Hey guys. As part of a school project, I'm going to be writing a paper/letter about games. One of the things I intend to use is a survey about how people feel about gameplay videos, and how that affects their decisions to buy games. So I'd like to hear what you think. Can you answer just a few short questions?
1.) Do you look for gameplay videos when deciding if you should buy a game?
2.) Is the gameplay footage provided by the developer enough to convince you one way or the other?
3.) Do you ever search for videos from independent producers (let's players, reviewers, etc.)?
4.) Has gameplay footage you came across convinced you to buy a game you weren't considering already?
Feel free to answer just yes/no, but any elaboration would be helpful. Thanks in advance! You can find my answers in the spoiler below.
1.) I typically look for gameplay videos when the premise has me interested but the gameplay would be the clincher. This comes up frequently on Steam, especially with early access games. I also frequently look up gameplay on recommended games or RPGs where game length would grow boring with bad gameplay.
2.) I usually don't feel that the gameplay footage from the developer is enough to convince me to buy a game. Typically it's because they aren't showing enough for me to be convinced one way or another, but I also find that developers will only put in good gameplay footage, or footage that doesn't represent typical gameplay.
3.) I'll search for the standard reviewers on YouTube for supplementary footage. Mostly I'm looking for reviews, but seeing how they actually show off the game is also important. Usually they'll show the basics, and I can see how that differs from the 'exciting' footage the Devs put in.
4.) Very frequently I find a game played by a Let's Player that I'm interested in purely from the gameplay they show off. Off my currently installed games list on steam, Banished, Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy, Spelunky, Cook Serve Delicious, Crusader Kings II, Europa Universalis IV, Dark Souls, Knytt Underground, La Mulana, Payday 2, Stanley Parable, Thomas Was Alone, Sword of the Star: The Pit, and Unholy Heights were all purchased purely because one or more of the YouTubers I follow showcased gameplay and I was interested.
1) Yes. Buying a game without seeing it in action is like, well, buying anything without seeing it in action.
2) Nnnnnnope. I don't even bother looking for official footage. The only recent game that sold me on its own marketing was Monaco. I normally skip straight to....
3) TotalBiscuit, mostly, for video games. Shut Up & Sit Down and Dice Tower for board games.
4) It's actually more accurate to say that I follow these review programs and they are how I become aware of new games, so it's pretty much impossible for me to have been considering them beforehand. I guess technically that means... yes?
I think the most unexpected games I've gotten this way, games that I'd probably think weren't my style just from a description, are Valdis Story, Bastion, and Hell Yeah!. (I almost said Jamestown, since I don't normally do bullet hells, but let's be honest: I would have been totally sold on a description of the premise alone.) I was also surprisingly tempted by TotalBiscuit's LPs for Long Live the Queen of all things, but in the end I decided against it.
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1) Hardly. I don't buy games on release days, I just wait a few weeks/months/years and see what people think of the game on forums and stuff.
2) No, not really. It's always biased, due to the source.
3) I sometimes view twitch.tv streams. Mostly speedruns, though.
4) Yes. Though it was a speedrun stream, rather than casual playthrough. (AGDQ2014)
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The Sage is occupied with the unspoken
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
1.) Do you look for gameplay videos when deciding if you should buy a game?
No. I actually base myself on the name of a game to know if I'm interested in it. That's how I choose good games.
2.) Is the gameplay footage provided by the developer enough to convince you one way or the other?
No. I have to try the game t know if it's good or not. So far, only some games disapointed me and I didn't choose them.
3.) Do you ever search for videos from independent producers (let's players, reviewers, etc.)?
No. The advice of others is not my advice. I prefer my advice over the one of others because it's mine.
4.) Has gameplay footage you came across convinced you to buy a game you weren't considering already?
No. I never consider any games, then I look up some titles and I consider them. If the name seems interesting enought, I check the game, check the images, but not the gameplay.
To resume, I make my mind on games the oldschool style of checking the name on the box, check the graphics and try the game. I found out that games with apealing graphics are often best sellers.
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Casual crazy magic player, otaku maniac, unrully cosplayer, what did you expect me to be?
1 -
If I'm on the fence about a game, I will definitely look up gameplay videos to help make the decision. Most of the time my mind is already made up by this point, however.
