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By Laela Ezra
Gaming Vicariously : A Look at Let ’ s Plays
Do you watch videos on YouTube ? Of course you do ; it ’ s evolved into one of the largest platforms of sharing media on the Internet . Whether it ’ s news , music , sports , or that one obscure clip from an Iranian cartoon that somehow became a meme , YouTube has something for everyone . As many of you may have noticed and probably chosen to ignore , the homepage of YouTube has a series of clickable tags . One is titled “ Gaming ” and if you click on it , a ton of videos pop up : reviews , parodies , songs , fan animations / comic dubs , streams , etc .
But perhaps the most popular kind of video , and the most unique to YouTube as a platform , are the “ Let ’ s Play ” videos . “ Let ’ s Players ,” as the video creators are called , have gained celebrity status . Maybe you can recognize a few of these names : Pewdiepie , Markiplier , Jacksepticeye , Cryaotic , GameGrumps , the list goes on .
What exactly is a “ Let ’ s Play ” you may ask . Put simply , a Let ’ s Play is a playthrough of a video game recorded in textual , visual , and / or video format . Commentary is usually added by the person playing , who ’ s often a fan of the game they cover . Supposedly , one of the
biggest draws to the video game medium is that it ’ s a wholly interactive experience . You have agency over your character , you can control the interactions that character has with the world , you become central to the narrative that is this game . In a Let ’ s Play , you the viewer no longer have that direct agency on the narrative .
So then , why are Let ’ s Plays so popular , especially since it seems to go against the exact experience a game is attempting to create ?
Jimmy Kimmel also didn ’ t seem to understand this , so he interviewed Markiplier and MissesMae last September . After plenty of awkward jokes surrounding threats Kimmel had gotten from ( troll ) commenters , Mae shared a video of her parents using the Oculus Rift ( a virtual reality headset ) to “ ride ” a roller coaster in Minecraft .
“ I love seeing other people have fun , and I think that ’ s what a lot of people get out of these gaming videos ,” Markiplier says . Though Kimmel proceeded to disrespect what Let ’ s Players do , Markiplier ’ s comment resonates with me . Let ’ s Play ’ s , at their core , are a way of sharing video games to people in another
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