16 thoughts on “Do you need video games in your background? | Do Gaming YouTubers Need a large collection?”
Let me preface by saying, this is not a personal attack against ALL those who collect video games, nor is it personal attack against people who do have huge stacks of games in the background . This is a question people don’t ask nearly enough, and it’s one that requires personal reflection. This is a slight at everyone who is an elitist though, and it’s definitely a slap in the face to all the people who think you’re not one of the cool kids if you don’t have game A ,B, or C in your collection. My goal with this video is to encourage people who are thinking about starting a gaming YouTube channel or are just starting out to not feel intimidated by all the channels they see with huge shelves of games in the background. Youtube is a big place and there’s so many underserved audiences that are looking for content that people just haven’t made yet. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there , and you should be the focal point, not the background. Youtube is a journey.
Scott the Woz doesn’t have eff tons of games in his background , and is still doing okay on YouTube . You might be onto something there. I will say though Scott’s background is much better than yours, you need to paint that wall a glorious royal blue, or maybe periwinkle, and really utilize that red rotary phone of yours .
its funny, because i am transitioning away from that right now! you're exactly right, when i started, I saw all the "big guys", with a wall'o'games and i figured i needed to have craploads of stuff behind me to look legit. now I'm actually covering up my bookshelves with a green screen, or other backgrounds in a lot of my videos to go for a more clean look like spawnwave style. you're bang on about the lighting, it took me over a year of experimenting and watching lighting videos, and i probably spend well over a grand on semi-professional lights, and i still couldn't get the lighting to look good with all that clutter in the background until just a couple of months ago. having a simple, clean background, like woodgrain, or bricks, and then maybe you have one little table or shelf with 3 or 4 games that are related to your video is so much easier to control, and so much more pleasing to the eye. and i think, once you have been doing this for a while, and build up your confidence, you dont need the crutch of the wall'o'games anymore
I do not have a giant wall of video games in my game room. I have a few shelves of games and most of the games I store in the closet and it makes the room look nicer. I actually prefer to use my shelves for other things like Funko Pops, VHS tapes, DVDs, books, and only use some of the space for games, mostly disc based games. I buy games to play them not to display them. I think I have even more knowledge of the games than the average person or many of the people who just have games to display them.
I agree, you don't need to have a background with video games in it at all to be legit, you just need your voice to say what you want to say. Let your discussions be the judge.
I used to have the generic wall O' games behind me..I mean it was just my collection on shelves and it looked better than a blank wall. But EVERYONE had basically the same background. I put all my games in my closet lol and it gave me so much more room to put out the stuff I care about
Boils down to aesthetic. When I first started making videos I made them in my game room. Where my games are. Made sense to shoot in front of the games. Now that I've learned more about filming, I don't shoot in front of a wall of video games mostly because of the reflection but also because of the clashing colors. Now my background is my accent wall with shelves of gaming related stuff. The background is all bokeh anyway so it's not that important.
If I ever dared put myself on camera I would either be sitting in front of a drum kit (my wifes) or a book case fill of paperback fantasy novels. Neither seems appropriate.
As ever the discussion is what rules, not the setting.
Tbh, I'd rather just see posters and what not in the background. Sure the background of games is a nice way to establish who you are in a subtle way, but I think the wall of games is a bit overdone and cliche at this point.
Initial question – absolutely not needed in any way. My filming videos in front of a shelf has nothing to do with anything besides it made the most sense for my filming location and I liked the aesthetic. Hell, most of my videos can be listened to versus watching – though I do show footage of what I'm talking about.
I think a lot of us all think of James Rolfe when it comes to this, and initially everyone felt like it was necessary to 'fit in' as a YouTuber. Over the years that sense has definitely faded. Great topic bro!
