Over the years I have installed and reinstalled DF many times. (The first time I deleted it after about five minutes wondering what the heck people were seeing that was good there. I just didn't get it). More recently, Mayday's graphics pack (and eventually the LNP that spawned from the graphics pack ideas) made it much more user friendly for me and I've been pretty much hooked ever since.
Anyway, recently though I have had my immersion in the game go up in a huge way, and the reason why is Let's Plays on Youtube. Sure, I first saw the Boatmurdered story and the Tim Denee (I hope that's right) artwork, and they were awesome, but nothing really beat watching other people play the game to learn the intricacies and fully understand the depth of this game.
On a technical note, I do not watch the videos on youtube, but burn them on DVDs and watch them on a HDTV (which is honestly the way they should be viewed, if that's a possibility for you).
DJRodW, Riothouse, and Psy-Syndicate taught me advanced concepts. Revocane got me into Genesis (and the concept of building your fortress in the caverns, rather than the first few surface layers), CapnDuck is pretty funny to watch and when he embarked on a coastline it was the first time I realized that DF even modeled the tides. You know how you see all those internet meme jokes about "seeing something" hidden in a photo and "shitting bricks", well, this was the video version of that. Lately, I've been watching TheZemalf's videos which are completely different in that they are a slooooooow paced almost academic rumination on the game, which is great in its own way as well. I'm sure there are tons more that I may have not personally seen but are just as good as the ones I cited. The great thing about this community is it has spawned WAY more Let's Plays then even commercial AAA games. Go on Youtube and look any of these guys up and you'll have a great experience.
So, the purposes of this thread is 1) to thank these great Let's Players for basically expanding my love of DF and quite possibly introducing a lot of folks into the game and making it understandable for them. Seriously, I think these guys are the "mavens" of DF (in the New York Times writer Malcolm Gladwell sense, the people who popularize and spread a trend). 2) To encourage others with different points of view and expertise in the game to make their own Let's Plays. 3) To expose these videos to anyone here on the boards who hasn't seen them.
If you or anyone you know has a good sense of humor, good speaking skills, and an expertise in the game, the one area I think is under-explored in Let's Plays is the late game. Most LPers tend to get tired or have FUN after only a couple in game years, so there is relatively little on mass military actions, cavern conquest (especially below the first layer) and the of course HFS. I could be wrong (I have seen a LOT of these things, hundred hours at least) but I don't think I've seen a King or really anything higher than the first level noble (Baron?) and I'd love to see someone successfully satisfy their needs (since I seem to not be able to!).
Thanks guys!
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Topic: Let's Plays (Read 1772 times)