implement naturally. Doing things like answering questions and selecting comments to be shown during the video can help involve the audience in new ways.
  • Finish your LPs – I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to this. I have several LP’s that, for various reasons, have been abandoned or I am no longer able to complete. However if you are able to complete a LP there is a good chance you will retain your audience throughout. I am now starting to advocate playing through the entire game (or portion of the game) before uploading any videos as this ensures that you will have consistent content production. This, in turn, builds viewer confidence.
  • Start with quality sources – this is pretty much a gimmie but having good video, audio, and commentary quality are all essential. No one wants to hear a microphone pop for 20 minutes and no one wants to listen to someone scream for 20 minutes either.
Of course no blog post would be complete without shamelessly plugging my own content … but I think that I am on the right track regarding the above points. Particularly my Jurassic Park: The Game, Terraria HARDCORE, and The Legend of Blackbeard’s Castle are all excellent examples of elevating the LP genre IMO. Here are some examples:
Jurassic Park: The Game


Terraria HARDCORE:


Blackbeard’s Castle:


Of course I am in no way the authority on LPing … in fact I am still experimenting with different things to take my LP videos to the next level. However, I think many people would agree that using some of the above techniques can elevate the genre beyond what you usually see.

Now to answer Totalbiscuit’s question: YES! Please do more LP content on your channel. Once you set up a workflow for a series it becomes fairly easy to produce high quality and entertaining content in a reasonable amount of time. You can use this efficiency to post daily or semidaily videos that can be very popular with your regular viewers and generate a new angle of entertainment on your channel. If you are worried about meeting your quality standards then you, more so than most, should have the resources to raise the bar in terms of added value. LP’s (and Youtube in general) can be a lot like retail: it’s all about how much added value the salesperson (Youtuber) can bring to the customer (viewer) over the competition. You have the potential to blow the competition out of the water IMO.

Oh and one more thing: You and Jessie totally stole the Terraria split screen thing from Ian and I.  ;p

 

OCRemix: I Can Haz?

 

So, as most of you guys who have been with me for a while probably know, I LOVE OCRemix. As a classically trained musician of 13 years the video game’s music has always been a huge part of what makes it special. OCRemix takes that love to the next level by hosting remixes of some of my favorite video game soundtracks. Since the beginning of my Youtube career I’ve often borrowed some of their music to fit a mood in my videos and I’ve always tried to give back. Here’s an attempt to do just that.

For those of you who don’t know about OCRemix or what they do it’s pretty simple: They serve as a community for VG music remixers and VG music fans. Remixers will submit new material to a judging panel and, if they’re selected, the OCRemix admins will post their song on their site, twitter, and even Youtube! Its a fantastic way for new remixers to get valuable feedback and exposure for their work and for fans of VG music to hear their favorite tracks in awesome new ways. Of course all of the music is free to listen and even download … what more could you want?! Did I mention their users often get together and create entire remix albums based on a single game or theme? Yeah … it’s pretty awesome! I’ve lurked on their forums for a very long time and I’m happy to report that their forum members are generally really cool and positive people who give pretty damn good advice when it comes to remixing.

All that being said … I’ve always wanted to learn how to remix music myself. Some of you may recall me tweeting about the music that X (davidr64yt) had composed a while back. Well listening to that again has really inspired me to really get my hands dirty. It’s always bugged me that even with my degree in music I was never really exposed to creating digital music. I mean sure I had the mandatory class about using Finale and a little bit of qbass but it was more of a “these things exist” class than a how-to. Right now I’m trying to get my bearings using several DAW (digital audio workstations) and have even made my first (REALLY BAD) fill loop. It’ll be hard work and more than a little bit of learning but I’m hoping my previous experience in music will help me along the path. Maybe … just maybe … I’ll submit my own work and get it approved. Now that would be awesome!

Anyway, I implore anyone who reads this to go and check out OCRemix. Join their community and support the remixers that are proving FREE remixes of all of your favorite VG music! GOGOGOGOGOGO!

