Watching Other People Play Video Games
The notion of live streaming or recording video game playthroughs is now a clearly established part of popular culture. It is something you can do while sitting on your sofa, watching TV in your lounge. A decade ago, people were far more sceptical about it and would scratch their head and ask “why would you want to watch someone else play a game”? Yet here we are in 2025 and 15% of YouTube content is about video games. Furthermore 20 out of the top 100 content creators are producing video game related material. As of last year, YouTube videos about games were generating 6 billion monthly views, on average. Where there are views, there’s advertising. Hence there’s the potential to make a lot of money, which only encourages further growth.
Enjoying LOTRO Through Others
When you’ve been doing any leisure activity for a long time, there comes a point where over familiarity does become an issue. It tempers one’s enjoyment and impacts upon the way you experience that particular pastime. I’ve written about this situation before with regard to my relationship with cinema and films. More recently it has started to occur with my gaming activities, especially with the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. I have been playing this game since December 2008 and I’ve had a long and complicated relationship with it over the course of twelve years. The game was a mainstay of my life at a time when I was living alone and doing contract work. Hence I had a lot of leisure time to sink into LOTRO and few other obligations whenever I wasn’t working. It was in many ways the perfect time to enjoy an MMO as I could “commit” to it. And so I embarked upon the same gaming journey that many others have taken.
Twitch.tv
Until recently I’ve been somewhat sceptical of Twitch. I’ve tried in the past to find both content and personalities that chime with me but have seldom had much success. Sadly, all too often I find the humour and general banter of some streamers to be not to my liking. Then there is the issue of channel monetisation. I appreciate that streaming is a business for some and that there is a requirement to attract subscribers and encourage donations, but I do feel that it’s not always approached in an appropriate fashion. Twitch and streaming culture is often aimed towards the younger viewer. Being of an older age group, the light and casual approach to presentation and interaction is not always to my taste. However, I have now managed to find some streamers who are more to my liking and have subsequently reviewed my opinion on the medium.
Fun With The Jackbox Party Pack 3
For me, the best sort of fun is that which occurs organically and spontaneously. I not a big fan of organised fun, predicated on a predetermination that “everyone will enjoy themselves” (whether they want to or not). Therefore, I’m sure that it will come as no surprise to you that I hate institutions such as Holiday Camps and bullshit like Secret Santa in the workplace. However, this is not a post about the psychology of group interactions and humour but simply a slap on the back to Jackbox Games. Specifically, I had a crash course on The Jackbox Party Pack 3 last night, courtesy of Wolfyseyes Twitch Stream. Let it suffice to say that it was immense fun and I cannot remember laughing so much in a long time. It was a good job I wasn’t on Discord. The games themselves were a creative and enjoyable platform for the fun and mirth but the real comedy gold was down to the crowd of people playing.