Ryon.
I mostly watch games that I cannot afford or that I might want to look into. Or a rare old game that i have not played. That might be what i am interested in.
Always glad to share! It was indeed super epic this year.
Like Nanoda, I’ve enjoyed quite a few of Scott Manley’s Kerbal Space Program videos—as tutorials, or to see different mods demonstrated before I try them, or even just to see the (sometimes mis-)adventures of the brave Kerbals under his direction.
But I also play around a little bit (and not as often as I’d like) with Orbiter 2010—like KSP, a spaceflight simulator, but set in the real world(s) and very technically accurate and exacting, and thus with a sharper learning curve. Luckily, Orbiter-user David Courtney has a wonderful series of tutorial—I’d go so far as to say educational—videos on the subject to walk you through the learning process. His Earth/Moon Free Return Trajectory using TransX video, for example, has been immensely helpful…and also, as it turns out, a great sleep aid. And don’t get me wrong, that’s a compliment—a half-hour plus video of a calm, gentle voice discussing an interesting technical subject, accompanied only by the soft drone of a spacecraft cabin’s air circulation, muted RCS puffs, engine rumbles, and the occasional Quindar tones is like curling up next to a fire on a rainy autumn evening.
On the less peaceful side, however, I’ve also found myself watching quite a few Arma videos—Arma, for those not in the know, is a “first person shooter,” but really, more like a “first person simulator.” Rather accurate and in-depth, with a massive setting and variety of combatants, with mods expanding that even further.
It’s also the basis for Day Z—originally a mod, but now in development as a stand-alone product.
There’s a single-player campaign, but it’s greater strength lay in multiplayer. Where, rather than an arena-like murderfest, scenarios can be set up in great detail with realistic military objectives. My “simulator” comment from earlier has weight here, as this is really more like many military flight sim scenarios I’ve played than a FPS…
I digress. Anyway, a number of online groups create and play scenarios with gusto, using realistic military tactics, organization, and command structure. One of the groups I’ve found myself following is Shack Tactical or “ShackTac.” That’s a link to a playlist of the first scenario I stumbled across them playing—recorded from several points of view—of a unit of UN Peacekeepers being “escorted” by PMCs on a humanitarian mission. Both units being human, but with very different operating standards. 
It’s just fascinating stuff to watch, even to someone who’s only dabbled with the game itself. I’ve seen these guys—at least a few of them even ex-military—fighting as anything from a Soviet-style mechanized company, to a tank company supported by Apaches defending against a Soviet armored push in Germany.
They’re not the only such group and, like I said, if nothing else, it’s just fascinating to see and listen to. And, with a more realistic game and setting, it really is interesting to see how much of the “action” is “hurry up and wait,” or shooting at targets far enough away to be a mere squiggle—which you may not have hit, and which may not have been present. Not exactly Rambo. Well, most of the time.
The XCOM streamer I linked to in the OP - Beaglerush - is a very active member of Shacktac and uses a Shacktac name list for his soldiers in XCOM.
The other way around for me. I sometimes watch a friend playing (especially RPG), but I’ve no interest in watching videos made by complete strangers.
Yeah, I too would almost always rather watch with someone in person, because being able to chat about it is way more fun. That said, if you’re watching a game of skill, you’re unlikely to know someone who competes at really high levels.
THAT said, if you’re watching something like Evo, watching with another person can be a lot of fun.
Well, there was once a boy I liked who’d hit the arcade after school…
I do watch others play. I do it mostly on YouTube, with the intention of learning strategy, how the boss encounter progresses, what loot drops, others’ playstyles, etc. I am not social when I play (MMO)RPGs, so on the occasions I’m curious how others have done something I want to do, this is how I find out.
The entertainment for me isn’t the people (although there is a skill to making a watchable “Let’s Play”); it is more about reliving the game I played long long ago.
Why would either of them have a pathetic life? It’s just recreation. My oldest does the videos with her friend and they seem to both have pretty happy fulfilling lives.
My 9 year old loves this family who does Roblox videos and I think it’s pretty cool to listen to them. It’s just a family having fun playing her favorite game. Nothing at all pathetic about it.
How dare you not judge people by what they have a good time doing? 
Remember kids: If it’s not a traditionally accepted way of amusing yourself, like watching your “local” champions… I mean “sports team” beat up the outsiders, then it’s a “pathetic life.” :smack:
I pretty much only watch minecraft videos on youtube. One channel because they are often quite amusing and sometimes rather inept which allows me to feel smug and the others because they sit down and figure out how some of the more complex mods work, so I don’t have to figure out for myself how to make a resource expensive reactor, I can just copy theirs.
The other LPs I watch are a group of people playing some Garry’s Mod games because they’re fun but I’m not buying Counterstrike and a mod just to play Murder.