I was thinking about a metaphor I’ve used to explain the appeal of livestreams to people who are unfamiliar – “rice krispie treat content”. It’s a lot of dead air, a lot of space….but! That’s part of the appeal. Imagine a dense rice krispie, stuffed full of sawdust – that sucks, right? I think back to Drew’s video about everyone “wasting our time”, and that’s sawdust content. It’s dense, but not substantive.
Ro Ramdin’s most recent video was not dense, but thiccc. I confess, the narration was a hair too fast for my brain. I’d personally prefer a written version with image accompaniment, but I recognize the target audience is a decade younger than me. It made me genuinely upset that a youtube video, edited for artistic intent rather than retention, felt alien. I see Eddy and Nakey Jakey striving for this also, and making it work despite rather than because of that focus. I’ve talked about this irony before, but the most democratized media source in the world produces some of the most homogenised shit. This should be an independent filmmaker’s paradise, and yet, it’s the opposite.
Guild Wars 2 just came out with a new expansion, and I was looking for some rice krispie videos to have on in the background. I’ve been coincidentally recommended old YogsCast videos—
(Coincidentally? I always second guess “coincidences” when it’s social media related. Big brother is literally always listening. What used to keep us “safe” was anonymity within an ocean of data, but what is AI best at? Synthesizing unfathomable quantities of data. Wonder why the push to develop it so fast? I’m not turning into Dale Gribble I swear.)
…
I have, for some reason, been recommended old YogsCast videos. In particular, this one very infamous episode, where the two trouble maker members “illegally” spawn in endgame explosives from one of their mod packs, and receive hilarious karmic justice.
It is classic mid 2010s gaming let’s play content. The pacing is glacial, but also light and airy. While gaming and listening, I was time looped back to the days when GW2 was my life. I was constantly parallel playing with my boyfriend and his guy friends, with my virtual buddies Northernlion, TotalBuiscut, MoonMoon, JesseCox and Wowcrendor, etc. A lot of dudes, I’m realizing. Probably all dudes. Funny that now the only dude I’ve had more than a 5 minute conversation with in the last few years is my dad. My media diet? Still a sausage fest.
I think guys in general gravitate towards parallel or task oriented play, but nerdy and/or neurodivergent guys especially thrive in it. A stream or Let’s Play was designed to mimic that in-person experience, much like ASMR can trigger the same feelings as primate grooming behavior. There’s an ASMR channel called “Moonlight Cottage” – I would describe her, quite reverently, as a tryhard. She does mostly roleplays, but she has one video that is just a sort of…sensory experience. We are with her as she silently walks through the woods. It’s very artfully shot and edited, but the intent is clearly to create a simulated slice of time. I watched it while high, and was convinced it was the herald of a revolutionary non-narrative video art form. Sober, I think it’s at least intriguing.
Actually…is it a hot take to say long-form gaming content is just bro-coded ASMR? Is it not for nervous system regulation and loneliness self-medication? I guess both are under the umbrella of background noise content, but I don’t know …more so than a podcast or an audiobook, there is something about gaming streams that create the same warm, fuzzy feelings as watching a youtuber pretend to be a compassionately maternal doctor. Both are simulations of intimacy, more than they are “content”.
That’s where streamers get in trouble, isn’t it? It’s parasocial steroids. I fell victim to it. It sounds weird to say, but I feel guilty for the donations I gave. I did have a half rationalized excuse, in that I only ever donated off stream, after that first time, but…it was just that. Half thought. I wish I could go back and say to myself, “What does he need more, the money, or a lack of awkward distractions? If the answer is the latter, who is this behavior really for?” I was heartened to see MoistCritikal recently turned off donations as much as he could, and made it known he didn’t want them anymore. Not that I think it’s a moral imperative, even with the wealth he has, but it helps re-establish that boundary with fans. Internet celebrities with millions of followers are inviting trouble when they do the gaming equivalent of online busking. The streaming itself is fine, but even the live chat can be a problem if the moderators don’t or can’t run a tight ship.
Still, I’ve felt a great sense of peace playing my comfort mmo and listening to boys banter inanely. I prefer the older Let’s Plays, where there is no chat to be a distraction or buzzkill (danny and kurtis’ streams together are similar, since they mostly ignored chat.) There is more nostalgia than faux-familiarity. They are Christmas Carol -esq echoes of the past. Honestly, if you are trying to kick the scroll-when-first-wake-up habit, you could probably have a VOD at low volume in the morning – the way boomers will have MeTV on as ambient noise. Dopamine wise, I imagine it’s like a croissant for breakfast. Is it good for you? No, but there’s not much to it either. It can be ok with some fresh fruit and yoghurt, and a lightly sweetened coffee. Compare it to dumping 10 pixie sticks in your mouth and snorting a line (social media).
“Slop” is a word that is starting to grate with its overuse, but it’s interesting that Let’s Plays never faced the same level of derision. I think the distinction is in intention, in the perceived level of cynicism. I prioritize moment to moment enjoyment over content inhalation, and find value in both raw VODs and meticulously crafted video essays. I will often go for a VOD over the edited version, because I want to spend time with the vibe. A highlight reel rarely captures that. The exception for me is Jerma “long edits”, which maintain the feeling of watching a stream with some light curation. “Slop” feels more numbing, to me. It feels like anxious and unconscious comfort eating. You can savor a mass produced but nostalgic treat with no nutritional value, as much as any simple pleasure. A pig will not savor what it eats from its trough.
>>robyns_ramblings 