So the first thing that most people are going to think about is what game they are going to choose for their let's play, do you play something old? Something fairly new? Is it a game that you have played
before? Or are you going into it blind? For my first series Kingdom Hearts 2.5 it was kind of weird because I played the game many years ago but it was like a new and improved version with extra stuff so there was things I knew of and hidden treats for me. Pro tip. put some serious thought in what game you are going to play, and do not pick a game you will get bored with.
After making a mental note of what game I was going to play (mind you this was months in advance), I needed to figure out my setup. I purchased an elgato, a capture card capable of capturing footage from basically last gen (ps3) and current gen (ps4) consoles. I also already had audacity (a great program for recording audio) for the CP Time Podcast and a nice USB mic to speak into. I ran into a couple road blocks in my set up stage. One of which was audio troubles, I used my TV, most let's players use like a computer screen or something like that and they can easily plug their headphones, So I had to take the extra step to by buying an adapter that plugged into my TV and then I could plug my headphones in. It was more of an annoyance but without it, I would of had to do the playthrough with no sound on my end. Another issue that I came across before the audio thing was the fact that my camera sucked. Originally I was going to do a face capture let's play like how Markiplier and Pewdipie do. However 1. my camera sucks and would of been a major headache and 2. I feel like face cams take away from the viewer paying attention to the game, also you have to constantly make sure your not just staring into your game like a dweeb, when you just record your voice you just have to focus on talking but can be a total gross looking slob and comfy (something I did a lot), My setup is a little ghetto and one day I'll improve it but eh, gets the job done for now.
Now the recording process wasn't bad, sometimes I had my fair share of random issues such as audacity being lame, elgato not cooperating, me being super busy, it being too hot (yes it being too hot was an issue), and a lot of background noise. I recorded in a place with no air conditioning so it got super hot some days and I would need to turn on a fan or it would be game over however the fan creates background noise which is something that would of been a major pain if it wasn't for audacity. Speaking of background noise, recording in a shared space is not easy, I always had to time when I would play as to not worry about having background chitter chatter other than my own. I have to say sitting there talking to yourself for hours at a time is a strange thing to try and get used to. Seriously its a skill to just sit there and ramble at an audience that wont exist until after the video is on YouTube
Playing the game itself was fun but when doing it for YouTube it's a little different, I had to pace myself keeping a mental note of what I would do in the record session. There were times when I would literally have to reach in the deep vault of memories to remember where I had to go, although thankfully the Kingdom Hearts series runs on a pretty straight path. I had to do some off screen stuff here and there like level up or cut if I was really stuck on a part.
Oh the editing process, how I had a love hate relationship with editing videos. Early on editing videos was a huge pain, I had no idea what I was doing half the time and it took me hours just to make an episode. It wouldn't be until towards midway of my let's play series that I would watch dozen's of videos on how to edit and learn shortcuts. The edits weren't anything too crazy, the main thing was tweaking with the sound and cutting unnecessary footage.
After completing the long let's play series consisting of 78 episodes, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. This let's play had been going on for nine months....nine months, the time it takes for a human life to be born. I was relieved, yeah this was a game I enjoyed but it didn't mean getting them episodes out sometimes wasn't a pain in the ass at times. It's a commitment honestly and I do commend people that do it for a living, and I also commend Darrell and Jordan, who also work on the channel for setting the time to complete a series prior to mine.
To wrap things up, it was a great experience and I wish any of you guys reading this now that are making Youtube videos the best of luck, it's going to be quite some time before I do another Let's Play...however, there's other videos to be made until then, hint hint.
Check out my Kingdom Hearts Playthrough since I was just talking your ear off about it. Alright Jaz out!
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