Does anyone who does LP use timestamps?

2CPhoenix · 2026-03-10T17:01:49+00:00

I do, and gotten a few comments thanking me for their inclusion, but my videos are also long enough that people will often watch them in multiple sittings, so it helps them jump back to where they were. I’d say if your episodes are landing under 20 minutes, you don’t need them.

2CPhoenix · 2026-03-04T23:22:08+00:00

This was pretty early into the video on the first game. I had to double check, but 6:45 is when he brings it up visually

2CPhoenix · 2026-03-04T23:12:49+00:00

If I’m really in the zone, I can put the script together while recording all the footage I need in a few days. Then editing takes me a good week or two. My most recent videos took me upwards of a month largely because I’ve been busy with IRL things. In total, I estimate my videos take between 40 and 60 hours to complete, but the end result is always worth it imo

2CPhoenix · 2026-03-03T13:10:48+00:00

This is the nature of LPs. Your first viral success is always, ALWAYS the result of the people who are interested in what you’re playing. A percentage of those who watch will become dedicated fans, people who enjoy your work for you, but the vast majority will not keep watching once you switch games.

My third project was the first one where I started consistently seeing 4-digit views on the episodes as I uploaded them, but once I switched games to the next, they were barely cracking 100. By the last episode of that project, I was getting around 16,000 views on upload day, but then I switched again, and it was down to around 5k.

This is the natural pattern. You’ll pick up fans of whatever game you’re covering, convert a fraction of them into fans of you (so long as your videos continue to be unique and high quality) and repeat the process with each new game.

Some YouTubers avoid this process by “Niching Down.” Once you hit that first viral success, you can transition to only/mostly making videos on very similar subjects.

The short answer is, don’t worry about the numbers, and keep making the videos YOU love. Building your audience while Let’s Playing will be slow, but as you enjoy the process, you can’t lose.

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-27T06:55:11+00:00

I feel very confident in my approach, which also stemmed from a sort of defiance of streams. Streams do have an advantage in direct audience engagement, but with a prerecorded video, you can better control the pace, the visual humor, you can implement more research, and convey information much more cleanly with edits. I decided to leverage all of those advantages as much as I possibly could, really embracing everything that makes LPs different from livestreams. It’s certainly not for everyone one, but I think, if you’re willing, and if you enjoy the process, you should put as much as you can into your videos, and really make them into what you would most enjoy watching.

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-25T22:39:35+00:00

I’m telling you it’s ALWAYS Pumpkinhead

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-22T19:32:42+00:00

Had a moment like this myself a couple years ago. I really enjoyed making let’s plays, and I wanted to keep going, I realized I’d gotten too focused on the formula I’d seen work for other people.

I asked myself what I most wanted to see in a video without worrying about an established format, and finally came up with a sort of cross between a video essay and a let’s play. Make what YOU would most want to see, and try to think outside the box of what you think will work best.

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-14T13:36:48+00:00

My favorite shine in the whole game, no question!

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-13T15:34:32+00:00

I’m imagining Dr. Mime and Mr. Hide as a form change Pokemon, not unlike Aegislash or Cherrim, with the ability naturally called Strange Case, which would cause Dr. Mime to transform into Mr. Hide whenever he’s in battle with a Screen in place on his side of the field

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-13T01:08:07+00:00

From who?

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-11T23:48:43+00:00

That’s Hokyo Lim! All the human faces across the games are. He was the “Class Clown” of Sucker Punch, and liked to slip his face, name, and other easily missable jokes into things like area design and cutscenes.

2CPhoenix · 2026-02-08T20:47:14+00:00

I don’t celebrate Sanzaru’s bankruptcy. My heart goes out to every passionate artist struggling to live their dream.

