Like them playing animal crossing or whatever, reading the character text aloud and then reacting like they're full-on having a conversation? They are framed as though playing the game in real time, but it's clear that they're reacting to a video of playing. It feels like watching someone play dolls or something and I can't stand it.
They're reacting to it like the characters are real. The YouTuber might talk about some of their own lives every now and then, but it all just feels so empty and I'm having a hard time understanding what the appeal is.
My partner loves these kinds of videos and I'm trying to figure out what it is about them that people like. Is there some comfort to them that I'm not getting?
maybe it's like a roleplay thing? some kind of fusion of fanfiction and roleplay? idk
Maybe. The YouTubers I see doing it are essentially roleplaying. It's a lot of reading into shallow dialogue like Pokemon or Animal Crossing, and I think it's hitting some button in my mind where it feels particularly inauthentic. Like overblown reactions that feel too rehearsed or planned.
Which is funny, because I can enjoy video essays that go on for hours, and those are also artificial. Maybe it's the lack of pretense of it being a deliberate planned work? But also if I wanted to watch someone play a videogame, I'd rather watch my partner play or just play it myself and listen to their reactions.
I think I'm running into something with my neurodiversity, but I don't want to be hasty and blame a part of myself if it's another reason I'm not enjoying it.
Could you post an example? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it. I mean, I think you explained it simply enough, but I'm also baffled and feel like I need to see it to try to understand it.
I'm not sure if this is what you mean because it's generally not pre-recorded, but there is one guy I watch that plays Animal Crossing and then acts like the dialogue is actually part of an elaborate and very dramatic storyline. I think it's fun. I like to listen to him in the background while I do crafts. Yeah it's kinda like playing with dolls, that's why I like it actually... It's really sad to me that we're expected to stopped playing pretend and making up stories once we're adults. There's something really pure about using your imagination in silly ways for no reason. It's the same reason I love to watch people roleplay in DnD. It's not deep, it just makes me laugh every couple minutes as I'm crocheting a sweater or something. And, honestly, I feel like it helps me connect back to that younger bit of me that used to play with toys. I'm trying not to grow too old to find joy in silly made-up stories.
Here's the Animal Crossing guy I watch, for anyone curious. The video is long but there's an example of roleplay within the first three minutes.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=w_43tFfDy1s
Other things I like in the same vein are solo TTRPGs like this guy explains here/plays on his channel:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Mf16KB9O3-g
And also solo roleplaying in video games:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uNMxBSk3kRw
None of these are cool, sophisticated, high art. And yet every storyteller is completely sincere and creating in the moment for the intrinsic joy of watching the story unfold. That's why I love them.
The first link you posted is one that my partner puts on a lot. I dunno, the guy doesn't seem sincere to me and there were a few occasions where he seemed to describe things ahead of time before his character got to a point.
I'm not trying to ruin it for you, I just don't know why content like this bothers me.
I think it's interesting that you have such a noticeable discomfort with this sort of thing. I really mean this genuinely and not in a snarky way. If I were in your shoes I'd explore it more, because I've personally learned lots about myself from looking closely at my own odd pet peeves. You might have complicated feelings relating to play or performance. Your issue with him not seeming sincere doesn't make a lot of sense in my head because, of course, play is acting. It's pretending. It's performing. So it's always in a sense insincere, but also, simultaneously, very sincere in that the play-actor is wholeheartedly entering into this imaginal space. Maybe he's a bad actor, but the intention itself is there, or he wouldn't be doing it at all.
That's a good point about the sincerity of play, and I think exploring this discomfort is important for me to figure out. I didn't want to wrap up my partner in intellectualizing something they enjoy and I think I can start reflecting on the discomfort in feeling. And thanks for using the word discomfort, that was a more accurate feeling than what I was conveying.
