The Front Page

WARNING: INCOMING

I actually get asked this pretty often so I thought I'd share how I got into this hobby, what I think of it, my impressions of other styles, and various other useless bits of information. Please don't look at this as me promoting myself or anything like that; it's actually the opposite - I'm kind of at the end of the road when it comes to LP. I don't really have the time to record commentary so I kind of had to stop. I'm still thinking about doing SSLP's at some point, but I'm taking my time getting into it. I'm kind of enjoying this hiatus, actually. Anyway, that's enough about me; let's talk about me.

The Beginning

In the very beginning I was actually just looking for some kind of video walkthroughs (like a lot of others); I eventually found one with voice commentary. It was McGammar's LP of Golden Sun which drew me in. Looking back on it now, I have no idea why because it contains all things pretty terrible (VLP of a VERY LONG and WORDY JRPG, no editing, and freaking voice acting for the characters!) but I guess it was because it was the first of that kind of thing that I saw. This was back in 2008 when things had already gotten started and had spread to Youtube. After that, I looked for more of the same; I eventually landed in the horrible horrible world of Super Mario World Romhack videos. The likes of ProtonJon, Goron50, Raocow, etc... were pretty prevalent at the time. I was kind of hooked on the watching LP thing by now, yet I still hadn't made any of my own. That would change relatively shortly, though.

Super LP Bros/Let's Play Forum

I heard about Super LP Bros (SLPB) from a Goron50 video and decided to join up. It was the sort of site that was designed just as a place to dump videos and share them with each other. At the heart of it all, it wasn't a bad idea it was just executed poorly. During my time there, I eventually started my first real VLP (Let's Play Earthworm Jim). I got some pretty rave reviews and learned a lot. I took the criticism I received in stride and worked to better myself. I learned very quickly that what I wanted was at odds with the goal of the site and I sought out other sites to join. A lot of my friends on SLPB (the ones who knew what they were talking about) were members of the Let's Play Forum (LPF) which was supposed to be a "step up" from SLPB in terms of quality and such. I joined up (as you can see from my join date) in 2009. Back in 2009, LPF was a different place than it is now. It was (if you can believe it) much harsher, but you were also able to get away with things back then that you couldn't now (mostly because quality standards have evolved over time). LPF really helped mold me and solidify my own quality standards. I owe a lot of my product quality to this site.

At this time, I was becoming relatively popular on SLPB and was granted a Moderator position. It was then I got to see the behind the scenes operation there and realized that the leadership had no real goal or direction beyond "let's just dump LPs and share them." I worked to establish quality standards at the site and even got a lot of members and a few staff on my side about this. I eventually got up to the rank of Admin (don't ask I don't even know what the hell). My efforts were met with opposition and complacency from the others. I even left the staff a few times, only to come back and try again. I have no idea what was wrong with me, but I actually agreed with the general concept for the site and acknowledged that there needed to be a place for the "newbies" to come and learn the craft in a slightly less hostile environment. I tried to build that there, but there was just too much disorganization in the leadership. I eventually stepped down for good and the site inevitably fell apart (don't let my inclusion of me stepping down imply that that was what made the site fail, it was doomed to fail from the start). It was at this time that I also joined Something Awful (SA) and started posting on their LP Sub-forum.

With the death of SLPB, LPF kind of became the place for newbies to show up because SA was still harsher and cost money ($10) to join. I think that's why we kind of toned down the harshness over time yet retained the quality standards that SLPB seemed to have such a hard time setting. Over time, LPF evolved into what it is today, a good starting pad for those newbies who really want to take the hobby somewhat seriously and improve their quality. Eventually, someone accidentally clicked a button and now I'm a Moderator somehow. I abuse this power regularly.

Something Awful

I started out at SA in 2010. When I joined up, I stopped all LPs that I was doing and made a fresh start. Much to the behest of some of my Youtube fans, I ended come projects like Tails's Totally Bitchin' Adventure (which was becoming quite tired and drawn out to be honest). I started off with Metroid II and took off from there. I was received well and had a ton of fun making more LPs. This was the point where I basically stopped taking it so seriously and moved into just having fun with it. I LP'd games that were "overdone" (Zelda, Metroid, etc...) and a few not so overdone (Rocket Knight, Vectorman, etc...) and had a blast. The LP that I had the most fun making was Link's Awakening. I had the idea from reading Metroixer's Breaking Blue (pro click, btw) to make a VLP of a glitched out game. I couldn't think of any other more glitched out than Link's Awakening. It was probably the LP that most on SA remember me for (and it spawned a ton of avatars and even went gold for some reason); that being said, it was probably the easiest LP for me to make (go figure). After a while, I got the the point where I am now where I still love the hobby, but I just don't have the time to record commentary for VLPs. As I mentioned earlier, I want to dip into SSLP but I'm taking my time.

