So, about Let's Plays of Visual Novels...

[Ashadow700]

A while back me and my friend ended up in a discussion about what place Let’s Plays have when it comes to visual novels. After approximately two hours of debating, it would eventually lead to us making a whole 17 minute video on the topic. I thought I’d share it here since it would be interesting here your opinions on the topic.

Here are a few questions that would be interesting to here your thoughts on:

• 1.       Do you like/dislike/are indifferent towards let’s plays of visual novels?

• 2.       Do you think Let’s Plays of visual novels are good/bad for the industry and the community as a whole?

 

 

 

[mitchhamilton]

meh. thats what i think. ill watch em if only theyre with a vn i like and thats it. i mostly skip to my favorite bits of the vn.

[Okarin]

1- I like, I'm quite a fan of NicoB's Youtube channel and I first knew about Steins;Gate there (the whole universe, since I didn't watch the anime). Also watched Virtue's Last Reward (as a rerun, since I had finished the game first) and Zero Time Dilemma (practically playing it while watching the LP). I started to watch Corpse Party, but it wasn't as much fun.

2- I don't think they affect the industry very much, just imagine there was a Youtube channel heavily bashing VNs or heavily praising them, it would make small difference. Anyway, if you can't play a VN, you might as well watch a gameplay, don't you? And we have to take into account the talent of the narrator. Some youtubers are very funny people, others are not, I'm afraid.

If anything, I like the option of experiencing a game through a different medium. And I talked about Youtube but Twitch is the same.

[Dergonu]

I mean, a visual novel is like a book. I don't really care about watching other people read books; I'd like to read them myself. So I don't see the point of it at all. But, if people do like them, I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to, just like any other let's play really.

[Okarin]

9 minutes ago, Dergonu said:

I mean, a visual novel is like a book. I don't really care about watching other people read books; I'd like to read them myself. So I don't see the point of it at all. But, if people do like them, I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to, just like any other let's play really.

It's exactly because they are like books.

It's not quite like seeing a person read a book and reading it too yourself from above his/her shoulder. It's more like reading the book yourself, but with added comment. There are fantasy books with notes (such as Tolkien's books and Dragonlance ones, to name a couple). Only here the author isn't making the comment. Remember that in good LPs, you have the full script available for reading (except the repeating text). So, you actually READ the game itself.

Since VN have no gameplay, you won't miss much. This is different from a videogame you would actually want to play yourself, because the gameplay experience there is the key element.

Anyway, I'm positive that the narrator can make or break the LP. And I also followed a text-based LP for "Words Worth" some years ago in good old RPG Codex.

[Mkilbride]

I think the concept is absurd. I have a friend who read all of Higurashi this way. It blew my fucking mind.

[Akimoto Masato]

my sister says "eh, what's the point, a visual novel is just a big book with a fuck ton of graphics and a bunch of choices and some tits, what's the point of filming if you can't show the best part....(ten second pause) THE TITS, YOU DUMBASS (hits me) god you act like you don't know me, wait... are you still typing this shit out I will split you slit your throat in three different wa-"

[Kurisu-Chan]

1 hour ago, Okarin said:

1- I like, I'm quite a fan of NicoB's Youtube channel and I first knew about Steins;Gate there (the whole universe, since I didn't watch the anime). Also watched Virtue's Last Reward (as a rerun, since I had finished the game first) and Zero Time Dilemma (practically playing it while watching the LP). I started to watch Corpse Party, but it wasn't as much fun.

2- I don't think they affect the industry very much, just imagine there was a Youtube channel heavily bashing VNs or heavily praising them, it would make small difference. Anyway, if you can't play a VN, you might as well watch a gameplay, don't you? And we have to take into account the talent of the narrator. Some youtubers are very funny people, others are not, I'm afraid.

If anything, I like the option of experiencing a game through a different medium. And I talked about Youtube but Twitch is the same.

NicoB or the guy who can format his community into thinking the same thing, thus ruining milions of fandoms at the same time. 

[Okarin]

2 minutes ago, Kurisu-Chan said:

NicoB or the guy who can format his community into thinking the same thing, thus ruining milions of fandoms at the same time. 

Care to explain this? How did he shape his followers' minds in an Hypno-toad way? How did he ruin those millions of fandoms?

Edited December 14, 2016 by Okarin

[Ningen]

Let's Play's are stupid no matter what game is being played.

 

I don't really think it's bad for VN developers, as I don't believe people watching LPs on Youtube are at an age where they can buy stuff

 

[Okarin]

It's just like uploading a movie with copyright and all into your Youtube account. Nothing more, nothing less.

Has its uses, but to some people it's hideous.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Okarin

[atorq]

Let's Plays are all about adding to and creating your own content form what is already there. The game should be nothing more than a tool, if someone just reads the text there's no real value in it. I could see how a Let's Play could be both good and bad for the industry, it exposes more people but you can also pretty much get the whole experience that way. 

[Kurisu-Chan]

13 minutes ago, Okarin said:

Care to explain this? How did he shape his followers' minds in an Hypno-toad way? How did he ruin those millions of fandoms?