2 -
Sometimes, but I hate that 'canned' feeling these videos often have. If I can feel the blatant hand of marketing in the videos, it can be a turn-off. I very nearly bailed on Dragon Age 2 because of this, despite loving Dragon Age Origins.
3 -
All the time. I'm a chronic Let's Play watcher - I perhaps watch more than I actually play these days.
4 -
Many times. Most recently, Dark Souls. This game wasn't even on my radar until one of my favorite Let's Players picked up the game. I was hooked pretty quickly and ran out and purchased the game myself later that day.
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1.) Do you look for gameplay videos when deciding if you should buy a game?
2.) Is the gameplay footage provided by the developer enough to convince you one way or the other?
3.) Do you ever search for videos from independent producers (let's players, reviewers, etc.)?
4.) Has gameplay footage you came across convinced you to buy a game you weren't considering already?
Feel free to answer just yes/no, but any elaboration would be helpful. Thanks in advance! You can find my answers in the spoiler below.
2.) I usually don't feel that the gameplay footage from the developer is enough to convince me to buy a game. Typically it's because they aren't showing enough for me to be convinced one way or another, but I also find that developers will only put in good gameplay footage, or footage that doesn't represent typical gameplay.
3.) I'll search for the standard reviewers on YouTube for supplementary footage. Mostly I'm looking for reviews, but seeing how they actually show off the game is also important. Usually they'll show the basics, and I can see how that differs from the 'exciting' footage the Devs put in.
4.) Very frequently I find a game played by a Let's Player that I'm interested in purely from the gameplay they show off. Off my currently installed games list on steam, Banished, Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy, Spelunky, Cook Serve Delicious, Crusader Kings II, Europa Universalis IV, Dark Souls, Knytt Underground, La Mulana, Payday 2, Stanley Parable, Thomas Was Alone, Sword of the Star: The Pit, and Unholy Heights were all purchased purely because one or more of the YouTubers I follow showcased gameplay and I was interested.
My helpdesk should you need me.
2) Nnnnnnope. I don't even bother looking for official footage. The only recent game that sold me on its own marketing was Monaco. I normally skip straight to....
3) TotalBiscuit, mostly, for video games. Shut Up & Sit Down and Dice Tower for board games.
4) It's actually more accurate to say that I follow these review programs and they are how I become aware of new games, so it's pretty much impossible for me to have been considering them beforehand. I guess technically that means... yes?
I think the most unexpected games I've gotten this way, games that I'd probably think weren't my style just from a description, are Valdis Story, Bastion, and Hell Yeah!. (I almost said Jamestown, since I don't normally do bullet hells, but let's be honest: I would have been totally sold on a description of the premise alone.) I was also surprisingly tempted by TotalBiscuit's LPs for Long Live the Queen of all things, but in the end I decided against it.
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
2) No, not really. It's always biased, due to the source.
3) I sometimes view twitch.tv streams. Mostly speedruns, though.
4) Yes. Though it was a speedrun stream, rather than casual playthrough. (AGDQ2014)
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
No. I actually base myself on the name of a game to know if I'm interested in it. That's how I choose good games.
2.) Is the gameplay footage provided by the developer enough to convince you one way or the other?
No. I have to try the game t know if it's good or not. So far, only some games disapointed me and I didn't choose them.
3.) Do you ever search for videos from independent producers (let's players, reviewers, etc.)?
No. The advice of others is not my advice. I prefer my advice over the one of others because it's mine.
4.) Has gameplay footage you came across convinced you to buy a game you weren't considering already?
No. I never consider any games, then I look up some titles and I consider them. If the name seems interesting enought, I check the game, check the images, but not the gameplay.
To resume, I make my mind on games the oldschool style of checking the name on the box, check the graphics and try the game. I found out that games with apealing graphics are often best sellers.
If I'm on the fence about a game, I will definitely look up gameplay videos to help make the decision. Most of the time my mind is already made up by this point, however.
2 -
Sometimes, but I hate that 'canned' feeling these videos often have. If I can feel the blatant hand of marketing in the videos, it can be a turn-off. I very nearly bailed on Dragon Age 2 because of this, despite loving Dragon Age Origins.
3 -
All the time. I'm a chronic Let's Play watcher - I perhaps watch more than I actually play these days.
4 -
Many times. Most recently, Dark Souls. This game wasn't even on my radar until one of my favorite Let's Players picked up the game. I was hooked pretty quickly and ran out and purchased the game myself later that day.