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djw175 posted:I remember that one great lp of a horror game that I am blanking on had a bit of history intro, but it was super well done with high production values. I wish I could remember what game it was that was LPed. It was from a french company I think. I guarantee you it was Alone In The Dark by Quotile Swirl. Great LP.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 19:19 |
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 04:01 |
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SuccinctAndPunchy posted:I guarantee you it was Alone In The Dark by Quotile Swirl. Great LP. That's the one! Thanks. That was a great loving LP.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 19:20 |
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djw175 posted:I remember that one great lp of a horror game that I am blanking on had a bit of history intro, but it was super well done with high production values. I wish I could remember what game it was that was LPed. It was from a french company I think. E:beaten
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 19:21 |
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djw175 posted:I remember that one great lp of a horror game that I am blanking on had a bit of history intro, but it was super well done with high production values. I wish I could remember what game it was that was LPed. It was from a french company I think. I'm not saying introducing the game before starting it is a bad thing at all. Research Indicates did a great intro for Trespasser, for example. The issue here is that no one really needs a history lesson on Mario before starting the game.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 19:51 |
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Cire Arodum posted:Super Mario Bros was the first video game I ever played, and now I'm going to try it for my first LP. And your first post! I think one of the biggest issues is your pronunciation of Mario as "Mare-io". Who do ya think ya are, slowbiff? Also your audio is a little quiet. Yeah as others have said, consider not LPing any main series Mario game everyone has likely played. It's neat and all how you can find some facts about development and give your views on design choices, but that's something more suited towards reading it than listening while watching SMB1. Now if you did the same thing for say, Hotel Mario, and managed to make an interesting video on a game no one has played, that would be neater.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 20:11 |
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Cire Arodum posted:Super Mario Bros was the first video game I ever played, and now I'm going to try it for my first LP. I'll second that this sounds like Sequelitis, which I like. It also reminds me of Simply Simon's LP's, and I really like those too. I didn't find the intro to be offputting, probably because it was short and to the point. One thing I'll point out is that if you are trying to point out mechanics, you should do more than just show them and mention them. How were these mechanics influential or interesting? Why is Mario interesting compared to say, Mega Man, which also had jumping. It's not enough to point out that mechanics exist, but to talk about why these are important, and how they changed the player's experience.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 20:29 |
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Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it. The way I was trying to approach it was from a game design perspective, since that's what I'm most interested in. For example, if game was made to be intuitive, I want to delve deeper into what design decisions made it intuitive, since there are plenty of examples of non-intuitive designs. For me this was the first game I ever played so that I why I chose to take the point of view of seeing the game for the first time. Specifically, for this game, there are a lot of people who went back and played it later after playing video games for years, and it's easy to not appreciate the good design that made it such a great game in the first place. That said, I'm not trying to break new ground on Mario 1. I know this game has been done a million times. This is my first LP and I chose this game because I've played it a lot and it's short and sweet. I'm trying to use this to learn the fundamentals of LPing before tackling more challenging games. ChaosArgate posted:We're not stupid, we can see things as they happen and you don't have to explain basic game mechanics as if we've never played before. Mehuyael posted:Commentating as if it's the first time the viewer has ever seen the game is dumb. Lazyfire posted:The issue here is that no one really needs a history lesson on Mario before starting the game. So, if this wasn't Mario 1 would that make a difference? If I go on to do a less immensely famous game in the future are those still bad ideas? steinrokkan posted:The problem with your video is that you are trying to be informative, but aren't. You only reiterate what is going on the screen and assume that because you have a knowledge of a mechanic the mechanic is self-evident and trivial to pick up through gameplay thanks to the magic of game-design. That's actually kind of the opposite of what I was trying to get across. My point was that the mechanics are not self-evident, but the game teaches the player through good level and game design. Is there something I can do to better get that across? Or do you think that is an angle that doesn't work for this game? Or any game? Thanks again.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 20:40 |
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ApplesandOranges posted:Do I go with Pierzak's suggestion of running the emulator at native resolution and increase size (something I'll have to leanr how to do too), or stick with as is? It couldn't hurt. Personally it didn't bother me the way they looked now, but Pierzak has a point about the 3D elements if you know to look for them, and some portraits do have minor weirdness in them, like the odd column that's one pixel wide where it should be two: Playing at native res and resizing to 2x once you have the shots should fix all of that. It should be easy enough to do - in ePSXe you just need to go into config > video > configure and set the window size to (presumably) 320x240. Then use irfanview's batch conversion tool (File > Batch Conversion/Rename), tick the "use advanced options (for bulk resize...)" box and click advanced, then set resize to 640x480 and uncheck the "Use Resample function (better quality)" box. quote:My current plan ... Any big problems or suggested alternatives with that idea? Sounds good to me!
