How do gameplay youtuber develop interesting commentary?
Ive wanted to be a gaming youtuber sense i was a kid but i realized im pretty boring and i dont have anything interesting to say, im also not sure if ill stick with it like most do, but i want to try anyways. Ive condierd playing without voice but that would be even more boring and im not a pro gamer to say.
What would you advise?
I think there are broadly speaking three main categories of let's players: hypemen, analysts, and tryhards.
Hypemen focus on being boisterous, high energy, and fast paced. They focus on entertainment value above all else, even above the game itself.
Analysts take things a bit slower. They aren't trying to be the best at the game, but instead like to play a variety of things and talk about their experience playing or insights related to the game.
Tryhards are usually either pro gamers or very close to it. They usually play a smaller number of competitive games trying to be very skilled at them. The enjoyment of these streamers comes more from seeing someone excel, and potentially learning from them if you play the same game.
My point with this is all of these routes are proven ways to engage an audience, so having interesting things to say isn't a necessity.
That being said, this is an entertainment medium we're talking about. If you aren't entertaining in some form then I don't think you'll find much success. It's a learnable skill, so don't be discouraged if it doesn't come without practice
That is a shockingly good analysis, damn.
Only possible thing I could maybe add or tweak would be... expand 'hypemen' a bit more to include... well, at least an attempt at some kind of comedy.
Maybe split this off into its own group?
A lot of earlier gaming youtubers... at least seemed to be trying to more or less do live playthroughs or after playthrough reviews that... basically just tried to either ad lib, or write a script with as many relevant jokes a possible.
I keep emphasizing 'tried to' and 'attempted' because many of these schticks just... sucked, lol, or quickly fell apart into a depressing cynicism spiral.
Granted, you seem to be focusing mostly on live streamers, specifically lets players, as opposed to the older, sort of gen 1 of youtube video game content people, where a lot of it was just... i dunno man, i just recorded myself playing a game, shrug.
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Also, at this point, there may be at least two other distinct kinds of... video content about playing games, types of people, excluding esports amd speedrunners, but nvm anyway:
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Roleplayers.
There are a lot of streamers that just pick some roleplayable game or roleplay mod or whatever of a game, and I think that's ... kinda its whole own thing, where a lot of the content/style is ... i dunno, you could call it maybe a real time soap opera generator, a number of these people will actually learn or construct a whole fleshed out voice and personality for their character... but also a lot of roleplayers will more or less just basically be asshole trolls/bullies.
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'I am bad at games but cute'
Many vtubers, pickmes, also not pickmes but actually interested in games, but also very unfamiliar with them.
This is a whole other style or genre, where the appeal comes from... well, theoretically it could include other extremely naive / inexperienced noobie video gamers, but realistically, its mostly the appeal of viewers parasocially having a mostly submissive but also earnest psuedo girlfriend.
Probably worth noting that this can be a consistent schtick, or can... often evolve into 'hype(wo)man' or 'tryhard'.
This is imo distinct from just being cute and also being any other kind of streamer... because the ditzy cute naiveity is strongly emphasized, often to a ludicrous degree, as well as the lack of skill and amount of unforced errors... and this is the whole point, to evoke sympathy.
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Also, now that I think of it, this could maybe qualify as distinct:
Meme/Joke/Ludicrous self imposed goals or restrictions video game player.
The whole concept of this is to basically attempt to do something completely absurd in a game, to play the game 'wrong' in a way that is at least in broad concept, humorous on its face by how ridiculous it is.
Like uh i dunno... play through RDR2 but you have to never use a horse, ever, or play through Morrowind without ever increasing any of your stats, naked playthroughs of Dark Souls, aim for some nonsense/meme strategy in Hoi4, play competetive Madden or Fifa where your entire team is 4' 6" and weighs 600lbs, kill yourself as fast as possible in a game that is designes for that to not be able to happen, win a racing game going entirely in reverse the whole time...
Just wacky zany shit.
Usually this translates better to a youtube format thats cut down from a livestream, but those livestreams can get decent numbers as well, and you can also tie in your viewers to the whole thing, maybe they get to decide some new absurd task or make some decision for you at some point.
Thanks! I think you're right that there could definitely be more granularity to what I said. I was trying to go as broad as I could, which of course leaves out a lot of detail. Good thoughts about other possible categories. I don't disagree with any of it.
I actually haven't ever seen the roleplayer category you're talking about, but I'm intrigued. Is there anyone you'd recommend?
If I had to give a name to the joke streamers you mentioned, I'd probably go with challenge streamers. I think that definitely falls outside of the categories I said, but I also see a lot of streamers that do fall into the three I made up dabbling with that kind of content here and there, so there's probably some crossover too.