I think it does make for a pleasant backdrop, and does grab the attention of the viewers. I kind of found it more fun to switch out certain game figures on my desk to keep it fresh. Plus I don't trust the acoustics of my living room, where my game shelves live lol
Let me preface by saying, this is not a personal attack against ALL those who collect video games, nor is it personal attack against people who do have huge stacks of games in the background . This is a question people don’t ask nearly enough, and it’s one that requires personal reflection. This is a slight at everyone who is an elitist though, and it’s definitely a slap in the face to all the people who think you’re not one of the cool kids if you don’t have game A ,B, or C in your collection. My goal with this video is to encourage people who are thinking about starting a gaming YouTube channel or are just starting out to not feel intimidated by all the channels they see with huge shelves of games in the background. Youtube is a big place and there’s so many underserved audiences that are looking for content that people just haven’t made yet. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there , and you should be the focal point, not the background. Youtube is a journey.
Scott the Woz doesn’t have eff tons of games in his background , and is still doing okay on YouTube . You might be onto something there. I will say though Scott’s background is much better than yours, you need to paint that wall a glorious royal blue, or maybe periwinkle, and really utilize that red rotary phone of yours .
Games or video game statues makes you legitimate. But not video game plush dolls.
its funny, because i am transitioning away from that right now! you're exactly right, when i started, I saw all the "big guys", with a wall'o'games and i figured i needed to have craploads of stuff behind me to look legit. now I'm actually covering up my bookshelves with a green screen, or other backgrounds in a lot of my videos to go for a more clean look like spawnwave style. you're bang on about the lighting, it took me over a year of experimenting and watching lighting videos, and i probably spend well over a grand on semi-professional lights, and i still couldn't get the lighting to look good with all that clutter in the background until just a couple of months ago. having a simple, clean background, like woodgrain, or bricks, and then maybe you have one little table or shelf with 3 or 4 games that are related to your video is so much easier to control, and so much more pleasing to the eye. and i think, once you have been doing this for a while, and build up your confidence, you dont need the crutch of the wall'o'games anymore
I do not have a giant wall of video games in my game room. I have a few shelves of games and most of the games I store in the closet and it makes the room look nicer. I actually prefer to use my shelves for other things like Funko Pops, VHS tapes, DVDs, books, and only use some of the space for games, mostly disc based games. I buy games to play them not to display them. I think I have even more knowledge of the games than the average person or many of the people who just have games to display them.
I agree, you don't need to have a background with video games in it at all to be legit, you just need your voice to say what you want to say. Let your discussions be the judge.
I used to have the generic wall O' games behind me..I mean it was just my collection on shelves and it looked better than a blank wall. But EVERYONE had basically the same background. I put all my games in my closet lol and it gave me so much more room to put out the stuff I care about
PK was a real gamer from 3:02 to 3:05
I’ll cherish those moments
Boils down to aesthetic. When I first started making videos I made them in my game room. Where my games are. Made sense to shoot in front of the games. Now that I've learned more about filming, I don't shoot in front of a wall of video games mostly because of the reflection but also because of the clashing colors. Now my background is my accent wall with shelves of gaming related stuff. The background is all bokeh anyway so it's not that important.
Me is the way put my room, no matterin what part i record you will see the games lol. But younreally dont need that in the background.
If I ever dared put myself on camera I would either be sitting in front of a drum kit (my wifes) or a book case fill of paperback fantasy novels. Neither seems appropriate.
As ever the discussion is what rules, not the setting.
Tbh, I'd rather just see posters and what not in the background. Sure the background of games is a nice way to establish who you are in a subtle way, but I think the wall of games is a bit overdone and cliche at this point.
So glad I found this channel, keep making great content! BTW Im planning to shout you out in a video soon…
Initial question – absolutely not needed in any way. My filming videos in front of a shelf has nothing to do with anything besides it made the most sense for my filming location and I liked the aesthetic. Hell, most of my videos can be listened to versus watching – though I do show footage of what I'm talking about.
I think a lot of us all think of James Rolfe when it comes to this, and initially everyone felt like it was necessary to 'fit in' as a YouTuber. Over the years that sense has definitely faded. Great topic bro!
I think it does make for a pleasant backdrop, and does grab the attention of the viewers. I kind of found it more fun to switch out certain game figures on my desk to keep it fresh. Plus I don't trust the acoustics of my living room, where my game shelves live lol