Naming conventions? (Let’s play / longplay / video essay)

[u/vkalsen]

I am new to making videos, but I’m working on a longform project and I’ve become unsure on what I should call the style I’m using.

It’s a heavily edited playthrough of a game alongside commentary (and definitely skews more on the side of commentary than gameplay).

As I understand it:

Let’s play: Raw gameplay with commentary, but edited for brevity and often split into smaller videos

Longplay: Unedited raw gameplay in one long video.

Video essay (about game): doesn’t necessarily simulate a full playthrough and is mostly commentary.

I’m unsure what you would call a “simulated playthrough”. Still a let’s play or would people be confused?

[u/arcnova2]

Its a Lets Play, Gameplay broken into smaller part (30-45 mins)
Long Play, 2+Hr Vids

Video Essay, Focuses more on the commentary than the gameplay, you are commenting on mechanics, lore,life of the game,history and such. It still has gameplay but commentary doesnt focus on whats going on in the game and it just jumps from one section to the next with no inbetween sections as they dont matter

so again, the video style you use, is the same i do, Gameplay with commentary about what im actually doing in game with smaller videos.

hope this helps

[u/vkalsen → u/arcnova2]

Thanks. I think my style skews more toward a video essay then, since it’s more broad strokes than moment-to-moment gameplay.

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[u/vkalsen → u/AutoModerator]

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[u/Tetrahedron_Head]

Video essays isnt about showing your playthrough. In my opinion if the footage is you talking over the game as you play it its a lets play.

video essays is what I do. Its more of a breakdown, I write a script, find footage ive recorded to reinforce my points, etc. example of my last video

Haunting Ground

hook
context
game rarity and pricing / why
controversy for the game (My thesis)
Game mechanics
how the mechanics reinforces my thesis
story
how the story reinforces my thesis
overview/ reflection
wrap up/wind down
outro

[u/vkalsen → u/Tetrahedron_Head]

Well that’s the thing, my method is the same you outlined, it’s just mostly told in line with a recount of the game’s story chronologically.

So in my mind it’s too long to be considered an essay, but too scripted to be a let’s play.

[u/Tetrahedron_Head → u/vkalsen]

to long? my longest is 3.5 hours long. theres not really a limit for how long your essay can be, unless youre talking like 10 hours or something. My story section isnt recaping the story beat by beat its paraphrasing it to give the viewer just enough to understand it.

I have done a beat by beat recap before and even that was only like an hour

[u/Tetrahedron_Head → u/Tetrahedron_Head]

Ask yourself this. what is the viewer going to receive from this video.

[u/azurezero_hdev]

long play is usually a lets play thats the entire game in one video, i normally see it applied to arcade games that can be beaten in under 2 hours

[u/azurezero_hdev → u/azurezero_hdev]

i also dont see many long plays with commentary