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 20:47 |
Unable to watch the video at present, but I think it's got a few other things working against it...: 1) Everyone (just about) has played Super Mario Bros. A lot of folks will probably brush past it entirely unless it's short and has interesting commentary. 2) There isn't much content or discussion-wise past a point. I mean, it'd likely be a super short thread or you'd run out of material quickly. I mean, we can talk about some of the neat theory or implementations, but there's not much to go on about past a point. There's a megathread which zips through several Mario games, and I feel that a pretty good amount of time was spent discussing the first game and its history. I'm just putting in my two cents If you want to give it a shot still, then by all means.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 20:48 |
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It doesn't really matter if a game's been done to death elsewhere. As long as there's enough interesting content involved and enough people are interested to follow it, that's really all you need. Look at all the LP's of Dark Souls, or the seven LP's of FF6 that've been done here, and so on. Hell, I'd probably follow a SMB1 LP that delves into the mechanics and goes into why the game worked in being a great platformer and setting the foundation of one of gaming's most dominant series. Or a LP that manages to be goofy as hell or whatever other interesting stuff people can pull off. Something that would make me think twice about a game I thought I knew a lot about, giving me new perspective or whatnot. Don't see why people shouldn't LP SMB1 just because it's been done to death on Youtube.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:15 |
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Cire Arodum posted:So, if this wasn't Mario 1 would that make a difference? If I go on to do a less immensely famous game in the future are those still bad ideas? Like I said, other people have done intros or done entire separate videos to introduce games. I did a few in my own LPs to sort of cover some of the basics and history behind the games and no one complained. An intro isn't always bad, just like a blind playthrough isn't always bad, but sometimes it is just unnecessary.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:17 |
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It is bad in this specific case. Teaching a person who watches LPs how Mario works is like teaching a person how to breathe. They already know. Simply Simon did the Mega Man games as if it was the viewer's first time looking at Mega Man, but in that case there actually are people who don't know anything about Mega Man. I've heard plenty of people in this very sub-forum asking 'so what happens in Mega Man/X/Zero/whatever, who's this blue guy, who's this red guy, etc' etc''. So yes, if you picked a different game that wasn't as well known, this would have gone better.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:25 |
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ApplesandOranges posted:So I'm working on the gifs and the portraits (which are things I should have done anyway), but is there a consensus on how the visuals look then? Do I go with Pierzak's suggestion of running the emulator at native resolution and increase size (something I'll have to leanr how to do too), or stick with as is?
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:25 |
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Mega64 posted:It doesn't really matter if a game's been done to death elsewhere. As long as there's enough interesting content involved I think that's really the problem with any type of extremely popular, older, simpler game. It's finding someway to have interesting content, that people aren't aware of and what not. With Mario, 90% of anybody that's dealt with video games know this game. So while it might be a great informative LP, I already know all the information being presented, as well as the game, therefore it won't hold my interest. It's hard to come up with things about a game like that that the majority of gamers, especially those here, don't already know. A different route to go to bring some new interesting info would be to explain WHY they went with a certain mechanic, basically developmental stuff. The only problem with this, is that it would be very, VERY hard to do, without the aid of a developer as a guest, or even an email Q&A to find some of the answers. Short of anything like that you could have a perfect LP in form, but if it's just rehashing material that's been known for almost 3 decades, you're going to have a hard time keeping people's attention. Of course, you could always persuade kidnap Shigeru Miyamoto and have him do guest commentary with you. I'd bookmark the poo poo out of that thread!
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:28 |
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On that note, go check out Simply Simon's LPs. He does a fantastic job of what you're trying to go for with your Mario LP.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:29 |
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Lazyfire posted:Like I said, other people have done intros or done entire separate videos to introduce games. I did a few in my own LPs to sort of cover some of the basics and history behind the games and no one complained. An intro isn't always bad, just like a blind playthrough isn't always bad, but sometimes it is just unnecessary. After I get done with VTMB, I have plans to VLP a really obscure adventure game. The first video will be me going through the history of the game, how it was developed & such because it's a pretty unique story. I'm making it a point, though, to have that video be separate from the regular LP videos, thus making it optional to watch. The key difference here, Cire Arodum, is that while Super Mario Brothers is not an obscure game, the game I have in mind is. Honestly though, I don't think people would complain if you did an intro to just about any other game (excluding recent AAA titles and such). With Super Mario Brothers, pretty much everybody who would be watching your videos knows the story already, at least as much as you presented. gatz fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Mar 11, 2014 |
# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:29 |
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vilkacis posted:(presumably) 320x240
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:42 |
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It could be anything, PSX and PS2 didn't really have much in terms of resolution standards. The emulator should display the current rendering resolution somewhere though.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 21:49 |
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Pierzak posted:640x480 has noticeable vertical stretching. Son of a bitch, it does. I don't remember - does VP run letterboxed when you play it on a TV, or stretch the image and hope no one notices because CRT?
