I don't understand the appeal of Twitch

[intrinsical]

I know what Twitch is. I have not used it much in the past other than to check out how a game plays before I purchase it. So I have never really watched more than a minute or two of any twitch video. This changed recently after I purchased Just Cause 3 and discovered it would not run properly on my PC. I had to refund the game, but I was curious about the game's story so I figured I'll watch someone play it.

It turned out to be one of the most frustrating things I have ever done. I watched as this guy could not figure out how to use the grappling hook and glider. After a while he just gave up on them and just treated the game as a third person shooter. He proceeds to stand in the middle of the field with several enemies firing on him while he spends 10 seconds aiming his gun at one guy. After shooting down that one enemy, he could not find the other enemies even though I could clearly see them on screen.

So I thought okay, maybe it's just one guy who's crap at playing games. Nope. The next 3 players I watched were about equally bad. Next, I tried watching a few Star Trek Online streams as it has recently been released for console players and I'm very familiar with the game. Again, I watched player after player turning their starships to face their opponents in combat instead of broadsiding. They were all making what I would call silly mistakes. For example one guy was only firing one or two weapons when the ship has 8 weapons. He also did not allocate full power to weapons while he cussed about how weak his ship is.

If what I saw was the standard twitch offering, I really do not see it's appeal.

Edit: fixed a couple of typos and grammatical errors

 

[jamestyler]

Twitch and all things like it genuinly annoy me.

Watching a professional review a game on a game show in that method makes sense. Watching everyone and their aunt's dog play games badly is just infuriating.

The kids watch a lot of it and I just don't get it. One of them all out begged for a game. He got the game. On release. At full price. Over a year later he still hasn't opened the box. But he's cracked open YouTube and watched other people play the game instead.

Where's the fun in that? :/

 

[SPCTRE]

I as well don't see the appeal*, but I also realize that I'm older than the target audience (I'm 31) and that older people have always expressed bewilderment at the fancies of younger people

*my free time is limited, so I prefer to actively play games

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Twitch Plays [game] is the only thing I've ever enjoyed on Twitch. Watching people just play games doesn't have much appeal for me, but there is clearly a generation gap at work there, since the kids are just crazy about it.

 

[Rincewiend]

Some people can't stream\chat and play a game at the same time...
So you would be better of watching a "Let's Play" series on Youtube if you want a story for a game you can't play yourself or if you need some help in a game...
Most of the better Let's Plays are done offline, no twitch...
Another reason some streamers suck at playing a game on stream is because they want to be entertaining by emulating people like PewdiePie or Markiplier(Let's Players on Youtube), who are very animated and screamy in their videos...

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, listening to people laugh and scream while they play video games isn't my cuppa.

Kay's LP of Dark Souls is more my speed. No screaming, sedate but fun commentary.

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[B.J.]

My 8 year old likes to watch a lot of YT videos of Minecraft. I couldn't understand it either, but someone pointed out that it's quite similar to someone watching a football or baseball game on TV. In both cases, you're watching someone else play a game of some sort instead of playing yourself.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

Sometimes it can be fun. I watched someone play Outlast on Twitch, and while I was sometimes impatient watching him stumble through level trying to find a key or something, I remember I was like that too when I first played. But it was fun to watch someone experience that game for the first time and work out the problems. Other than that, I've really only enjoyed watching someone like Angry Joe play.

 

[SPCTRE]

My 8 year old likes to watch a lot of YT videos of Minecraft. I couldn't understand it either, but someone pointed out that it's quite similar to someone watching a football or baseball game on TV. In both cases, you're watching someone else play a game of some sort instead of playing yourself.

that analogy works... to a point - the sports spectator aspect aligns more directly when you're watching competitive matches on a comparatively high level of skill (i.e. esports)

 

[Tribble puncher]

My nephews Love Twitch and PewDiePie, of course they range in age from 11-15. I'm almost 42, so I don't really get the "scream and yell constantly" thing that kids just seem to find hilarious. Damn, it's happening, soon I'll be sitting on my porch eagerly awaiting the next person to tell to get off my lawn. Though I will say I can't believe some of these guys make MIllions of Dollars just sitting around playing games all day.

