Text-based Let's Plays; are they a thing?

[Quiver]

I mean, I'm going to answer my question right off the bat: I know LP's that exist wholey as text do exist[/i, because I'm a big fan of the Text Plays and game analsysis over on Shamus Young's website.

I'm just wondering if there are any of them beyond that.

I'm not a big fan of video recording stuff, but I [i]do enjoy writing; I'd ave an interest in writing up a Journal from an in-universe standpoint of a game... I'm just wondering if that is the type of thing that there is a demand for/interest in.

(And if so, can anyone point me in the right direction of a few?)

[Sian]

there's been quite a few around here...

[GloatingSwine]

It's quite a common format for games that don't have a lot going on visually.

Turn based games, grand strategies, that sort of thing. (Paradox games particularly, especially as Paradox have specific subforums for AARs).

[Hiro Protagonest]

I'm just wondering if there are any of them beyond that.

That was like, the point of the old Something Awful forums.

But with the increasing ease of meeting the technical requirements for creators to upload and consumers to watch videos, the format doesn't have much clout anymore.

[Squark]

A purely text-based LP might be difficult because too much of the visual content would be lost, but text+Screenshot is a time honored method for strategy games as well as some narrative styles (The old infinity engine RPGs and maybe the newer RPGs trying to be their successors work well for this. The Sims games also lend themselves well to text based Let's Plays since you can cut out the grinding of skills, toilet use, and the like).

[Knaight]

Screenshot lets plays are pretty standard, and for some games they're outright better than video lets plays - there's a few excellent Dominions 3 LPs out there that involve screen shots and have to, as otherwise you'd be watching some long videos.

[RagingKrikkit]

SomethingAwful's LPArchive (https://lparchive.org/) has some text-only LPs, but I haven't read them. Personally, I think that the format can be viable, but it takes significant work to do so. I've found that the best way to do this is what the Nuzlocke Forums (https://youtu.be/HVGnOpxD08g) calls a "writelocke", which essentially amounts to writing a full novel-length story based on the events of the game, often featuring some kind of individual worldbuilding, up to and including a story with no direct connection to the IP beyond proper nouns.

EDIT: The Nuzlocke forums also have a section for what they term "written log runs", which, as their name suggests, serve as essentially a playthrough shared with notes. They usually aren't as flashy as other types of recording games, and so are rarely given much attention in the pantheon of "must read" runs, but they do highlight the key of a commentative text-based LP rather than a narratively-focused one. When providing screenshots of a game, you are providing a picture for your audience to work out how everything works in the given update. With text-based LPs, this framework isn't there, so your audience must be familiar enough with the game to make that mental image themselves. Pokémon serves as a prime example for this, as the high variability of specific things that can happen is contained within a framework that the reader is assumed to know, grounding the LP while still being different enough from the reader's own experiences to keep it from getting stale. This is why a text-only game of Europa Universalis works on the Paradox forums, but would probably meet with much less interest here, as a much lower percentage of traffic is so deeply familiar with the game that they can visualize the events on their own from notes.

[Triaxx]

I suggest taking a walk over to the Egosoft forum, and gazing into the wild blue yonder of the Creative Universe Forum. Lots of goodies there, in particular stuff by Nuklear-Slug, and Scion Drakhar. I have one or two as well, but Scion's stuff is required reading first.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Okay yeah text-only Let's Plays are significantly less of a thing than screenshot LPs, which are less of a thing than video LPs.

[Velaryon]

I don't remember where I found it, but there was a screenshot Let's Play of Shadow Hearts: Covenant that I found invaluable when playing through the game myself. So they definitely exist(ed), but I think they're mostly supplanted by YouTube let's plays.

[Aragehaor]

It is worth mentioning however, that text-based/screenshot let's plays lack any inherent way* to achieve a monetary income (If that was an eventual goal of yours, anyways.)


As others have said though, they certainly do still exist, though they do tend to be less popular then video let's plays.



I have no idea as to whether or not you were even interested in the financial aspects of this, of course (and some of my information may be outdated, as its been quite some time since i've looked into the matter) but its worth mentioning, at least.

Even if you just want to do it for fun or practice, i believe it to be important to be aware of such details.


*Though if you built up an audience/fanbase, its entirely possible to use that to potentially make money in the future(People who have enjoyed your writing thus far are more inclined to support you, as well as be interested in whatever future work you decide to undertake, a patreon could also be very possible.)

[Alwyn]

In addition to the ideas above, text-based Let's Plays - or text and screenshot After Action Reports - are welcome at the Writers' Study on the Total War Center forum.