Current State of LP

Overall, I think that LP is getting very saturated. There are now so many people out there doing it that I could probably find someone IRL who has heard of it or is actively doing it if I asked around enough. That being said, there is still quality to be found. SA is not the end-all be-all of Let's Play, but a lot of the really good ones are there (and in the Archive). You just have to know what you like and stick with it. If you're having fun making it and you're entertaining people, then just go for it. Yeah, people like PewDiePie aren't quite my cup of tea, but I'm not mad that he's there. I think he's an idiot and terrible at Let's Play myself, but obviously he has garnered some kind of following. The same could be said about anyone. I'm sure there are a ton of people out there who would say that MeccaPrime is not my cup of tea and he's horrible at making Let's Play. There's still room for more although it is getting harder and harder to be innovative. I don't watch a lot of LP's nowadays, but the ones that I do follow tend to be the ones that stand out or are for a game that I really like. I don't typically follow for the LPer (although a few exceptions are made for some).

Advice for the Newbies

Be yourself. Don't just do something because others request it. Play the games you want to play and make the LP that you want to make. If people like it, they'll follow you and tell others. Pushing yourself on others is a bad idea; it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. That being said, do listen to the criticism of your audience; actively work to make your Let's Plays better. You have to be the judge, however, over what criticism is actually trying to help you and what is just white noise (it's easy to spot as long as you know how to look - that's why sites like this one are helpful; we don't care how successful you are, we just want to see a good LP). Always look for the next thing and try to be innovative. Just don't make Minecraft LP #374.

The End

I want to end by thanking anyone who did enjoy my videos, I'm glad you had fun. I want to thank anyone who gave me critical advice, you helped me get better. I also want to thank you for reading all these words, holy shit you have the patience of a saint. If you have any questions, I would love to answer them just leave a comment and don't forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!

tl;dr - I made the videos for the internet and some people liked them and some didn't. I want to help you get better.

Going into a level from behind and ending up in glitchy alternate universe isn't normal, but on sequence breaking it is.

Waddling through bottomless pits isn't normal, but on sequence breaking it is.

Going up one room but ending up one room down isn't normal, but on sequence breaking it is.

Glitches. Not even once.

Some people, when pointed out that they are posting badly complain to staff that they haven't broken any rules. (I'm thinking of one SovietBeatBox here.) When, in actual fact, they have. In the rules of this forum, it says:


But in the rules of this forum it doesn't exactly explain what netiquette is: netiquette is more than just capitalizing, punctuating and spelling properly, a lot of "netiquette" is how you go about posting, what you post, and a multitude of other things.


So I have decided to put together a handy "cut n' keep" guide to good forum netiquette.

So I humbly present:


15 Tips For Good Netiquette.


1. Only post if you have something to contribute to the conversation. Whether it be humorous, thought provoking or otherwise, it doesn't matter; As long as it contributes to the conversation.


2. Do not advertise your channel, product or "new technique to get the subscribers you deserve!" We want to hear none of it.


3. Don't post in an old or inactive thread. This one is fairly self explanatory but so many new members seem to miss it. A good guideline to have is don't post in a thread with no replies for over a month unless you have something really thought provoking to contribute to the conversation.


4. Avoid double posting. Pretty self explanatory. I recommend that you edit your posts and with the tag "E;" or "edit" instead of hitting "quick reply" and hoping that it goes to:

---Updated---

As this often doesn't happen, and it may come out as a second post.


5. Avoid blank replies. Sometimes a post is so jaw dropping that the people viewing it are so baffled by the amazing post and can only post one word without passing out. But as a general guideline avoid posting one word replies such as "cool", "this ^^^" or "wat".


6. Paragraph your posts. This serves many purposes, but the main reason is so that your posts are more easily readable.


7. Stay on topic. As much as your fingers may ache towards that "submit reply button" as you are finish your post about the new "Finding Nemo" movie in the "LP General Discussion Thread" you must stop yourself and consider if this is the most appropriate place to post such a thing. Clue: It isn't.


8. If you have a large, obnoxious signature take a leaf from Black's book and put it in spoiler code. Because although Black's signature gave me a good laugh the first time I saw it, it would become frustrating to look at very quickly.


9. Don't overuse all capitals or bold text as it makes you look like a tool.


10. Search other posts to see if your point has already been made. Nobody wants to respond to the same argument twice.


11. Don't feed the trolls. Remember that they are just seeking for your attention and, by responding to them you are giving them exactly what they want. Just leave them alone and wait for a member of staff to resolve the situation.