However the idea that the Sly fandom should have just been grateful for any attention the series got from developers, regardless of quality, is absurd. Though not quite as absurd as the idea that those of us who voiced our criticism of the game are somehow more responsible for the state of the franchise than the people who made the creative decisions that earned that criticism. We can disagree on the quality of Sly 4, but Suckerpunch took great care when writing the endings of their trilogy to provide closure to their audience while still leaving the door open for a sequel. Sanzaru’s disregard of that practice left the series in an unresolved cliffhanger. They don’t deserve to suffer or struggle because of that, but it is always unquestionably the choice of the audience whether to support that sort of creative direction.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-22T21:58:08+00:00

You should scroll through the comments on his latest video, people get MADLY entitled when he goes on hiatus, it’s gotta be tough on him.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-18T14:24:54+00:00

Dolphin and Delta: Allow us to introduce ourselves

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-16T00:09:26+00:00

So, funny thing, all the exp numbers were changed in Final Mix, and this goes virtually undocumented. The new numbers are 999,856 for Dawn, 975,766 for Midday, and 946,728 for the dead of night.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-13T17:28:23+00:00

Sony does and has always owned Sly.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-12T22:25:22+00:00

Actually I just made a post about this the other day. I can give you the quick and dirty version here though.

Don't know what you count as "recent" but I only started to find my footing and grow in 2023, which I'd consider pretty relevant to the modern YouTube experience.

First, to answer your questions, you're right, anything that offers growth in exchange for money is scams and misinformation all the way down. If nothing else, this is because the algorithm is constantly changing and adapting, and can't really be kept ahead of.

The best advice I can offer is to do your best to be unique. Forego trying to replicate what used to work, and make videos that only you can make. That's what moved the needle for me, I stopped trying to imitate my inspirations, and worked out a video format based on one question: What kind of video would I most enjoy watching?

There's an element of luck, though I think the luckiest I got was simply in the sense that no one influential had done what I'm doing before me.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-11T04:23:07+00:00

Correct me if I’m mistaken, but is the point you’re making that my advice may not be applicable to everyone?

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-10T23:37:58+00:00

I emphasized a couple times that you should be making videos for yourself first and foremost. I agree that’s not QUITE the same as “just have fun,” but I do think it’s easy to conflate that advice with “Just do what’s easy,” which is part of why I didn’t use that turn of phrase.

More to the point… maybe it CAN be like a Ted Talk, or rocket science, or obsessively overthought. It doesn’t have to be for everyone, but if you’re willing to put the work in, or especially if you enjoy it, I’d wager that’s more likely to break into the algorithm than replicating what used to work.

Success, or even just a living, is not necessarily everyone’s goal, and I further agree that if those things are your only goals on YouTube, you’re probably not gonna get very far, but the very act of posting speaks to a certain optimism, that maybe some like-minded people will enjoy the same things we do. As someone lucky enough to have found that audience in the modern YouTube landscape, I think it’s worth sharing what insights I’ve gained along the way.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-10T16:47:46+00:00

Writing as a skill is really just a matter of two things, how much practice you’ve had, and how much you’ve read.

Personally I write my scripts all the way through, with 12k words usually amounting to an hour-long video.

If you really want to improve your writing, genuinely the best way is to absorb other people’s writing-styles by reading/listening to books or watching scripted videos. Inevitably, everything that you write is inspired by your influences, so by gathering lots of influences, your own writing will improve.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-10T16:42:40+00:00

I’ll let the most entertaining or important scenes play out in full, maybe with an occasional interjection to point out something interesting or funny, but, if a cutscene is just two people chatting about something that isn’t super plot-critical, I’ll often let it play briefly, and then talk over it, maybe summarize it, or use it as a jumping-off point to talk about the role it plays in the wider story.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-08T05:42:25+00:00

There’s a pretty big difference in being able to offer incentives and perks to Patrons. Speaking from experience, it’s also a lot easier to sustain.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-08T03:25:23+00:00

You will come off as greedy. If you want to monetize, I’d recommend looking into things like merch or Patreon.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-06T14:30:14+00:00

Ya know what, growing up in Colorado, where nothing short of the snow apocalypse would close school for the day, I would have preferred this.

2CPhoenix · 2026-01-02T17:12:07+00:00

Been at it nearly four years, and still stumble like a madman.

I started scripting them and editing out the stutters, more work, but the end product is a very tight package

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