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Dave

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Discussion

ago

Helpful tips for my first ever stream?

So big moment for me on Friday evening where I will have a go at streaming for the first time ever. This means I will also be doing voice over for the first time as well, finally putting my own voice out there. The smalland bounty chance is pushing me to get over the psychological barrier to do it, just like they achieved to get me to start posting on here instead of just being a reader/consumer of content.

To be honest I'm quite excited and looking forward to it and the unplanned natural talking/reacting might suit me better than planned scripts. I'm planning on doing it like I'm recording a lets play for YouTube but streaming it live on twitch, then using it for YouTube vod after.

Any tips for a first timer? Technical, psychological, what do do/not do etc?

Created at 12:06am, 3rd May, 2024. Page last updated at 2:42pm, 16th May, 2024.

Wadd Enderas 5/3/2024, 12:23:50 AM

No advice because I've never done it, but good luck pal, you're going to smash it!

What time are you planning to kick-off? I'm sure plenty of people here will want to stop by!

Dave 5/3/2024, 12:39:42 AM

Wadd Enderas

Roughly 630pm UK time I think if everything works out. Have the house to myself for a few hours, so seems like the perfect time.

Just getting over that first timer stage will be the big achievement however it ends up!

Horror and Cats 5/3/2024, 12:52:09 AM

Hey makin' moves!

Honestly, no big advice as far as behavior goes. The more outside input you put in your head, the more you'll over think things and not act like yourself.

On the technical side, first time using streaming software can be odd. I'd say make a "starting soon" screen with some YouTube Studio free music playing that way while it's running, you can pull the stream up and see how loud the audio is compared to how loud your DB meter looks in OBS/Streamlabs/whatever you're using.

My first stream was SO quiet and I had no idea because I only had friends watching and they never told me LMAO.

P.S. Post the channel/stream link (if you've got it scheduled)! I think that you're roughly on at 10:30am for me and I'll join!

Dave 5/3/2024, 12:57:53 AM

Horror and Cats

O that's a good point about putting things in my head and overthinking it. I'm basically just going to think out loud naturally is the plan!

I will probably post it in the bounty as I go live I think. I don't know anything about scheduling but will have a look!

Horror and Cats 5/3/2024, 1:01:39 AM

Dave

Oh right you said you're doing Twitch not YouTube haha. I've never streamed on Twitch so I don't know what the deal is there.

That's the perfect way to think about it though. Just keep talking and describing what you're doing/thinking. I'll make a Twitch account so I can stop by and chat haha.

Dave 5/3/2024, 1:11:53 AM

Horror and Cats

Lol, honestly don't feel obliged to watch, the same goes for everyone. I fully expect zero viewers for 99% of the time. If anyone does drop by to say hi then please don't feel awkward for leaving 1 minute later.

Yeah I'd prefer YouTube to be honest but you need 50 subs to unlock live streaming, so it's twitch for now.

Horror and Cats 5/3/2024, 1:34:34 AM

Dave

You do?? I had no idea.

I pop into Lanah Tyra‘s streams when I can to say hi and drop a like, but they are during my work hours so sometimes I can’t really interact/leave them on the whole time. Trust me I don’t feel it’s an obligation, I WANT to do it!

Lanah Tyra 5/3/2024, 8:49:31 AM

Horror and Cats

It's always nice to see you on stream even if it's just a few minutes. I'm the same with some US streamer friends, they start at like 2am my time and nope that's not happening XD

Horror and Cats 5/3/2024, 8:59:46 AM

Lanah Tyra

I feel it haha. I think I’m one of the few US people on here at the moment and basically everyone has streams I end up having to catch on VOD. But when I see a JA homie online I at least try to stop in and say hi for support when I’m able

Dave 5/3/2024, 12:37:02 PM

Horror and Cats

That's what it's telling me at least. Might be different for others accounts.

MargotCandy 5/3/2024, 9:21:43 AM

Dave

I have never streamed but I have been reading up on it and the biggest thing everyone says is to just talk out loud as you try things and play and what you are thinking. Have fun with it. Good luck!

Makster 5/3/2024, 5:51:05 AM

best of luck tonight man! Some quick fire tips:

Be prepared for technical difficulties. It'll just happen just as you set up your stream but it's all part of the process This can include last minute updates, updating drivers etc. stuff out of your control
Try to keep talking and chatting. Tell us about your day, what you like about the game you're playing etc. I really dislike streams where someone is immersed in the game and not engaging with the audience
Lastly promote yourself! Drop it on your socials that you're streaming tonight

And don't forget to drop your stream name/ twitch link on here so the JA community can watch ya first stream!

