Early Viewing - Little Nightmares, and the Importance of the Experience

Hey Joseph - I think the point here is a good one and you explore it well, but I'd be cautious about referring to this concept as "experience". Most or all of the things people play a game for can be considered an experience. Mastering and applying a tough skill is a particular kind of experience that games provide, for example, and it's valid to say you play games for that experience. It's similar to how it's ambiguous to say you play games for "fun" - after all, winning a competition is a lot of fun to many people. I think it's worth drilling down on what it is the player experiences in the kinds of games you're talking about - you mentioned "atmosphere" at one point and I think that'd be a reasonable term to use, or perhaps "mood". There's probably a better word than either of those - I think you can get more specific and less ambiguous than just "experience".

Doctor Professor

I'm with Chris on this one. Knowing that a game clocks in at two hours makes me want to play it more, not less. :)

Doctor Professor

Great video. Experience is such a difficult topic to discuss with how hard it is to define but you did a great job. You're probably going to get butchered in the comments for criticizing Ico though. I'd argue to keep Little Nightmares out of the title. It takes you long enough to get to talking about it explicitly that someone expecting a Little Nightmares review would get impatient.

Stephen Slas

I think you should include Little Nightmares somewhere in the title because the second half of the video is about the game. Great video like always, I found it to be one the more intriguing ones. I also love seeing my name in the credits; it's such a stupid thing but I love it!

I like the current title best. It should probably have the game name in it for search results, right? Haven't played LN, and so haven't watched the video yet. But I must say you are the only YouTuber that makes me want to buy games so I can watch your analysis. I will be playing it soon!

Good morning Joseph. I wanted to let you know that I thought this video is one of your most interesting and recommendable. As a person who is hit or miss with experience games, this was a nice way of trying to suss out why the games are like that. One thought for you in regards to the price per hour at the end. I've found that as I get older (mid 30's now), this part matters less and less to me. I find that I have far less time to play my increasingly large backlog of excellent games. Thus, sometimes very short (even expensive) games actually appeal more to me, as I know I can get through it in one evening before going back to the extremely lengthy Personas and Xcoms of the world. Thank you for the excellent video! -Chris

Chris Grenard

I'm with Brendan, especially since a significant portion isn't really about Little Nightmares but about your explanation. I also like the font you used, I don't know if it's new but it stood out to me in this one.

I like the current title best -- people know what game it's about, but also that it's not *just* about the game.

Esther O'Keefe

Personally, I like "The Importance of the Experience" best.