12. When making a new thread check to see if the topic has already been done before or is currently being done. Also,
post your topic in the general thread of the sub-forum before making a new thread. (Except for the
"Welcome, Welcome & Cry" Sub-forum as that would make no
sense.)


13. Don't post just to jump your post count. Go for a "quality over quantity" approach and concentrate on making
a few good posts instead of 10,000 one-word replies.

14. Don't be rude to other members of the forum. If you have spotted a flaw in their post then calmly and collectively point it out. Don't just say:



15. Keep anything that could be deemed offensive in "spoiler" tags.

Obviously these are just guidelines. Occasionally conversation will benefit by going past these guidelines. But stick to them as a general rule.

Please watch, donate and get some kickass t-shirts.

So, this was an idea that came up in the General Discussion/Feedback thread. Ultigonio was the one who actually made a coherent thought out of it, but he had help from many others giving their own testimonials.

Anyway, the idea is that we can all present some of our earliest Let's Plays and contrast them to what we're making now. Hopefully, there will be a notable increase in quality.

Moving on, I haven't made anything I'm completely proud of yet, but there has been a notable increase in quality, nonetheless. I'm probably the least qualified to be making this thread, but I'll go ahead and post my very first Let's Play, as I still have hung on to it. I will then present the "After" which is the video that I obtained Let's Player status with.

Here's my "Before"

Critique of my own work:

• I start off the video sounding extremely bored. I'm unaware of actual linear events in the developer's timeline, but I bring it up anyways (to be fair, I had done a little research, but it just wasn't coming to mind).
• I continue on to make completely stupid observations like "Yay, for color."
• I go on to start singing "Blue(Da Ba De)" by Eiffel 65. Great song, I enjoy it immensely. Just not done by me. That's what Karaoke night is for, right?
• Describing everything that's happening on screen. When I say everything, I mean everything.
• I'm always saying "Anyways" STOP FUCKING SAYING "Anyways," you sound stupid because, for one thing, it's "Anyway" and secondly you say it way too fucking much.
• I go on to start doing the voice acting for a girl. Admittedly, I have a great fucking falsetto. I can pull off a falsetto like nobody's business. Maybe not in this video, but definitely... in real life... yeah. Anyway, I go on to say I'll try to do voices the best I can as if I think it's some time of blessing for my viewers.
• That's it, three minutes in, I'm done watching my own shitty work.

"After"

I mentioned this wasn't something I'm entirely proud of, but it is an improvement.

I'd love to give you the critiques I was given in my Status Attempt, but that's back when it wasn't required to give reasons for why you said no or yes to a status attempt. I don't know if that rule still stands.

As it is, the only feedback I got on the video was from Entropic way back in July of 2012 in the feedback thread. The forum was particularly busy when I joined and it's understandable that a video such as this one (not terrible, but still nothing great) was passed over by many. It was explained to me as such back then, as well.

As a quick side thought, this forum also encouraged me to go down avenues I never even knew existed. I actually went back to where these things we call Let's Plays all started. I went and made an SSLP.

It really is something I can truly be proud of and you can even read it yourself. I think it's where I'm truly at my best, but currently I would like to focus on VLPs. Also, it's not finished because the game just wasn't right for me, but I had a ton of fun doing it. Yeah, so, that's abandoned... if you guys wanna just move it to the trash or an archive for some lunar-stricken reason.

Anyway, this is just the start. I still have a long way to go, but I have so many plans, and I can't wait to implement all of the things I've learned here. Hopefully, when you, the reader, check back someday, I'll have some exceptional work to show off.

Let's Play Forum, thank you.

I'll be honest - this is one of the most creative glitches I've ever seen. I've seen glitches that led to games being completed in staggering low times, out of sequence and hell, even backwards. There's also glitches that lead to interesting effects like cloning items, showing off glaring errors in physics engines and aesthetic glitches that are amusing to watch.

But this... this takes the cake (err... well pi). The glitch performed is using a corrupt data file (done by completely ignoring the "Saving. Do not turn off the power" message). Normally, this is used to trick the game into thinking you've walked into the Hall of Fame room and often used in speed runs. This use, however, is downright beautiful.



[Note: Us Europeans have to wait for the 22nd of July for the real pi day.]

Update: I didn't even grasp the true beauty of this video. The length of the video is actually 3:14:15 (YouTube rounds the time up to the nearest second though) and the rerecord count was also pi (more info here). Even the video's URL has "Pi" in it. Bloody hell.