“Definitive playthrough”: Behind-the-scenes narratives in let’s plays and streaming content by video game voice actors

Abstract

Commented gameplay video is an established form of online media content, attracting millions of viewers on YouTube and Twitch and usually created by fans and players. This article, however, brings attention to video game voice actors who use their involvement in game production to create a new genre of gameplay video. Using a mixed-method approach that combines quantitative content analysis and qualitative thematic analysis, we explore three case studies of successful channels run by video game actors. We find that this new genre, which we term “definitive playthrough videos” based on the label used by one of the analyzed channels, is a hybrid form at the intersection of variety streaming and behind-the-scenes narratives. By broadcasting games in which they performed, actors capitalize on their connection to in-game characters, firsthand knowledge of production trivia, and access to other industry insiders, repurposing a genre of user-generated content from the position of industry practitioners.