X’s Comic Powder Episode

I’m usually not one to gush about people – especially people I’ve never actually met first hand. However, those of you who may have followed me for a while probably know that I’m a big fan of X (davidr64yt). Without going into too much detail, I really enjoy his laid back style and the “purity” of his work. (That is, he’s never seemed to be someone who does stuff just for the monetary benefit on youtube.) Well I’ve been watching X’s videos on the game Powder and been enjoying the heck out of them. Well he did something in the latest episode that surprised the hell out of me. Watch this about 15:40 into it:

That comic in the middle of the LP? That was awesome. I’ve never thought about crossing over the two genera before and it gives me some ideas for the future. Well if that wasn’t enough he posted another video of him actually making the comic. The video is sped up a bit but you can see the whole process:

Yeah and that music in the background? If I remember correctly that was music that he composed himself. All part of the reason I love a lot of the content that man puts out. It also inspires me to possibly try the comic thing myself one day.

Now … if only I could draw … O.o

Powder: One Amazing Roguelike

So, as most of you know, I am a fan of X (davidr64yt). Well the last few days he’s been uploading some videos of a game called Powder. You can find his playlist here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEC16E5745590FD7D

I can’t say I’ve ever really played a rougelike before. I mean, I own Dungeons of Dredmor and it’s expansion but it’s never been a game that I’ve played more than 5 minutes of. Well I watched all of X’s videos on Powder and immediately decided to look it up. It turns out it was created by Jeff Lait as a Game Boy Advanced game. After browsing his website (http://www.zincland.com/powder/) I found that he has made the game available on just about every platform out there. Everything from Linux to IOS is represented. HOLY CRAP! Of course I immediately downloaded it for my iPad and, after doubling the size of the screen got to playing immediately. For a game with no sound and very simple graphics I’ve got to say it really impresses the hell out of me. Even on IOS the controls are very intuitive and combine the use of an on screen controller and touch controls. I am DEFINATELY doing a one-shot of this game just as soon as I can put down the IOS version.

Check out Powder and download the version that suits you!

http://www.zincland.com/powder/index.php?pagename=release

Don’t Mind Me …

Pardon the dust as I do a bit of construction here …

An Open Letter to X (davidr64): "For the Money? Not So Fast!"



Last night I opened my youtube subscriptions to see that one of my favorite youtube commentators has uploaded a video … then I see IT’S FREAKING DONKEY KONG COUNTRY! Could X really be commentating on one of my favorite (if not my favorite) video games of all time? It’s even numbered – could that mean he’ll even finish it?

NO WAY.

NO. F*CKING. WAY.

*Nerdstalgiagasm*

1 minute, 30 seconds into the video I suddenly realized the cake was a lie. Let me explain: 

First off I want to say that I LOVE watching you. Livestreams, youtube, it doesn’t matter – I’ve actually watched every one of your youtube videos all the way through (albeit over a long period of time).  I love your casual outlook on gaming, your quirky sense of humor, and the fact that you don’t always follow the path that is expected of you. Before you think that I mean any of this in a disparaging manner please reconsider. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what you have done and I think that this respect is further magnified because I am walking down a similar path.

Also, I’d like to say that EVERYONE who uploads any content to youtube (or anything similar) is doing so to SHARE that content. It doesn’t matter if it’s me uploading a Capsized episode or Seananners uploading another COD commentary, we are all doing it so that other people can watch it. Now, whether or not it is moral to have viewer and subscriber counts as your focus is up for debate but I wanted to establish this fact before I moved on.

In short, I totally agree with you David. I wholeheartedly believe that people uploading video game content should be doing so for the love of doing it. More importantly, I think that people should upload because they want to share an experience. Anyone who’s uploading youtube content with the SOLE intent to make money or to simply garner “internet fame” is doing it wrong. Fortunately these people are pretty transparent and are easy to spot. I also agree that this attitude has recently become more prevalent and ultimately has a negative impact on the youtube gaming community as a whole.

But each time you get on this rant you start saying that you’ve never had to market your content and people who do so these days are doing it for the wrong reasons. I’ve heard your rant twice now and both times I have left feeling frustrated because it makes me believe that you don’t understand how things have changed.

You started doing youtube at a time when the game commentary scene was relatively young. There weren’t many people doing it and thus not much competing content. You produced videos that were of good audio, video, and commentary quality making it relatively easy for your content to rise to the top without any additional marketing effort. Plus the early Machinima contract, your connection with Seananners, and the fact you were one of the first to produce videos on what would become the biggest Indie games of our time didn’t hurt right? ;p  Anyway, you produced quality content and everything else fell into place.

