Dan & Phil Part 47: Do it with Dan!

[somethingsketchy]

It was a cute video for sure, but tbh not that much rewatch value. I personally would like for them to do more series of "proper" games (*cough* lifeisstrange *cough*), but as they keep stressing, they want the gaming channel to also appeal to viewers who are not into games per se, so I am not sure if that'll happen :/ I hope the Horse Prince wasn't them testing out a series in terms of viewing numbers/ad rev, cause it was far too controversial to be a good representation of other possible series.

Anyone else with me? Or do you prefer the Sims and random one-time games?

I am so tired of the Sims videos and would love to see them doing series of some proper games. Their recent gaming videos have been sufficiently entertaining for me but rarely because of the actual gameplay, which is a pity because DAPG is supposed to be a gaming channel after all. I get that their core audience might not be into more serious business, but maybe it would lure in some new viewers. Also, since they actually are gamers and play "proper" video games in their free time, I assume they would enjoy playing something other than flash games for a change themselves.

[droopy]

It was a cute video for sure, but tbh not that much rewatch value. I personally would like for them to do more series of "proper" games (*cough* lifeisstrange *cough*), but as they keep stressing, they want the gaming channel to also appeal to viewers who are not into games per se, so I am not sure if that'll happen :/ I hope the Horse Prince wasn't them testing out a series in terms of viewing numbers/ad rev, cause it was far too controversial to be a good representation of other possible series.

Anyone else with me? Or do you prefer the Sims and random one-time games?

I'm definitely with you! When I first learned they had a gaming channel (which was pretty early into discovering them tbh), I was really excited, because I'm part of the demographic that is into gaming. I watch loads of "gamer" channels besides theirs (Game Grumps, PBG, ProJared, CommanderHolly, etc.), so when I realized that the majority of their content was app games, I was kind of like, "Wait, what?" Most folks who play PC/console games don't even consider apps as "proper" video games (and, granted, most of those app videos are ads or #spons, so I understand why they did them).

As it is, the majority of their content is for casual/non-gamers. Even their longer playthroughs of non-app games such as Sims 4 or Undertale are of casual games. Like LtrllySusan said, I get that they want to appeal to their current audience (tween/teen girls who probably aren't that seriously into gaming), but I'm kinda of the mindset of, "If you want to appeal to non-gamers, then maybe do something besides gaming". I'm not against their current gaming channel content - I'm not just there for the gaming, I'm there for , so it checks at least one of my boxes. However, I would love to see them take full advantage of the gaming channel's potential. I mean, most of their audience right now is there for them, right? So regardless of whether they're playing a flash game or PlayStation, it should satisfy that demographic. But if they bring in more "proper" games (even something like Stardew Valley, doesn't have to be a serious action game), then it'll also appeal to the audience that gaming channels are traditionally designed for.

alright that's my two cents bye

EDIT: somethingsketchy beat me to it, so TL;DR: what she said.

[pastelspectre]

i liked the new video! cute and i like how half of the video was character selection.

i do wish they would play longer series or games that have more of a story to them but it's ultimately their choice and we can't make them play longer series. if they do ever decide to do a longer series though i'd love to see them play night in the woods. it's such a good game. i watched jacksepticeye play it and he really brought the characters to life and did a good job with it. but yeah i'd love to see deppy play nitw or life is strange, or even a genocide run of undertale.

[onetruetrash]

I'm not even a gamer, and I'm a teen girl, but the amount of apps and flash games bothers me. Can't they play some real games? (And I know apps and stuff are technically real games, but you get what I mean.)

I would absolutely love a Life is Strange gameplay. After seeing so many people telling them to play it, I decided to check it out, so I watched Emma Blackery's (rip birdyboots) gameplay and IT IS SO GOOD! And they announced a sequel a couple weeks ago! JUST PLAY IT ALREADY!

I always figured they haven't played it do to it's rather.... dark topics. If you know what happens, you know what I'm talking about.

[droopy]

but yeah i'd love to see deppy play nitw or life is strange, or even a genocide run of undertale.

