What would make /tg/ watch a live gaming stream? Or even a YouTube recording?
Trials/how to play's of new games/old classics/obscure specialist games?
Impressive roleplaying? Wacky hijinks? Good jokes?
Impressive knowledge of rules/System mastery?
Convenient streaming time?
Familiar faces? Star power?
Nothing? Perhaps this is a fading trend.
Audio actual plays have far more versatility. I listen to them coming to and going to work.
For videos, there needs to be some sort of involvement, but not too much. I don't want to watch sweaty nerds from one angle for 7 hours, nor do I want a lecture explaining every mechanic to me in detail. Assume the audience has a basic familiarity, but also try to keep it exciting for the viewer.
>>46209876
You think better streams are the ones done remotely? Not just a camera dry-ly recording the slow movements of game pieces on a mat?
You may have something there.
I think meatspace games are better for story, but not for viewing.
>>46209492
I know of a few. I tend to listen to more GM how-to's via audio, as opposed to like radio drama style stories.
I have a stream. We play D&D on one night, and I have a D&D talkshow where I invite special guests to talk about games, DMing, and podcasts.
Not many people watch it.
>>46209492
I also love a good actual play! If you havn't checked it out look up warhammer the enemy within actual play, serious god stuff !!
>>46210092
How long have you been running it? How long does it usually run?
Meat space game? Or something like roll20
>>46210251
I saw it being posted on g+ but haven't tried it yet. How far along are they? That's a legendary module.
>>46210262
Like, 15 weeks? Give or take, not counting time off for holidays.
The D&D game is normal, just 4 hours of us playing on Roll20. It's exactly like the hundred other D&D channels on Twitch, just working through the new-channel purgatory.
The problem with live streaming plot driven tabletop is that people are bound to miss streams here and there and be completely lost if they come back to it. You'd need to structure the games like an anthology, just connected by the characters, maybe hints of an overarching story but nothing integral until you're ready to wrap up the plot.
>>46210315
That's already quite regular. Shows how little I've done my research, as I didn't think there were so many streams out there playing D&D. While I'm glad to hear it's picking up steam, but I can see how frustrating it would be to fight through all that noise. Do you think consistency is the key? Or do you have some kind of gambit to stand out?
>>46210372
Almost like an old cartoon, or American Horor show? Same characters, but essentially one-shots. If anything character development as opposed to plot
>>46210443
>as I didn't think there were so many streams out there playing D&D.
If you're talking about pure numbers, sure. If you consider the number of big-time D&D streamers, there are several. G&S and ItMeJP are the two more notable ones, but several big names exist in streaming D&D.
Like all things on Twitch, the same general rules apply. You need to be entertaining, and you need to be consistent. For smaller streams you need to be connected and know your viewers until you get big enough that it becomes hard to, and then you should still find a way to engage your community.
The big problem is that it can be hard to be entertaining while casting tabletop RPGs. Most people aren't paid actors, but if you're not it can be done. You have to overcome that boredom barrier for prospective viewers.
>>46210443
>as I didn't think there were so many streams out there playing D&D
Really? We just got into it a few months ago and at the time I felt like we were trying to force our way into a saturated market. Thanks to shit like Critical Role, everyone and their mother is streaming their Roll20 game or has a live-play podcast, though 99% of them are absolute shit (as I'm sure mine is too).
>Do you think consistency is the key? Or do you have some kind of gambit to stand out?
I really wish I knew. Before I started the channel, I had never used Twitter before and never really done anything this social, as far as trying to market to people and generate a following. We just hit 100 followers, which is nothing on Twitch obviously, but it's certainly something when compared to channels that have been on for years and only have like, 600~.
I think maybe I've been doing alright? I get a lot of new followers when I have a guest on my talkshow, as it gives me an audience to market to, but we haven't hit the point where we have like, an actual community of viewers who turn up every show to chat and stuff.
I dunno man.
>>46210538
I feel like streaming as a whole is pissing into an ocean of piss. I confess not regularly checking into the number of live twitch channels. That was foolish on my part.
100 regular viewers in that 15month period seems solid. I know we don't regularly get that many for our podcast we run. I think consistency/schedule makes a big difference, and there's really no substitute for putting in the time.
>>46210529
Hate to beg, could you rattle off one or two of the bigger ones? Besides Itme and G&S
Do you think the star power, and general location of LA has boosted the draw, and role playing skill of said streamers? Natural entertainers probably work better on camera
>>46210796
>100 regular viewers in that 15month period seems solid.
That's not what I said. I said 100 followers. That's just people who hit the follow button, not 100 actual live viewers at any one point.
I mean, I've hung out with with EncounterRP on my show before, and I think they're at like, 2500 followers right now, with a show average of 45~ viewers. But at the same time, their show is a lot more audience-driven, and they stream D&D/RPGs 5 days a week, and they've been at it for like, 2 years.
