Not too sure why you picked this game for that topic. But I actually agree to a certain extent. There is an unnoticed problematic angle in the age of streamers and let's players that hurts experiences of games.
My main issue is usually the rampant spoilers and sensational/misleading commentary though.
We can't forget that not everyone can afford to play games themselves or run them on pcs. So the habit of tuning into one of your favorite content creators makes a lot of sense.
If anything I don't think the coverage has been widespread enough since the vast majority of indie games aren't getting the appreciation they likely deserve. This includes Daniel Buckley's works in my humble opinion.
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Hi, I was wondering if you would consider expanding on some of your points. I play games on the internet and agree with your point about misleading commentary. I would find it valuable to get a developer's views on this.
Could you expand on what you mean by, or maybe give an example of, showing spoilers: do you mean things like showing the main bad guy / jumpscare in the thumbnail or showing the full game and ending meaning the viewers don't have an incentive to go play for themselves?
Also, do you think there's any distinction between videos that just walkthrough the game with no commentary and videos that do commentary over them? Do these two types of videos present different issues/problems for games and developers?
Any insights from you as someone who makes games would be very interesting for me in understanding and navigating this dabate
Thanks
Generally speaking, I think people have gotten a bit... too excited with the making of videos online. That they do in fact get carried away with their thumbnail choices, video titles and so on. This has come with noticeable pros and cons.
The cons are obviously that it's become virtually impossible to follow games online now in the active sense without getting them ruined a tad before the first impressions can really develop. Sometimes without even seeking any out! I firmly think that we're witnessing a cultural shift in times where what used to be supplementary is now trying to replace personal gaming for a lot of people and I find it highly unfortunate.
The other issue I was describing outside of that was just misleading narratives and depictions of games. Because games are more popular than ever, people have started to inject them with various politics, takes, views etc that seriously affect how certain games are perceived and will ultimately discourage people from seeking them out.
"Also, do you think there's any distinction between videos that just walkthrough the game with no commentary and videos that do commentary over them? Do these two types of videos present different issues/problems for games and developers?"
They do not. (It is less to do with long-term presentation. The absence of commentary also has more to do with copyright/legality, which is not the main focus of the topic at hand.) With them it usually comes down to preferences and there is a market for both types of videos from what I've seen.
I been there and done that. I seen old 2011 horror tube and the humble beginnings of these videos. I been there to witness the change in the times and I suspect we yet to see some of the biggest within this decade.
Hope this was at least somewhat insightful. I had a really bad day and feeling a bit messy atm.