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Hey all, so I am a content creator i have made content for Elderscrolls online as well as guildwars 2 and there is one really large thing i have noticed, the content creators in gw2 don't really get much love from the players of the game.... they USED too tho, as i'm going through and looking at some of the older videos from gw people had 20k 100k 200k views on videos now looking at some of the newer content creators.... excluding the ones we all really know like cellofrag, shorts, noody, and more.... people have roughly 100- maybe 2k views at most with the occasional 5-10k.

My question is why does it seem the community isn't really supportive of the content creators from the newer generation? -newer generation being like post PoF or just before PoF

I had watched a WoW stream from Azmongold and he pointed out that guildwars doesn't really seem to be involved in the community outside of the game itself, which is something i noticed as i scroll through some of the videos on youtube old/new

this is a genuine question not a troll question.

What could we as content creators do to spark interest of the community?

What is it you guys look for in a content creator?

What can we do to be better creators?

is there something that you guys expect that content creators are not really doing well of?

Thanks for all the people who take time when reading this hope it sparks some positive feedback.

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Theres very specific things that people do in game, and they aren't that interested in the stuff they dont do.

Outside of collections and walkthrough videos, open world PvE has no reason to go watch how to kill Shadow Behemoth.

sPvP and WvW are great fun, but PvP in this game isn't fun to watch from the outside.

Raid bosses might get views on how-to kills, but after a player knows the routine they have no reason to go back and watch.

Theres so many 1 and done things in game that the only real thing you can make videos on is lore that people dont know. And even that limits you to people who want to know.

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I can't speak for anyone else but in my case I have little/no interest in 'content creators' for any game I'm playing. Any time I can watch videos online of someone playing a game I could also be playing myself and I'd much rather do that than watch someone else do it. I might occasionally watch a review of a game I don't yet have to see what it's like, although even then I tend to rely on word of mouth from people I know and trust than strangers online, or written reviews where it's easier for me to pick out the bits which are relevant to me, and where I don't have to wait until it's convenient/possible for me to have the sound on.

I will watch walkthroughs if I'm completely struck on something, but then I'm even more likely to skip to the relevant bits. If I search for a walkthrough on Youtube I'll be looking for the shortest video with the least graphics spam covering the thumbnail and hoping it goes immediately into what it claims to be showing. If I click on it and it actually starts with someone stood in LA spinning the camera around their character while they go on about what was in the last "episode" or comments on their Youtube channel the only reason I'll stick with it is because I already know there are no better options. Then I'll make 2 or 3 attempts to skip ahead to the actual walkthrough and if I can't find it I'll shut the video off and find another option.

So if someone genuinely wanted to make better videos for me the answer is to make short videos on one specific subject with an absolutely minimum of chatter on any other subject. Ideally with key points subtitled so I can watch them with the sound turned off. But I suspect that just means I'm not the target audience for any 'content creator' and not worth attempting to cater to.

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At the moment of this post, The Elder Scrolls Online has 19.7k viewers on Twitch while Guild Wars 2 has 818, that's a massive difference. This shows that TESO has more content that people want to watch than GW2 (note: nothing about their popularity or playerbase) The GW2 community doesn't want to watch someone else play the game, they want to play the game themselves. Obviously the latest ESO expansion launched (or is launching?) recently so that's why it gets so many views.

As for content people enjoy watching, I guess the most popular videos (outside tutorials and guides) are let's plays of the latest episodes. Arenanet has partners that stream and play the latest episodes as they are released and those gather some more attention, from those that want a preview of what's in the latest episode or those that cannot log and play the game for whatever reason but have access to the internet. Plus it's sometimes fun to watch a streamer fail while trying new content or react to reveals and intense scenes.

The game isn't really built for watching.

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I only go looking for a video when a text/pictures guide doesn't work for me. Stuff like jumping puzzles, achievements, etc. Maybe a build, but watching someone play on a video doesn't really help me too much if I'm not already familiar with the skills being used. Plus, there's too much distraction in the video to track what skills are being used and when -- at least for me.

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Gw2-Gameplayvideos are not interessting to watch, since it only shows things I prefer to experience myself. I really like to watch videos about things that are related to Gw2 but cannot be experienced ingame like diskussions, conspiracy theories, alternative endings, fan art, ...Though this kind of content(when it's well done) takes a lot more effort than a gameplayvideo or a guide, so they're pretty rare and difficult to find...

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What could we as content creators do to spark interest of the community?Do something that isn't already done better by someone else. If you have to ask what you have to do, you probably wont make it, though.

