I did a bit more knitting on the socks today, as well as baked some small bread (it didn’t rise properly- the wet ingredients were too hot and killed the yeast) and played a lot of Sims 2 with Janelle and my sister, Kristen. As none of those activities are particularly interesting to those uninvolved, at least without photos, I thought I’d talk about a current obsession I’m having.
When I was little, I would spend hours and hours every day watching my older siblings (particularly my brother) play video games. I was never very good at most of them, and I only play most games for the story, so watching other people play makes a lot more sense to me. I probably spent over half of my childhood on this passive activity, but now that my brother and I don’t live together, and my husband mostly plays MMORPGs (no story, really- less fun to watch) I hadn’t been able to do it anymore.
Enter YouTube.
There’s something out there known as a longplay or a “Let’s Play”- basically, someone records the screen while they play the entirety of a video game, and includes their commentary as they play. It’s just like watching someone play in the room with you, except that if you have an insight you can’t share it with them (except via youtube comments, and you’re usually far too late). I’ve spent quite a lot of time doing this recently. I can watch Let’s Plays while I’m knitting, or while I’m working (I have dual monitors at work, so I can work on one and watch on the other fairly easily), or even with friends (a let’s play of a game called “A Game with a Kitty” has amused Janelle and I for a few days now). Admittedly, some of the gamers that make these are a bit on the annoying side, but there is enough selection that I can pick and choose.
So if you’re into video games, but don’t have time to play- or if you’re like me and just like watching other people play them- check out Let’s Plays. They’re much fun.
