Publishing lessons

When I released my first game I tried to watch every video that was made, I wanted to see what was being said, learn from feedback, and get quotes to share. Over the years I’ve continued to watch videos but now it would take thousands of hours to watch them all and I simply don’t have the time.

So, I’ve started using ChatGPT to help me by getting it to watch videos on my behalf and summarise back what is being said.

Here’s how it works

First, go to the video on YouTube and next to the like and share buttons you will see three dots, click on them and select show transcript.

At the top of the transcript you’ll see three more dots which you can click to toggle the timestamps, you’ll want to switch them off.

Now have the entire transcript as generated by YouTube for subtitles, it won’t be perfect but it is good enough for our purposes.

Next I open ChatGPT and start a conversation by saying:

I am going to provide you with a transcript from a video and then ask you some questions. The transcript is as follows:

Copy and paste the entire transcript from YouTube here.

You can now query ChatGPT on the video, for example I like to ask:

Can you please summarise this video in 1 paragraph?

To which it responded:

In this video review, Tom Vasel introduces and reviews "The Isle of Cats," a board game that incorporates tetris-style shapes and the theme of rescuing cats. Players aim to create families of three or more cats of the same color on their ship's board, earning points based on the number of cat families created. The game involves drafting cards, placing cats strategically, exploring and collecting treasure, and utilizing special abilities. Tom praises the game's components, artwork, and gameplay mechanics, predicting that it will be highly popular. He concludes that "The Isle of Cats" is an excellent and engaging game

I also asked:

Assuming 1 is bad and 10 is good, how do you think Tom would score the game out of 10 based on this transcript?

To which is responded:

Based on the provided transcript, it is difficult to determine the exact score Tom Vasel would give to "The Isle of Cats" on a scale of 1 to 10. However, based on the positive comments about the components, artwork, and gameplay mechanics, as well as the prediction of high popularity, it suggests that Tom would likely rate the game quite positively. It is reasonable to assume he might give it a score above average, possibly in the range of 7 to 9 out of 10.

This is great for getting a quick feel on how the reviewer has perceived the game. But this is just the beginning, there are many other questions we can ask about the video and other types of videos we can use.

I repeated the process with my How to Play video for Race to the Raft, first asking for a summary of the video:

In the video, Frank from the City of Games introduces the game "Race to the Raft." It is a cooperative game where players take on the role of island cats trying to reach a raft before being trapped by flames. The game consists of 81 scenarios, offering different puzzles and rules. Frank explains the setup process, including arranging the island boards, placing fire and location cards, and placing cat figures. He also discusses the gameplay mechanics, such as drawing and playing pathway cards, avoiding fire placement, and moving the cat figures. The objective is to get all the cats onto the raft before being blocked by fire.

That’s a pretty accurate description!

Now ChatGPT knows how Race to the Raft works I can ask it questions about the game:

Who do you think is the target audience for Race to the Raft?

To which it responded:

Based on the description provided in the transcript, "Race to the Raft" appears to target a wide range of players, particularly those who enjoy cooperative and strategic board games. The game's simple rules and accessible gameplay make it suitable for families and casual gamers. The cooperative nature of the game also promotes teamwork and communication, making it appealing to groups of friends or gaming enthusiasts who enjoy collaborative experiences. Overall, "Race to the Raft" seems to have a broad target audience encompassing both casual and dedicated board game players.

This is great for helping validate my thoughts and perhaps giving me new things to consider. I could also ask ChatGPT to suggest similar games, taglines for the game, and whether anything is unclear to it in the video – The possibilities are endless.

It has been great exploring this functionality and I can see me using this a lot in the future

What interesting questions do you think you would ask ChatGPT about a video?