What do you need to become a gaming streamer?
1. Create a Twitch or YouTube channel
In the past, only the best gamers in the world were known to the general public. Nowadays, anyone with a YouTube or Twitch account can show their virtual skills to the rest of the gaming world. There are 2 ways to do this: livestreaming or making game videos.
Livestreams vs videos
Livestream
Suitable for novice streamers
The easiest streaming method is the livestream. People can watch along with you when you perform a 360 no-scope right away. You can connect your PC or console to your YouTube or Twitch account. Unless you use game capture or special software, the images won't be recorded. This way, your friends can easily watch along with you while you're gaming.
Videos
Suitable for advanced streamers
In addition to livestreams on YouTube and Twitch, streamers often have a YouTube account as well. This allows your viewers to watch the best and funniest clips in a video. You can also break up 8 hours of livestream recordings into 15 to 20-minute clips. Making such a video takes time, and you need special video editing software.
2. Play on a powerful PC
Playing games and livestreaming on the same PC is a demanding task. That's why you need a powerful PC, so everything works smoothly. This way, you won't have any problems with your connection to Twitch or YouTube and your gameplay won't slow down. So make sure you have a PC with a powerful video card, enough RAM, and enough storage space for your footage. Does the game only slow down while you're streaming? This often means that only your video card needs an upgrade.
3. Choose a game capture
A game capture has 2 functions. The first function is that your game captures images on your console and sends them to your PC. This allows you to stream your game images via external software on your PC to Twitch or YouTube. This way, you're not stuck with PC games only. For external software, you can choose from OBS, Streamlabs OBS, and XSplit, for example. You can download this via their own website. The second function is that you can also record the game images. This makes it easy to edit your recorded stream for clips and videos on YouTube. And you can use image and sound separately, which is very useful for video editing.
4. Get your games
Of course, you need gameplay for your stream. Most streamers often play 1 popular game, but there are also variety streamers who play multiple games. Look on Twitch and YouTube for streamers playing your favorite games and roughly determine how many viewers there are. That way, you know exactly whether you should stream that game on your own channel.
5. Complete your streaming setup
In addition to streaming your gameplay, you can make your stream more attractive by adding accessories. For example, consider a gaming headset with a microphone or streaming microphone. This way, you're always clearly audible to your viewers and you can easily game with friends. You can also add a webcam to your setup, so your viewers can enjoy your facial expressions as well. This also makes the stream a lot more personal.
6. Use a stream deck
The most popular streamers use nice overlays, backgrounds, and other interactive elements in their streams. And they change their screen at the touch of a button. They do this with a Stream Deck. A small box with various buttons with LCD screens. You can assign functions to these buttons for your stream. Possible functions are the GIFs that appear on the screen, overlays or soundboards, and your Be Right Back screen. These buttons with different functions give you control over your stream while playing.
Tips from our YouTubers
Finally, we've asked our streaming Coolbluers to give you some tips:
- Stick to a schedule: whether you livestream or upload videos, make sure that people know exactly where to find your content and when you're putting new content live. This'll bring people back and you can build a regular audience faster.
- Find the interaction: many successful streamers talk to their viewers. Make a chat or answer questions via your stream chat or via social media like Twitter.
- Vary your content: try something new with each stream, so you don't always share the same content. Stream new games, hold a contest, and make a serious video sometimes (or not).
- Don't give up: at the start, you of course won't have full chat rooms, you'll only have one a handful of viewers. Don't let yourself be demotivated and don't forget that it's important for people to see that you like to create content.
