One of my favourite non-gaming corners of Twitch to visit is the music section. From musicians showcasing their talents, to producers talking shop about the creative process, to DJ sets that give me something to listen to for extended sessions, there’s a lot of entertainment to be had here.
I also think there’s a lot that we as game streamers can learn from music streamers, even if we don’t have a musical bone in our bodies.
One of the big criticisms levied at OBS versus other broadcast software is that it doesn’t have the chat and event list built in. Having to look at different windows to see all of the information you need as a streamer is a nightmare, which oftentimes drives users to alternatives.
Some go to Streamlabs OBS, which does offer these features, as well as direct integration with Streamlabs alerts and overlays. While this is more than enough for some, its walled-garden approach gives it a much lower ceiling from a technical perspective if you really want to push your streams to the limit. I used to use StreamElements OBS Live, but recent hiccups in the software would cause my OBS to crash on start-up. Uninstalling it did the trick and I’ll never recommend it again.
So what does one do now? Well, there’s actually a very easy trick to add your chat, event lists, stats, or anything you can see in a web browser inside OBS! Best of all, you don’t need to install any intrusive software to make this work!
Players love unlocking achievements in games. But what if you had achievements that rewarded you for in-stream events? What if your chat could reward you for finally beating a boss after 100 tries, or taking a sip of water, or managing to not swear for five minutes? It’s possible!
With the power of LioranBoard, you can give your viewers control over your own achievement system! Viewers can type in their own achievements and then display them on screen. Here’s how to build an achievement system of your own!
Among Us is the hot game right now, particularly in the world of Twitch. Most of its best parts involve players debating whodunnit. As a viewer, it can be difficult to know who is talking, since you usually only see the streamer.
While browsing Pokimane‘s stream, I noticed that she had a particular solution to this problem. How did she get her Discord voice chat bubbles to appear on screen? Follow this guide and you can have this feature on your stream too!
As a streamer, your voice and the words you say with it are your most important assets. Every game you could ever play will be covered by thousands of others, but viewers will have to come to you for your particular spin on the action.
Easier said than done, of course. Talking while gaming isn’t a skill that players develop naturally. Add in the fact that you might not be comfortable partaking in conversations in real life, and the thought of carrying the conversation for the duration of a multi-hour stream becomes incredibly daunting.
If you routinely find yourself drawing a blank, here are some pointers for how to keep the conversation going!
How do you keep a conversation going for hours at a time? This is a challenge that many streamers face, especially since most of the time, they’re in a room by themselves with no one to speak to voice-to-voice. Having experience as an on-air radio personality, I’ve taken this aspect for granted in the past. I know I can speak eloquently and have a few cool stories to tell. However, more often than not, I had a good 10 minutes of material in me before dragging on the stream for another two hours with nothing to say.
Even when streaming to an audience of 0, it’s still important to talk to yourself. Your next fan might be the person who watches the VOD after the fact. I get a number of subscribers on Twitch and YouTube that way, so I know this phenomenon is real.
As someone who isn’t going to wow most viewers with his top-tier gameplay or handsome looks (lol), what I have to say is the most valuable thing I have to offer. Of late, I’ve taken steps to try and have more to talk about. Maybe some of these conversation starters can help you keep your stream engaging for all involved!
In Third Person 