I'm obviously exagerating, what i mean is that most of his followers will take the same point of view as NicoB, or any other youtuber, without even thinking. 

[Okarin]

1 minute ago, Kurisu-Chan said:

I'm obviously exagerating, what i mean is that most of his followers will take the same point of view as NicoB, or any other youtuber, without even thinking. 

Well that's not a fault of the Youtuber. Anyway, anyone likes the people's devotion.

In Spanish we have a saying that goes something like: "turbulent river, the fishers get a full basket". Meaning exploiting the turmoil, basically.

[Forgetful Frank]

I tried to watch an LP of a visual novel once, I can't remember which one (go figure), but I just couldn't get into it. I definitely prefer reading them myself, while I still prefer to read a book, I do actually find enjoyment in an audio book providing it's been narrated well. I wish we got The Hobbit and LotR's narrated by the late great Christopher Lee.

I wouldn't mind being read a non-translated VN by @HMN as a bedtime story, however.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Forgetful Frank

[littleshogun]

Well, I think I'm pretty indifferent to this in regard of LP if you ask my opinion. To be honest, I didn't watch LP much though, so I didn't had much saying about this.

[Satsuki]

1. Other types of game, I don't mind, but for visual novel, I just want to read it in peace, without some random dudes commenting on it. It's just straight out annoying.

2. I don't think it will affect anything at all.

[Tayouken]

1. I like them, because I sometimes find the next vn i will play in this channels.

2. Wont affect.

[HMN]

5 hours ago, Forgetful Frank said:

I tried to watch an LP of a visual novel once, I can't remember which one (go figure), but I just couldn't get into it. I definitely prefer reading them myself, while I still prefer to read a book, I do actually find enjoyment in an audio book providing it's been narrated well. I wish we got The Hobbit and LotR's narrated by the late great Christopher Lee.

I wouldn't mind being read a non-translated VN by @HMN as a bedtime story, however.

We'll be reading this https://vndb.org/v933

So brace yourself. 

[Nandemonai]

1.  To the extent people use Let's Plays to avoid paying for the game, I dislike them.  To the extend they promote the game and bring in awareness from people who never heard of it before, I like them.  I can't imagine anything more boring than watching someone else play a game I could be playing myself, so Let's Plays have zero interest for me personally.

2.  This is kind of a broken record from my answer to #1, but to the extent people use Let's Plays to steal the content, they're bad.  To the extend they increase buzz and bring in new customers, they're good.

[Okarin]

8 hours ago, Forgetful Frank said:

I wouldn't mind being read a non-translated VN by @HMN as a bedtime story, however.

I don't know about what HMN does, but a LP of an untranslated novel would be rather clumsy. If they read the plain text in Japanese, it will take some time to get a translation on the fly (and will take a pretty amazing skill at Japanese too). If they use a text hooker, it can be as bad or worse.

I guess the people that criticise LP as some form of piracy pay for their every game and despise piracy sites such as Ero*****load.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Okarin

[Dergonu]

15 minutes ago, Okarin said:

I don't know about what HMN does, but a LP of an untranslated novel would be rather clumsy. If they read the plain text in Japanese, it will take some time to get a translation on the fly (and will take a pretty amazing skill at Japanese too). If they use a text hooker, it can be as bad or worse.

Live TLs are more common than you think. For people who speak Japanese, it's not much of a task reading the text out in English. It's a crude, fast and literal TL, not of high quality, but more than enough for the viewer to follow the story. 

Also, a text hooker doesn't mean machine TL. Most people simply use text hookers for furigana/ a way to parse the text for quicker reading. 

[Radi]

22 hours ago, Okarin said:

Well that's not a fault of the Youtuber. Anyway, anyone likes the people's devotion.

In Spanish we have a saying that goes something like: "turbulent river, the fishers get a full basket". Meaning exploiting the turmoil, basically.

Loving the translation haha 

1. Indifferent

2. It depends, it may affect big publishers, making them lose some sells. But I think is good for new developers, since they can get some renown, which is pretty important when you are starting. 

[Forgetful Frank]

18 hours ago, HMN said:

We'll be reading this https://vndb.org/v933

So brace yourself. 

Title nani?

 

...Whatever happened to it being Totono? How can something called 'Gore Screaming Show' possibly be a good bedtime story!?

 

ahem

But to actually add to the topic, I really like the idea of a live VN reading compared to a VN LP. It sounds like fun! And full of laughs.

[Suzu Fanatic]

1. if there's commentary and/or analysis, I'm ok with it. But if it's just a silent LP - I dislike it - it's really no different then if you are seeding a torrent, except you host it on YT rather than elsewhere.

 

2. I doubt it would have any positive or negative impact tbh. It's not the sort of LPs a random person will just stumble across - it's something you'd have to actively search for, so its really only appealing to the core base - those that plan to buy will buy anyway, and those that will pirate will pirate~

Having said all that, I do like some of the LPs that have "active" discussions/reactions, like one FSN Lp I dug up a little while back - hearing his imput while going through it was interesting in it's own way.