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Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-04-26 20:44:51 (edited 2011-04-29 21:09:42)
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Hey there everyone. I'm trying to gauge interest in another project over the next four months, since I will have far too much free time. Since the Talk Show Radio worked out fairly well (at least until some problems forced me to essentially cancel it) I thought I would try something new. Basically, I will be looking to create 'Let's Play' videos to view here on Gendou. If you are unfamiliar with Let's Play, it's pretty much someone playing the game and providing (hopefully) humorous commentary. At the moment I am simply gauging interest in the idea. There are a few things that I need to check on/get working in order for this to go ahead; namely, I have to make sure that I can actually capture gameplay footage properly (I may try to get my hands on a DVD recorder, if they have dropped in price. Capture hardware usually leaves me with a button lag, which is terrible for action games). If the interest is there and people would actually be willing to watch it, then I will do my best to go ahead with it. I will probably work on a Pilot Episode this weekend, although I will be working most of those days. I would also love to have a co-host if things go well. I think commentary and jokes would go much better with another person present. The main obstacle standing in the way of that is how I would get the person a video feed of the same thing I'm looking at. Pre-recorded footage is an option, but that would mean no improv stuff. Anyway, for the time being I would just like some input from other members of the Gendou Community. Things such as: -Would this be a series that you yourself would be interested in seeing? -If it works, would you have any interest in appearing as a co-host (either recurring or one-time)? -Should the games be played until completion, or only played for a 1 to 2 hour period? (In other words, would it be better to see the entire 30 hours of an RPG, or just the first few hours?) Any advice or feedback is appreciated, well, as long as it's constructive. Maybe a 'Let's Watch' for Anime would be a better idea in terms of multiple commentators. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, this is my test footage. I recorded this mainly to test my recording equipment, which turned out to work much better than I thought it would. I still have a lot of issues to work out, the biggest one being my audio quality. You can hear pretty much everything in that video, game music coming from the speakers, clicking of controller buttons, the fan on my computer, the cooling pad I had to use to keep my computer from getting too hot, you name it. Also, I am going to need co-hosts, period. This was just an equipment test video, but I seriously sucked at commentary during the entire thing. I need someone to speak in order to keep conversation going and up the funny parts. I simply do not know how I am going to manage it at the moment (like I said before, I would have to find some way of broadcasting my desktop/gameplay footage to the other person while I play). I also forgot to make a starting sound for the audio, so I had to manually sync my voice file with the video file. For that reason, my voice will be slightly out of sync during the video. In the future I will need to make some kind of sound as a signal to myself of where the video recording begins. Anyway, for the time being I hope you will enjoy Part 2 of my incredibly awkward and not very funny Xenosaga Let's Play. Part 1 got rendered into a video format that took up like 2 gigs of data, so I will need to redo that one.    |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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on 2011-04-26 21:12:13 |
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Likin' the idea a lot Jon! I've been thinking about doing the same thing for a while. I'm definitely interested, as well as willing to co-host. As for time segments, I think it's best to record in smaller segments, then when you have a good amount of time plugged in, save the game and call it a day. I think all 30 hours of a game in one go is a little excessive. But with a Let's Play, completion is a pretty essential portion. So, I think recording in hour segments until completion is the best way to go. And as for the video feed, maybe setting up a private streaming session? On some type of streaming website. 
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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on 2011-04-26 23:27:46 |
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I'd be interested in both watching and co-hosting whenever I'm not busy and you'd be willing to have me on. As for playing games to completion, I feel you'd have to decide according to the game, the audience reaction, and how much entertainment you can wring out of the game (for the audience, not the player). Maybe let the audience decide via polls. Give them the choice of whether they want more footage of RPG A or if they want you to move on to FPS B. Improv is necessary, so if possible, rule out pre-recorded footage as an option.  |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by angel_of_stone
on 2011-04-27 13:15:27
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Sounds interesting.
"But as Deepak Chopra taught us, quantum physics means that anything can happen at anytime and for no reason." -Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth
"I don't have any opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything." -Seymour Skinner "...if I got trapped by an evil wizard then I did enough cool s**t in my life to be content with it ending. " -Wolf |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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on 2011-04-27 13:26:28 (edited 2011-04-27 13:27:40)
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I like the idea, I've seen funny commentary videos on games before, so hopefully it's good. I'd be willing to watch anyways if there are games I'm interested in. I suggest simming the game, beginning or so, nobody wants to see an entire game (spoilers). A lot of videos come out for betas and such and people make videos quick to help other viewers get a quick idea on the game. So as long as the video/audio quality is crisp, I'd be interested to view it. Good luck! lol, people must be bored to even play PS3 in general without PSN. I'm about to beat inFamous (infamous karma) and will try to speed run its hero (on easy). But I only want to get a few online trophies for my other GF game, but obviously I can't right now. 
