Streaming FAQ

Streaming FAQ

How much do you make streaming?

1. Enough to live comfortably, which is all I care about!

How long have you been streaming? How long did it take you to get where you are today?

2. I've been streaming for about 6 years now, but it wasn't until I started doing Dark Souls challenge runs that I got the viewership that I get now. The trick is to play something that is popular, but separate yourself from the normal streams.

Have you ever gone on an extended break from streaming? Did it affect your views?

3. The longest I've stopped streaming for is only like 4-5 days, maybe. I don't think I lost viewers because of it.

How much does WHAT you play affect your viewers?

4. It matters A LOT. Most people watch me for Dark Souls, which I can get up to 1100-1200 viewers with. If I play anything else, my viewer count is anywhere from 100-200 viewers. The game truly dictates the viewer count, though.

Do you think livestreaming is a fad that will pass or is it here to stay?

5. The video games industry and livestreaming (particularly) are both extremely young industries, so I don't believe either of them are going away soon. Livestreaming has become a great place for companies to market upcoming games, etc., and I can imagine it's only a matter of time before livestreaming alpha/beta gameplay becomes an expected component to major game releases.

English is not my first language. Can I still be successful streaming?

6. There are many streamers that don't have the best English but still do fantastically. If you're unable to carry normal conversation in English, you may have some difficulty, but any hurdle can be jumped.

Do you stream for a living? Do you have another job?

7. I now stream full-time for a living.

Do you ever lack motivation to do a scheduled stream?

8. The only reason I might ever not want to start a stream is because I feel guilty of not spending that time with Fieldy, but luckily she understands. There are times where I'm not sure what I want to stream, but there's never a time where I do not want to play games and chat with people.

I have trouble focusing on anything other than the game when I play something. Did it take time to learn to interact with viewers?

9. Talking with viewers came naturally to me, because I view streaming as a service to the viewers. Unless I am really concentrating on an important fight or speedrun, I try to interact as much as possible. Interaction is key to building a relationship with viewers (like me responding to your message!). Imagine it's like playing a rock concert. If I'm a guitar player and I just sit there and concentrate and play the notes all perfectly, that's cool and all, but if I jump around and get super excited and interact with the crowd, that is way more engaging. Even if your performance suffers, everyone watching feels that much more tied to the experience.

I want to stream, but I don't really want to speedrun. Can I still be successful?

10. Speedrunning is a niche thing. You either like it, or you don't like it. You do NOT need to speedrun to be popular; in fact, the most popular streamers aren't speedrunners. Guys like Man Vs Game and Lethal Frag mostly focus on interaction, humor, and quality streams.