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Let's Play Pet Peeves

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
I'm curious, for you guys what are some of your pet peeves when it comes to LPing? What makes a bad LP bad?

~~~

For me there are two main things...

They suck at the game: To me, watching someone play a game is like watching someone play a sport. You watch professionals. I don't want to watch someone suck at a game unless it's a blind run and they have good reason to struggle. I don't need insanely skilled players or speed runners either, but the LPer should know what they are doing and if they are on a blind run, not listening to the tips or tutorials is not a valid excuse. This brings me to a subcategory

Time wasting: You do not need to show me all of your deaths. If you think it's interesting or potentially funny, then keep it, but otherwise, please cut it out of the final video. If you're stuck on a puzzle, fast forward all the pointless parts. I'm fine with seeing your ideas on how to solve it, even if they don't work, but when you've done the same thing over and it's not working, you've reached the point of insanity and I don't wanna watch.

Off Topic Commentary: Let's say the game you're let's playing is Super Mario 64.

Talking about Super Mario 64: Fine

Talking about Super Mario Sunshine: Fine.

Talking about Super Mario 64 compared to other games: Fine.

Talking about Nintendo in general: Fine.

Talking about video games: OK.

Talking about your childhood experience with Super Mario 64: Fine.

Talking about your childhood. No.

Talking about your political views: No.

Talking about some movie you saw the other week: No.

Talking about your privates: Hell no.

It annoys me when someone is talking about something that has nothing to do with the game. That's like football commentators just ignoring the game and then talking about how their recent fourth of July was and what they're thinking of having for dinner that night. It's not interesting and I don't know why these people bother LPing when all they do is talk nonsense. May as well start a podcast because you really aren't doing the game justice and that's what I came for. And this brings me to another subcategory.

Filler commentary: This is generally when an LPer has ran out of things to talk about and is simply talking for the sake of commentary itself. Often times this is off topic, but other times it remains on topic, but completely pointless. Examples of this include:

Reading the game text.

Screaming randomly over nothing.

Smack talking the computer when you really haven't done anything remotely impressive or cool looking.

But how about you? What annoys you on LPs?
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
1) Annoying af commentary (e.g Tobuscus, PewDiePie, really most LPers)
This just ticks me off. I can't stand when people LP with ******* voices and generally sound like idiots. Just give me your voice as it is, or don't voice at all (exceptions being Fantana <3, Little Red Riding Ho <3)

2) Talking down to players/party members
It's okay if Chris Smoove does it - he isn't hostile with it. "Get down to the ground noob" isn't said in a hostile manner - at leats when he says it it isn't. But other people, they're just jerks with it. I don't want to put out names because I honestly don't ermember, but a lot of people do this and it's just irritating.

3) When people think text = let's play
Don't mislabel your videos. And don't go around thinking that text makes it an LP; we're here for your VOICED COMMENTARY. :I
 

Skittles

Rainbows!
Joined
May 22, 2013
Location
Skyloft
Eh, maybe I'm just weird, but I don't care if a Let's Plays done by professionals or not. That really doesn't matter to me, I want to be entertained, the commentary can have some bunny trails... *shrugs*

So, my biggest pet peeve is really when the commentors are just plain boring. Like this one guy I use to watch, he pretty much played the game and had very little commentary at all. He didn't know how to interact with the audience. If a LPer knows how to be entertaining and connect to the audience, then I'll quite happily to watch their LP's even if they go off topic a little...;)
 

LittleGumball

Slammin' Salmon
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Location
upstream
I hate all minecraft, except for when it's just an interesting background to put behind an announcement/rant/look-at-me-I'm-drunk spiel.
Otherwise, I have to be able to understand what they're saying and they have to make me laugh or grin. If they have an interesting voice it's even better. (Necroscope could talk me to sleep every night and I would be happy.) I'm usually supportive of whatever, unless they're boring.
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Voice Commentary is my only pet peeve. I don't watch Let's Plays or video walkthroughs to hear someone talk, I do it to watch the game because I don't own the game/can't buy the game and want to see what it's like. Therefore, I have no interest in hearing anyone talking throughout the gameplay. In fact, I don't WANT to hear it. Voice commentary is an INSTANT turn-off for me.

we're here for your VOICED COMMENTARY. :I

I'm not. ;P
 
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Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
Voice Commentary is my only pet peeve. I don't watch Let's Plays or video walkthroughs to hear someone talk, I do it to watch the game because I don't own the game/can't buy the game and want to see what it's like. Therefore, I have no interest in hearing anyone talking throughout the gameplay. In fact, I don't WANT to hear it. Voice commentary is an INSTANT turn-off for me.

