Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;1103095Real D&D doesn't make for good viewing.

True. But I wouldn't even want to play in Colville's game face-to-face. Way too much backstory and convoluted, self-indulgent world-building. For all his acumen and good sense when it comes to GM advice, Colville seems to suffer from the delusion that what's interesting and fun for the GM is interesting and fun for the players. A youtube GM who I think I would enjoy playing with, Seth Skorkowski, nails the problem in his video on 7 Deadly Gamemaster Sins Sin #7 Excessive Worldbuilding @ 0:51

Quote from: Itachi;1103104So much this. I'm baffled by the amount of actual play podcasts and YouTube vids out there and the amount of people who spend hours watching those, as they're extremely boring for me.

It's weird huh? I mean, most sports/activities I engage with feels entertaining to watch too, but not so with RPGs. Why is that?

Most sports involve a dramatic and clear contest between two sides. That's not the case with RPGs.

I get the impression streams are mostly watched by lonely millennials who rarely go out. People in that demographic are increasingly socially isolated, so digitally immersing themselves in a group of friends playing a game for a few hours is a way to feel connected.

Quote from: Crusader X;1103106Generally I agree, though I've found some livestreams to be entertaining.  The Tomb of Annihilation one with Matt Mercer, Joe Manganiello, and Deborah Ann Woll was good.  Of course, these are three very charismatic people, so they are a big factor in its watchability.

Though Critical Role has charismatic players, but I find the show boring and I can't sit through a full episode.

There's a "D&D With Highschoolers" series which is ok.  But I like it mainly for the teaching aspect of it.  

Likewise the following series was decent, mainly to watch an experienced DM teaching a game to mostly likeable noobs:

[video=youtube;-oIIZJeVGpc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oIIZJeVGpc&t=11s[/youtube]

And the tattooed blonde is smoking hot, which admittedly contributed greatly to my interest in the show.  

There's a reason why so many decent looking women put their cleavage front and center on their twitch channels.
The next best thing is a charismatic person.
These shows have little to do with games, and are mostly about watching a cheap sitcom.

Hilariously, I have to disagree in a way on gameplay vids being boring to view.

Instead what you have to do is think of these sessions as akin to audiobooks or in some cases, radio plays. For many they make for interesting listening. Most are dull as dirt to watch.

Why is this so funny? Because I am hearing impaired and for me it actually helps to see people talking unless their oration is very good. Too many "uh" far too much which detracts.

Quote from: Shasarak;1102861He is now prepping for the next one (Kingdoms & Warfare) because once you start you got to keep on feeding the beast.

That's a bit harsh.

His first Kickstarter was so successful that he left his job, and created a business with employees n' everything.

The future will determine how well that works out, but it is being taken very seriously (as a business). It's not a random sequel being rushed out by some guy in his mother's basement that got lucky the first time.

Quote from: Motorskills;1103464That's a bit harsh.

His first Kickstarter was so successful that he left his job, and created a business with employees n' everything.

The future will determine how well that works out, but it is being taken very seriously (as a business). It's not a random sequel being rushed out by some guy in his mother's basement that got lucky the first time.

I agree with you, which is why he needs something to keep the business running.

Unless, of course, the streaming is funding everything.

Quote from: Shasarak;1103507Unless, of course, the streaming is funding everything.

I don't think so. I assume there are some ongoing costs (minis maybe! ), but most of the expenses were one-off capital items (table, lights, cameras, etc etc).

I doubt the streams are being run as a loss-leader, but it probably wouldn't be a disaster even if they were, relatively cheap advertising basically.

I don't have time for the stream(s) themselves, but Matt's post-mortem diaries are actually pretty interesting.

I believe Matt is planning to avoid burnout by rotating DMs and game systems, I think that's a good idea.

Strongholds and Followers is sat on my huge pile of unread RPG stuff, so I can't comment on that. However the first review I came across (today) was very positive. I may even farm the reading out to one of my players, the ship they captured in Saltmarsh could be turned into a 'stronghold'.

Quote from: cranebump;1102869Heh. Probably an apt representation of how Trump voter views society at large (around here, anyway).

Don't post political on here. Only warning.

Also, it's not. It's how Never-Trump neocons and Establishment democrats imagine the Trump Deplorables.


Yes, no one is allowed to respond here, because that would be political posting. Tough.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;1103123There's a reason why so many decent looking women put their cleavage front and center on their twitch channels.
The next best thing is a charismatic person.
These shows have little to do with games, and are mostly about watching a cheap sitcom.

Well put!

Quote from: EOTB;1102123I'm just not interested in deep roleplaying to the point I have to come up with an alt-personality and make portraying that alt-personality the point of the activity.  The activity is the point of the activity.

All my characters are essentially branching variations of myself.  None are quite the same, especially over time as stuff happens in-game.  But neither am I sitting at the table going "fuck, I must come up with something wholly not-me for this to be real roleplaying".  I want fun places to explore, situations to exploit, enemies that try their damnedest to take me out (and I likewise), and interesting objectives I choose myself.  "roleplaying" is encouraged when it's both natural and fun-enhancing for everyone at the table, and if very little of that happens during a session because the action's hopping then that's OK too.  

I don't, for instance, make players have a fake conversation in order to buy a suit of armor.  Handwaive that stuff.

100% agree. As a player I'm about fun gameplay, and the occasional one liner makes up the bulk of my roleplaying. As a GM however there's way more RP to try and try and differentiate NPCs.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;1103123T
These shows have little to do with games, and are mostly about watching a cheap sitcom.

I agree they are more show than game, and as a result a poor example of actual play. Better than no example? Maybe.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1103723Don't post political on here. Only warning.

Also, it's not. It's how Never-Trump neocons and Establishment democrats imagine the Trump Deplorables.


Yes, no one is allowed to respond here, because that would be political posting. Tough.

It's an observation based on people I actually heard reacting to the omnipresent Fox News broadcast in a local pizza shack.

Not that you were actually there to witness it, of course...

This thread inspired me to check out Matt's streaming game. And...his commentary after the game about the game turned out to be more interesting to me than the game itself. Which I guess is as it should be, as watching others play isn't that interesting for me in general.

Quote from: Mistwell;1103960This thread inspired me to check out Matt's streaming game. And...his commentary after the game about the game turned out to be more interesting to me than the game itself. Which I guess is as it should be, as watching others play isn't that interesting for me in general.

Yep. Mother May I game sessions are very boring to watch/listen to. They don't have any story by the end of their session. They don't come across as old radio shows (theater of the mind stuff). Lots of dead air time.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;1103966Yep. Mother May I game sessions are very boring to watch/listen to. They don't have any story by the end of their session. They don't come across as old radio shows (theater of the mind stuff). Lots of dead air time.

I don't find these to be "Mother May I" type games at all.