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. :)
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 think an hour and a half is my ideal, but I'd lean closer to 2 hours over 1 if given the option.
I also voted "no" on the "best parts" question, but gain, I'm kind of halfway between two options. I think that table banter is important... it's what makes the games entertaining. I remember seeing an actual-play game where the big selling point was that they play the game, then go back and re-narrate things and have the (professional performer) players record their dialogue more isolated and with professional-grade audio editing. It was just really, really boring... about 2 hours of gameplay got boiled down to about 20 minutes of actual action, and the lack of table banter made it hard to connect with the players as people or the characters through unimportant but character defining throw-away lines and jokes. Even really great D&D games usually have fairly basic, simple stories that end up taking as long as they do from everyone interacting, asking questions about what they see, making skill checks, etc. I've found that, at least for me, I get just as attached to the players themselves as I do the characters, and making sure that element is included makes it more engaging to me.
That said... listening to long sequences of players dealing with technical issues or having someone mumble something to keep the audience engaged while the DM looks up a rule can just feel like dead air. Players who are good at entertaining crowds can often keep up interest during those times, but unless they're really good and eager to do something like that, more often than not, you might as well cut it. So I think some amount of editing is good... basically every actual play show I watch/listen to is edited in some way, and if they're not edited it's usually because it's a very high budget, tightly managed series.
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. :)
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 think an hour and a half is my ideal, but I'd lean closer to 2 hours over 1 if given the option.
I also voted "no" on the "best parts" question, but gain, I'm kind of halfway between two options. I think that table banter is important... it's what makes the games entertaining. I remember seeing an actual-play game where the big selling point was that they play the game, then go back and re-narrate things and have the (professional performer) players record their dialogue more isolated and with professional-grade audio editing. It was just really, really boring... about 2 hours of gameplay got boiled down to about 20 minutes of actual action, and the lack of table banter made it hard to connect with the players as people or the characters through unimportant but character defining throw-away lines and jokes. Even really great D&D games usually have fairly basic, simple stories that end up taking as long as they do from everyone interacting, asking questions about what they see, making skill checks, etc. I've found that, at least for me, I get just as attached to the players themselves as I do the characters, and making sure that element is included makes it more engaging to me.
That said... listening to long sequences of players dealing with technical issues or having someone mumble something to keep the audience engaged while the DM looks up a rule can just feel like dead air. Players who are good at entertaining crowds can often keep up interest during those times, but unless they're really good and eager to do something like that, more often than not, you might as well cut it. So I think some amount of editing is good... basically every actual play show I watch/listen to is edited in some way, and if they're not edited it's usually because it's a very high budget, tightly managed series.
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