Let's Play Channel

[DaHeckIzDat]

I'm putting serious thought into buying a game capture device and starting a let's play channel on YouTube. I probably won't become a big hit, but I'm hoping that my online books might help in starting building an audience. What do you guys think? Got any advice to give? Would you be interested in watching it?

[ptdebate]

I'd watch it! It seems like you have a unique perspective on games that you could offer. Just make sure you're going into it with a clear objective in mind. Channels that are known for one type of content are more popular than channels that keep changing focus. If you're doing RPG let's plays, try to stick to that. If you want to discuss your books, do that in a separate channel dedicated to literature. Just my recommendation.

[DaHeckIzDat]

Sweet! I'm trying to decide what the best approach would be. Do I just focus on having fun, or do I go out of my way to try to do something other lets players haven't tried yet? I had one idea where I could completely forgo the game's story, name the avatar, and make up a brand new (funny) story to go with the gameplay, and, I dunno, roleplay through it. Though that might get tiring after a while. I dunno, lol.

[Rev]

Yes, keep some focus. Usually people will stick to a channel because they like a particular type of game (whether it's RPGs, Mario games, sports titles, CoD). The few times I watched Let's Plays it's because I found that the type of person playing the games played stuff I liked to watch- usually RPGs or NES games.

I'm not a huge Let's Play fan (I prefer retrospectives or reviews) but if I really like a channel I've watched them.

[DaHeckIzDat]

Okay, two new questions.

1. What should my name be? For most places (this being the obvious exception) I make my username "ThisAdamGuy." However I'm a little worried that won't be memorable enough, so I was thinking of calling myself Game Badger. If you mix up my the first few letters of my first, middle, and last name, (Ad)am (Jer)ald (B)olander, it sounds like "badger", so, you know, yay for cleverness maybe?

2. Do I need a new mic? I already have a headset and mic that I use to record my audiobooks, but I don't know if that quality is good enough for a let's play. Here's one of my chapters, so have a listen. Do you think it's good enough or should I buy a brand new mic? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Ce9mtld3c&t=31s

[Stalvern]

For the most part, nobody will care about how "good" your handle is or isn't. A guy who calls himself "PewDiePie" has made a zillion dollars from this, so what does that tell you? However, of the two that you mentioned, I think that "ThisAdamGuy" is a much better choice - first names seem to have worked out well for both JonTron and ProtonJon (and they had to compete with each other!), and that style and tone certainly didn't hurt ThatGuyWithTheGlasses. What's great about this name is that even though it has these similarities to other names, it doesn't sound like a ripoff at all; it's just a simple, no-nonsense handle that happens to fit right in with established successes. Plus, putting "badger" in your name (or almost any mammal) is going to suggest that you're a furry, and whether you are or not, that's going to turn off some of your audience.

Sound quality is the important question here, and that sample really doesn't sound too great; there's a lot of noise, and your voice itself is pretty fuzzy. But I have a recommendation - I was looking for a microphone for a podcast recording a few months ago, and while my laptop microphone (!) turned out to be adequate, I had this in my Amazon cart for a few days after hearing this video's testimony. It's only $20!

I hope that this post was helpful and not too late.

[DaHeckIzDat]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I went ahead and put up the first episode last night. Check it out, I'd appreciate any feedback I can get. Also, I'll definitely be checking that mic out, Stalvern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsGczagqTWs