Video Blogging: The Death of the Hobby

The Lone Voice wrote:

Ok, Lone Voice, why does this topic matter to you?

*play above video in background while reading my response*

Why does this topic matter to me? Its simple I LOVE board gaming and I refuse to see it ruined by self serving wanna be celebrities that don't really like board gaming that much but just want to show us their mug every opportunity they can while under the pretense of reviewing a game.

Ever since I saw one of Tom's early videos where he pretended to take a drink out of what was really an empty coffee mug. I was determined to stay true to the quest of providing a protective umbrella to those who really loved the hobby. Protecting them from the payola pollyannas, the hucksters, the shucksters, those who wanted to make an easy buck off an unassuming nerd who just wanted to have a good time in his own basement.

Let him whack his pee pee and move his game pieces in peace with the best the gaming hobby has to offer!

Very Green Acres.

I understand you don't like Vasel, but I can't see how he's ruining board gaming, nor do I think he's not truly passionate about games. How could someone not be passionate about games and do what he did for nearly a decade without getting paid for it?

Other video producers? Well it'd have to be looked at on an individual basis, but the majority would likely be people who are enthusiastic about the hobby and want to share and express that, maybe they're nerdy, or awkward, or amateurish, but no one is making youtube board game videos just for money or just for fame.

Video Bloggers --> _____________ --> Death of the Hobby

I don't know how you're connecting one to the other?
Are you saying everyone is going to become bloggers no longer interested in the games but rather the online personality they're looking to create?
Are you saying that these personalities will eventually wield strong influence as far as game designs go?

I'm getting a: Steal Underpants --> _____________ --> Profit Vibe from this post.

Everyone likes some recognition for the work they do at some level. So i can see why written reviewers that are putting out high quality content get a bit miffed that most boardgame fans appear to be completely oblivious to their work,

This is really similar to the DC comic artist that made the comment recently he does not like cosplayers as they bring nothing of value to conventions.

www.nerdist.com/2014/12/comic-book-artis...alue-to-conventions/

Very Green Acres.

HAHAHAH! Awesome! you caught that! You now have my respect

but no one is making youtube board game videos just for money or just for fame.

One word for you: Wheaton

Did you see how much he made on his crowdfunding campaign for Season 3 of Tabletop?

Did you see how much money Tom got on his kickstarter campaighn for The Dice Tower Podcast?

Board games have survived RPGs, CCGs, Xbox, Steve Weeks, and Kickstarter. Board games will survive video blogs.

Video Bloggers --> _____________ --> Death of the Hobby

I don't know how you're connecting one to the other?
Are you saying everyone is going to become bloggers no longer interested in the games but rather the online personality they're looking to create?
Are you saying that these personalities will eventually wield strong influence as far as game designs go?

I'm getting a: Steal Underpants --> _____________ --> Profit Vibe from this post.

I am saying that these Video Bloggers do not have the charisma or skill to present these games in the best light thus those wanting to enter the hobby will be turned off and sales will be restricted to only the hardcore like Chapel. This keeps the hobby from growing. It keeps the hobby in the small niche it already is. These hardcore gamers like Chapel will eventually fade away making the niche smaller and smaller thus DEAD. In fact the only way to keep the hobby alive is growth. If you don't grow you die. These videos don't promote growth, although they smell of manure, they don't act as fertilizer for the growth of the hobby.

The Lone Voice wrote:

but no one is making youtube board game videos just for money or just for fame.

One word for you: Wheaton

Did you see how much he made on his crowdfunding campaign for Season 3 of Tabletop?

Did you see how much money Tom got on his kickstarter campaighn for The Dice Tower Podcast?

Of course. I wasn't saying video producers should ONLY be unpaid hobbyists, plenty of videos and podcasts monetise, the two you mentioned bringing in the most cash, but I've never for a second thought Vasel or Wheaton don't love games.

The Lone Voice wrote:

Everyone likes some recognition for the work they do at some level. So i can see why written reviewers that are putting out high quality content get a bit miffed that most boardgame fans appear to be completely oblivious to their work,

This is really similar to the DC comic artist that made the comment recently he does not like cosplayers as they bring nothing of value to conventions.

www.nerdist.com/2014/12/comic-book-artis...alue-to-conventions/

I don't think this is that comparable. The artist is complaining that cosplayers don't bring in cash, video reviewers clearly do. I have not seen a serious game publisher or accomplished designer lament the death of the hobby at the hands of video promotion.

