Why So Many Video Game Things?

Here's a question: Why are so many Web Original projects (webcomics, web video, etc) about video games and gamers?

Now, before you grab your torches and pitchforks, let me say that video games aren't bad. And there are some great projects out there that use video games (Video Game High School, Red Vs Blue, Terrain Of Magical Expertise, and The Guild are all pretty great).

But even so, I can't help but wonder if the Web Original medium is getting saturated by stuff about video games. (Or funny one-time gags, but that's not the focus, here.)

I'm afraid that, if online creators don't branch out soon, online media will be discredited as "cheap jokes" and "video game humor."

And yes, I'm aware that it's not all about video games. There's also tabletop games!... But seriously, the Web Original medium is saturated with one genre, and that's not good.

Because people like video games. And they want to make what they like.

Hell, machinima is a major online artform, and that is basically films made in games.

What do you suggest they do? If I wanted to make a show talking about cars, where would I find footage of new cars that isn't owned by someone else? If I did reviews of new movies or politics, I'd be competing with an already thriving professional industry based around just that. This guy does a series about weapon smithing, but what else can he do besides make weapons from pop-culture that would get people interested?

If I were to talk about music in front of a camera, any pieces of audio that I use to make my point would more than likely get me flagged for that video. Without music to make my point, my analysis is worthless.

And for that matter, it's just easier to get interviews with developers than it is to book rock stars and popular actors. The price of entry to doing sketch-comedy requires quality equipment, whereas most of what you need to comment on gameplay is a capture card and a decent microphone.

And at the end of the day, gaming is just a thriving industry. It should be expected that gaming is what people want to hear about.

edited 12th Feb '14 10:41:47 PM by Alucard

To clarify: I'm not talking about people playing games, and I'm not asking "why do people do stuff with video games?" I'm asking "why are there so few Web Original works that aren't about video games?" ... In a round-about way.

And again, the barrier of entry to talking about other things is impassible for a normal person who doesn't have an organized team behind them (say, a network). You can try doing something creative, like animating or writing music, but your most popular videos are always going to be based around nerdy subjects (like this guy, who does a capella videos based around gaming, or this guy doing pop culture-based metal covers on his guitar).

I'm sure there are plenty of web series' out there based around other mediums, but they're harder to find when it's so much easier to start out as a Let's Player. Once that capture card/microphone barrier is passed, it isn't that difficult for the more successful shows to upgrade their equipment, and start moving into things like sketch comedy (which will naturally be based around gaming). Since it's easier to run a gaming-centric series, the most successful of the bunch rise to the surface more obviously than any other web series, which causes gaming to drive the trends of the medium. Hence, a new series which might try to focus on some other medium will have more success talking about games.

It's really just a consequence of gaming being a new medium of roughly the same age-level as internet entertainment (and both worlds are largely inhabited by young nerds). We've had shows talking about movies and music for decades, whereas mainstream media will rarely take an interest in a show about gaming news. SO while gaming thrives in sales numbers, gamers have very little options outside the internet for gamer-centric entertainment.

edited 12th Feb '14 11:22:33 PM by Alucard

Yeah, you need passion and prior skills, stuff, etc. to do anything more major. DRIVE is a pretty damn popular You Tube channel centered around automobiles, but everyone on that channel has done stuff like write for Jalopnik, or, in the case of Leo Parente, actually been a motorsports driver.

edited 12th Feb '14 11:39:09 PM by RocketDude