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(I figured this applied in a general sense and so felt it belonged here, Mods feel free to move it if it belongs somewhere else)

For a battle report of a tabletop wargame(any kind), what is your preferred report format.


Turn Recap: This is where you just have a brief description of what happened over the course of the previous turn covering the different phases.

Live coverage: This is where you actually have the camera rolling for the entire battlereport. Tends to be longer then the Recap. The boring parts are usually edited out so only the actual action moves make it in.

Slideshow: This is where the "video" is just a series of still photos usually accompanied by a narration of what was happening. I personally dislike this type because its made after the fact and little details can get missed.

Other: Got a different format? Please share.

Well in terms of absolute preference I love those turn by turn battle reports with visual / sound effects where you don't see the players at all. Not many have the patience or skill to put one together though...

I prefer turn recap. Live coverage tends to drag on for me.

I definitely prefer the turn recap. Watching the entire battle and dice rolling (and arguing over rules, as is inevitable) can be really tedious. For key movements or rolls, showing those is great, but for 90% of a battle or moving that Ork horde, skip it.

I'd also suggest to use subtitles for any narration. Some of us browse Dakka during slow moments at work, and we don't have the ability to turn on the sound.

Stills set to music with text going over the key points. I find BatReps with anyone talking to be annoying. The best ones I've seen just put in dramatic and thematic music with lots of well-taken photos. The best ones even have animations and sound effects.

H.B.M.C. wrote:Stills set to music with text going over the key points. I find BatReps with anyone talking to be annoying. The best ones I've seen just put in dramatic and thematic music with lots of well-taken photos. The best ones even have animations and sound effects.

Yeah. The 10s of seconds of awkward pause as people think, look over the rules, or converse is just a huge waste of the watchee's time. The constant din of people talking in the background if its at a tournament is annoying as hell. I am not going to spend 2 hours watching a battle report of your game that took 2 hours.

H.B.M.C. wrote:Stills set to music with text going over the key points. I find BatReps with anyone talking to be annoying. The best ones I've seen just put in dramatic and thematic music with lots of well-taken photos. The best ones even have animations and sound effects.

^This.

Like an animated Vassal top-down view.

H.B.M.C. wrote:Stills set to music with text going over the key points. I find BatReps with anyone talking to be annoying. The best ones I've seen just put in dramatic and thematic music with lots of well-taken photos. The best ones even have animations and sound effects.

I agree. Not many people are gifted in verbal communication and I really do not want to see the stereotypical gamer explain themselves over the interwebs. I start coughing and twitching seeing some of the people in those battle reports, especially when they start to speak.

A good battle report with still shots works for me.

Other.

Not a video battle report. For the most part, I can't stand the video reports. A good pic and word battle report is far superior to a video one for so many reasons.

I know its an increasing trend, but I have yet to enjoy a video report.

To answer the question, if I'm going to watch one, a turn recap with some pics showing movement and what-not.

Blacksails wrote:Other.

Not a video battle report.

Likewise.

I'm not going to watch a video for a battle report. An article that I can read at my own pace is the way to go.

I don't watch videos of battle reports, or product reviews/previews, or tournament coverage, or or any of the other myriad things that people seem obsessed with creating videos for when a simple text article with some accompanying pictures will generally do the job better and in a more viewer-friendly (and less painful) manner.

My absolute favourite type is the one where the person recording is intelligent enough to know they suck at holding a camera. Everyone does, everyone.

There is no replacement for a mounted camera. Be it a tripod or a stack of books and a piece of tape, it's immeasurably better then holding the camera in your hands.

TBH the vast majority are unappealing and unwatchable for a number of reasons.

Waving a shakey camera about for the entire game is taxing and pointless, yet people do it over and over...


The guys playing shouldnt be doing any of the camera work, and if you don't have at least two cameras and access to video editing software: don't bother.