 

[jamestyler]

Just a curiosity - but how many of these guys are the "I will play games and shout obscenities really loudly?" types?

I recall seeing a larger gentleman making videos about having rage fits over games years back, and now we've had to ban YouTube as - even with headphones - we can hear the screaming and shouting from the kids tablets. Jack Septiceye being the worst offender. I sincerely hope he lives alone.

 

[intrinsical]

I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is a lot. Many gaming channels on youtube are happy to just copy another successful channel's format wholesale. For example, the greeting "Yo what's going on guys! This is ... speaking and today we are playing/checking out/going to look at ...." has become such a standard that I've lost count of the number of times I've heard it.

 

[Rincewiend]

Personally i like jacksepticeye, he calmed down in the last year or so...
And the large gentleman might be Francis, who is a character created by youtuber boogie2988. His real self is a lot nicer and calmer...

 

[jamestyler]

I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is a lot. Many gaming channels on youtube are happy to just copy another successful channel's format wholesale. For example, the greeting "Yo what's going on guys! This is ... speaking and today we are playing/checking out/going to look at ...." has become such a standard that I've lost count of the number of times I've heard it.

Coming form an industry that copies everyone else (to the point where people copying my writing has been a mark of pride!) That doesn't surprise me :/

Personally i like jacksepticeye, he calmed down in the last year or so...
And the large gentleman might be Francis, who is a character created by youtuber boogie2988. His real self is a lot nicer and calmer...

Thats the man! Thank you! I spent a while trying to recall his name. He always stands out in my mind for smashing a controller in the act and ad libbing with "And your controllers break too easy!"

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Just a curiosity - but how many of these guys are the "I will play games and shout obscenities really loudly?" types?

I recall seeing a larger gentleman making videos about having rage fits over games years back, and now we've had to ban YouTube as - even with headphones - we can hear the screaming and shouting from the kids tablets. Jack Septiceye being the worst offender. I sincerely hope he lives alone.

Most of them are like that, unfortunately.

If you're looking for something family-friendly, FGTeeV is pretty decent. They're still a bit loud but it's not on the same level as the shouting and screaming of others.

 

[jamestyler]

Most of them are like that, unfortunately.

If you're looking for something family-friendly, FGTeeV is pretty decent. They're still a bit loud but it's not on the same level as the shouting and screaming of others.

Beautiful! Thanks muchly Family friendly is good - especially as my daughter see's the 'big names' as "watching people swear on the internet"

 

[Jono]

During the EA of a game I bought into the devs did a weekly dev stream on Twitch, which was my first foray onto the site. For that Twitch was great as we could see the latest build, bring up current problems, ask about upcoming/possible features. It's a step up from just catching the odd preview on a games site or visiting official or Steam forums. It helps make you feel more involved, particularly during EA.

That's generally what I use Twitch for in terms of live watching. I don't really watch randoms play, but seeing previews or updates on games by devs I find enjoyable. Actually, I do watch something on Twitch regularly that is people playing a game, but that's D&D rather than a video game.

 

[Reverend]

Yeah there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding here: Twitch isn't an artform or even a format, it's a venue. Not understanding the appeal of certain people's content is just the equivalent of not understanding the appeal of reality TV...or Golf as a spectator sport. Perfectly valid of course but hardly worthy of comment.

 

[SPCTRE]

Yeah there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding here

in conversation, Twitch sometimes gets used as short for watching people play video games. Not the clearest way to communicate, but no misunderstanding there.

 

[WB2]

I'm not much about twitch but watching a "let's play" on youtube can be pretty fun when you simply don't feel like playing the game yourself and just want to relax.