Pac-Man World 2 & The High Score
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Pac-Man World 2 has a unique stance on 100% completion that hearkens back to the mentality of going for a high-score. And I adore that. But I also realized upon revisiting the game (for the millionth time) that it needs a ton of work.
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Although I must stress that these are my opinions alone, so don’t let the perspective of one person sour your mood... Here is some critique!
This is a subjective complaint more than anything else but I find that the thumbnail itself doesn’t particularly make this look like a discussion video but rather a review. However trying to implement text that would align nicely with the games logo itself may have been a challenge for you? I am not sure. I bring this up since a lot of people are fickle with YouTube content and will judge the quality and merit of a video alone from its thumbnail. Even I have avoided new channels if I find what being presented to me is visually gaudy. Now onto the actual critique!
Audio wise, you take a lot of needless pauses. Sentences that would naturally transition into one another have this abrupt delay. So I have to question: Do you record in batches or per-line? If it’s within batches, I’d understand the need to alter errors or remove pauses to breathe in. Sometimes when realigning the audio afterwards, the flow doesn’t sound as natural per-retake.
However if it’s per-sentence, you shouldn’t be structuring audio to have this much dead-air! Sure when you are editing the audio itself, a few milliseconds doesn’t appear as much in the timeline. But they add up when it’s consistently happening. If you value the viewers time, you’d condense these pauses unless they are done so for either tone or dramatic effect.
Background audio often hard-cuts into the next track and isn’t pleasant for headphone users. Assuming you are using Premier or Vegas to edit, you can have music cross-fade into one another either manually or with built in effects. I personally go for consistent power, centre cut in Premier.
In terms of editing I think you’ve unintentionally crippled yourself. At first, I did not find this video to be visually engaging at all and detrimental to your script. If you are going to critique something you need to provide evidence and context to your argument. What with this being a video, you have the visual medium to do so! You mention collectables, keys, finding allies, level design layout and more within the span of the opening minute and next to none of that was shown (A key and fruit are visible on a platform sure, but you was already heading that way in the general gameplay)
It’s only until you transition to footage of Pac-Man World 2 do you begin to consider these visual aids. If I was a general viewer, someone casually watching and not providing feedback; I’d have clicked off around two and a half minutes in because you showed the same constantly bland gameplay.
Viewer retention and maintaining interest is absurdly low with younger demographics on YouTube, the majority share percentage that watch gaming content. Last I read it was something as pathetically low as seven seconds before they’d look away. It’s partly why Vine, Tik Tok and other apps got so popular. Digestible content in a matter of seconds!
Something I’d highly suggest and encourage is that you alternate footage per-sentence or sentences, not the marathon paragraph spacing you have at points in the video. Doing so allows you maximise the use of your b-roll; alternating what the viewer engages with visually to maintain retention for miscellaneous discussion. Whereas I’d note down and feature gameplay that strengthens all of your discussion points.
I must stress this again; it was only until I’ve got into the meat, the core discussion of your video that you do begin to present a variety and visual aid to your audio. If the starter tastes like garbage, why should I stay for the main course?
Fade to blacks are a bit aburpt and longwinded. Mentioned them earlier, but both Premier and Vegas have these features built in.
Scripting is easily your primary strength and without a doubt what salvaged this video from its rough start for me. You don’t treat the viewer like an idiot, don’t pause to educate on words and all those typical video-essay bullshit trends. In fact, I’d say this is more akin to a review towards the end than a pure video-essay but that by no means is a determent. Added some additional care and attention on a game you obviously enjoy.
Beyond that, I wish you the best with future content.
