Gaming is a big deal. It is now the biggest entertainment industry on the planet. Bigger than music, bigger than movies, bigger than TV shows. It’s no wonder that gaming content, especially on YouTube and Twitch is also massive. I am someone who watches a lot of gaming content. I have shared how I love to sit back with a game and watch or listen to something on a second monitor. The thing I find interesting is just how often that game is something I will never play. In fact, it’s usually a game I have little to no interest in playing. I sometimes buy them just because I want to support the developer. I’ve enjoyed watching someone else play their game so much. I am not starting to wonder. Why? Why is watching people play games so engaging?
Parasocial Behavior, Maybe?
You’ll notice that I didn’t say fun. I don’t always think watching a game is fun in the sense that we normally think of. Playing games is great, why would someone want to spoil a game for themselves by watching someone else play it? Some people like to watch content creators play a game for the creators themselves. That isn’t necessarily the draw of watching people play games for me though. Personality-driven content is fun, but I often find creators who play a game and watch for that game specifically.
The Game Matters
If you’ve ever followed a content creator in the gaming space, you’ve probably seen them start with one game or a type of game. That’s usually the best way to grow a following. Start with a game you are passionate about and then branch out to other things. However, that sometimes doesn’t work, whether because of platform issues or because their audience leaves. It seems that there are some people like me who just like watching certain games. It doesn’t really matter who is playing, so long as they are decent at making content, we just like watching people play it.
What Are the Similarities?
I think there are certain games that make for good content over others. For instance, the meteoric rise of Minecraft on YouTube and beyond. Minecraft has always been huge, but it’s one of those games that was really made by content creators and the online community. I think that might be part of what makes certain games better to watch than others.
Sandboxes Galore
A sandbox game makes for good content. Even if a viewer might not like playing Minecraft, Rust, or similar sandbox survival games. They work really well for content creators. A sandbox gives creators a lot of options for making engaging content. Minecraft and Rust also work well because people may not want to actually play them. Not that these games aren’t fun, but someone may not be able to do the same things in those games as a content creator can. In Minecraft builders can show off builds that I might not have the creative eye and knowledge to make, for instance.
Everyone is Just Watching People Build Houses?
With enough creativity I think anyone can make just about anything interesting. That being said, there are some things that just make for easy watching. An overarching goal with little tasks makes a video or series compelling. It creates a plot line–something that a viewer can follow along with. I think that’s the formula that makes a game consistently interesting to watch. This also applies to watching someone play a game to get the story. You are literally just turning it into a TV show and watching it the same way. I don’t know if that’s all there is to it, but some games are just really satisfying to watch someone else play. I also am never playing Rust and getting myself raided offline. Sounds awful.