>Hate to beg, could you rattle off one or two of the bigger ones?
Swargula? Wotc_DnD just started doing Curse of Strahd and they're doing well, Koibu is very big, I don't know others.
>>46210908
Apologies. Comparatively, as you stated it seems like you're trending upward, and that's the goal.
Thanks for the additional names. More people to look into. Spread the good word and all that.
>>46210989
>Spread the good word and all that.
Don't, please. Nothing is gained as a community by you spamming links to channels that are already partnered.
>>46210796
>could you rattle off one or two of the bigger ones?
Sorry, I couldn't. I watch ItMeJP and G&S from time to time, and I'm aware of other big D&D streams, but I don't know them by name.
>Do you think the star power
Absolutely. Again, the paid actors thing. G&S, Whil Wheaton, and Acquisitions Inc. are big on star power and experience in the limelight. I wouldn't call them natural entertainers though. Most of these people are trained entertainers, perhaps on top of being naturally entertaining.
You can train yourself to be entertaining. You can train yourself to put on a show. There's no real right or wrong way to do it, sadly. It generally starts with always presenting your stream as if you have people watching you, and then evolves from there.
>>46210908
Sadly, streaming is part luck, part skill. You have to have the skills to appeal to a wider audience by providing them with something they want to see. That often requires you to put in a lot of thought and work into what you do. Getting those viewers comes down to a mixture of luck, and making good connections with the people around you. As it has been pointed out, streaming right now tends to be an oversaturated market. It helps to make friends among your fellow streamers.
My suggestion is that if you want to bolster your D&D or other tabletop streams, you should do two things: First, take the time to build a quality YouTube channel that provides watchable and entertaining recordings of what you produce. Lastly, take the time to look at some big streamers that you like and hear what they have to say about streaming and the kind of work they put in to get where they are. A lot of big streamers put out guides on how to be a better streamer, and most of the basic suggestions are the same throughout the community at large.
>>46211098
We have a Youtube, technically, but it's barely used as anything other than a hub for our session recordings. None of us have the time or skill to edit video, and so there's really no point in putting a ton of effort into keeping a Youtube channel being a primary draw. I don't think D&D does well on Youtube anyway.
I try and network, usually by inviting other streamers and stuff onto my show. I'm guesting on EncounterRP's 24-hour stream this weekend, which they offered after they were on my show.
>>46210305
They're done since a few years back, but damn is it a good listen !!
>>46211238
>I don't think D&D does well on Youtube anyways
It's no superstar, but it's more about drawing upon two audiences simultaneously. Every YouTube viewer you can get to go from watching your YouTube channel to watching you on Twitch benefits you. Every Twitch viewer you can get to view your YouTube videos benefits you as well. Getting more viewers in one can lead to more viewers in the other, and getting more views in either makes it easier for you to get viewers.
Also, using YT as a location for hosting those videos is good for keeping them around. That, at the very least, is a smart move.
>>46211431
Forgot to post my picture.
>>46211486
I'm just saying, I have no real time or desire to start producing Youtube clips or videos, and trying to push out content there. If I were to do it, I'd be giving up literally all of my week to just this one D&D show.
Plus, you'd need YEARS of regular content (not just one 4-hour session live play a week) to approach the 2000+ viewer per-video mark, and NO channel should ever use Geek & Sundry or anything they are associated with as a barometer for how popular a show can be. Because you can't ever be that successful.
>>46211486
Pretty solid view count. Orders of magnitude past what we had on our failed trial run.
>>46211610
You can safely ignore the first two entries on that list, and the second three are all from a channel that's been operating for many years now.
>>46211643
You're not Signal Bootie?
/unsubscribe
>>46211596
>NO channel should ever use G&S or anything they are associated with as a barometer
It's a good thing nobody was. However, G&S pours viewers into the pot. That's an undeniable aspect of big streamers and YouTubers. Some people stay for the game.
>>46211643
The point is that people watch D&D-related content. The people exist and will watch if they're given a reason and desire to do so. It's getting them to watch that's the hard part, not whether or not there's an audience to attract.
>>46209274
10-15 minutes explaining a game that I want to play but don't have the time, and what about that game is cool.
>>46211957
This is what I like, but for games like Paranoia XP and SLA Industries or whatever else is neat but obscure and I'll never get to play it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhug8E7s210
>>46211957
>>46212009
There's only one, maybe two series of Cyberpunk 2020 that I've been able to find. One of them is actually somewhat entertaining and watchable.
There are a lot of games out there, good and bad, that don't have any videos of them being played, or at least not any that are worth watching.
>>46212246
True. Maybe someone should make overview/play vids of them for posterity and future gaming generations.
I'd like to see someone do After the Bomb and CthulhuTech.
