Streaming viewers question: Length of episode preference?

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What length of episode suits you best?

  • 1 hour

    Votes: 11 84.6%
  • 2 hours

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • 3 hours

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • 4 hours

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    13

Jaraxle_Sym

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Another poll!

For those that watch/listen to dnd streaming campaigns, what length of episode suits you best?

I'm from a streaming content studio, and we want to know what YOU like. :smile:

Thank you for taking the time to vote, and any feedback is loved!

Bonus Question: Would you like a show edited down to the best parts, removing less interesting stretches?
Like something brought down to a 45 minute show for example?
 
I used to upload 2 hour sessions to a YouTube channel but stopped largely because I wanted to be able to edit them down and include animations or other edits to highlight the best parts of the game. I just don't have the skills for it.
 
Yeah, something like the live stream version of the NFLs Redzone show. Just the highlights. I do watch some live play but I rarely have the patience for 2 or 3 hour sit downs.
 
Actually 30 minutes, between my attention span and my internet connection anything longer than that tends to have a lag connection break in play. Longer content could be broken down in to Episode X part A and part B or some such.
 
I fucking love the details and ins and outs of real play. Im still not willing to sit and watch someone else do it it though.:grin:
 
Five minutes. Nothing but the Monty Python quotes and pop culture references.
 
I don't watch live-play streams (that's what we're talking about, right?)... but snippets to illustrate a particular rule or circumstance... I'd watch those if they were ten minutes or less.

Otherwise, podcasts about whatever... as long as they've got something to say/discuss, I can do other things while I listen, so length is preferably longer.
 
If I were going to watch people play, I’d like to see the actual play. There’s nothing to watch of the characters, so I fail to see the purpose of a highlights reel. ”Roll clip of Jim rolling that Nat 20!!

Without context of play and what’s going on with the characters, who needs the bullet points?
 
Even if you record a full, four-hour session, I'd breaking it up into smaller parts of an hour or less when you put it up. A four hour video is going to dissuade people from clicking, but if you cut it up into 30 minute episodes, people are more likely to watch it and then keep watching further episodes.
 
If I were going to watch people play, I’d like to see the actual play. There’s nothing to watch of the characters, so I fail to see the purpose of a highlights reel. ”Roll clip of Jim rolling that Nat 20!!

Without context of play and what’s going on with the characters, who needs the bullet points?

It depends on how it is done I think. A lot of campaigns I see streamed have the usual chatter going on that isn't related directly to play or there are lengthy periods of deliberation. I could see advancing through something like the players debating what to do for 30 minutes with a silent movie style "and then this happened" card. Also, a perfectly good option here would be to post both the full game and a more edited down for time version. I think where edits like this don't work is when they are done to make everything at the table look awesome. When half the fun of watching people game is seeing the mistakes that naturally crop up during play

As an example, in a recent playtest I forget what time it was in the game (night) and allowed the players plans to kill a vampire by dropping the window shades to work. It was a very bone headed mistake, it forced me to have to either retract what happened or allow it but with this wonky sense of midnight suddenly becoming dawn way ahead of schedule. However if we were filming it, I would leave that in because it's a funny mistake to watch unfold (and a valuable lesson on tracking time!). I don't really do streams of games anymore, but if I did it again, and if I edited down for time (which I didn't do in the past) I'd be sure to keep in the bloopers.
 
Without context of play and what’s going on with the characters, who needs the bullet points?

I agree with this. A highlight reel that just looks awesome is probably going to have the opposite of intended effect (If it looks awesome, I really want to see what is working so well and will need context). I am going to be naturally suspicious. I think a more documentary style approach works. You can edit around boring stuff and keep context if you know what you are doing (I don't know what I am doing so I've always just posted full game sessions up).

Also 'why' is important here too. If the point of the stream is just to give instruction on a game, context might be less important than highlighting specific moments of play that use rules you want people to understand.
 
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