Looking for Actual Play Video Podcasts

[oswallt]

I'm trying to find some good quality video podcasts of RPG actual play. Which RPG isn't so important, just that it is fun and/or interesting. I have found a bunch of really great audio podcasts, but I am having a tough time in my search for videos of equal quality. Any recommendations?

A second, related question: what makes a good video podcast and/or what would you want to see in one? With the search for video podcasts coming up rather dry, my group thought "why not make one ourselves?" So, what do you think would be awesome in a video podcast? What would you hate to see?

 

[khantroll]

The live dnd from PAX is pretty much the most popular video session, but of course there is only one of those. There are a few more on youtube, but nothing regular.

If you do try to do a video podcast, I'd suggest using a vtt to supply illustration of actions (unless you game with scale maps and a lot of minis). It'd make it a little more attention holding. I suspect the reason that there aren't a lot of vidcast sessions of d&d is that a lot of our games are run like a minimalist high school production of Julius Caesar, which means that video doesn't offer much beyond audio and may even detract from it.

 

[oswallt]

I think the games with Chris Perkins as DM are by far the best I've seen. (Except for the UK one, that was pretty boring.) I think those have pretty much set the bar for good video podcasts (vidcasts?).

You bring up a good point khantroll. My groups plays with battle mats and minis, but we often just use a blank grid and a black marker. Or sometimes just a pencil sketch on note paper. I don't think that would be very visually appealing and I'm not sure it would actually add something beyond just audio. Something to think about.

I realized today that I said I had found some vidcasts, but I didn't say which ones. Here's what I've found so far:

The official D&D 4e videos with Chris Perkins
I think these are the top of the scale right now. Chris is an entertaining DM to watch as well as listen to and the elaborate terrain is cool. If I had to find a nit to pick it would be that they don't edit out any of the awkward silences or the bickering. The pace stayed fast, so there wasn't much of that kind of stuff. I think that goes to show that a good DM does a lot to make a game fun to watch.

I Hit It with My Axe (D&D with pornstars)
This is kind of different in that they are usually only 5 or 10 minutes, but they have a lot of the good things from the WotC videos. The DM is entertaining and the terrain, while not as elaborate as the WotC games, is pretty cool. I also like that they don't just show the game, but cut away to talk to the players. The downsides are that they are so short, they cut away a lot, and it usually winds up being "PORNSTARS!!! that just happen to be playing D&D."

Thursday Knights
They stream their sessions live and have a picture-in-picture showing a wide shot of the room inset with the battle map. I think the 2 camera set up is nice and it's an idea worth stealing. On the minus side, they just kind of turn on the camera and then do their thing. There's not a lot of consideration of there being an audience. Sometimes there's 30 to 45 minutes of them walking around, getting snacks, etc.

Dungeons and Dragons 4E Adventures (BensRPGPile.com)
They use some pretty cool terrain, but that's all you ever see. The camera only points at the table. It makes it a little hard to follow along when they're not in combat.

Let's Play DnD (Wolfshirt on Vidler)
They use a virtual tabletop and the vidcast is just a screen capture of that. I haven't watched very much of this one, but they don't seem to use pre-drawn maps. They use cool color tokens, but the map is just lines on a grid.

 

[ghaladen]

We're doing video recordings of our sessions, but only of 4th Edition and Pathfinder. Our Warhammer FRP and 40k games don't use minis so no point in recording video.

Also no player faces just the game board, due to respect of my players' privacy.

Hope that helps.

Ghaladen's channel - YouTube

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

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[khantroll]

You found more of them then I did . I'll have to check some of those out.

I wasn't so much thinking of a vtt all the time. What i am picturing in my head is a little akin to the way The Gamers was shot. During the game, record the table with like a round table setup or individual hd webcams as well as the vtt output. Then, in post production, cut it so that as actions are called, you can illustrate it.

For a sort of example, check out Tabletop with Wil Wheaton

 

[BriarMonkey]

...they don't edit out any of the awkward silences or the bickering. ...
...they just kind of turn on the camera and then do their thing...
...some pretty cool terrain, but that's all you ever see...
...use a virtual tabletop and the vidcast is just a screen capture of that...

I think it really depends on what you are looking for as to what makes a good vidcast. For me, as an example, I like those awkward moments and the bickering - it makes it feel like a real game session at someone's table as opposed to a slick presentation. And as I am currently unable to game as I'd like (time is cruel), it's nice to be able to live vicariously through another's games.

Now, as to just having a VTT up and running, or just focusing on terrain, yeah, that seems a bit disconnected. However, if you are watching for ideas, or just to see how other groups run their games, then I'd think that'd be fine as well.

As for the edited presentations, I'd think that may be more work than one might want to put into a hobbyist creation. Then again, I suppose if you are already good at such things, it'd be fairly easy (I'm not, so it'd be a royal pain to do something like that - I'd be much more of the turn on the cam and let it go kind).

But, thanks for the topic! It gives me something to look into.

 

[oswallt]

[MENTION=92198]ghaladen[/MENTION]
I haven't gotten to watch much yet, but I'm excited to. I think it's awesome that you have them sorted into playlists by campaign. Thanks for the link!
P.S. The website in your signature is down

[MENTION=95652]khantroll[/MENTION]
Two more awesome ideas. I hadn't really thought about the game table scenes in the Gamers. Now I just wish I could find my DVD of it or Dorkness Rising. Tabletop is an awesome show. It's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for with a vidcast. If I could find RPG actual play with even half that production value, I'd be a happy camper.

[MENTION=95387]BriarMonkey[/MENTION]
You bring up some really good points. You've especially got me thinking use cases (that's what we call them in programmer's world, I don't know what real people call them) what kind of people would want to watch and why.

I did find two more vidcasts. Not up to Tabletop standards maybe, but worth mentioning.

Dawnforged Entertainment
These guys are pretty fun to watch and I think they'd definitely appeal to anyone looking for a vicarious gaming thrill. They have a camera person!

Esper on Youtube
The video on this one is just pictures from the game, but the DM is an artist and hand draws some really nice maps. You get to see three or four pictures from each battle and sometimes other maps. Even though the maps are just on white paper with colored markers, I think they turn out pretty cool.