The same can’t be said today. Just look at the sheer number of different Minecraft commentators there are. I mean really look. (0.o) I know what you’re thinking, “But you need to do something original. Fill a void somewhere.” Yeah … good luck with that. I’m not saying that opportunities for original content don’t exist (as I think I’ve found a few niches for myself in the last few months) but think about all the other people trying to find the same thing. Sure someone can get lucky and make a few connections with huge names or get an early start on another Minecraft and really blow up. Realistically neither of those situations are very likely. The truth is that for someone to have any sort of “youtube success” (and thus do the whole sharing experiences thing I talked about before) in any reasonable amount of time they have to have the following things:

  • quality content (audio, video, editing, and commentary)
  • consistency (video uploads, quality, etc.)
  • original content (new or niche games, innovative ideas on the medium)
  • nonabrasive marketing (participatory forum posts, social media, collaborations)

Let me give you some real world examples of this in action:

therecidivistdork
http://www.youtube.com/user/therecidivistdork


I LOVE Recidivist Dork. She and I started about the same time and with the same game. Overall, her videos have the quality you would expect from someone much more “popular”. She may not have the original content but she sure does bring a lot to the table in terms of quality. Unfortunately she was forced to stop making videos due to personal reasons.
End result: 38 subscribers and 707 total upload views

verbalprocessing
http://www.youtube.com/user/verbalprocessing

Ian surprises the hell out of me on a daily basis. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a good friend of his since meeting through our youtube channels in April. Regardless, I’m sure that his many fans would agree that he produces some of the best videos on youtube. His videos have amazing quality (and editing), he consistently uploads, produces original content from new and interesting games (Terraria motion comics I’m looking at you!) and has marketed himself well through several different methods including a forum in which he is an active poster. He works hard on what he does – sometimes as much as 30-40 hours on a single one minute video. I know from conversations with him that he’s doing this for all the right reasons … he just wants his hard work to be appreciated. He realizes that in order for that to happen he needs a bit of help along the way.

End result: 4,115 subscribers and 497,487 total upload views

lordsevein
http://www.youtube.com/user/lordsevein

Of course this letter wouldn’t be complete without throwing my own name into the hat. Now I started the whole youtube thing partly because I had exhausted all of the content on your channel as well as Seananners and thought, “Eh, it can’t be hard amirite?” Yeah … about that. I had no idea how difficult and time consuming it is to produce a video on youtube let alone with any consistency. I also had to learn everything from scratch and it is sometimes painfully obvious when you take a look at my earlier videos. Fast forward three months and I think that I produce videos of comparable quality to many of the “big names” (not to blow my own horn or anything).

End result: 1,207 subscribers and 122,222 total upload views

In your video you specifically mention requests collaborations and dual commentaries as a source of frustration on your end. Personally, I believe that dual commentaries are some of the best ways for new commentators to showcase talent. Take, for example, my Terraria dual commentary with Ian from verbalprocessing: The Legend of Blackbeard’s Castle:

IMHO this whole series is amazing. I’m sorry. I know I’m not being too humble but really. I challenge you to find another series (other than the Totalbiscuit and Jesse Cox LP obviously) that meets the above criteria and is better quality. Each episode takes planning, hours of editing, and of course the requisite uploading – all told probably 10ish hours. Ian and I pull MAYBE 2k views per episode. Even this is a fair sight better than my average solo video views of ~500 or so.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining. Really I’m not. But it all goes back to the fact that people like Ian and I are trying very hard to share experiences with the viewer. At the end of the day you should know exactly what it’s like to upload a video and wonder how it’s going to do. To wonder if people are going to watch it or even like it and thus share in the experience you are trying to create. You know the amount of work – the sheer number of hours it takes to create even one single video. So can you really blame the honest and genuine people for wanting to gain even a fraction of the same viewership as you enjoy yourself? Sure there are some (or these days more like many) people who seem to have the wrong motivations in mind when making videos. That’s going to happen any time money – even extremely unlikely money – is involved. 

Yes – telling people that they should be worried about the quality of their content is important. Yes – some people have come to youtube with the wrong motivations and are negatively impacting the youtube community. But is marketing your content wrong? NO! In today’s competitive youtube scene effective marketing is essential to getting people to see you in the first place.

