DoOrDie videos

[Robotam Plus]

Hey, old timers, you guys still alive or what? I know it's been a very long time since I last stopped by, and I do want to make a proper greeting, but before that I'd like to directly approach you on another matter. A few weeks ago me and two of my friends started recording our gaming sessions while playing various games using our own conditions - hardcore mode. I called it "one life playthroughs". The rules of such playthroughs are the following:

• Death is permanent. We have but one life to beat the game. No retries EVER. And should the game freeze or reset for any reason whatsoever it is considered game over.
• The person playing must not be overly familiar with the game. Controls are learned live.
• We may never chose a difficulty level below Hard

With the odds always against us, our playthoughs were always dramatic. We were flipping tables screaming at each other at every close call, laughing at every outrageous **** up we made, and were always on edge never knowing when it was all going to end. What we found was that we had so much fun doing this we decided to make a youtube channel, to see if others would find watching these gaming sessions as fun as we had making them. We call ourselves DoORDie. Now I've been staring myself blind at this video -  I've no idea anymore if this is even remotely entertaining. So I wanted to come to you guys for some legitimate criticism.

I should warn you though, we curse a lot whenever we're in trouble.

This is us playing Resident Evil 3:

Resident Evil 3: These f'kn controls! - PART1 - Do Or Die

You know I would be delighted if someone took the time to watch it tell me what they thought. And, please, don't be afraid to criticise the video if you think it's bad - I want to know whether this be something you'd watch or not. And if anyone is wondering what's up with our accents, we're swedes so that should clear up that little mystery. As for which of the three I am, I'm the guy yelling "You're dying on the first ******* zombies!" at the beginning.

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NOW, finally, I just wanted to say it's so good to see this place still exists. It's been what, a whole decade since I first came here, I think... Unbelievable. And to Razor, SaiKar, Moosetroop, Archem, Prpl_Mage and you other familiar folks who've posted here in the last couple of weeks - I hope you see this. I'm alive and well, and I hope you are too! I'm thinking of sticking around for a while this time. I probably won't post too much, I never did much in the old days to begin with, but I'll be around if you are. It'd be nice to catch up.

Long live, charas!

[Prpl_Mage]

Holy nutballs, you're still alive!

Video is okay, maybe go for an actual introduction of some sort? Perhaps some manly manly cinema trailer voice to explain the reason behind it?

Also, perhaps you could try doing some more action packed games? Resident evil 3 isn't the most exciting of games these days. Try a hack or slash type, I remember forcing my buddy to play it on the highest difficulty when I unlocked it, several hours of fun followed. Although, y'know. Won't really work if you reset on death. That game kills you a lot.

Also, you do have the typical Swedish accent.

[Moosetroop11]

Hey hey Robotam!!!

I'll watch it when I have time, I promise! In the next few hours maybe...

[Momeka]

I remember you! I'll check the video when I'm at the office and have faster internet.

[DragonBlaze]

Holy crap, you're alive!

Anyway I agree with Prpl, an actual intro would have been nice.

I also suggest trying some multiplayer games where everyone conforms to those rules such as Left 4 Dead. While having one person running around not knowing what to do, having four people running around not knowing what to do would be better :p

[Archem]

Robotam! Good to see you again! We're doing well around here, with a surprising number of regulars still active. It's no big party, but at least we're still here.

The video seems interesting, but these sort of videos benefit greatly from a few jokes or some stories (be they about a game, real-life misadventures, or anything that offers an extra layer of entertainment). There's also the option of commenting on lots of little parts of the game (like talking about goofy dialogue, odd level design, or just unusual decorations). If the audience is hanging on your every word, you're doing a good job. You guys are doing a decent job, but try to ramp it up a little bit. For the intro, I like the idea of a semi-cold open. Try having recording audio with a black screen with the ground rules on-screen for a few seconds (about 3 seconds per frame or 5 if it's only one frame. Try to keep the total under 10 seconds to keep it from being tedious) and then dropping right in on the action. If you guys are in a panic at the start, even better. You'll have the audience's attention before they even see the gameplay.

I like it so far.

[Robotam Plus]

The video seems interesting, but these sort of videos benefit greatly from a few jokes or some stories (be they about a game, real-life misadventures, or anything that offers an extra layer of entertainment). There's also the option of commenting on lots of little parts of the game (like talking about goofy dialogue, odd level design, or just unusual decorations). If the audience is hanging on your every word, you're doing a good job. You guys are doing a decent job, but try to ramp it up a little bit.

I agree completely, and this is something I try to keep in account while recording. These things will get better with practice.  Once we've gotten used to the whole recording routine and especially the sudden transition of speaking in English, I think we're going to come across as a lot more natural and entertaining.