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-04-27 14:03:08 |
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I like the idea too, it's something that I'd like to see. I'm interested in being a co-host too, if I have the time and I have the game(s) that will be played (I'm pretty sure I'll have plenty of time once school ends, although getting the game(s) is another matter). I think that playing the first three or so hours of a game is a better way to go about the show, rather than playing through the entire game until completion. That way, people who haven't seen it before can just go watch it rather than being lost on where the game is if you just continue the same game from beginning to end. Plus, it will keep the audience interested in the show if there's new material each time (Rather than having the show be on the same game for awhile). Changing games will also allow for more people to participate as co-hosts too. Or at least I think it will. I'm guessing that whoever started a game as a co-host would have to keep on playing it with you from beginning to end, unless someone else is at the same point in the game as you are and they're willing to be a co-host as well or something?  |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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This sounds like a splendid idea. I'm also interested in co-hosting, if the conditions are right. Best thing to do, is to sum it up in parts. If the games have chapters, do it like that and have the chapters in subsequent parts. You don't have to 100% it, you just have to beat it.  |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-04-27 18:37:33 (edited 2011-04-28 20:05:04)
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Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I'm going to go ahead and give the gameplay capturing a try tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to keep the quality high. I'm fully expecting to run into the same problem as before, and that's the fact that there will be button lag. That's no big deal for RPG's (some RPG's anyway) but it will probably get to be a huge problem with action games or games that have quick time events. I may have to stick to RPG's for a while until I can find a way to rectify that. @Toyumi - In terms of the co-host, their job will basically be to commentate on the game as I play. They would poke fun at things, chat about stuff and to suggest doing things a certain way. Of course, if the person in question can obtain their own gameplay footage, then I'm perfectly fine with being the one who simply watches. There seems to be a little confusion over what this series will be. I should clear it up that this series will mainly be about poking fun at games/moments in games as I am playing through them. It won't be a video guide on how to play the game or beat certain sections. That's why I believe this would work better if I had a co-host. Having someone to talk to during gameplay usually leads to funnier observations, jokes and dialog. That's also why I think a Let's Watch for anime might be easier to pull off, but that is a different idea altogether (I'm going to see how this turns out first). I agree with some of the people here regarding the segments (Toyumi pointed out a major reason). Switching to a different game after an hour or two of gameplay is the better option, mainly because it means that there will be something new at regular intervals. I'm sure people who like a certain game would love to see the entire thing, but someone who doesn't have any interest in a particular game would want something new after 1 or 2 episodes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edit: I recorded a short test video just now and I hope to have it uploaded tomorrow (it's rendering right now, and that will probably take the better part of an hour). I would upload it now, but by the time it finishes it will probably be 2 or 3 in the morning. Don't really expect much though, it's mainly just me trying vainly to make a few jokes. I did it mainly to test the recording hardware. That brings me to some good news. For reasons I still don't understand, I could get gameplay footage with no button lag at all (although there was audio lag). Assuming that doesn't change, it means that action focused games are now back as viable options. I also learned that I really, and I mean REALLY, need a co-host. The recording is bad enough as it is, but it gets really awkward when it's just me talking to myself all the time. Finally, I am glad to see that at least a few people are willing to watch it, but there would have to be quite a few regular viewers for this to be worth it. This is something which can be judged later of course. I thought about putting up a poll in the Polls section, but that probably wouldn't do any good. A lot of people seem to vote just for the sake of voting. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-02 22:57:49 |
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Just finished watching the video- and I agree, it could definitely use another commentator. Do you have any plans/ideas as to how to get person2 to view the same things as you? I really just have finals left, so I'm game almost any time you want to test something or bring on another commentator. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-03 07:56:20 |
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This is a good idea Jon :D I agree with Maiku about getting another commentator because you'll get a lot of dead air if you run out of things to say and another opinion wouldn't be bad. Thanks for posting. 
