Hi there. You may or may not know me. My name is Haydn, and I stream TF2. Simple as that. Here's the link if you're interested. I'm currently doing a month long streaming challenge to stream everyday for, well, a month. I've been streaming for the past few months now, and have really enjoyed building a nice set of regular people to watch me, and playing TF2. I have a question for you. What do you want in a stream?
Now, my stream is a little different in some ways that you may or may not like. First things first, 360p, low fps. I know, it's a pain. I'm trying to get a new computer, but I just can't yet. I'm hoping that doesn't put you off, as most of the people that have seen my stream enjoy it even though the quality isn't exactly the best.
Secondly, I rarely play competitive TF2. Rather, I play in pubs. Odd, I know, but my streams are more about an active community and discussion rather than focusing on the game too much. Inviting players into the game and talking to them is something I pride myself in.
How is this relevant? Well it does limit what I can exactly do on my stream. So, I need your help. What do you want to see in a stream? I just want some ideas for what general stream watchers want to see. I'm not trying to do this for attention or publicity (feel free to come along and watch my streams though, i'm not going to stop you) I'm just curious on what people want. People just kind of stream; nobody asks what people want to see.
Thanks for taking your time to read this, and I'd be even more grateful if you could give me some kind of response.
Hi there. You may or may not know me. My name is Haydn, and I stream TF2. Simple as that. [url=www.twitch.tv/MagicalKillaCow]Here's the link if you're interested.[/url] I'm currently doing a month long streaming challenge to stream everyday for, well, a month. I've been streaming for the past few months now, and have really enjoyed building a nice set of regular people to watch me, and playing TF2. I have a question for you. What do you want in a stream?
Now, my stream is a little different in some ways that you may or may not like. First things first, 360p, low fps. I know, it's a pain. I'm trying to get a new computer, but I just can't yet. I'm hoping that doesn't put you off, as most of the people that have seen my stream enjoy it even though the quality isn't exactly the best.
Secondly, I rarely play competitive TF2. Rather, I play in pubs. Odd, I know, but my streams are more about an active community and discussion rather than focusing on the game too much. Inviting players into the game and talking to them is something I pride myself in.
How is this relevant? Well it does limit what I can exactly do on my stream. So, I need your help. What do [b]you[/b] want to see in a stream? I just want some ideas for what general stream watchers want to see. I'm not trying to do this for attention or publicity (feel free to come along and watch my streams though, i'm not going to stop you) I'm just curious on what people want. People just kind of stream; nobody asks what people want to see.
Thanks for taking your time to read this, and I'd be even more grateful if you could give me some kind of response.
I like interaction with the viewers. Or at least some good music. Usually if you're just pubbing and not talking or something that won't really hook me onto your stream, I'll cringe and leave.
I like interaction with the viewers. Or at least some good music. Usually if you're just pubbing and not talking or something that won't really hook me onto your stream, I'll cringe and leave.
GeknaiirI like interaction with the viewers. Or at least some good music. Usually if you're just pubbing and not talking or something that won't really hook me onto your stream, I'll cringe and leave.
I do focus my stream around talking to people as I said, and I'm forever being complimented on my music choice :)
[quote=Geknaiir]I like interaction with the viewers. Or at least some good music. Usually if you're just pubbing and not talking or something that won't really hook me onto your stream, I'll cringe and leave.[/quote]
I do focus my stream around talking to people as I said, and I'm forever being complimented on my music choice :)
If you're looking for quality, free music to stream with, this is a really great resource: http://dig.ccmixter.org/
The dropdown boxes will allow you to select what kind of license you're looking for (I like free for commercial use). When searching for music that is free for commercial use, look at the little gray tabs beside each track. Tabs that say only, "by" mean that you are allowed to use those tracks freely for commercial use as long as you provide credit to the artist. Really great if you want to monetize stuff.
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Seconding Geknaiir's interest in viewer-streamer interaction, you're pretty golden if you do that in my opinion.
Best of luck to you, you seem like a cool dude.
If you're looking for quality, free music to stream with, this is a really great resource: http://dig.ccmixter.org/
The dropdown boxes will allow you to select what kind of license you're looking for (I like free for commercial use). When searching for music that is free for commercial use, look at the little gray tabs beside each track. Tabs that say only, "by" mean that you are allowed to use those tracks freely for commercial use as long as you provide credit to the artist. Really great if you want to monetize stuff.
