What is the #1 Youtube Clip for this week? And what is all the hype? In the fourth week of May 2022, the most popular video is from Markiplier with “Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2”
This week’s Trending Youtube video is a two-hour gaming stream from Markiplier. In the clip, he is playing “Poppy Playtime Chapter 2: Fly in a Web”. This video has spent seven days on the trending page now sitting at 6,616,443 views and 281K likes. With these numbers what makes this video so popular and what can this teach us about our culture?
Who is Markiplier?
Mark Fischbach whose Youtube name is Markiplier first made his youtube debut back in 2012 posting gaming and sketch content. After being denied AdSense for his very popular channel, Mark made a new Youtube Channel Markiplier2 which was used for Game Play of Minecraft. After a few subchannels were deleted and became inactive, Mark created a new main channel by his original alias Markiplier, which now consists of Let’s Play Videos, sketch comedies, animated shorts, live streams and vlogs. Markiplier is well known for his commentary gameplay videos, streaming on YouTube and sketch series.
What is the Video About?
The video is the second instalment of Mark playing the game “Poppy Playtime Chapter 2: Fly in a Web”. The game itself is a survival horror game. The player takes the form of a former playtime co. employee who is revisiting the abandoned toy factory ten years after all of the staff ominously disappear. The player has to solve puzzles to progress further while avoiding various enemies. The aim is to get out alive. The second chapter which Mark is playing in this video centres around the moments after the release of Poppy Playtime from her case. Their new goal is to escape from the factory and avoid Mommy Long Legs, who is a creepy take on Betty Spaghetty toys from our childhood.
The two-hour stream features Mark’s strategic gameplay, his running commentary on the game itself, the classic Markiplier dry wit and Mark getting jump scared by Mommy Long Legs.
Why is it so Popular?
There are a few main reasons why this video from Markiplier is so popular. Firstly, the mode in which the content is being delivered. This video is a stream video which has been saved. This means that Markiplier did a live stream on the 17th of May before savign the video to his channel. This is where it can be viewed by those who missed the stream.
The stream itself would have brought in his audience who enjoy watching his streams live, and due to the high demand of his audience wanting him to play the second chapter of Poppy Playtime, it’s expected that they were waiting for this one and would want to watch as soon as they could.
The second reason is due to Markiplier being a part of the OG Youtuber scene of 2012, over the years he has built up a cult following that is still dedicated to viewing his videos today, it is expected that he is still popular. The third reason is one that I explored last week in my Lazarbeam article, which touched on those who view game play content often do because it gives them comfort, a sense of community, helps them unwind, teaches them how to play the game and gives them a sense for the game before purchasing it to gauge if they’ll like it.
What does this say about our Culture?
So, what does this video people popular say about our culture? there are three main points to answer this question. Firstly, Nostalgia. This game has ‘retro’ inspired toys from our childhoods, which brings about feelings of Nostalgia but also Markiplier himself may be a point of nostalgia for those who have been around since 2012. Secondly, this video touches on a point I made in my Lazarbeam article, that this side of the internet is a place for those enjoy gaming content to come have fun, be apart of the large community surrounding Markiplier. Lastly, people just love to watch other people do things, this comes from the motivation behind why vlogs are popular and gameplay is popular.
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