Should Jeff continue to use his video overlays?

I liked the one that had rotating game covers because some of the art was really great. The new ones were fun at first and while I’m not like slapping my sides laughing when I see them they have become a part of Jeff’s streaming identity so they almost bleed into the background for me.

Who here is going to tell Jeff Gerstmann how to do the video games?

I need to know what cops can see

It reminds me of old days internet and I like it.

The man personifies himself via the very layout of his stream. Does a goose really need all those feathers? And yet there they are.

Needs a bit more imo.

I personally find the overuse of the soundboard more obnoxious, but I wouldn't mind a slight backtrack on the overlay either. There was a bit at the bottom of the C&C stream that was legitimately distracting - I thought there was some graphical glitch at the bottom of his screen. It took me halfway through the QL to realize that was just some weird overlay thing instead.

I hope they keep getting bigger and bigger until the gameplay window is the size of a postage stamp.

the change to the layout is how I tell the days apart, as he was adding something here and there. I need them like a sundial.

Whenever he's done the home streams, they'll be there.

I've never found them distracting, but then again, I'm the sort of person who never watches anything fullscreen either, so I'm used to seeing a bunch of crap around whatever I'm watching. I don't really understand how some people could dislike them to the point of avoiding Jeff's content (I've seen a couple of comments to that effect).

Anyway, I like Jeff's overlays, and I hope he keeps doing things the way he wants to.

I don't think he should use them for Quick Looks, because a Quick Look has a format to be adhered to. There have to be standards!

That said, I don't consider any solo stream to be a real Quick Look anyway. So I'm unhappy with all of this.

Note: I am not actually unhappy with all of this

The Zone is not big enough. My only actual criticism for the folks is that Vinny's cam is so tiny I forget it's even there. He needs to pump that baby up.

It's fine, I dunno. I prefer the simple rotating box art ones but it kind of falls into the background after a few minutes, anyway.

Granted, I stopped watching solo streams a while back so I don't know how intense it's gotten nowadays.

in short- yes. jeff knows what he's doing.

and personally i think it's great.

I mean, for the most part, he is playing old sega arcade games and stuff like Command and Conquer. They don't need full screen and it seems appropriate to me

There is a time to be outside the crowd, and outside what people think ir 'correct'. I like Jeff's overlays, because they give THAT conetent a unique look & feel. I think what pisses peopel off is he doesn't not conform to "streamer norms" of just having a postage stamp sized view of his talking head in the corner.

Jeff's stream is busy, colorful, and overlayed. Jeff's asstheic for his retro game stream is like Japanes advertising...bold.

The staff don't listen to any feedback, EVER, so don't expect it to go away anytime soon

Drop it!

D-d-d-d-drop it!

@cornfed40: You're back!

Still images cause ghosting on my tv, so Jeff's streams tend to hit worse than raw footage or even camera shots. Otherwise I wouldn't have an issue.

Jeff streams for freedom. Let your freaky overlay flag fly, Jeff!

The Jeff Gerstmann Brand is all about Stupid Bullshit delivered with honesty, integrity and sincerity.

We must preserve the Jeff dot zone

Jeff generally plays a lot of games in 4:3. It makes total sense for him to have overlays to cover up the real estate. Do they need to be so garish styyyylish? No, but anything to keep that man sane.

They're way too busy for me. I'd be more okay with them if they weren't animated, but I'm still not a fan.

That said, I can't really say I don't watch his streams because of them. He often plays games I'm not that interested in, and I've always preferred groups to solo streams. I watched his MK and C&C QLs despite the overlays.

Rorie needs to shut this thread down now. If anything there needs to be more overlay.

I really don't like them. Some of the discreet overlays like the cycling video game box covers is the level that I can deal with, but anything animated or too loud or busy just tilts me in a way that I find hard to articulate. Plus I miss a ton of streams due to timezones and sleeping and stuff and I feel like I only ever get 10% of the jokes that are in the overlay - I'm sure that with some of them there's nothing to get, they're just stupid jokes that Jeff likes, but I don't care for the whole aesthetic. It's not bad enough that I would refuse to watch a Jeff stream if I was interested in the game he was playing, but it does agitate me more than it probably should.