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 23:38 |
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Cire Arodum posted:Super Mario Bros was the first video game I ever played, and now I'm going to try it for my first LP.
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# ? Mar 11, 2014 23:43 |
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Simply Simon posted:This is pretty much perfect. I'm guessing you're not being serious, but if case you are, let me give a critique. Watching the video, I'm reminded of a parody video that proteus did years ago. The Mario video isn't as bad as proteus's video. There are things that are good, like the fact that you've got the voice to do a VLP. The point is that while trying to be informative, you're really just pointing out what's on screen, what's obvious to anyone who's watching the video. It's not as bad as just saying, "I'm running to the right, jumping," etc., but it's not very far removed from that. E: This point has already been made. Cire Arodum posted:That's actually kind of the opposite of what I was trying to get across. My point was that the mechanics are not self-evident, but the game teaches the player through good level and game design. Is there something I can do to better get that across? Or do you think that is an angle that doesn't work for this game? Or any game? Even if the mechanics weren't self-evident, there's no need to put the viewer through a tutorial about how to play super mario brothers, or any game for that matter. I kind of did that for BloodNet, but that was just to explain how hard it was to actually play. What you're trying to do sounds like you want to explain how a video game works to someone who has never played one before. That's not the type of audience you're going to get by doing LPs. It also doesn't help that this is Super Mario Brothers we're talking about, which everyone and their mother has already played. gatz fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Mar 12, 2014 |
# ? Mar 12, 2014 00:06 |
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I think every let's play is beautiful in it's own way and should be not held down by the judgement of its peers.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 02:04 |
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Putty posted:I think every let's play is beautiful in it's own way and should be not held down by the judgement of its peers. If he wants to do the let's play, then he can always . This is a place for criticism. Not to say that LPs haven't been criticized in their own threads, that's pretty common. gatz fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Mar 12, 2014 |
# ? Mar 12, 2014 02:39 |
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I got to watch the video. Don't post that with the intro. There is no point at which you need to tell people where and when you were born as part of the game's introduction.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 02:49 |
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Lazyfire posted:I got to watch the video. Don't post that with the intro. There is no point at which you need to tell people where and when you were born as part of the game's introduction. ...It's like 30 seconds. It's totally fine.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 04:15 |
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I really had no interest in a Mario LP, but it isn't as bad as people are making out - he brought up some interesting design points that I wouldn't have thought about. At the rapid pace he's going through the levels there may actually be enough new things on each future level to keep up the gimmick too. The intro told you exactly what to expect from the LP style wise, so I don't see a problem with it. He threw in an "I was born here" for humor, no biggie. I'm not saying it's the most stellar game choice you'll ever see - but for a first LP the dude did a reasonable job and should probably just post it and see if anyone is interested in Mario.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 05:33 |
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unfair posted:I'm not saying it's the most stellar game choice you'll ever see - but for a first LP the dude did a reasonable job and should probably just post it and see if anyone is interested in Mario. I agree with this, just pull the trigger and post your thread, dude. Your video wasn't bad. Cire Arodum posted:So, if this wasn't Mario 1 would that make a difference? If I go on to do a less immensely famous game in the future are those still bad ideas? Yes and no, respectively. There's not exactly a great disposition towards LP's of the earlier Mario games because they're so intuitive and simplistic games. That said, your approach to it is at least trying something new out and I don't think it was a failure by any means, post your thread and ignore anyone saying not to do because "everyone has played Mario 1" because I have loving tons of game playing friends who haven't, a lot of people will have played it but definitely not everyone, not even on this forum.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 08:15 |
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SuccinctAndPunchy posted:I agree with this, just pull the trigger and post your thread, dude. Your video wasn't bad. Also, holy poo poo 30 second intro, that's less than some people even today linger on the title screen for an introduction. Of all the things to nitpick. As an aside: I loving hate the physics in SMB and have never played beyond the first world and a few levels you can directly reach with warps. The water vortex was totally news to me and I'm much looking forward to seeing the rest of the game.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 08:20 |
