Want to start recording video games..

[Rowan]

But im really not sure how to go about it. I understand how the capture cards work, I have editing software etc which shouldnt be a problem, but in terms of what kind of format/style I should do this in. Do people enjoy watching full walkthroughs? What kind of games? Ps1, ps2 etc? should there be voice/video of me playing at the same time? Also, channels should have a theme , right? Dont know where to start so I thought id ask you guys n gals. What do you think people want to see the most?

[Incognitus]

I've considered this in the past, too. About one third of what I watch on YouTube is people playing video games and having a good time doing it. If you were going through with it, you should absolutely add your own voice to your recordings. That's the best way to differentiate yourself from, say, megamanx_gamer57 playing the same game as you.

As far as full walkthroughs go, I tend to have more fun watching people play sandbox style games where there is no real linear path to follow. Speaking as a viewer, it feels more organic and unpredictable to watch something like that versus a Mega Man X runthrough that's pretty straightforward and I already know the lay of the land (walk right, kill enemies, collect power-ups, jump through boss door, kill boss). Even games like Skyrim or GTA, where I know the world pretty well, is more interesting to watch because I don't know specifically what the person or people are going to do. Unless there's something spectacular about a linear game runthrough, like a speed run or a funny glitch, it's a video I would skip over. Hopefully that made sense.

[Rowan]

Im just really bad at talking while playing games. I've just got this fear that it will sound awkward and forced. I do understand your point though, there needs to be that personal touch to differentiate between 'this' video and 'that' video. I had an idea a while ago to make my fiance' play horror games in the dark while she was being recorded. But tbh, thats really unfair of me and not what I want to achieve. firstly because she scares so easily and that Im not even involved in it, which defeats the purpose. I suppose I could film myself playing horror games as a theme, wouldn't require me to talk so much, or at the very least it would be easier to talk about the game and what im seeing/feeling.

Generally not hot on the idea of full playthroughs as its a LOT of dedication to something which may not turn out quite as well as you hope. That, and to talk about the same game for over 14 - 20 hours? No way. I really envy those of whom talking comes naturally when playing video games.

[Incognitus]

Some people record the video game footage and dub it later on. It's essentially twice the work, but you have more control over what is said at specific moments. You could try doing that, instead. If I ever did this, I would have to employ this method simply to clean up the curse words. They flow freely when I am playing games. No filter whatsoever.

[nix]

Fraps is the software alot of my friends used when making counterstrike movies back in the day, Id bet there is alot better software out there nowadays. The only downside to it if i recall is it used up alot of memory. But this is like 10 years ago, id bet there are alot better alts now.

What are you looking to record exactly? Most kids stream these days, i dont understand the concept though, watching someone else play a game, id much rather play a game myself..

The only gaming related things i could bring myself to watch would be high class matches, counter strike for example, i used to watch/spectate alot of lans/tournaments.

Or then kill/skills flaunting vids, For example:


Anybody can make these, and the internet is flooded with them, but the above one was a high end CS team back in the day and all kills in the vids would be against high end teams in tournament games mostly. So you can appreciate it more..

I have also started watching alot of DOTA2 matches for the Asian championship running currently, its interesting to watch and you can learn alot from just spectating.

Then the only other thing would be wallkthroughs, but alot already do this so you would be doing well to find a vid which isnt already done, you would have to pick really old games and go with them..

[Incognitus]

Most kids stream these days, i dont understand the concept though, watching someone else play a game, id much rather play a game myself..

I'm absolutely the same way... I'd much rather play the games. However, economics and time factor into it. Do I want to drop $59.99 on that newly released game to experience the content? Do I have 40-ish hours to invest in a game when all I'm interested in is the story? I go to YouTube in those cases. A lot of people isolate story elements and splice them into what essentially boils down to a mini movie. I personally like to watch people play games while I play a game of my own (either on the iPad, 3DS or Wii U controller).

There's also "The Luigi Effect": being the visiting friend who doesn't own a console or being the younger sibling growing up. A person gets used to watching another person play constantly. Certainly I am not one of those individuals, but at the same time I'd watch someone else play a game that I'm currently playing to get a good read on their skills, understanding of game mechanics, that sort of thing. A long time ago, I found a video of a guy playing the old school Mega Man games. His reactions to enemies reappearing if you scrolled their spawn points off screen were hilarious! He did not know why the enemies kept coming back. I think that went on for about three solid minutes. It's kind of fun to experience a game vicariously through the beginner's lens again.

If I ever recorded myself playing a Final Fantasy game, you'd see that I tend to skip a lot of stuff. Like re-obtaining Gau in the World of Ruin Veldt. Yeah, **** him.

[nix]

Yeah id watch people play games as in at a friends house, especially if its story driven, sure you can talk away and take turns that way. And Also if you just want to absorb the story without paying, thats cool too, if you have good reason im all thumbs up.

But say Diablo 3 for example, when i was playing that, i noticed when visiting forums to do some reading up, there was a big community of people who streamed themselves playing Diablo 3 all day and loads of people watching.. THAT i dont understand..

[loaf]

The thing with me watching people stream is usually someone really really good. I mostly watch Smash Bros Melee Streams because I like to get better.

Dota 2 I only watch the tournaments.


I know Gypsy Elder was streaming before, I know she streamed Catherine for a long time doing the hard stages.

[Pete]

Hats off to the people who do that. I hardly have time to enjoy the games that I'm currently playing. I don't think I could go about recording myself playing, mostly because I'd start cursing or going off on rants about other things.

When it comes to watching people play games, I have to be involved or I lose all interest. It's more to do with me needing to experience the game and become invested for myself.

[C:/Dille.Run]

OBS (open broadcaster software) is a great little program. It's mostly used for streaming, but very easy to set up for recording as well.

[LocoColt04]

Im just really bad at talking while playing games. I've just got this fear that it will sound awkward and forced.

This is one of my own personal hurdles when I stream. A lot of times, I get so into what I'm doing that I fall silent, and then when I check the chat commentary, people are asking if I'm having mic issues or if I'm still there at all. I've gotten a little better lately at audiby reacting to things, opposed to silently as I've done for so long. Think about when you're playing a game and you have a friend in the room with you. Something explodes and you scream (happy, terrified, whatever the appropriate reaction is) because you can look at each other and chatter about the excitement. Do you do the same when you're alone?

So now I've started pretending that the audience watching is sitting in the room, and I act as though I were interacting with them on a personal basis. I also keep the chat log visible so that I can have conversation, even if it is at a 12-15 second delay. Interactivity is definitely something that makes live streaming better.

If you wish to record and do post-play stuff, do what Incognitus recommended - record your gameplay and go back to add commentary later.


Afterthought:
On PC, I use Xsplit - it's free, though there's a paid variant (which I use) that has a ton of extra options. You can set it to stream live or set up a local recording.

[Incognitus]

You might try starting small, too. Don't overwhelm yourself with a full-on runthrough of a game, but instead chunk it up into logical bits and try doing the voice commentary simultaneously. Start off recording shorter videos and increase the length incrementally until you find the sweet spot between "not enough content" and "not comfortable speaking this long." The trick is to keep your audience happy but coming back for more.

[Odin1199]

Doesn't twitch have some sort of built in recording prog?

[LocoColt04]

Twitch automatically saves streams temporarily. When it's done processing the data on the back end, it allows you the opportunity to cut highlight reels out of the video before it crunches the data into nothingness.