Why it's fun to watch people play bad games. Jeff's DA stream is my favorite GB video in months. Bring on the Amico!

A lot of game commentators seem to think that viewers like watching them play bad games because we want them to suffer. That there's some sadistic joy to be had in watching someone suffer through something they don't like and get frustrated and irritable over time. I can't speak for everyone, but for me this is definitely not the case.

Watching people play bad games is fun because there's almost always more to say about them than there is to say about good games, and because, unlike with good games, I'm not spoiling something that I'd rather play myself.

I often find watching people play good games to be a pretty unsatisfying experience. For one thing they rarely have much to say that couldn't be presented better in a written review. "This feels really good to play." "This mechanic works very well and seems balanced." "Getting a great frame rate here." 'This game works well' is hard to say in interesting ways and streams of good games often lean more on the game itself and its cool visuals or interesting story or whatever. The problem with that is that if a game is good I'd rather play it than watch it. I like video games! I like to play them. I really don't need to watch other people play them, especially if they aren't saying anything interesting. You end up seeing a bunch of spoilers (both plot and mechanics) and usually not hearing that many funny or interesting things.

Compare that to a bad game. There's that ancient Tolstoy quote: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I wouldn't say all good games are alike, but most bad games are bad in fun and interesting ways. Taking Jeff's stream of Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance as an example, he starts the stream by explaining that the frame rate for the game is fine but for some reason the banner animation is intentionally very choppy. His bewilderment at this and need to repeat it over and over because he doesn't seem to quite understand why it was done that way is pretty funny. That's the kind of detail you only get in a bad game, and Jeff's reaction to it is amusing. Then as he goes on to play the game we get to experience a whole emotional journey as he grapples with its various mechanics and choices only to be confused and stymied at every turn. He stares at the weird verbiage in one of the skill trees and can't really figure out what it does. He notes serious pop in issues with the grass and then shrugs and moves on because there are bigger fish to fry. He spends a bunch of time scratching his head over the way that some random crystals "silence" his character even though his character is a burly barbarian who doesn't cast spells.

During this time what's fun is not that he's unhappy, since he actually says that the game is okay and he's having a decent time, but rather getting to share in his consternation at all these little choices and weird quirks. You identify with his confusion and search for reasons because we've all been there at various times and experienced the same feelings. Plus he's very funny. He mocks this stuff and riffs on it and it's just enjoyable to watch.

Then the video takes a turn when he jumps into the multiplayer and the game gets very bad, and the last 30 minutes or so his frustration rises and there's a whole emotional arc that's satisfying and engaging as he turns on the game. You get to see his frustration boil over and his verbal knives come out as he tears into this piece of software for not working correctly. There's the hilarious bit where he can matchmake with people but can't actually get into a mission and then when he finally does get into a mission it's the one he's just played through and it's funny and relatable. There's his momentary relationship with the other player in the game and his sense of guilt for leaving the other guy behind because he just doesn't want to play the game anymore. There's the final insult of having to abandon his loot and his attempts to figure out why that's a mechanic as the sort of cherry on top of the crap sundae that is the experience.

None of this is fun because Jeff is suffering. It's fun because it's relatable and he's funny and most of the entertainment value doesn't come from the game itself. The game serves as a vessel for Jeff's commentary and comedy. Good games are much worse at bringing out these kinds of comments and observations because it's hard to riff on something that's been done well. I'm not saying that there haven't been good Giant Bomb streams of good games, of course there have, but there's something special about watching someone like Jeff rip into a bad game. In addition, because Dark Alliance is bad there's nothing to spoil in terms of the gameplay or story. It's all added value.

Certain good games can be fun to watch for other reasons, especially ones that have high skill ceilings or endless replay value. I'm never going to play fighting games at a high level so watching fighting game masters ply their trade is also added value, and there's entertainment value in watching something be done really well. Minecraft streams can showcase endless creativity and cleverness because the game is more of a toolset to let the streamer do interesting things than something that the player passively consumes. I enjoyed Brad's Daily Dota streams because that game is impenetrable and Brad explained its mechanics and some of the characters at a level that I could comprehend. But again those are all ways that the streamers add significant value to the game, and for most games that's difficult. There are obviously exceptions, but my favorite Giant Bomb moments will always involve watching the Bombers react with bewilderment at some weird game's little quirks.

This is why I'm very excited for Giant Bomb to cover the Amico. I think it's going to be weird and full of bad decisions and I am totally here for that. It's not that I want to see all the Jeffs and Jans and Jasons of the world be miserable. It's that I want to hear them crack wise and share in their confusion and watch them mess with something I have no real interest in ever playing. That's my favorite Giant Bomb content. They committed to covering the Amico during the E3 stream and I, for one, can't wait!