LIVE FROM DROSERA: THE IMPORTANCE OF STREAMING YOUR GAME
For this month’s blog post, we wanted to talk all about STREAMING. This phenomenon has no doubt become one of the most popular forms of video content, making it a vital ingredient to any dev’s recipe! As indie devs with a passion for showing our creative process, we couldn’t help but jump on the streaming bandwagon to show the ongoing progress of our upcoming game, NO LOVE LOST.
Thankfully, we have a resident Twitch expert in house to guide us on this new streaming adventure! Our QA Dev Lead, Britany (who is also a streamer herself), is here to explain how she became captain of our monthly Community Show!
“TESTING, TESTING!” — DESIGNING THE RATLOOP CANADA TWITCH PAGE
Twitch has gained a lot more popularity among indie game developers these past few years. It offers a unique opportunity for us indie devs to connect with our audience in a more personal and interactive way. You get to see the games as they're being developed, chat with the devs, and even influence the game's development. A direct connection like this enables small (and large) studios to promote their work, potentially generate extra revenue through donations and subscriptions, and even collaborate with streamers.
“Beyond JUST gaming, I feel like Twitch is one the best ways to stay connected with your audience, show them that their opinions and suggestions are important and continue to build upon that community relationship. After all, we’re all gamers.”
MAIN GOALS WITH OUR TWITCH CHANNEL:
❖ We wanted the aesthetic of the Stream to match the vibes of No Love Lost / Drosera, so we went about choosing a theme, alerts and other other elements to bring that vision to life.
❖ Be as transparent as possible during the development process of No Love Lost for our community, Patch Notes streams allow that.
❖ Host mini-interviews with members of the Dev team to talk about their role and answer the community’s questions about the work they put into the latest patch.
👉 Check us out!
“BROADCASTING LIVE ON DROSERA!” — RUNNING THE MONTHLY LIVESTREAM
Streaming is a chance to connect with our community and even show off certain community suggestions! We enjoy bringing on our fellow devs to co-host and talk about how they got into the industry, what they do at Ratloop and of course show off their work!
It’s fulfilling to get to see the community excited about the upcoming patch and the changes made since our last Playtest. That spark really outweighs any potential negatives that streaming could ever bring.
CHALLENGES & REWARDS OF STREAMING:
Before every Stream and Playtest, we always rigorously test our Builds to make sure they are in functioning and presentable order! While we always like to be transparent about the development stages, it’s still nice to have things working well and looking great while live!
Before we go live, we make sure to prepare the Patch Notes for presentation and social media posts.
30 minutes before stream, we set up OBS (Open Broadcast Software) for the stream and test all scenes, audio and recording devices.
It’s also important to prepare questions for any Dev guests and brief them before going live!
“SIGNING OFF, SPIRITSY” — HOW TO START YOUR OWN TWITCH
“I began streaming on my own personal channel back in early June of this year (2023), using a cheap amazon microphone and a Costco folding table - we all start somewhere!
After a week of streaming, I became a Twitch affiliate and have since grown a strong and supportive community and recently even met the requirements to apply for Twitch Partner!
Interacting with my community and being as engaging as possible is very important to me. Almost every stream I invite my community to come and play for whatever game I’m playing. I respond quickly to all chat messages and try to make my stream a fun and easygoing place for people to be able to unwind!”
Tips & Tricks for starting your own Twitch:
Turn off viewer count! Treat all streams the same regardless if you have one or hundreds of viewers!
Interact and be present in engaging with your chat! An engaged audience that feels appreciated and heard is more likely to return and show support! Community is everything.
Having entertaining and fun ways for the chat to participate and interact with the stream, such as Twitch Point Redemptions (Chatters use points that they gain from watching your stream to redeem things, such as drinking water, stretching, wearing a costume, etc…), or SoundAlerts (which allows chatters to use points or bits to play funny sounds).
I personally use the Elgato Wave 3 microphone & Elgato LP mic arm with the Logitech Streamcam for my main equipment! OBS is my go-to broadcasting software with StreamLabs Source for Alerts and Donations!