NicoleStaff5/3/2024, 8:09:42 AM

Makster

In my brief time streaming, we always used to joke that you're not a real streamer unless you have technical issues. Don't let them fumble you, just relax, acknowledge them and you'll sort them out quickly.

Streaming software like OBS is not always the most intuitive stuff so set aside some time to explore it before you plan to go live.

Most important of all, have fun! Streaming can seem tricky and a little daunting when you first start but its a lot of fun once you get into it.

Sturmer 5/3/2024, 8:05:37 AM

Take a sheet of paper and jot down several conversation starters or interesting facts about the game or its genre. That could be brief notes on the game studio, their other projects, community reactions to this game, any controversies, and other intriguing details. When there’s some interaction in the chat, try to engage further by ending your statements with open-ended questions. For example, you might say, 'I’ve loved strategy games since I was five, my first was Orcs & Humans. What about you all? What was your first RTS?' Use that tactic only if you see real activity, otherwise throwing questions into silence would be awkward.

I refer to these as 'fillers.' Use them during downtime in the stream, like loading screens or travel sequences, to keep the conversation lively.

Horror and Cats 5/3/2024, 8:28:51 AM

Sturmer

Those are some pretty focus-required suggestions. Not only that, but it’s the FIRST stream, so there isn’t likely to be enough of an audience to feed chat engagement topics. I think Dave has a good strategy for a first stream with “talk about what I’m doing and what I’m thinking.”

Sturmer 5/3/2024, 8:32:51 AM

Horror and Cats

Dunno, it helped me to leave a panic zone, when all my thoughts suddenly vanished.

Lanah Tyra 5/3/2024, 8:59:45 AM

Baby's first stream let's go!!!!! Good luck, you'll do great! I finish work at 6pm, will try to hop in when I get home.

Technical issues: happens, don't worry about it, have a good laugh and everyone else will do the same. We constantly tease one of my streamer friend when he has issues and at this point it's almost expected to happen every time.

Don't look at the viewer counter. It can be discouraging when you see that no one is watching. Just talk like you would be talking for a big audience. You can think about it later what can you do grab more viewers (hint: advertise, no one gets discovered just by streaming on Twitch)

And if there is no one in chat to talk to, you can talk to your character. In Nightingale I often talk to my companion or when I was streaming FFXIV MSQ I just told my character "okay my boy let's go and check this quest out". It's really good when you know that no one is watching, so you're not trying to make awkward conversation with an empty chat, but there is still something going on not just silence.

Edit: also to to get the sound etc right. Set up OBS for recording as well and before you go live, just record stuff, say a few words, then watch it back. You'll then hear how loud the game music / your voice is and find a balance. People will want to hear you first, so make that the most loud. Then if there is some discord or team chat. And the game / music should be the relatively quietest.

Konquest 5/3/2024, 9:54:34 AM

Excellent mate! I will try and join in to say hi before bed. I’m on the other side of the world. It will be about 1:30am my time, I’m 6 hours ahead of UK time. I don’t have any advise as I’m still new to this as well so your guess is as good as mine 😁 but just relax and stay positive, YOU GOT THIS! I will try to stream on Monday morning as well (Sunday night for those in the US)

Dave 5/3/2024, 7:15:22 PM

Ok here goes. Starting in a few minutes! Feel free to pop in and say hi! https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2136313698

Lanah Tyra 5/4/2024, 10:35:54 AM

Didn't manage to catch you live but had a look at the vod, nice one! I think you got the sound levels right, your voice was clear, still could hear the game sounds and picture looked good as well (unlike my very first FFXIV stream which was constantly breaking into pixels lol)

Nice commentary on the game and interactions when someone came into the chat, good job! Did you enjoy it, will you stream again?

I'm not sure what you need to unlock streaming on Youtube, when Twitch allowed multistreaming my channel qualified for it. I do recommend streaming on Youtube as a newbie, because the views will add to your channel views, also the vods stay on forever, and are searchable. But it's not as easy as going live on Twitch because to actually get people to find you stream you need to schedule it ahead, set the tags, thumbnail and all that stuff. So takes a bit of preparation but it's worth it in the end. Otherwise just stream on Twitch but make sure to edit vods and put them on Youtube, or make some best / funny moment in shorts, directing people to your Twitch channel to watch upcoming streams.

Dave 5/4/2024, 1:53:27 PM

Lanah Tyra

Thanks! I did enjoy it actually and I would like to do it again. It's not often I get enough uninterrupted time that I can do it though so it probably won't be very often! If I ever retire and streaming is still a thing by then, maybe It could be a hobby job, lol.