Finally, I’d like to encourage you the same way that I tried to encourage Seananners before my comment was swallowed by the void that is, “MOAR MINECRAFT!” (please forgive the cliche quote – it was late):
“With great power comes great responsibility … You are a key member of this community and as such you hold quite a bit of power in your hands. Please don’t allow the negativity of the vocal minority keep you from posting videos. In a time when the youtube gaming community is balancing on the knife’s edge between becoming the conduit through with gaming becomes mainstream or devolving into a cesspool of self promoting bullshit your participation is absolutely paramount. Stand as an example to every aspiring youtuber so that he might use you as an example. Failure to do so only helps ensure that the morally corrupt win out in the end.
If you read any of this, I hope you’ll understand where I’m coming from and that I still have the utmost respect for what you’ve done. I’m still going to tune in to every possible stream, watch every video, and even squeal like a girl if you play Donkey Kong Country again. (In before MOAR DKC!) I just wanted to address this in hopes that I could convince you to go a little easier on the new guys and continue to be a positive presence in the community. I hope you continue doing what you do and I wish you all the best.
Sandy
(lord sevein)

Zelda, Capsized, and Live Streaming!

Well sorry it’s been a bit since the last post – work has been keeping me pretty busy the last few weeks. With school starting again my department needs to serve a whole lot of students this year and it keeps me busy during the beginning and ends of semesters. Fortunately I’ve found enough time to post videos semi-regularly and I’ve even done a live stream or two. In case you missed it, I beat Super Mario World on the livestream!

http://www.twitch.tv/lordsevein

Its taken a few weeks and I haven’t completed it 100% or anything, but was a lot of fun. I no have a few livestream regulars who come out every time I stream which is awesome. If you are one of those people, THANK YOU for the links, questions, and funny commentary. You guys are quickly making streaming one of my favorite ways of enjoying a game.

In other news:

Minecraft: Zelda Adventure has been a blast to play through so far. I’ve gotten through the fourth dungeon and man am I impressed with the detail of the mod. There are times where I honestly forgot I was playing a Minecraft mod and thought I was playing Zelda. Items like the boomerang and the spritework on the boss keys and chests really make this mod something else. (Click the cool picture to get to the playlist!)

Finally, I have just posted the last episode of my Capsized LP on my channel:

It’s been a fun ride and I really like how the game ended. For something that seems so simple, the game really added a lot of variety when it came to gameplay. There were so many different weapons to use (including the quantum WTF gun …) and each seemed to have it’s special uses in different situations. However, my favorite part of this game was definitely the physics. There is just something cool about playing a game in which you have some real control over your character’s movement but in interesting ways. Thinks like big jumps, grappling hooks, and jetpacks make one of the most boring aspects of gameplay – travel – much more fun. How many of you have wasted more than a few minutes just jumping around Mario 64? I know that I have spent hours just doing stupid stuff with all the different types of jumps available. Anyway, I have really liked Capsized and would totally recommend it to anyone. If you can pick it up on sale I would jump on it quick.
I hope you guys are having an excellent Monday! More fun stuff to come soon … as soon as work allows me.
P.S. I HURD U LIEK POKEMANZ … (www.twich.tv/lordsevein)
>.>

Celebrating 1,000 Subscribers!

WTF.

0.o

No really … WTF?

Ok, let me explain … Sometime last week my channel passed 1,000 subscribers. I didn’t even realize it when it happened – one of my subscribers had to point it out to me. This is a huge deal for me. As I’ve described in previous posts on this site, I never really intended to do anything like a real Let’s Play channel when I first started. It was more of an experiment and to say that I’d done it. Now I get people chatting with me about my videos on League of Legends, people adding me on steam, and someone even bought me a steam game! All of this is new to me and I’m really enjoying ride. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in this just for the subscriber numbers/internet fame (although I’m not specifically opposed either ;p). However, what the numbers/comments/messages represent IS extremely important to me – they represent the support you guys have for what I do. When I see that support it really makes me feel like all the hard work I put into making the videos is worthwhile.

Anyway, I was thinking of ways to celebrate the 1,000 sub milestone and I can’t decide on one cool thing to do … so I’m going to do several things! The first is this video:

I’m also in the process of doing quite a few other things in celebration:

  • LP’s of Minecraft adventure maps (like the Super Hostile series)!
  • A few One Shots of Terraria adventure maps.
  • A contest video of some kind.
  • Perhaps some collab stuff with both Ian and a couple other awesome people!