What is it you guys look for in a content creator?I look for content, not "content creators"

What can we do to be better creators?Create better content?

is there something that you guys expect that content creators are not really doing well of?I don't expect anything from "content creator" other than actually useful and properly presented content.

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As others have stated, the game is much better played than observed which is why the most popular content falls under two categories:

  • Guides: Direct content walkthroughs with no introduction from the creator, visual guides like maps and screenshots (Dulfy does this well), videos showing time-efficient routes for map completion, node gathering, manual gold farming, and other objectives.
  • Nuance: Comedic playthroughs of content with artificial limiters (everyone must use the same armor/weapon, no mounts allowed, etc.), collections of NPC dialogue and interactions that are uncommon or rare that many players might not even know about, studies of lore with examples from both GW1 and GW2 to support the ideas just to name a few.

The goal here is to provide concise tactics or easy access to things a player won't casually run into in the course of playing. Guides and lore videos of raid content, for example, are a good look at both categories.

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What kind of content are you creating and how would it be implemented into the game? I know people who have created stuff for games as mods, which could actually be used by other players. But GW2 does not support content creation, so I guess your journey ends here.

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@"Faaris.8013" said:What kind of content are you creating and how would it be implemented into the game? I know people who have created stuff for games as mods, which could actually be used by other players. But GW2 does not support content creation, so I guess your journey ends here.

most of what i have made so far are game play montages, which from what it seems is in itself why they dont get as much love, so far a lot of points have been made that i didnt really think of :) im glad i made this post and look forward to seeing more of what people have to say, i feel like "wooden potatoes" has really dont what most of the above comments really has done, not much for me to do on lore etc due to this i dont think my content will end with this discussion but it may not be as much for guildwars "some still of course" thank you guys all for the input i think i learned a lot from it :)! you all are great! :D

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One can only speculate, but I can think of a couple reasons.

It could be that this game's visual style is not very stream-friendly. Too fast, with too many flashy visuals, resulting in a clutter of lights and colors. Not the best for an observer trying to follow the action.

The second would be this game's primary audience. Most streamers tend to focus on the competitive/hardcore side of MMOs, while this game's playerbase is mostly into casual pve. So, while a streamer/youtuber could find audience among this game's raid or pvp crowd, it probably won't be as large as in other MMOs.

It's also possible that ESO is a more popular mmo at the moment. Although I doubt that would be the sole reason for that big of a difference in viewers, as the one described here. It's probably a combination of factors.

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Here's a few things I've noticed, regarding GW2's "creator" community:

-I haven't seen any quality PvP casting videos since TotalBiscuit played in the Beta.-I haven't seen a single high-quality RP, either comedic or dramatic. Well-edited, and often well-choreographed ones, certainly, but still heavily lacking in acting and storyboard. ("Why, oh why can't anyone see how much angst I'm feeling because of how great I am?" ugh...)-Lore videos are all well and good, but that niche is already full by the likes of WoodenPotatoes. By all means do try, but be prepared for heavy competition.-Fan art collection galleries, again, is all well and good, but this time you're competing directly with the Guild Wars 2 channel. It might be more mutually beneficial working on a freelance deal, where they buy your collection videos to feature on their shows, like Guild Chat.-GW 2 Raid/Dungeon videos are just as boring as other games' raid videos, and not even live streamers have bothered trying to make raiding look interesting or fun. I'm not saying it can't be done, merely that it hasn't.-Fan-made content has seen a significant decline since the collapse of GuildMag, and organizing a new collective may be necessary.

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@Faaris.8013 said:What kind of content are you creating and how would it be implemented into the game? I know people who have created stuff for games as mods, which could actually be used by other players. But GW2 does not support content creation, so I guess your journey ends here.

Content isn't just stuff to add to the games, they're referring to videos and/or streamers who make videos or stream, which creates communities and brings attention to the game for more people to be drawn to it. This is why more games offer rewards through Twitch Prime and pay streamers/youtubers to stream/create videos of their games. These people are considered content creators as streams/videos are content.

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i am a hobby game designer since i was 16 and i could tell you why from my perspective, it's quite simple really.

Anet used to be the pinnacle of new ideas, even their first few trailers were movie worthy.However, that boat has sailed long ago, they broke promises and made the game more and more for the long term grinders.now you might think this has nothing to do with their trailers but, just think about who would watch the trailers.exactly, the very same players that normally wait with anticipation for the new update moved on to other games, games worth their time.you can't exactly run a game when players start to turn their back on you, the same goes for content creators,, you need ppl to watch them in order to appreciate them.

i personally think that they are getting better at in-game scenarios but their trailers and videos are on quite a quality decline, that's one thing they really need to do something about.think of it this way, if that same company that betrayed you shows a commercial, you're more likely to throw a fit or zap to a different channel rather then watch it all out.

