(So, I'm not promoting anything... mods. Watching you, lol.)

For anyone that watches these, I'm curious what makes you check out new ones. I don't have the ability to poll large audiences, and this is the largest audience I have.

Anyway, groth is stale, and i want to try and get this thing off the ground. Had a good first year, but year 2 can be better, damn it.

Is it, the game? The thumbnail? The channel logo? I'm just seeing what angle needs to be explored.

For anyone shitposting, feel free to be ignored, by all means. I'm genuinely just looking for research data.

Genuinely?
A thumbnail that isn't clickbait, a title that's straightforward and fun without being overly facetious, and a decent length (anywhere from 20min. to 2+ hours).

Hehe, okay cool. So far, just keep doing what I'm doing.

I'm glad someone else can't stand that click-baity thumbnail format that's plaguing YouTube, right now...

It's a plague that resurfaces every few years, give it another couple months and everyone will go back to normal thumbnails again.

For me, it's usually the game first, then the personality second. If the let's play is a game that I'm into or playing at the moment it'll entice me to click. If it's a brand new channel for me, I'll give it a try and see how the lp-er is and what kind of commentary they provide. I think LPs are personality driven more than anything, so if I feel like I'm just not into the vibe or commentary or type of humor then I'll pass, so it feels kind of like dating in that regard.

That's good to hear, and I agree. I think the host needs to carry the experience. Otherwise, their channel doesn't have a uniqueness to it.

But it's a very subjective quality, and I get that not everyone likes every channel.

(Yes, I'm gonna keep replying as often as possible, haha. It's useful info for me, and it's how I handle comments, anyway.)

I’m not speaking out of personal preference, I’m just saying what I know, and any observations I’ve made, about wacky algorithm junk and getting a foothold into content creation. Sorry this is probably gonna be really longwinded lmao


The game itself and making sure you have an accurate (but still eye catching) title and thumbnail are probably the most important things, from what I’ve seen, in attracting new people. (Unless it’s a livestream, then you can do fuckall with the thumbnail as long as you’re still doing enough to let people know what you’re actually doing.)
And not only that, but both your personality and how you convey yourself, and the types of games you play will attract certain kinds of audiences. Study that and figure out what kind of environment you wanna have. Fans of Omori or Undertale will be incredibly different to fans of games like NBA 2K, and NBA 2K fans will be different than certain fighting games or shooters, and you will have to cater to them in different ways. I’m assuming sense you’ve been around for over a year, you probably already have a rough idea of your niche? But if you don’t, that’s fine for right now!

And whenever you DO get a better grasp of your niche, follow trends within that niche, look at other YouTubers who play the same games as you and see what they’re doing! If you play Danganronpa for example, what other games will those Danganronpa fans also enjoy? Maybe you can record and upload the Danganronpa playthrough alongside/after this other game and kind of give people some options so you don’t accidentally become a one trick pony for however long, cuz Danganronpa can be a long winded series depending on how long your videos tend to be!

Past that, what’s gonna make them stay is reasonably frequent output, (don’t worry about uploading everyday, but don’t die off for 4 months and pretend nothing happened), a decent level of subscriber interaction (poll votes for the next game, responding to comments, etc.), and generally just decent content (funny or interesting reactions/commentary, your improv and talking skills will always be something you need to make sure isn’t faltering, no matter what your position is. If you’re small, you gotta fight that awkwardness and thoughts of “Whats the point if nobody will see this” and if you’re big you need to fight that pressure and fear of not being able to please them.)

Your production quality doesn’t have to be top notch either, I think Critikal is a prime example. His videos and streams are very simple, but it’s his personality that make people stick. I think if he tried any harder than what he’s been doing to make things more colorful and pristine, I and I’m sure many others may be kind of offput by it.
If you have a decent mic, decent lighting, a decent camera, and a decent budget for games, that’s already plenty to do whatever the fuck you want within gaming. Anything else outside of branding (thumbnail, banner, merch, etc.) is optional.

I think I’ve spoken long enough, though while I won’t go into detail, the last thing I wanna mention is that I really cannot downplay the importance of building a COMMUNITY, interacting with other content creators, maybe making a collab sometimes, making friends, going to local gaming events, asking questions and receiving input and criticism from your peers!