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-03 08:05:25 (edited 2011-05-03 08:07:57)
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@Maiku - That is the biggest problem, for two reasons. The first reason is I have to find out a way to broadcast what I am seeing to someone else. The second problem is that, once I have found a way to do that, I have to hope that my computer can handle it. When I'm making the video, I'm running honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 to record video and Audacity to record my voice. Audacity doesn't take up a lot of power, but the recording tends to use up quite a bit. Not sure if throwing in another program to broadcast the gameplay will cause problems or not. (My computer's main problem is heat, something causes it to build up a lot of heat and shut down once in a blue moon. That's why you can hear the cooling fan in the background, to prevent the thing from overheating.) But anyway, we need to get the first problem worked out before we think about that. The only idea I have had so far is to get a webcam and point it at my monitor. The problem with that idea is that the person watching will most likely get lag (last time I checked, my webcam had that issue). That would ruin the whole thing since the co-host would probably be a few seconds behind on jokes and observations. I have not yet searched the internet for programs or methods to stream my desktop to someone so that they can view it (if such ways even exist that is), but I will go looking when I get the chance. @Yuna - Dead Air is my biggest problem as a host. I'm a shy person, so not having anyone to talk to causes me to be silent for long periods of time. Also, I can't really discuss the game itself if it's just me. If I had a co-host, the two of us could have an actual conversation about the game or the genre/series in general. Finally, thanks for the response Maiku and Yuna. Nobody was viewing this thread after I posted the video up and I figured the entire thing would fail to even get on the runway, let alone off the ground. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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Well, if you need more than one co-host, which is a good idea, 'cause even if you don't much to say, something new will always come up. Have you though about using Camtasia Studio to record your desktop? If you want to stream, Livestream works as well. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-03 14:52:03 |
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@Naru - Recording my desktop wouldn't do much good, since the footage would still be prerecorded for the co-host and live for me. I will check out Livestream however. Thanks for the help. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-04 07:23:26 |
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@Jon : No problem at all :D I'm fond of Xenosaga and played all three episodes so it was nice to see a Let's Play of it. I'm looking forward to the next one.
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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on 2011-05-06 16:35:12 |
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Alright, I haven't given Livestream or Ustream a try yet, but I plan to give it a shot on Sunday night (hopefully). I sort of need someone there to assist me however. Assuming all goes well, we will be picking up in Xenogears where the test video ended off. First, a few things need to be cleared up before anyone throws their name in. -You must have a functioning microphone. -Recording could go as long as 1 hour (I'll be aiming for 30 minutes) -It will be later on at night where I live. So 11pm my time will end up being 4 or 5 for those people living on the western coast. -You must be able to record your own voice track. We will do some audible cue to sync up the audio. I will be running a streaming video, recording software, and audio recording software, so I doubt I will have a way to record your voice as well as all of that. That reminds me, I need to make sure before Sunday that I actually can run all of that software and still record everything alright. '-_- |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-07 20:46:30 |
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Provided nothing comes up, I'll be available tomorrow. I do have a functioning microphone and I just started downloading Audacity. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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I have Audacity, but I do not have a actual microphone. But I'll watch and sub to your Let's Plays. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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by
on 2011-05-08 06:05:33 (edited 2011-05-08 17:22:52)
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@Maiku - Good to know. At least I can have someone to talk to that I already know. I'm kind of shy when it comes to talking to people for the first time. >.> When I get home tonight, have some supper and get settled away, I will set everything up and test the recording to make sure I get at least some of the audio problems resolved. After that, we just need to hope that the streaming video from my desktop thing actually works the way it's supposed to, and that there is no (or very little) lag. @Naru - Thanks. We'll need all of the viewers we can get if this is to work. If you ever do get a functioning microphone, you are welcome to join in (assuming that this continues on). I picked up another cooling fan for my computer on Friday, mainly because my old one doesn't quite work that well (the power cable has to be held in a certain position in order for it to work). This one runs a lot quieter than the old one, so hopefully that will help somewhat. I'll still have to push the computer away from me though, so I don't get that fan noise again. EDIT: @Maiku - I don't think this is going to work out, at least not in terms of live streaming. Livestream doesn't really let you stream your desktop without extra software, and it doesn't work well even with said software (it has a lot of lag). I have a feeling that all of the options for live streaming will end up this way, so I'm stumped when it comes to options. The only thing I can do now is record game footage and just have me and my co-host for the episode record voices over it. It loses some of the quality that way, since I wouldn't really be able to do things on impulse in the game, but it seems like the only option available. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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on 2011-05-08 19:37:28 |
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@Jon You want to go ahead and give that a shot then? Not being able to do things impulsively will hurt, but we might be able to make an enjoyable video anyway. |
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Re: Gendou Let's Plays (Test Footage Up)
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on 2011-05-08 19:53:09 |
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@Maiku - Unfortunately no. The software I had from Livestream and Ustream slowed down my computer quite a bit, and the video was unwatchable because of the lag. I will record some gameplay footage when I get the chance (feeling really tired at the moment). Once I get that done, then we will try dubbing over it and see how it turns out. Let me know what time you are available next. I'll try to limit it to around 30 minutes of video. Sorry to make you wait around for this. I had expected a bit of lag, but what I got was ridiculous. |
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