I will come out and admit that I do not know much about the Let’s Play culture. How recording a playthrough of a game, with commentary, is somehow legal. Ryan Green of That Dragon, Cancer fame wrote a piece titled “On Let’s Plays“. I’m surprised by the feedback the piece has received. Some gamers seeing it as an attack on their creative rights.
“However, for a short, relatively linear experience like ours, for millions of viewers, Let’s Play recordings of our content satisfy their interest and they never go on to interact with the game in the personal way that we intended for it to be experienced.”
That Dragon, Cancer is a short experience. Maybe an hour and a half to two hours worth of content. Having the entire game ready to view online seems like theft. As would be posting the entirety of a piece of literature to read.
I understand that there are free advertising and entertainment factors to consider. But at what point are such videos infringing upon the rights of the developers/creators?
The film industry would be dropping legal suits like they were hot if this was happening with movies. The television industry, the same. I don’t want a Bill Watterson moment to happen here. A moment where the creator steps away so that his intellectual property’s soul isn’t sold… or in this case, stolen.
Our modern drive for wanting everything free and on demand is going to cost us. I hope that Ryan’s “On Let’s Plays” piece opens up a much needed discussion.
JohnnyBGamer 