I remember Dan once making a reference to the Sans genocide run boss battle, so he's probably already played through (or at least watched) the genocide run. I'd still enjoy watching them play through it tbh, even if it wasn't a first-time reaction (plus, if Phil hasn't played through it, then I'd be down for either a Phil solo or Dan sitting on the sidelines making sneaky comments while Phil plays).

I'm kind of curious now, so if anyone has anything to add: what games would you like to see them play? I've seen Life is Strange mentioned a couple times, and someone had a nice list of RPGs on the other page. Anything else to add to the wishlist?

Also I will never get tired of Sims, I am Sims trash. And Dab and Evan exist, so.

[iihappydaysii]

I like the Sims videos, but I'm not into video games. I just like watching them talk to each other (and decorate a house together lol) anything where they work together is great for me. If I had a choice, they'd have a baking/cooking channel instead. Their baking videos are my favorite even though they're not great at it.

[onetruetrash]

Also I will never get tired of Sims, I am Sims trash. And Dab and Evan exist, so.

Same. My life will never be complete until Dil gives birth to the alien baby. What has my life come to

[Lucyrg95]

Where did they get it that their audience doesn't want longer games? Is it just because of the Undertale views? (which, ahem, deppy you took nearly a year to finish that's why people couldn't be bothered) but even then, they all still hit at least one milly. I agree that the new vid was pleasant but nothing special. Watching them do a long playthrough appeals to me so much more, especially if it's of a game I haven't seen before because I love getting so involved in the characters and story and waiting for the next part to find out what happens next. I would eat my own arm for them to play horror games all the way through instead of just one vid for spooky week (but i know that'll never happen) or even do one or two vids on some old scary games like silent hill and resident evil, the mems boys, think of the sweet mems

[alittledizzy]

I think Dan in particular isn't cut out for longer lets plays. Just based on a quick skim through the comments of pretty much every casual gaming youtube channel ever, there is nothing people love more than to tell a youtube gamer exactly how wrong they're playing something - and Dan doesn't like to be told he's doing something wrong, especially not something he considers himself good at, like gaming.

I also think for the past couple years it's been a timing issue. They were uploading so sporadically, and people's enthusiasm for Undertale dimmed pretty quickly when they realized Dan and Phil doing a lets play did not mean hour long videos on the regular but more like an hour long video every other month. They could probably resolve the timing issue now but - it just depends on whether they want to, after people (understandably) losing patience the first time they tried.

[lurker]

i'm really curious as to why they don't start another series of playing a ~real~ video game. with the recent mentions in the ls about the channel being interesting for non-gamers, too, it's somewhat clear that the majority of the videos will remain shorter, light-hearted, one-session videos, but one gameplay series surely wouldn't scare anyone away? and iir, undertale was received well -- i think the view counts were decreasing for the later parts, but the obvious explanation seems to be the long breaks between uploads and missing the timing for the hype. these things shouldn't be a probem if they started another series now, though.

i'd like to see them play life is strange as well (as basically everyone), but i doubt it'll happen. i have a faint memory of either of them saying that their audience would "judge their moral choices" and that they weren't ready for that? (it was probably dan, wasn't it?) now he's been mentioning several times how fun and relaxed it is to film gaming videos, so i can't really see them playing something that'd spark a lot of discussion and "omg you didn't rewind at that part now you'll miss that thing!!11" ~controversy~. but i'd love to see it! (and judge) or anything else dialogue-heavy where there's a lot of decisions to discuss for them. (i'm thinking da:i at the moment, but that won't happen either.)

[alittledizzy]

i'm really curious as to why they don't start another series of playing a ~real~ video game. with the recent mentions in the ls about the channel being interesting for non-gamers, too, it's somewhat clear that the majority of the videos will remain shorter, light-hearted, one-session videos, but one gameplay series surely wouldn't scare anyone away? and iir, undertale was received well -- i think the view counts were decreasing for the later parts, but the obvious explanation seems to be the long breaks between uploads and missing the timing for the hype. these things shouldn't be a probem if they started another series now, though.

i'd like to see them play life is strange as well (as basically everyone), but i doubt it'll happen. i have a faint memory of either of them saying that their audience would "judge their moral choices" and that they weren't ready for that? (it was probably dan, wasn't it?) now he's been mentioning several times how fun and relaxed it is to film gaming videos, so i can't really see them playing something that'd spark a lot of discussion and "omg you didn't rewind at that part now you'll miss that thing!!11" ~controversy~. but i'd love to see it! (and judge) or anything else dialogue-heavy where there's a lot of decisions to discuss for them. (i'm thinking da:i at the moment, but that won't happen either.)

I agree with your entire second paragraph. I think they did try again though - they tried with Horse Prince, and people also had a big issue with that (just in that a lot of people flat out didn't like the game, to the point where they ended the lets play and finished it in one go) To their credit I think they are looking for a way to incorporate something that people will like and something that they won't feel frustrated or judged playing. They just haven't stumbled across something that covers both areas yet.

[saffarinda]

i'm really curious as to why they don't start another series of playing a ~real~ video game. with the recent mentions in the ls about the channel being interesting for non-gamers, too, it's somewhat clear that the majority of the videos will remain shorter, light-hearted, one-session videos, but one gameplay series surely wouldn't scare anyone away? and iir, undertale was received well -- i think the view counts were decreasing for the later parts, but the obvious explanation seems to be the long breaks between uploads and missing the timing for the hype. these things shouldn't be a probem if they started another series now, though.

i'd like to see them play life is strange as well (as basically everyone), but i doubt it'll happen. i have a faint memory of either of them saying that their audience would "judge their moral choices" and that they weren't ready for that? (it was probably dan, wasn't it?) now he's been mentioning several times how fun and relaxed it is to film gaming videos, so i can't really see them playing something that'd spark a lot of discussion and "omg you didn't rewind at that part now you'll miss that thing!!11" ~controversy~. but i'd love to see it! (and judge) or anything else dialogue-heavy where there's a lot of decisions to discuss for them. (i'm thinking da:i at the moment, but that won't happen either.)

I agree with your entire second paragraph. I think they did try again though - they tried with Horse Prince, and people also had a big issue with that (just in that a lot of people flat out didn't like the game, to the point where they ended the lets play and finished it in one go) To their credit I think they are looking for a way to incorporate something that people will like and something that they won't feel frustrated or judged playing. They just haven't stumbled across something that covers both areas yet.

tbh, getting judged and told you're playing a game wrong and getting tons of spoilers would be incredibly frustrating. i didn't really like my horse prince, just because the style and plot didn't appeal to me. i adored undertale though, dnp's banter and the game's plot and humour was perfect for me. they're my most re-watched vids, i'd say.

dan did mention not wanting to be judged by their choices in the game and moral decisions, and mentioned that he would play undertale genocide in his own time.

i'd adore for them to play more horror throughout the year, but those general vids (bar the fnaf ones) tend to be lacking in views, purely due to their demographic straying away from spooky stuff.

i already said this but... pixel RPG's man. the plots in them just have me dead, and they're usually not so popular that everyone in the comments could spoil the experience.

(also, i'd just thought i'd off-hand mention that the reason why the sims is probs still going is not only bc its the sims, but also bc it's a game where u could just begin watching the gameplay into episode 37 or whatever, and still be able to fit right in, bar lil references - good for attracting new viewers).

[onetruetrash]

tbh, getting judged and told you're playing a game wrong and getting tons of spoilers would be incredibly frustrating. i didn't really like my horse prince, just because the style and plot didn't appeal to me. i adored undertale though, dnp's banter and the game's plot and humour was perfect for me. they're my most re-watched vids, i'd say.

dan did mention not wanting to be judged by their choices in the game and moral decisions, and mentioned that he would play undertale genocide in his own time.

i'd adore for them to play more horror throughout the year, but those general vids (bar the fnaf ones) tend to be lacking in views, purely due to their demographic straying away from spooky stuff.

i already said this but... pixel RPG's man. the plots in them just have me dead, and they're usually not so popular that everyone in the comments could spoil the experience.

(also, i'd just thought i'd off-hand mention that the reason why the sims is probs still going is not only bc its the sims, but also bc it's a game where u could just begin watching the gameplay into episode 37 or whatever, and still be able to fit right in, bar lil references - good for attracting new viewers).