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Build videos,tips for each class etc for pvp and pve modes were the vids I mostly watched as their helpful anytime a player starts a new toon or the game in general. Like every one said watching gameplay gets boring fast in this game. If combat was more strategic based and not power crept spam fest i think gw2 combat could have been fun to watch.

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I think the problem is how te content is made and what content you choose.For example if you choose to make a video about a guide how would you do it?Most of the people just show the build and do the rota in the golem with music and they dont talk.If you want to catch attention you need to talk to entertain .Im not learning how a build works watching a sc video i have to read the rota and put the video in slow mode so if you explained the build , give tips and even make off meta build tries ,being friendly and honest,you would surely catch more attencion .For pve and wvw its the same .Dont rush to action take things calmly and show the content bit by bit ,yes you could do a video in 10 min but you can make it 20 min go slower and entertain more.Thats what you want entertain and show the gameSo to sum up go slower enjoy making the video and interact with your viewers.Good luck.

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I don't watch a lot of YouTube videos about Guild Wars to be honest.I've tried at the beginning to look at some tips videos from some of the most known content creators in the Guild Wars community but one thing that made me stop is that they tend to stretch the videos as much as they can.And you end up watching a 20 minutes video that could should be 5 to 10 minutes long.

I quickly switched to articles as it's much faster and easier to get the informations you need.

As for just watching gameplay? Well, I find little to no interest in watching someone else playing a game I own honestly.

Maybe there's also the fact that Guild Wars 2 is free (at least the base game). So if a new player watch a video and find it interesting, he can just go play himself and doesn't really have any reason to watch any other videos.

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As a beginner I run away from walk through videos and the wiki, because I want to explore and discover.Competitive game play videos are generally only mildly interesting, often incomprehensible to me (as a beginner, again), unless the authors talk over it and explain what they and the other players are doing and why - not "using skill 4 because cool" but rather "anticipating X to attack Y and get cooldown on ability Z, so positioning at A to LoS and... etc..."I'm a sucker for parody videos though, they help relieve the frustrations :PHTH

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I used to watch at least one content creator regularly and I stopped because, well, honestly their content stopped being worth watching. It was like they stopped putting any effort into what they made.

There is a lack of quality content creators for GW2. What we need is just more people going out there and making content about the game and people sharing that content.

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@Mewcifer.5198 said:I used to watch at least one content creator regularly and I stopped because, well, honestly their content stopped being worth watching. It was like they stopped putting any effort into what they made.

There is a lack of quality content creators for GW2. What we need is just more people going out there and making content about the game and people sharing that content.

Same here, I used to watch WP, but some time after PoF he just started to feel disconnected from the franchise.

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@Faaris.8013 said:What kind of content are you creating and how would it be implemented into the game? I know people who have created stuff for games as mods, which could actually be used by other players. But GW2 does not support content creation, so I guess your journey ends here.

Content creators is a term used by sites like Twitch and Youtube to refer to their users - the people who create the content other users go there to see. It's relevant to their business model because a website which doesn't produce any of it's own content was fairly unusual before social media came along (which wasn't that long ago, even in tech terms).

For some reason it's caught on as a general term for people who make fan videos, online fan art and similar things - but they're still creating content for 3rd party sites, not for the game itself.

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I mostly watch WoodenPotatoes, WorldofEnders (Bootts), Nike and Deroir because they produce good, entertaining videos. WP produces excellent videos on a wide variety of subjects the others normally bring out good build guides.

I used to watch others but most of them stopped producing videos over the years or moved onto other games for one reason or another some probably still stream but I'm not that interested in streaming TBH.

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I don’t watch any content creators for video games, bar one. I only watch this person (YouTube, so not streamed) when he plays Indy games for his hilarious commentary, so it’s not actually the gameplay I’m watching for. I’d much rather play games myself than watch somebody play.

So, basically, comedy will make me watch.

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I've done research for my own business purposes on this topic and generally content comes down to a few key varieties:

  1. Humorous
  2. Highly competitive best in class play
  3. Instructional - guides, walk through videos. Showing people how to complete some task
  4. Entertaining - Huge category with a number of variables

Factor in age of the player base in a game. Gender split. Life cycle of the game and overall fan base on something like YouTube or Twitch. Even specific Anet streams for their own content don't generate a ton of views. So I think you've got some angles you could potentially explore but its going to be a struggle to get noticed. As others have said I'd watch a themed event, something with heavy good or comedic role play. Gotta have an original angle that isn't already being covered too. Good luck!

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