Again, I want to encourage all of you to leave me some feedback on what you want to see both here and in the comments of the videos. I may not have the time to dedicate to the creation process that some of the big names do, but I’m sure I’ll be able to get to it eventually.

Thanks again for all your support guys!  Your comments and the like make my day!

<3

Streaming w/ DiggitySC: Despite Problems, VICTORY!

Hi guys! I wanted to share with you one of the cooler experiences I’ve had after starting this whole youtube thing. Last night I had the awesome opportunity to join Diggity in a game of League of Legends on his stream! You may have heard of Diggity (or Diggitysc on youtube) as one of the premiere Starcraft 2 commentators on the scene. If you haven’t seen his work, check it out! (http://www.youtube.com/user/diggitySC) I love Diggity’s ability to be really flexible when it comes to his commentary style – he can be as excitable and energetic as Husky, as analytic as Day9, and as well spoken as HD. I even hear some Artosis in there too. Not only can he switch styles depending on who he is casting (or co-commentating with) but he can do it on the fly too. He’s also done something like a METRIC CRAPTON of stuff for the Starcraft community as a whole. Needless to say I have a lot of respect for the guy.

I mentioned in my League of Legends video that I recently started watching Diggity’s nightly League of Legends stream. (http://www.justin.tv/diggitysc) He hosts it nightly at around 10:30PM his time and has such guest stars as LZgamer, moletrap, and X (davidr64). Unfortunately, since I’m in CST his stream usually starts around 12:30AM and can last until 3:00AM … for someone who has to get up at 7:00AM the next day I usually need to get an after-work nap in to catch his stream. Totally worth it though!

Anyway, last night I catch the stream as usual. The last couple of nights Diggity has been reserving a spot on the team for a randomly picked viewer to fill. I’ve signed up since the first night he started doing it but I didn’t get in nor did I really expect to. Imagine my surprise when I heard my handle get called to fill the spot last night! After quite literally picking myself up off the floor I was able to get my headset and sound set up and even get into the group’s skype call! I was pretty nervous as I am still really new to the game and my new favorite champion (Master Yi … yes, yes I know …) but I thought I could use the opportunity to record it and put it up on my channel. Little did I know that I was going to be facing a whole host of problems.

Problem #1: Apparently, in the upper levels of the game Master Yi is an AD carry that jungles throughout much of the early game. However, in the lower levels you are lucky to even have a tank on your team – junglers are almost unheard of. Naturally everyone expected me to be jungling and I haven’t the slighest clue how to do it. I mean I get the general principal – kill minions in a set pattern to keep up with the levels of the laners and gank when you have an opportunity – I’ve just never done it. So, I totally didn’t take smite … :(

Problem #2: As soon as we get into the game my client completely crashed. This was a first for me as I typically don’t have a problem with the game other than occasional freezing for a few seconds. After five minutes of frantically trying to reconnect (and several choice curse words), it finally let me back into the game. I’m playing a game of LoL with one of the people I respect most and I am now five minutes behind in levels and gold. Great first impression right? FML

Problem #3: After getting back in I try to do the whole jungle role … the thing is I’m level one with no items and no smite. What to do? Have several fail attempts at the golems before heading to an occupied dual lane of course! With their direction (and more than one save by Matt who was playing Blitzcrank at the time) I was able to stitch together an early game that consisted of half-jungling and half-laning (read as: mooching) until I was within a level of the group. I was still behind on gold but I’ll be damned if I am going to be behind on levels. :)

Despite all of these problems our team managed to D up and win all of the major team fights. That coupled with my absolute mastery of League of Legends mechanics and excellent micro … (read as: me going, “Oh … we are teamfighting now … guess I better ALPHA STRIKE AND KILL STEALOLOLOL >.>) we managed to mid push right up to their base and destroy their nexus in one go. I have to say that I never expected to win that game.

You can watch the entire match here: http://www.justin.tv/diggitysc/b/289660285 (the match starts @ 11:52ish.) Be sure to watch as I flail around the jungle for the first five minutes for extra lulz.

A big thanks goes out to Diggity and his team for allowing me to play and for doing the stream each night. If you haven’t seen his stream you should really check it out! I had a ton of fun as was glad to contribute to a win for the audience. Perhaps next time I can be present for the entire game … and this time I’ll have smite!

I have some more updates about the channel and my youtube doings sometime tomorrow. Hope you guys are having a great week!

Oh, here’s a little preview: