Video Game Voyeurism

Do you like to watch? I do.  I’m always happy to watch people going at it, trying to finish, get all those good feelings that come during and after.  Sometimes it’s even better than being personally involved.  And always much easier.  If you’re like me, then you know how good it feels to sit back, relax and enjoy watching other people play some videogames.  Maybe it’s just me, but there are some games that I like to watch more than I like to play.  Some games just aren’t my forte, but are definitely fun to passively experience (watch).  Does that make me less of a gamer or more of one?  I don’t know how many people out there have the same amount of love I have for video games or if anyone else enjoys them on as many levels as I do, but this is one of the ways I would like to share.

To start, let’s talk about “let’s play” videos on YouTube.  For those of you unaware of this phenomenon, it’s a small group of people who record themselves playing videogames and supply commentary.  Whether they play games already beaten or play a “blind” playthrough is up to them, but it’s almost always entertaining, save the user who is sometimes annoying.  That’s a win-lose situation, though, since the commentary is sometimes the best part about watching these videos.  Now I’ll be honest, I’ve watched several games from beginning to end in this way: Super Mario Sunshine, My Life as a Dark Lord, and *ahem* God of War 3.   Of course, it’s not the same experience as playing them yourself, but you get the story, see the gameplay and even feel confident enough to talk about the game as if you actually played it.

 Having never played this game, I remain confident about how I feel towards it.

What does it say about the people that take the time to watch these videos?  With YouTube video limits, one must watch these games in 10 minute segments, often with an introduction and conclusion to each one.  I cannot tell you how much I hate the phrase “welcome back folks” now that I’ve heard well over 100 times in a single day thanks to one user.  If you’re not into watching and would rather get the full experience of the game by playing it yourself, then that makes perfect sense to me and, for most games, I feel the same way.  But there are systems that a lot of people don’t have, with games on them some would love to play, and these videos allow a great luxury.  For a more functional use, they provide a way to see if you’d like to buy a game.  If reviews aren’t enough (you bastard) then you can always check out gameplay videos through the “let’s play” users.  This is probably the most depressing way to spend one’s time online, but it’s definitely a time killer and it definitely makes me want to keep watching.

As for the more personable, friendly way to watch games – someone playing next to you on the couch – it’s much more akin to playing the game yourself.  You can talk to your friend and help solve the game’s puzzles.  If you’ve already beaten the game, you can give your own commentary to the current player and help guide them through.  The downside to this, however, is that the person playing may be terrible.  With YouTube, you can always skip ahead and find a part you’d rather watch, but with people on your couch, you better be ready for some awful gaming skills.  I can tell you from experience that you should never allow your girlfriend to “try out” a game in order to have something in common with you.  That’s just a cute spin on hours of frustration.

"Honey all you have to do is c.mk cancel to hp hadouken supercancel into hp super.  I don't know why you can't get it"

Then there are those games that just aren’t worth the total time it takes to play them.  Games that can be watched out of the sheer entertainment, but should probably never be played.  Often, when games have bad gameplay, it comes off even in the videos through YouTube.  I have laughed hysterically for a number of videos on account of the poor game design and, on occasion, because of the commentators themselves.  Other games must be watched with someone playing it next to you if they are to be tolerated.  The Pokemon games come to mind.  Who would really want to watch a video of someone level-up from zero without anyone to talk to?  You may think that people who watch “let’s play” videos have so little to do that it makes them sad to think about.  Well don’t tell me that, I don’t want to think about it.  I enjoy watching games be played, especially games that I can’t play myself for some reason (e.g. cost, not having the right system, laziness, etc.), and I enjoy watching games and contributing to the player so, in a way, we’re playing together – and that’s when things really get hot.