A lot people were already saying for The Impossible Quiz that there was 110 questions and they seemed surprised, so either they don't read the comments or they faked not knowing.

Speaking of which, I know for a fact that in one of The Impossible Quiz videos, they looked up how many questions there were and they knew it was 110. Maybe they forgot but idk

[demonpanda]

The new video is cute but I also found it a little boring. I think the main reason make me love to watch gaming videos(on most youtube channels) is to see how they react to it, react to the story and the characters, especially something unexpectable happens in the game. And another thing I love of gaming video is to feel involved in the game, like I am playing the game with the gamer. But in the new video they played two characters, which I found very diffcult to feel involved because I am always distracted by the second character.

I don't want them to play those great game like "life is strange". Because when they play it on the gaming channel, they have keep talking and joking to entertain their audience, like in the last part of undertale, it was a really emotional moment ( I cried playing it) but I think dan and phil was not emotionally involve in the story because whenever they do the voiceover, they broke the feeling that has been buidup and make it feels hilarious. In my opinion, a good game should be played alone so that I can get into the character and experience the same thing the character experience and feel the same emotion the charatcer have. I think Dan and Phil also treasure that so I wish they will never waste those great game and play them on the gaming channel.

(Enlish is not my native language so..... Hope I have made my point clear)

[adequate duck]

i think of DAPG as a collab channel with games on it, rather than a gaming channel, it seems to be a place where they bant and play stuff that doesn't require intense concentration. hasn't dan mentioned before that he prefers to play some games just for enjoyment on his own? if i want to watch a youtube let's play, i don't choose DAPG. if i want to see deppy being dorks and having fun, i do. i'm not even gonna go there re: "proper" and "real" games. i would like to say i have no idea why fps and mmos etc are considered "real gaming" and sims games and light hearted flash games aren't, but i do have an idea and it's not one i subscribe to.

[bluntedclaws]

i think of DAPG as a collab channel with games on it, rather than a gaming channel, it seems to be a place where they bant and play stuff that doesn't require intense concentration. hasn't dan mentioned before that he prefers to play some games just for enjoyment on his own? if i want to watch a youtube let's play, i don't choose DAPG. if i want to see deppy being dorks and having fun, i do. i'm not even gonna go there re: "proper" and "real" games. i would like to say i have no idea why fps and mmos etc are considered "real gaming" and sims games and light hearted flash games aren't, but i do have an idea and it's not one i subscribe to.

100% agree with this.

[droopy]

The new video is cute but I also found it a little boring. I think the main reason make me love to watch gaming videos(on most youtube channels) is to see how they react to it, react to the story and the characters, especially something unexpectable happens in the game. And another thing I love of gaming video is to feel involved in the game, like I am playing the game with the gamer. But in the new video they played two characters, which I found very diffcult to feel involved because I am always distracted by the second character.

I don't want them to play those great game like "life is strange". Because when they play it on the gaming channel, they have keep talking and joking to entertain their audience, like in the last part of undertale, it was a really emotional moment ( I cried playing it) but I think dan and phil was not emotionally involve in the story because whenever they do the voiceover, they broke the feeling that has been buidup and make it feels hilarious. In my opinion, a good game should be played alone so that I can get into the character and experience the same thing the character experience and feel the same emotion the charatcer have. I think Dan and Phil also treasure that so I wish they will never waste those great game and play them on the gaming channel.

(Enlish is not my native language so..... Hope I have made my point clear)

These are all really good points. I think Dan has a similar opinion about playing games alone to fully enjoy them (I think he mentioned not initially wanting to play Undertale on the gaming channel for that reason). I think, if they were to play longer games that require more investment (of time, energy, and emotions), they'll have to give themselves permission to have quiet moments, serious moments, and just learn how to entertain via reaction as opposed to humor.

Going along with that, I think one of my favorite playthroughs of theirs was actually the Outlast II demo. Maybe it was just because the game was so disturbing that it pulled a whole array of reactions from them, but it was also a game that was extremely engaging for both them and the viewer, but at the same time wasn't so heavy with dialogue or exposition that they were free to bant while exploring. But those games are also extremely terrifying, so I don't know if we'll ever see a full playthrough of a serious horror game (which is probably best for my health anyway).

