I've made this thread a few times over the years.

If trpg wants to expand outside of its small fan/consumer base, you've got to stop making Actual Plays and start making SHOWS.

Let's talk about it.

Actual Plays were a sensical piece of the progression of streamed gaming. Ttrpgs can bring you into a group of players and replicate the feeling you get from playing ttrpgs yourself. That's great for what it is, but the trpg style of okay doesnt mesh with a show format w/o update

Some major cons:
-Duration. 3 or 4 hours is much longer than even a film let alone an episode of ANYTHING else.

-Downtime. A lot of that 4 hours is dead air, uhms, extended decision making.

-Unedited. The raw nature means less control over the highs and lows.

Even CR, the most popular Actual Play in the world, suffers because missing two episodes means having to catch up with 7-8 hours of video.

I dont know how many people I've heard give up on a season because of this issue, but it's been a lot.

It's also makes CR hard to begin.

Meanwhile, for people who know nothing of ttrpgs, nothing of the rules, and nothing of this style of programming, most APs are boring.

Not because the content is "bad" or people arent playing well. Largely because the interesting information isnt presented easily enough.

While television is the devil, it's an old, refined demon. Shows both long and short form are produced in a manner that maintains focus and hooks viewers. How? Through sound design, set design, color coordination, editing, post production, narrative control, and on and on.

I think this translates to Actual Plays as having a nice twitch overlay, high mic quality, and decent cameras. And if you JUST WANT TO BE AN ACTUAL PLAY THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT AT ALL. There's a market for it.

But if you're aiming to expand outward, this is relevant.

I'll use Dimension 20 as a point of reference because it does a ton of this all extremely well, and the lack of Actual Play formula is a big part of its success.

BUT. BIG BUT. It cannot be overstated how money plays a factor here. D20 has bank few others do.

But outside of how money can increase the -quality- of production, the -format and focus- is accessible.

Shorter, edited episodes. Post production like sound design and visuals. And a big one that I think trpg folk feel is taboo, scripting.

Scripting, writing out a season, doesnt clog or prevent improvisation. It places a sandbox for players to work within, but as a production those players are actors who know where the boundaries are laid. No player knows what's going to happen next, but they're on the same page.

There's still room for change and development, and it's talked about with relevant crew (if some things need to be private or secret, narratively), and worked into the story just like in a private trpg.

Themes are be targeted and focused without removing spontaneous development.

All of this aligns with what makes ttrpgs great and unique while moving away from static talking heads and the occasional map website.

It's normal to many of us but foreign to potentially interested parties. Viewers, or even potential investors, cant see what we see.

It's considering how people in general consume media more than is done currently. Podcasts used to be just like APs not long ago before shifting to edited productions running at shorter run times.

Shorter seasons. Approachable numbers with several entry points.

While the bank isnt there, the -style- is achievable. It doesnt sacrifice the uniqueness of ttrpgs, at least I dont think so. Seeing D20 (and others) do so well is a sign of the potential.

With the power of indie developer creativity, there could be significant new attention.

I dont have any stake in this, it's just my opinion. I am often a "here's how things could be better" person who goes to work on making that happen, but I'm just spittin thoughts this time around. It's what I'd like to see in the future, but it's not a critique of anyone specific