Tips to start a Let's Play?

[LowTierFE7Tresh]

This is something I've always wanted to try but never got a chance. I dont know what to use to record gameplay or anything of the like. So any of you got ideas?

[Ken Masters]

Get yourself a good capture card (if you're playing on a console) or do whatever's necesary to get a good quality image. Most people (myself included) are far more receptive when the gameplay shown is not 240p :P

For the audio, quality isn't that important, what really matters is to 1) Be sure the only sounds while recording re those coming from your mouth (as it can get really distracting and off-putting if the viewer hears the traffic in the background) 2) try to not soaund like you're hiding from someone (aka speak loud and clear) and 3) have fun! :3

Edited September 30, 2016 by Spinal

[Sire]

Main Tips (Audio & Recording)

1: Get a good mic. While a proper mic is preferable, I just used a headset during my short attempt at recording LPs.

2: For better voice quality, record in Audacity (or some other audio program) and edit the file to make your voice clearer. (Reduce noise feedback, "popping" noises, making your voice louder, etc.)

3: For computer games, I suppose most people use Open Broadcast Software (OBS) these days. Look up various guides on how to optimize it for video recording, but I believe it's main purpose is streaming, which I have not tried.

4: For consoles and handhelds, I have no idea.

Channel Tips

1: It's a classic, but just be yourself. Each person has a unique way of approaching things, whether it be comedy, doing voices, sharing knowledge (lore, enemy stats, etc.), or just sharing one's honest reactions with the game. Find whatever method suits yourself the most.

2: Be consistent. Whether it be a regular schedule when one streams or putting up a video daily, being consistent will greatly increase your chances at gaining and maintaining an audience.

3: From what I have seen, handheld and console games are better if you want to grow an audience. While there may be plenty of PC games that have been recorded, recording console games is a bit more involved and not many do so.

4: If you are serious about LPing, be in it for the long haul. It may take years of consistent uploading before you try out a certain game that may boost your popularity.

5: Just have fun and enjoy yourself. Whether LPing is just a hobby or done seriously, if one is not having fun while doing it, then what is the point?

[Lethakitty]

JUST DO IT!

[eclipse]

1. Let's say that someone stumbles upon your channel. What kind of person are they? Since you're just starting out, you'll want to narrow this down a bit, because a video aimed at someone who has a lot of knowledge about the game will be vastly different from a video that tries to introduce the game to people who've never heard of it.

2. If you have any sort of mic handy, record yourself reading a paragraph out of whatever reading material is handy. Do this several times, and listen to yourself. Ideally, you'll hear only your voice, and it will be loud, clear, and evenly paced. In reality, you may have to work on things like removing your breathing from the recording (move the mic away from your mouth), slowing down your rate of speech, emphasizing certain parts of speech so that it's clearer, etc. I'll second the suggestion of learning how to use audio software, because hearing an ambulance in the background is really distracting. Once you're more comfortable speaking into a microphone, think about getting something that costs more than pocket change. I don't mind a bit of swearing here and there, but I feel that excessive swearing ruin things. Think of it like the difference between applying caps lock on certain words, AND POSTING EVERYTHING IN CAPS LOCK BECAUSE YOU CAN.

3. I suggest NOT doing things blind, unless your sense of direction/control is better than mine (which. . .it probably is). While it's not too disrupting to watch a LPer miss a jump or two, it's unfun to watch 15 minutes of the same thing. Also, a dry, unrecorded run will give you an idea of what you want to say, as opposed to a lot of "uh, then I do this. . .umm. . .yeah" and other filler.

This isn't much, but I hope it helps!