[colickygoat]

i'm really curious as to why they don't start another series of playing a ~real~ video game. with the recent mentions in the ls about the channel being interesting for non-gamers, too, it's somewhat clear that the majority of the videos will remain shorter, light-hearted, one-session videos, but one gameplay series surely wouldn't scare anyone away? and iir, undertale was received well -- i think the view counts were decreasing for the later parts, but the obvious explanation seems to be the long breaks between uploads and missing the timing for the hype. these things shouldn't be a probem if they started another series now, though.

i'd like to see them play life is strange as well (as basically everyone), but i doubt it'll happen. i have a faint memory of either of them saying that their audience would "judge their moral choices" and that they weren't ready for that? (it was probably dan, wasn't it?) now he's been mentioning several times how fun and relaxed it is to film gaming videos, so i can't really see them playing something that'd spark a lot of discussion and "omg you didn't rewind at that part now you'll miss that thing!!11" ~controversy~. but i'd love to see it! (and judge) or anything else dialogue-heavy where there's a lot of decisions to discuss for them. (i'm thinking da:i at the moment, but that won't happen either.)

I agree! I can imagine the whole choice based gaming thing could be very nerve racking. Especially with a game like "life is strange" that holds so much meaning for such a large percentage of their viewers. They would practically have to ruin the entire game for themselves by researching how to get the most popular ending.

Some spoilerfilled "life is strange" musings : Of all the choice based games this one makes me somewhat nervous at the thought of D&P playing it. It's a little tricky to explain, but here goes. Basically PRICEFIELD for LIFE!!! It's such a popular ship and with good reason. Max and Chloe's chemistry throughout seems off the charts. And in fact most playthroughs I've seen managed to get the Max ending up with Chloe ending. But it's not the most straightforward ending. In fact ( and this is the one thing that kinda annoys me a bit about the game) the game seems to default to the Maxine x Warren pairing.(bare in mind I did not play this game myself) Although getting the Max&Chloe ending isn't THAT hard, it's very tricky to get the Max&Chloe kiss ending. It seems you need to be pretty brutal about friendzoning poor sweet , adorable, hapless Warren, who is by all accounts an absolute angelbean, who's just very oblivious to the sibling vibes Max is throwing his way. Now enter the Phandom. For many the Pricefield ship is very dear to them - not just for their beautiful backstory, but also in terms of queer representation which is so largely absent in mainstream entertainment. I have actually seen people discuss on tumblr that they only want to see deppy play the game to see their reaction to Chloe and Max's romance. Their assumption being that the reaction of deppy as a fellow same sex couple, would give them "all the feels" and of course hint heavily at "phan being real". Enter the usually hapless and sometimes dense D&P. I can't imagine them being cruel enough to Warren to elicit the perfect Chloe - Max ending. What if, heaven forbid, they think Warren is better for Max? Chloe is sort of a badass and a wee bit bitchy sometimes, hah. Man, I don't want to see the capslock abuse in the comments if that were to happen. And I cringe at thinking how unnecessarily deep people would be delving into the hidden meaning behind their choices. Anyway that kind of pressure would make me flee a couple of thousand miles away. Aaaaaand I've written a book that no one has asked for...

But other than the choice based games there are so many interesting and visually stunning games out there that are pretty linear and with their great and unusual storytelling, which is so far removed from traditional mainstream gaming, should be very compelling to an audience that don't normally like games. It would be like D&P reading us a bedtime story. Night in the Woods comes to mind. Or Fran Bow. What about games like Little Nightmares and Inside? I'd love to see deppy play those.

Some people mentioned those games aren't easy to bant to ( I'm sorry I would quote you, but I'm still confused with the quoting system - adequate duck i think it was). This is another thing I noticed and I'm not sure how to express? D&P seem to think that in order for a gaming video to be good, it needs to be banter filled. I noticed it at the start of tonight's DAPG's video. Dan seemed to be giving us a blow by blow account of what he was doing and describing each punch being thrown. (He relaxed as the vid went on though) But it's not really necessary to be witty all the time, sometimes I just want to watch them play a game for the pleasure of their company. It's like watching my friends play while I fall asleep next to them. It's so comforting and I don't need to laugh all the way through.