That's a bit odd considering the whole purpose of a Let's Play is the voiced commentary. ;I

In that respect, what you're looking for are pure video walkthroughs, not LPs. ;)
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
That's a bit odd considering the whole purpose of a Let's Play is the voiced commentary. ;I

In that respect, what you're looking for are pure video walkthroughs, not LPs. ;)

True, but with the amount of videos with voiced commentary that call themselves "walkthroughs" instead of "let's plays", I've begun to consider them to be the same thing. ;P It makes finding pure video walkthroughs a huge pain. I have to typically go through 5 or 6 different channels to find one without commentary. [noparse]>.<[/noparse] So, it's a pet peeve for me.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
3) When people think text = let's play
Don't mislabel your videos. And don't go around thinking that text makes it an LP; we're here for your VOICED COMMENTARY. :I

Guilty of all charges. XD The main reason I do it though is because of this

1) Annoying af commentary (e.g Tobuscus, PewDiePie, really most LPers)
This just ticks me off. I can't stand when people LP with ******* voices and generally sound like idiots. Just give me your voice as it is, or don't voice at all (exceptions being Fantana <3, Little Red Riding Ho <3)

My voice is horribly monotonous. Not to mention I'm awful at improv, and live with a noisy and intrusive family who will come in to check on me if I'm talking to myself. XD

I had no idea that text LPing was such a common issue though. Excluding myself, I've only see one LPer do it. I figured it's because adding the text is so much harder, but I had my friends vote and they all agreed they'd rather listen to the text than hear that annoying robot voice.
 

BoxTar

i got bored and posted something
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Location
Pacific Northwest
Jeez, negative vibes for LPers on here...kinda.

In all seriousness, I think that LPers should be able to branch out and talk about stuff they want to talk about...within reason. My favorite LPer, Markiplier, is both silly and weird, but talks mainly about the game, its atmosphere, what he needs to do, the graphics, etc. He rarely starts talking about what he did that day. But he still has a very funny personality, and pulls in anyone who wants to watch an LP or just wants to laugh. I also like it when LPers pull a community together for a better cause. Those ones are cool.

I also like Game Grumps, but I see them less as LPers and more like two guys talking while a video game is playing, kinda like a podcast. Disagree with the formula all you like, they don't claim to be LPers. They play Sonic '06 for Christ's sake.

What I don't like from an LPer is when they complain to much. I remember watching PewDiePie play Conker's Bad Fur Day, an absolutely amazing game that I love. The whole time he just looked upset, bored, or annoyed whenever there was a smidgen of a challenge. It was one of the reasons (among many) I stopped watching any of his videos.

Here's the short list:

Must Be Original: Yeah, this is a tough one. I see so many copying personalities like PewDiePie, Tobuscus, or others. Its annoying. Get your own personality, and stop feeding off others success.

Must Be Creative: I don't mind watching an LP to get through a game, but when I'm stuck, I usually read a written instruction rather than a video. I've always seen an LP for entertainment purposes more than actual instruction.

Must Have A Level of Understanding of the Material: Blind LPs are fine, and often times hilarious, but godd*mn is it annoying when a person who plays the game has absolutely NO idea what they're doing. I start getting angry and almost yell at my computer. "JUST F*CKING PRESS A AND Z! IS IT THAT SO F*CKING HARD?"

You Gotta Talk: You don't have to interesting, but give us something to hear. I know people are gonna differ with me on this one, but whether its serious or sarcastic, I like it when a player gives me info on the game or whatevs. When its just silence, I get a bit bored. Often times I watch LPs to see how others react to video games I've already played, and seeing that common feeling expressed in different ways makes me smile, or even laugh. I dunno. I'm weird.

But yeah, that's what I feel an LP needs. Aside from a game to play, of course. :P
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Must Have A Level of Understanding of the Material: Blind LPs are fine, and often times hilarious, but godd*mn is it annoying when a person who plays the game has absolutely NO idea what they're doing. I start getting angry and almost yell at my computer. "JUST F*CKING PRESS A AND Z! IS IT THAT SO F*CKING HARD?"

You were watching Game Grumps Glover weren't you?
 

Kirino

Tatakae
Joined
Jun 19, 2010
Location
USA
1. When they read the character's text. I really hate this. This is like filler commentary when they have nothing to say, and most of the time it's done in an annoying voice. I like to imagine the characer's voice and read it by myself, so this annoys me.

2. Talking during cutscenes. I hate this so much >_>. I guess I don't mind much if it's during something minor, but when I'm trying to actually pay attention to the story, and there's some guy screaming in the background, it's pretty annoying.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
How could you tell? ;)

Yeah, that was the first GG video I saw where I genuinely hated what they were doing. Otherwise, they are very entertaining.

While that was probably the worst video, the world moment was in Star Fox 64 when they're raging over how to beat the boss despite Peppy telling them...8 times...how to do it.
 

Skittles

Rainbows!
Joined
May 22, 2013
Location
Skyloft
True, but with the amount of videos with voiced commentary that call themselves "walkthroughs" instead of "let's plays", I've begun to consider them to be the same thing. ;P It makes finding pure video walkthroughs a huge pain. I have to typically go through 5 or 6 different channels to find one without commentary. [noparse]>.<[/noparse] So, it's a pet peeve for me.

Let's say that one of these video walk throughs was someone explaining what they were doing in a game or explaining a really comprecated aspect that you (or others) was struggling with. Like a math teacher explaining calculus or how the 4th dimension works. Something complex. Then, would you like voice commentary if it's helpful?

I do understand where you're coming from though, sometimes I will go and watch a video to get help in doing something. When that's the case...I just turn off the sound...xD Maybe you should do that, next time. *shrug*

Also, this thread makes me want to make a thread about what we like to see in LPs because of all the negativity. :P
 

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