For the intro, I like the idea of a semi-cold open. Try having recording audio with a black screen with the ground rules on-screen for a few seconds (about 3 seconds per frame or 5 if it's only one frame. Try to keep the total under 10 seconds to keep it from being tedious) and then dropping right in on the action.

That's a good suggestion, Archem. We've had many discussions about the intro, and of course, it's very important for us that people fully understand our concept going in. And you all seem to agree that our brief intro isn't overly clear on that, and that's very valuable information to me. So thanks.

I also suggest trying some multiplayer games where everyone conforms to those rules such as Left 4 Dead.

Absolutely man! I think this formula would apply excellently to multiplayer and co-op games as well.

Also, perhaps you could try doing some more action packed games? Resident evil 3 isn't the most exciting of games these days.

I see what you mean, but my primary goal is to make any genre of games we play suspenseful for those watching. Essentially what we're doing here is "let's play" videos, except with ours the element of death is central. When people start watching a series they won't know how long it's going to last. If we die (or rather when) it cuts to black instantly and it's over - we're never allowed to play the same game again. That's our main appeal, and hopefully it'll have people watching feeling some tension and have them coming back for more.

Thank you guys! Good to hear from you all. I really appreciate you taking the time to watch my video. You make some valid points too.

[Archem]

If we die (or rather when) it cuts to black instantly and it's over

No after-show chat? Not that I have a problem with it cutting after death, but it would be nice to hear a few last words. A little strategy talk, what you would/should have done, maybe a little last-minute trash-talking (towards the way the game killed you or towards each other, or whatever feels natural) would really help make the ending of a series better. A dead-end cut kind of leaves it open-ended in a negative sort of way.

[Robotam Plus]

A dead-end cut kind of leaves it open-ended in a negative sort of way.

Well, it's not a dead-end cut and then the video ends - we basically cut to our title and it says game over.  It is very sudden though, and indeed there's no post-game talk, but I think that's good for several reasons.  You'll see it's not at all open-ended. In fact it's about as clear and closed as it's going to get, and it'll never leave you unsure of whether we died or not. The cut-away from our screaming as we're failing miserably - to the dead silent game over screen pretty much always plays out funny, because after all the effort it's the pay-off is so anti-climactic. Besides, death often is quite sudden, and I want to show everybody that we really mean business. The end is the end. Unforgiving as it is, those are the stakes.

[Archem]

I suppose that's just me trying to feed my lust for after show and "behind the scenes" commentary.

[Moosetroop11]

Watched part 1! It was fun. The personalities you have work on video but I agree that some short vocal introduction would help (it's nice to know your names for instance)

[Razor]

Yay, Robotam is alive

[oooog]

I've actually grown attached to these let's play videos, and after I've lost my interest in Game Grumps (yeah, I'm one of them), I've been looking to fill the void left.

Very interesting concept.  A few friends and I used to run this very same concept on older games and it was always a blast, so I'm invested so far.  However, there needs to be more in the dialogue between the players.  There were some entertaining quips here and there, but they were mostly limited to the events happening right then.  Much of the play through was limited to voicing the thoughts everyone has when playing a game, but never really said because they're not needed to be said (if that makes sense.)  "Okay, go there...", "yeah...", "there's some ammo..."  Those are opportune time to present the witty banter to get people hooked.  Of course, absolutely easier said then done.  I also had an issue with the audio recording, in the sense that it made the environment seem very monotone and bland.  I'm guessing there was basically a decently priced microphone sitting somewhere near the center in front of you guys, but the problem with that is even though it was likely high energy, when it was recorded and placed alongside the video, it didn't quite feel all that exciting.  Towards 7 minutes in on the second episode was probably the most entertaining part of the saga thus far.

Some fine tuning and you may really have something there.  As stated before, I would recommend grabbing some more exciting games to establish your dynamics and get comfortable with what it is you're doing.  Super Mario 3 for instance?  Either it will be a short one time episode of 10 minutes or so, or you may in fact beat the game without losing a life.  Either situation would be beneficial and draw attention.

[Prpl_Mage]

older games

I think Ooog just found the one thing that you need. Older games, like old NES, SNES, SEGA. That would of course beat any hack and slash game ever. Super mario bros 3, the early metroid games, contra (**** yeah), mortal kombat, some sonic, and other wierd games that were released without as much as a hint on what to do.

also banter. Banter is good, no shame bringing some loose script to the scene.

[Archem]

I've actually grown attached to these let's play videos, and after I've lost my interest in Game Grumps (yeah, I'm one of them), I've been looking to fill the void left.

Jon's departure brought some hard times. It's still a fun show, but it's just not on the same level as before.