Anyway, obviously I've given this way too much thought and it's 4am

[alittledizzy]

The new video is cute but I also found it a little boring. I think the main reason make me love to watch gaming videos(on most youtube channels) is to see how they react to it, react to the story and the characters, especially something unexpectable happens in the game. And another thing I love of gaming video is to feel involved in the game, like I am playing the game with the gamer. But in the new video they played two characters, which I found very diffcult to feel involved because I am always distracted by the second character.

You made two really good points I hadn't actually considered but totally agree with. I do also watch to see them react more than I do to watch them actually play, or to watch the story unfold itself, and I also think it's a bit harder to connect to when they're playing two characters as opposed to one. There are some videos that transcend that (like Bubble Bobble) but for the most part dvp are my least favorites because they're both distracted playing more against each other than with each other.

I think the reason I'll never actually dislike the Sims series is because it's the height of watching Dan and Phil work together and react together.

i think of DAPG as a collab channel with games on it, rather than a gaming channel, it seems to be a place where they bant and play stuff that doesn't require intense concentration.

Definitely agree with this.

[LtrllySusan]

Great to see so many different opinions and perspectives on the DAPG discussion.

On a completely different note, Markiplier's stage show premiered tomorrow and (from what I saw on Twitter), there was something a little about it... Putting it in a spoiler in case anyone here is going to see the show.

https://twitter.com/istusknitsstuff/sta ... 4589403137
Golden jackets, top hats, dancing and signing at the end of the show?

[LtrllySusan]

premiered *yesterday. Sorry for that (and the double post), it's way too early here..

[DatCog]

[offtopic]Gentle reminder to my fellow Brits, don't forget to vote today! You've got until 10pm

Looking forward to a 'democracy selfie' from Dan later [/offtopic]

[flarequake]

The video was fun, I laughed a lot and they both look pretty af. Dan really suits that grey blossom jumper, Phil's all ethereal and that tshirt fits him just right. They said so many silly things and just watching them punch while the huge coil arms bounce around on the screen, that was funny.

[fondsmiles]

I think, if they were to play longer games that require more investment (of time, energy, and emotions), they'll have to give themselves permission to have quiet moments, serious moments, and just learn how to entertain via reaction as opposed to humor.

But it's not really necessary to be witty all the time, sometimes I just want to watch them play a game for the pleasure of their company. It's like watching my friends play while I fall asleep next to them. It's so comforting and I don't need to laugh all the way through.

I agree with this A LOT. No question, deppy are really funny and I enjoy their senses of humour a lot, both their individual and their collective ones. The banter in their videos is always great and definitely always has me smiling.
But I do agree that they kind of seem to think that being funny is... all they can do, to say it drastically? When I know for sure that lots of people in the fandom appreciate their genuine, quiet selves just as much.
I would love for them to have a better mixture between that. If there's an emotional moment in the game, let it be. As a viewer it's nice too to get to cherish that, instead of being forced away from it into making it funny again.
This is all a bit exaggerated, I think they did allow emotional moments in some playthroughs, like in undertale for example. I just kind of wish there was a better balance between funny and a bit more serious games. But, well, also a thought I had: Being funny on the channel, have it be lighthearted bants, that's probably a lot easier for them to do. It's easy to film, an easy way to make people smile, it's not deep and complicated. Having more serious games means, in a slight way, also making themselves more vulnerable. That takes courage to do that. While I think we'd all very appreciate them for doing so, I can understand why they may be hesitant. Humour is protection too.

I also want to send a big heart out to Sims top domestic banter, great characters that they seem to love and that I definitely love by now, and I am so excited for the Evan/Dab story line. If you're lurking here pls don't quit Sims guys, my heart still needs it.

[captainspacecoat]

Good luck UK!!!! Keeping my fingers crossed for a big youth voter turnout, here's hoping Labour can scrape through!!

(also Dan's most recent like on twitter is really sweet )