The Lone Voice wrote:

Video Bloggers --> _____________ --> Death of the Hobby

I don't know how you're connecting one to the other?
Are you saying everyone is going to become bloggers no longer interested in the games but rather the online personality they're looking to create?
Are you saying that these personalities will eventually wield strong influence as far as game designs go?

I'm getting a: Steal Underpants --> _____________ --> Profit Vibe from this post.

I am saying that these Video Bloggers do not have the charisma or skill to present these games in the best light thus those wanting to enter the hobby will be turned off and sales will be restricted to only the hardcore like Chapel. This keeps the hobby from growing. It keeps the hobby in the small niche it already is. These hardcore gamers like Chapel will eventually fade away making the niche smaller and smaller thus DEAD. In fact the only way to keep the hobby alive is growth. If you don't grow you die. These videos don't promote growth, although they smell of manure, they don't act as fertilizer for the growth of the hobby.

www.starlitcitadel.com/helm/2012/05/08/the-wheaton-effect/

I disagree with that theory and feel your sense of scale is off.

You went to BGG.con and I believe you've been to past ones...Bigger or smaller than previous years? Bigger. Which is contrary to your theory that the rise of video reviews will mean the decline in games. By your theory each year BGG.con should get smaller as more and more people begin to blog.

Now that is one situation, so let's look at another. A game that is featured on TableTop has a dramatic spike in sales after it is featured on TableTop. He's also the driving force of International TableTop Day which as I understand was fairly successful...And brought people into game stores. Both of those are typically considered growth...Sustained growth has yet to be seen I suppose.

I guess I just reject your theory because with my own eyes I'm seeing evidence to the contrary. I'm not seeing shrinking, I'm not seeing smaller numbers as far as gamers or sales. Your theory just doesn't add up.

The Lone Voice wrote:

but no one is making youtube board game videos just for money or just for fame.

One word for you: Wheaton

Did you see how much he made on his crowdfunding campaign for Season 3 of Tabletop?

Did you see how much money Tom got on his kickstarter campaighn for The Dice Tower Podcast?

Wheaton's Tabletop series got me back into board gaming. I found it via Day's "The Guild" web series. If my presence in the hobby offends you, then frankly, "deal with it."

You're complaining that other people are getting paid when your own genius went unrecognized, and so we see the true sub-text of the whole topic.

I have not seen a serious game publisher or accomplished designer lament the death of the hobby at the hands of video promotion.

I have seen this a lot. Scott Nicholson the pioneer of video production stated he got threats from negative reviews. Do you remember the video where Tom threw that game off the roof? I'm sure that publisher was pleased as punch!

Cosplayers leech off the creativity of others. Critics do the same thing. They create nothing of value.

Do you think Tom could do a successful video series without board games? He used to be a preacher, a math teacher. Let him do a series of math teaching videos. Do you think he would have the same amount of followers? He leeches off the paranoia of the nerd gamer who is too scared to make a blind purchase without extensive research.

How have you seen the power of YouTube have a direct correlation on sales of tabletop games at retail and online?

That’s actually something that I wasn’t expecting, and it’s something that really took me by surprise. Maybe three episodes into the first season, we started getting emails and phone calls from game shop owners and publishers because they were not prepared for the explosion of sales that they had. They wanted to know if we could let them know a little bit in advance when an episode was going to air, so that they could stock up. They started talking about something called the “TableTop effect,” where a game is real popular with gamers, but it hasn’t really gone into the mainstream consciousness. And then it gets on TableTop and suddenly that game sells out. We have looked at sales figures from the big game distributors, and it’s pretty cool. People see our show and then you just watch the spike in the sales. And for a lot of games the only reason that spike trails off is because the game sells out and they have to take time to make another printing.

Source:
fortune.com/2014/04/01/wil-wheatons-game-theory/

The Lone Voice wrote: Cosplayers leech off the creativity of others. Critics do the same thing. They create nothing of value.

I followed a WIP blog about someone making a Halo armour outfit from scratch. It was utterly astonishing. 100s of hours of work and creativity in the making. Pat Broderick is full of shit.