We Ask The Question, What Makes A Game Fun To Watch?

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What makes you watch people play games? Admit it, you have spent countless hours watching “Let’s Plays” on Twitch and YouTube. We ask, what makes a game fun to watch? The Rebel’s discuss this and more.

Do you like this episode? Wanna complain about something we got wrong? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below or emailing us at info@templeofgeek.com. We really want to hear your opinions!

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Intro Music – Final Impasse By Ground is Lava

CHECK OUT OUR LAST FEW EPISODES

WHAT THE REBELS ARE PLAYING

Stacy- I’ve not turned on my consoles to play a game in weeks, I’ve been playing more WoW (sorry), I’m working on my rep and trying to get a bee mount which is the worst slog for rep I’ve ever done.

Amanda- I’m playing Deliver Us the Moon which is an atmospheric puzzler and exploring experience with real space elements like a rocket launch that feel accurate. Recommended even just for the music.

GAMING NEWS

The next Call of Duty game will be set in the “Cold War”, according to leaks. Since there wasn’t much real fighting in the “Cold War”, we don’t know what this game will actually contain.

PS4 has released the Mafia 2 Definitive Edition way ahead of schedule so this is great news for fans of the game.

Nintendo will be moving away from press events to do more small summer trailers and releases this year including Paper Mario and Pikmen 3. This is good for what’s often a dead period for gaming.

Amazon releases a new free-to-play game that they claim will rival Fortnite and PPUBG. It’s their first foray into real gaming and we are here for it.

WHAT MAKES A GAME FUN TO WATCH?

Amanda

The personality of the Presenter- someone who is truly engaging, has a defined style, reacts both to the community, and the game will always have my attention.
Your passion for that title- if you love a game, you want to watch more of it both before and after you buy it. From missing ending to side missions, when you’re obsessed you can’t get enough.
Unexpected gameplay elements (horror)- I don’t like to be scared but I love to see other people jump. I can also enjoy a game a wouldn’t usually play vicariously.
The skill of the player- people with l33t skills never fail to impress. Who wouldn’t want to see the best go at it? As long as you understand the game itself, you can appreciate the skill.

Stacy-

The story of the game- I think games that play out like a movie, really lend themselves to streams because there’s a lot to engage you. Horror works well for this as well.
Skill- It is important for me too! I love speed runs, especially old Metroid or mega man runs. Seeing someone do it perfectly, is just amazing to me.
Humor- if the commentary is funny or if there is banter, that’s the most interesting thing for me to watch. I like to see people do badly too and laugh about it.
For information- I will watch streams for walkthroughs or boss strategies. If I get stuck or want to improve my tactics in MMOs especially, you’ve got to do research, and part of that involves watching streams.