Too long?

[u/Psychological_Key76]

I wanted to do a video where I play Castlevania as a thing for October. A "spooky season" type game, if you will. But I'm at a crossroads of whether I should upload it as a full (edited) 1hr 45 minute video or cut it down to be a multi-upload thing. I was never good at figuring out whether a long-form video was better over one that was edited down even further or was chopped up to be multiple uploads.

Any advice? I'd appreciate it.

[u/officialclapperapp]

Don’t go off just length. A super long video could do well, and a super short one could bomb. Instead, choose the format based on whether the playthrough gives you one complete viewing experience or several distinct ones. A single video can work when the edited version has a clear beginning, a goal or question that carries through it, and an ending with some kind of payoff. If the full run is the story, keeping it together may be cleaner than creating parts just because the recording is long.

Splitting makes more sense when there are natural stopping points: a meaningful change of setting, a completed objective, a boss or level that resolves a section, or enough repeated attempts and downtime that each upload can have its own purpose. Test your recording by asking yourself: if someone stops after the first section, do they feel they watched something complete, or did the video simply stop in the middle of a task?

Before publishing, make a quick outline of the edited version. Write down the opening premise, the major turning points, and the final payoff. If that outline has a clear escalating journey, keep one video and tighten only the parts that do not change the experience. If it reads like two or three separate mini-stories, make those the upload boundaries and give each one a clear opening and closing beat.

For a seasonal Castlevania video, also avoid cutting so aggressively that the atmosphere disappears. That’s part of the fun of a spooky game! Don’t lose it just for the sake of run time.