One for an Underdog

When it comes to LPers on Youtube a small minority of channels get the vast majority of views.  This isn't necessary a bad thing.  "Cream rises to the top," as the saying goes...but I've noticed an unfortunate pattern that occurs all too often on the bigger channels.  For one thing they tend to do Lets Play videos of whatever the hot new release is only to abandon the series part way through, leaving audience members in the lurch.  Yeah, I get that they lost interest or couldn't draw the number of viewers they wanted, but it still makes for a rather unsatisfactory conclusion.  Another annoyance comes in the form of channels that show gameplay videos of a particular title on a nonstop basis.  I'd honestly like Toby's channel a lot more if he'd give Happy Wheels a rest.  Same goes for Paul Sores Junior and Minecraft, or Epic Name Bro and Dark Souls.  Again, I know that certain viewers go to particular channels because they're looking for specific games, but what it really comes down to in LPs isn't the game, it's the person playing it.

So to get to the point, I'm giving a shout out for one of the many lesser know Youtube gaming channels that I think doesn't draw the amount of attention it really deserves.  The label is "TotalGameFreak," but don't let that discourage you.  The content producer is a guy who goes by the name of Marshall Dyer, which might very well be his real name.  In an age where everyone sports clever sounding internet handles this actually comes off as a rather novel idea.  He's got a good voice and while his commentary was a little uneven early on, he has been making steady improvements to his style.  He also has some skill and knowledge about the games he plays which is more than I can say for some major gaming outlets...*cought* Giantbomb *cought*...excuse me...must have caught a cold.

The thing I like about his channel the most though is the fact that he focuses on lesser known indie titles quite a bit.  Ever heard of Salt, Stasis or To The Moon?  Neither had I until I visited his channel.  The truth is every time a triple AAA title comes out it gets hundreds of LP's on Youtube (not to mention constant streams on Twitch).  Frankly, it's overkill, but then I guess a lot of LPers are constantly scrambling for bigger view counts.  Meanwhile, little releases on Steam or older, more obscure stuff on the PC tends to have no representation on the internet outside of a short blurb on database websites like MobyGames.  There are other Youtube channels out there such as Splattercat that try to educate and provide insight rather than cluelessly screwing around in front of a webcam like some nine year old with ADD.  It's easy to slap together some content (all you need is a fairly new computer, a mic and FRAPS), but putting together something that is polished or informative takes a lot more effort.  For me it's depressing to see guys like PewDiePie pulling in some of the highest view counts of LPers on Youtube.  I guess there's no account for taste...

Regardless, I hope at least a few people will notice this blog post of mine and give Marshall Dyer's videos a look-see.  He's active in the comments section and uploads new stuff on a regular basis...yet his view counts rarely climb over the 100 mark.  The man deserves more recognition so give his channel a try.