Why would I watch your channel when I could watch someone else's? A good answer to that question is how you grow an audience. I watch a lot of fighting game content on YouTube, and I can find value in Maximilian Dood for being good at explaining the legacies of old games or what makes new ones tick; I can find value in commentary and breakdown from those who win major tournaments and break down the subtleties that I might have missed. But there are hundreds of channels YouTube wants to show me of people playing those same games with no reason for me to actually click on them in the first place.
I made what people seem to think are a couple of good video tutorials to teach Skullgirls quickly. It's got a reputation of being exceptionally hard, but I disagree, and I thought I could explain them quickly. They worked, but the more general fighting game tutorials I made after that didn't do so well. Maybe there isn't as much demand for them as I thought, or maybe they just weren't as good. Still, I was making something that I felt like people couldn't easily get elsewhere.
Just talk about stuff you like and enjoy yourself.
Ask yourself what niche do you want to fill, and what is that space like already? What would set you apart from others already there? What is your unique selling point, in order to get eyeballs on your videos?
Read comments from your audience and reply to them. People are more likely to feel welcome and stick around if they’re included. Ask your audience questions. At the same time, don’t be upset if people don’t answer. A lot of the time, people just watch a stream as background noise. Or they’ve gone to the bathroom, or they’re making themselves a snack, or whatever.
I heard from one of the old big names of the space, AntVenom, way back when. The most important part is enjoying doing it, and I mean every part of it. You have to enjoy sitting there, talking to yourself while you play. You have to enjoy video editing. You have to enjoy collaborating with other content creators and putting a focus on making it interesting to watch more than interesting to play. If you don't enjoy the process, you don't actually want to do it. You want something you think you will get from it, and you won't last.
Just pretend and give it a try. Use free (as in price) software for the first run. Play a game, something you were already interested in and just spout off to an empty room about whatever comes to mind, because that's basically the gig. Then edit it down. This might take much, much longer than the recording. Regardless of whether you upload it or not, you get a taste. If you actually enjoy the process (not imagining what it might lead to, but the actual process) do it.
Get comfortable talking to yourself / thinking out loud. You're already thinking thoughts when you game, you just need to externalize them.
I'd second the fact that it's really difficult to do it, and that you genuinely need to enjoy the process. More likely than not, you won't "make it" and you'll just be doing it as a hobby. Though, more than anything, you just need to do it. You might not know what to say today, tomorrow, or next month, but eventually you'll find a rhythm and know what works for you. There's no way to find that rhythm if you aren't making anything.
My source for this is the fact that I've been doing YouTube for nearly 2 years now, creating weekly videos. I think they've been of pretty good quality for about 14 or so months now. I have just over 500 subs which, while I'm super proud of and thankful for that, isn't even enough to enable ads on my channel. I also specifically chose a niche that's a tad easier to stand out in, as the market for gaming videos is so so so saturated and difficult to stand out in, as the barrier for entry is so low.
I don't mean to discourage, and of course wish you the best of luck, but I do want to share a realistic view on it based on my experiences being a small potato YouTube creator.
You can also do it like Dunkey does. Just record gameplay first, edit it to make an interesting or funny video and then later add the commentary and act like it’s given live during the moment. It’s easier to do if you aren’t used to giving off the cuff commentary during a live let’s play video. And you don’t have to be a live streamer to be a gaming YouTuber.
Maybe just focus on creating short videos first so you learn how to edit, give commentary and create little stories (yes even Let’s Play videos need to have some sort of “story” and theme). Remember the first dozens of videos will suck. Don’t focus on viewership or subs focus on honing the craft first. You also need to figure out your unique selling point, the thing people watch your videos for instead of the millions of other gameplay videos, and you will only figure that out if you start making videos.
My producer, Neigsendoig, might have a good start, as I edited for him in the past.
What he tends to do is be more analytical with his work. However, in my personal opinion, based upon what you're going for, I would personally say to find your speaking style, and then advertise to that specific demographic. Sendo (as Neigsendoig is usually referred to) tends to stick with what he does, especially when it comes to his discussions.
Long story short, find something you're passionate about, and talk about it. YouTubers tend to well when they stick to what they're best at.
Considering how many gaming YouTube content creators have been exposed for sexually grooming and abusing minors, my advise would be to dream something else. Anything else, really.
Also, thats a flooded market. Difficult to stand out. If you just be yourself then you will have a small following, most likely too small for it to support yourself on as your only source of income.
Take acting classes or start playing tabletop rpg.