![]() A mental asylum, an abandoned facility, a haunted house, something of that nature is usually the setting for this type of game. They don’t have plots to speak of, their gameplay mechanics are minimal and the setting is usually something blatant or cookie-cutter for the ‘Horror’ aspect to become obvious from the start. Currently, the sphere most affected by the rise Let’s Players is the Indie Gaming space, which has become saturated with games made on a non-existent budget, usually within free engines such as Unity or Game-Maker: Studio (Not that this inherently means that they’re bad – See my piece on Software Snobbery in a few weeks). For one, YouTubers such as Pewdiepie, Markiplier, CinnamonToastKen, Cryaotic, RPGMinx, LordMinion777, Dlive22891, GassyMexican, SeaNanners and Jacksepticeye have introduced entire new demographics to the world of Video Games, and even if only for their commentary, a more diverse and rich culture surrounding Games can only serve to increase competition and drive up the quality of creations within this space. However much they have divided opinion, and however much I may be saddened to see the slow demise of an experience that is fast becoming confined to the hallowed halls of history, I believe that Let’s Players have not been as effective at destroying a past-time as they have been as creating one. It’s only now, when I sit and write about this turning point in the Video Game industry evidenced and personally experienced on a micro-scale that I realise its significance. The curtains opened once again, the lights went back on, the chairs dispersed, and we never played the game again. We watched and saw him beat the part that we were stuck on – but instead of returning to the game to play for ourselves, we were more content to simply sit and watch ‘Markiplier’ fumble his way hilariously through the darkened hallways of the game. We sat in and watched this guy play through the game we had just been playing. We were instantly intrigued, then hooked. He had about 250,000 subscribers and a still developing screen-persona. He was funny, quick witted and easy to watch. This was my first real encounter with what are now the most popular section of YouTube. It was a young American man, sat in the corner of the screen, but seemingly more focussed on entertaining than explaining the game. Roosterteeth, and in particular Achievment Hunter had always entertained me, and this was just before the rise of JonTron and GameGrumps, so I had no real idea what to expect. It had been a long time since I had been to YouTube for gaming footage, still clinging on to the now Pre-historic methods of Manuals, GameFaqs or Prima guides. We stumbled upon what was titled a “Walkthrough” – we instinctively clicked on it, not sure what to expect. We couldn’t break it, and so resorted to a YouTube video for some help. We played for what seemed an age, until we reached a wall. We threw the curtains of the small attic dorm closed until the only light that remained in the room was the faint, menacing glow of the screen, and the last few stubborn rays of the summer sun that illuminated the dust as it danced in the wake of our jumps and petrified shuffles. On an afternoon seemingly devoid of purpose or direction, I settled in with some friends to play Slender: The Arrival. It was the beginning of the summer term, and the daily routine was fast eroding the memory of the Easter break until all that remained was a glimmering beacon of hope on the horizon a faint rumour known as the Summer holidays.
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