Anyway, that’s it, I hope this helps. Take care <3

(Yes, I'm gonna keep replying as often as possible, haha. It's useful info for me, and it's how I handle comments, anyway.)[/quote]

That's good! It helps cultivate a community when your viewers know you're commenting on replys and adding engagement to your channel.

Also, one thing I forgot to mention is upload frequency. You should aim to upload consistently because the algorithm rewards it with higher possibility of popping up in the recommended section for a wider audience of non-subs.

I've been daily for over a year, without missing a single day. On the rare occasion, I actually pump out 2 episodes in a single day. So, I'm the mascot for consistency, haha.

I only consistently check out one let’s play channel and I do it because I think they’re funny. They have good chemistry. I mean if we’re talking one man shows than I just need to see new games. I watch people do let’s trys of new cool games all the time, but if I want to see a series then there has to be multiple funny people or a single guy playing a really cool game. Also don’t try to be funny if you’re alone you can’t make jokes to something you can’t see laugh.

Ah, well then I will warn you that about... half the catalog will not appeal to ya. I get guests on when I can, but this is a mostly solo operation.

I’m just one man, but my personal tastes are kinda specific.

First, I never watch live. Only recorded stuff on YouTube. I particularly like edited highlight reels, but I do watch full Let’s Plays sometimes while I’m doing something else. When watching unedited Lets Plays, I’m basically using it as a friend simulator. So I like people with good senses of humor who have interesting or funny things to say. I enjoy random stories, tirades, and rants as long as they’re funny or interesting. I do NOT like constant screaming (though I do enjoy the occasional panic/freak out) or long stretches of silence. This is hardest thing for any Let’s Player to do, because most people have a natural personality, history, and story-telling ability that they can’t improve on much. You’ve either got it or you don’t, kind of deal. And taste is subjective, so I find most of the more popular streamers to be super vapid and/or annoying, and enjoy some that most other watchers would find vapid and/or annoying.

And while I just said I love humor, I hate it when you can tell the person is just trying really hard to be funny all the time. If it doesn’t come off as natural, I don’t enjoy it. And it does not have to be constant. I’ve noticed some guys who would be better served by only saying something funny when it comes naturally, even if that means long stretches without it.

Another difficult thing to change is voice. Some voices are just non-starters for me.

Honestly, though, the main way I end up watching Let’s Plays if it’s a game I want to see (but find the walkthroughs too boring). I also really enjoy people doing creative things with the games. I like seeing people play Arma with various types of interesting mods and scenarios. I like seeing people come up with their own games to play with each other on Minecraft. I like seeing people play through New Vegas using only a certain NPC’s gear. I like seeing people attempt pacifist runs, and thinking through moral dilemma’s to determine where or not a certain action counts as pacifist or not. That kind of shit.

One thing I generally don’t care for is people playing very seriously and competitively- ESPECIALLY in repetitive games. I do not see any appeal at all in e-sports, for example, or genuine speed running (casual speed-running can be fun to watch sometimes).

I really have a preference for watching multiple people playing together, especially those with good chemistry, too.

Lastly, I LOVE watching reasonable, nice people. By that I mean, if you’re going to talk about things that are controversial, highly subjective, polarizing, drama, etc., I love the guys that can do it with balance, nuance, and grace. I’m not interested in “hot takes” just for the drama or contrarianism.
Of course, if you’re just making banter and memeing, I don’t mind that kind “toxicity”. As long as it’s clear that it’s per formative and everyone is in on the joke. I actually love people who are good at raging, lol.

What I do is search for a game I'm interested in, then open a few options and give them a listen. If the first thing the LPer does is try to convince me they're super cool and pro, I leave. If the LPer acts like a real person who's legitimately invested in the game, I'll usually watch their other playthroughs as well, even if I'm not so wild about what they're playing. But the game is definitely the starting point.

Makes sense, yeah I would imagine finding a similar game helps build interest. Whoo, so many games to try and sync up with, haha. Well, I'll test my luck and see if I cross paths with you.

titles and thumbnails that aren't obnoxious and an LPer who actually makes me get engaged with the content.