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Yeah, it is pretty humorous considering how venomous people normally get with the whole 'what are you bringing to the table' thing. If anything though, I'd say that it might be better to do an overall retrospective look at Mario, game per game with each update, rather than doing just Mario 1. You seem like you want to do it informatively but especially with the original Mario, there is doubtful going to be enough content for you to bring up for more than four or five updates. VVVVV I'm just going by assumption from his post? His post didn't really mention doing anything outside of SMB 1 and I was just going off the assumption that he was doing a world per video. Honestly it was just a thought that ranged beyond 'It's been done before' and 'Intros are dumb'. discworld is all I read fucked around with this message at 08:38 on Mar 12, 2014 |
# ? Mar 12, 2014 08:33 |
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Niggurath posted:Yeah, it is pretty humorous considering how venomous people normally get with the whole 'what are you bringing to the table' thing. If anything though, I'd say that it might be better to do an overall retrospective look at Mario, game per game with each update, rather than doing just Mario 1. You seem like you want to do it informatively but especially with the original Mario, there is doubtful going to be enough content for you to bring up for more than four or five updates. Also, nobody is stopping him from doing SMB2 afterwards, or lost levels... ...the rest of the NES games... ...just saying.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 08:35 |
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Niggurath posted:there is doubtful going to be enough content for you to bring up for more than four or five updates. The game will probably end in four and five updates. And he could let the thread end there, nothing wrong with that. I ran a thread that was five updates long and didn't noticeably suffer from a short length. Brevity is the soul of wit and such.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 08:50 |
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slowbeef posted:...It's like 30 seconds. It's totally fine. Am I the only one that finds it really awkward that he gives out personal information? Maybe I'm weird because I spent 5+ years playing online games with people before first names began to slip.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 09:42 |
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Lazyfire posted:Am I the only one that finds it really awkward that he gives out personal information? Maybe I'm weird because I spent 5+ years playing online games with people before first names began to slip. You aren't, but at the very least he's the one giving out the information than obsessed fans trying to find out everything about their favourite Let's Player because if they can just stand in their idol's presence they'll be validated.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 09:50 |
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Lazyfire posted:Am I the only one that finds it really awkward that he gives out personal information? Maybe I'm weird because I spent 5+ years playing online games with people before first names began to slip. It's not like someone is going to steal his credit card info from knowing that he was born ten miles from Nintendo's studio, or whatever the situation was. I took it as a "hey look all these things happened a long time ago in a galaxy far far away..." - it's just flavor text that can't hurt anyone.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 10:00 |
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Niggurath posted:You seem like you want to do it informatively but especially with the original Mario, there is doubtful going to be enough content for you to bring up for more than four or five updates. Firstly, no one is saying he has to do any amount of updates. Also, if he thinks he can provide enough content to finish the game than what's the problem? Also, SomethingDumb and 19LettersLong are doing 30 years of Mario games... I think there's enough Mario lore and information out in the world for a few updates. Edit: words
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 11:24 |
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There is so much poo poo to talk about when it comes to Mario, even more if you include Nintendo during the era Super Mario Bros. came out. Nintendo coming into its own and dominating the industry is probably one of the most interesting stories from the game industry, actually.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 11:44 |
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While that is true, it's probably better dispensed through the game commentary rather than in intros right at the start of the videos.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 13:19 |
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Look, I think it comes down to the biggest complaint is "Super Mario Bros". I just don't think this requires any major retooling or any minor tweaks - it's a thread people will watch or they won't. There's just nothing that screams to me "this isn't up to snuff" or something. I say go for it. ChaosArgate posted:While that is true, it's probably better dispensed through the game commentary rather than in intros right at the start of the videos. I don't like intros in LPs, but even this one was pretty short and it's not like he spends 2 minutes voicing over a title screen - it's kept visually interesting.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 16:19 |
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The introduction was fine. I don't see why everyone was complaining about it. I mean, I probably won't watch any more videos of it, but only because this isn't my cup of tea when it comes to LPing a game. I say that the video was good, the introduction non-intrusive, put the thread up and hope for the best, guy.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 16:27 |
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 04:01 |
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In my humble opinion, Super Mario Bros may have the potential to be the greatest Let's Play ever made.
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# ? Mar 12, 2014 18:09 |