Jeff should do whatever he feels happiest and most comfortable with, and the poll is currently 80% in favour of keeping the dumb overlay shit, so I'm not going to argue for it being removed/extremely toned down to placate myself and the 20%. Just wanted to express how it affects my enjoyment of the content.

I also feel that the soundboard has crossed the Rubicon of parody and entered the realm of un-ironic obnoxiousness. You are now free to call me a party pooper and fuddy-duddy for my opinions.

We have yet to reach peak Jeff.

@conmulligan: like a lot of people should, I took a break and thought some things through. Peoples message often gets lost in their way of expressing it, and I'm just as guilty as anyone. This is BrokeBackBomb, I just cant quit it.

@cornfed40: I was just messing around, but I hear ya.

Yes but not on quick looks.

The Undertaker has picked up the twisty rockets.

I love it. It's exactly the kind of thing that drew me to this site all those years ago.

I love it, it reminds me of fun and i like fun.

100%. My boyfriend walked in on one of his streams and was wondering why his video feed was covered in smoke for 90% of the time. He watches a lot of twitch streamers, and yet the irony is lost on him.

Looking forward to the point where the game feed is 2x2 pixels.

I dunno. I voted yes because the overlays don't really affect much, but they're not actively funny or interesting either. "Live you best life in the nude" is worth a smirk once. Jeff's whole pandemic persona is starting to remind me of the post-ironic weirdness that made You're Gonna Finish It or Kingdom Heartache a chore to watch. There's no joke, it's just being visually noisy for the sake of it.

Like, the soundboard. Going "ooo-wah-ah-ah-ah" once while playing a retro game is funny because there's a clear juxtaposition between the quaintness of old games versus nu-metal screaming. Going "ooo-wah-ah-ah-ah" fifty-seven times in a row, followed up by a random smattering of other similar noises in such rapid succession that no single clip has the chance to play fully multiple times in one stream is no longer a joke. Or if it is, the joke is that it's so not funny that it becomes funny? In reality it's just not funny.

Jeff's fascination with bad shit has been amusing to watch over the years because there's a fascination in seeing something done poorly and seeing it very thoroughly. It has been markedly less fascinating to watch Jeff do what amounts to an actor purposefully acting poorly.

Jeff should do what he likes. End of story.

For fucks sake, let the man have his fun. I really, really hope he doesnt stop doing things the way he wants to because of a minority of the audience moaning about it.

Never. Question. The Overlay.

I dig graphic equalizer

I liked it to a point, but I feel that point was passed with that Command & Conquer one. It's getting too close to taking up 50% of the screen real estate for me.

They’ve become my main news source

Jeff's streams are the aesthetic I expect from the dystopia of the year 2020. They just feel right. We are in the future man. I need the audio visual stimulation.

I think Jeff should do what he wants to do, because he is a person who is capable of making choices and doing things all on his own.

Jeff's overlay should be an option in the video player for all videos on this site.

The game stream should be smaller.

I don't really get the joke. All things being equal I'd rather just have the game fill the screen. Makes sense if you're playing an old game in 4:3, but otherwise, maybe save it for something else.

I love them, but I also have to be honest I feel like the core group has been pretty invisible for me the past month or so. Is a lot of their stuff not making it to the site from Youtube/Twitch? The only stuff I'm aware of Jeff doing is an occasional Mario stream, a couple Quick Looks, the SEGA birthday party and joining in on Minecraft whereas I feel like Abby, Alex and Jan have been absolutely carrying the website with an assist from Jason and the Astroneer streams. Which I guess is a long way of saying, when the Jeff overlays are around, for me it just says, "finally, some Jeff!"

(I do agree that they're probably inappropriate for Quick Looks in the sense that those are somewhat archival/informational videos, but they also add an undeniable we did this while that was going on vibe I can appreciate.)