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Seconding Geknaiir's interest in viewer-streamer interaction, you're pretty golden if you do that in my opinion.
Best of luck to you, you seem like a cool dude.
RenhetIf you're looking for quality, free music to stream with, this is a really great resource: http://dig.ccmixter.org/
The dropdown boxes will allow you to select what kind of license you're looking for (I like free for commercial use). When searching for music that is free for commercial use, look at the little gray tabs beside each track. Tabs that say only, "by" mean that you are allowed to use those tracks freely for commercial use as long as you provide credit to the artist. Really great if you want to monetize stuff.
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Seconding Geknaiir's interest in viewer-streamer interaction, you're pretty golden if you do that in my opinion.
Best of luck to you, you seem like a cool dude.
That's pretty awesome, thanks a bunch. I'll look into that :]
The only problem with this audience interaction is that when there isn't an audience, there's no interaction which makes the stream fall dull, more people leave, less of an audience, endless cycle. Any tips on really attracting new viewers to the stream is what I'm looking for.
[quote=Renhet]If you're looking for quality, free music to stream with, this is a really great resource: http://dig.ccmixter.org/
The dropdown boxes will allow you to select what kind of license you're looking for (I like free for commercial use). When searching for music that is free for commercial use, look at the little gray tabs beside each track. Tabs that say only, "by" mean that you are allowed to use those tracks freely for commercial use as long as you provide credit to the artist. Really great if you want to monetize stuff.
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Seconding Geknaiir's interest in viewer-streamer interaction, you're pretty golden if you do that in my opinion.
Best of luck to you, you seem like a cool dude.[/quote]
That's pretty awesome, thanks a bunch. I'll look into that :]
The only problem with this audience interaction is that when there isn't an audience, there's no interaction which makes the stream fall dull, more people leave, less of an audience, endless cycle. Any tips on really attracting new viewers to the stream is what I'm looking for.
Ruwin's stream is a pretty good template for a great TF2 stream.
-Consistent streaming (doesn't have to be every day, but if there's a time of day/week when your followers can expect you to be streaming, that'll increase the number of people who watch your stream regularly). If you're on TF.TV you'll always get a few viewers, but you'll only become popular if people know when to look for you.
-Viewer interaction. You said you already do this, which is great. People generally expect that you'll read pretty much every comment until you're over ~4 or 5pac (chat moves pretty slowly up to that point).
-Don't do the same thing all the time. MGE, DM, demo reviews, scrims, pugs, pubbing on the huge variety of servers out there, you shouldn't find yourself streaming the same pub server every time. After about an hour of one thing, consider switching it up. maybe ask viewers what they want to see. A big benefit of this is that different people like to watch different things. Sometimes I'm looking for a TF2 HL PUG stream. Sometimes I want to watch MGE. If you're streaming different stuff, you'll reach a wider audience, and they'll probably keep watching after you swap to something new if you're a good streamer. Attract them with variety, keep them in with interaction. :)
-Don't be afraid to stream other games. I mean, people prefer watching tf2 on tf.tv streams, but it's not like everyone will leave if you switch to another game (as long as you're still keeping it fun to watch).
Ruwin's stream is a pretty good template for a great TF2 stream.
-Consistent streaming (doesn't have to be every day, but if there's a time of day/week when your followers can expect you to be streaming, that'll increase the number of people who watch your stream regularly). If you're on TF.TV you'll always get a few viewers, but you'll only become popular if people know when to look for you.
-Viewer interaction. You said you already do this, which is great. People generally expect that you'll read pretty much every comment until you're over ~4 or 5pac (chat moves pretty slowly up to that point).
-Don't do the same thing all the time. MGE, DM, demo reviews, scrims, pugs, pubbing on the huge variety of servers out there, you shouldn't find yourself streaming the same pub server every time. After about an hour of one thing, consider switching it up. maybe ask viewers what they want to see. A big benefit of this is that different people like to watch different things. Sometimes I'm looking for a TF2 HL PUG stream. Sometimes I want to watch MGE. If you're streaming different stuff, you'll reach a wider audience, and they'll probably keep watching after you swap to something new if you're a good streamer. Attract them with variety, keep them in with interaction. :)
-Don't be afraid to stream other games. I mean, people prefer watching tf2 on tf.tv streams, but it's not like everyone will leave if you switch to another game (as long as you're still keeping it fun to watch).
Get shirtless room mates.
Get shirtless room mates.