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Yes, people watch people play video games. Get used to it.
It's one thing to say that people watch people play but a spectacle to say thatpeople watch people play video games. The name for these people who play video games and are watched by an audience are called "streamers" (additional names include "influencers" and "gaming personality stars"). There are a number of reasons why people watch streamers:
They are entertaining (comedic, reactive, engaging with the audience, etc.).
They have a vibrant community.
They are very good at playing video games.
People in the audience strive to play the video games the streamers play. They feel similar excitement to watching someone play a video game versus them play it themselves (which may be because they don't have the same gaming equipment, accessibility, and/or capability to play).
In some ways, streamers fulfill the action and feeling of play. It triggers similar levels of dopamine when you unlock an achievement or complete a mission.
It's even more amazing to think that all you need is your favorite game to play and a camera on you to show your reaction. From there, you can build your brand and your audience.
It's not all glamorous because it takes time to build your gaming brand, but those who have made it show the behind-the-scenes in being a streamer. From the start, there are expensive camera and lighting equipment, video-editing software, times for streaming collabs and appearances, and more.
All it needs is YOU.
Let's look at what streamers do.
As many of you know, streamers like Ninja and Shroud have made it to the top of the ranks due to their starts as pro esports players.
There are a number of ways that streamers (including Ninja and Shroud) amplify their cameo appearances. Each note below has a video link respective to the category:
Let's Plays: Play a video game, usually a game that is first-person or its campaign. It's that simple.
Tutorials: Introduce the game with its features and objectives.
Game Reviews/Reactions: React to the gameplay and the storyline.
Gaming News: Reflect on the latest from the industry.
Top 10s: Create a compilation of gaming fails, skillshots, and other thrilling gaming moments.
Speedruns: Finish the game in the fastest time.
Challenges: Complete a feat that makes the game that much more interesting.
Where can I watch streams?
Twitch is the king of streamed gaming content, but there are several players in the mix (no pun intended for Mixer, which is a streaming platform that will cease operations next month):
Twitch: As mentioned before, this is the go-to. This is where gaming thrives but also a number of other kinds of videos (i.e., music, performing arts, just chatting, food, etc.).
YouTube Gaming: YouTube is the platform for the king of video content. Gaming ranks as one of the top-watched categories of content viewed along with "How-to" videos and makeup.
Facebook Gaming: Facebook is taking the likes of video content by creating a section of their website devoted to building tournaments and streaming. Through these, you can invite your friends to watch and participate.
Trovo: This is Tencent's live streaming platform, which has its standing especially in mobile gaming content. Tencent is one of the top Internet companies out there, which owns a number of gaming subsidiaries (Riot Games, part of Epic Games, Ubisoft, and Activision Blizzard).
Caffeine: This streaming platform has a number of celebrities and other talent playing games and doing whatever they want.
Who should I start watching?
For this list, I am including both YouTubers and Twitch streamers because they encompass the various elements of video game videos/streams. It's important to understand why some take the game review route versus the live feature. Some play with a group of the same gamers, while others play solo. Here are a few to check out:
theRadBrad (YouTube): His videos are mainly Let's Plays with a bit of dialogue and reactions from the YouTuber.
VanossGaming (YouTube): He plays often with a group of friends and adds hilarious memes and edits in every video.
Pokimane (YouTube and Twitch): Her platform includes gameplay (most popular for her Fortnite videos), reactions, streamer collabs, and "Let's Chats" (this means chatting with her live audience).
Myth (Twitch): He is a popular Fortnite streamer and is part of esports and pro gaming organization Team SoloMid.
Summit1g (YouTube and Twitch): He's a great gamer who plays popular FPS and action-adventure games (VALORANT, Sea of Thieves, GTA V, etc.).
LazarBeam (YouTube): He is a thriving Fortnite streamer who completes crazy challenges. He recently broke the concurrent viewer record at 904,000 viewers with the Season 3 release.
Top streamers tend to stream full-time as a job. They can get paid through donations from subscribers, advertisements, sponsorship deals, merchandise, video engagement numbers on YouTube, and more.
On a typical day, these streamers go live for at least 8 hours a day! Some go for 6 hours. Some also get around 2 to 3 hours a day. It's up to your preference.
It's important to not that streamers want to keep their audience happy, so having a consistent schedule with specific days and times you go live are important. These either tend to be during the day (at least after 12:00PM) or at night (post-work hours) until 2:00AM.
On top of video content, maintaining a presence on Twitter, Discord (the gaming social media platform), and Facebook requires more mana. Streamers vary on their social media presence, and some use social media platforms to show themselves separately from gaming (i.e. vlogs, nature photos, etc.).
Remember to continue doing what you love most, and the audience will appreciate that. :)
Game on,
Jox, Jox Digital Educator
info@jox.digital
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