Month: June 2018

So you have the gear, the internet connection is stable, XSplit is set up and Player.me overlays are ready. What now? Well, stream, obviously, but are there more things you could improve? More little Secret Tips That Streamers Don’t Want You To Know? (hey, if it works for those weird ads it might work for us?).

Watch More Streams

Who got you into streaming to begin with? What did you like about them? Now, it’s a terrible idea to copy a streamer but there will be core elements from someone that resonate with you. Do they have a friendly attitude? Is inclusivity important to them? Do they focus more on showing you how good they are at whatever it is they are streaming? There’s something to learn from every stream you watch, both good or bad (“I don’t want to be like them!” is just as valid a take away) and the only way you can get this info is by watching! All of this experience and info is out there and being demonstrated to you right now wherever you find people doing things live!

Talk to Streamers

Remember in that intro paragraph we said “Secret Tips That Streamers Don’t Want You To Know”? Not only is this a terrible reference that has been done to death, but it turns out a lot of streamers do want you to know more about their experiences. From vlogs, meeting them at conventions or just asking them polite questions in chat when they have initiated conversation they can be friendly and helpful. Don’t just jump in someones chat and hijack it with tons of “how do I be the biggest streamer in the world?” type questions or just ask streamers “follow me on Twitter” as an opening gambit at conventions. You know how you talk to someone you respect or how you’d like people to talk to you? Just do that!

Don’t Focus on the Numbers

From viewership, to subscribers and donations you can easily get caught up worrying about these things. So much so that they can become the soul focus of the stream. How many times have you jumped in to someones stream to hear them talking about sub numbers or what the viewership is like? If you let these things dominate conversation or even your internal conversation they will change how you present yourself, what you talk about and what you think about when you stream. It won’t be fun any more.

Stream with Friends

Either having friends watching you and hanging out while you play or playing a game together and streaming it can make it a lot more fun for both you and the viewer. Your friends might be streaming themselves at the same time from home or you’re all together playing a multiplayer game.

Don’t Stream for Long Periods of Time with No Breaks

While we do see many streamers doing charity streams or just streaming for entire days, we don’t recommend it. While regular schedules are important for bringing back an audience over time, streaming for long hours with no breaks can be bad for you both physically and mentally. Schedule out your time, make sure you stop, get up, get some water and some fresh air every few hours or so. If you’re feeling better, the stream will be better.

Make Sure you’re Having Fun

There isn’t a magic way to get more people to watch you but I can guarantee that you will keep more people if you are being yourself and you’re having fun. Would you want to watch someone pretending to be “a streamer”, playing a game they don’t really like to get viewers? Someone who loves what they do shines through, you’ll be happier and your stream will be better.

With XSplit once again sponsoring this year’s Zeldathon Champions, we thought it would be awesome to give you guys some insight about the event and the brainchild behind it, SuperMCGamer.

Matthew Moffit aka SuperMCGamer is one of our all time favorites, not only because he’s been using XSplit since pre-XSplit days, but because he’s one of the best in the business. He’s part of our Elite Program and we’ve worked with him many times in the past (here’s one).

We decided to pick his brain a bit ahead of Zeldathon Champions and here’s the exchange.

You’re a popular figure in the space but for those who don’t know you, tell them a bit about yourself

SuperMCGamer: I am MC, I am the Executive Director of Zeldathon. I also work on various other charity projects such as Direct Relief Gaming.

Tell us about Zeldathon and what inspired you to start it

SuperMCGamer: Zeldathon started back in 2009. After watching a group called The Speed Gamers streaming on Ustream for charity, I worked with my friend Zak to start Zeldathon. We played Zelda for 36 hours on a under-powered laptop and raised just over $300 for Child’s Play Charity. After that, we just kept trying to improve, buying new technology, bringing in more entertainers, and working to get better at our games. Now, we’ve raised nearly two million dollars for charity, and are heading into our 22nd event this June.

What’s the most rewarding thing about running an event like this?

SuperMCGamer: Every event, we keep learning more about production and how to make our event something that is appealing for everyone to watch. But more than that, we keep hearing from charities how surprised they are that gamers can bring so much money and awareness to their cause. It’s really rewarding to hear that we are not just changing entertainment, but how non-profits fundraise on a high level.

You’ve been using XSplit for a long time. What are your favorite features?

SuperMCGamer: XSplit has been instrumental in making our events as amazing as they are. The infinite scenes that were added have allowed us to not fuss with multiple files and we can contain our entire event in one UI. If we ever need to make adjustments on the fly, the Preview Editor and Split View features have helped us keep a high production value by avoiding editing live. However, overall, our favorite features are just the great options on every source. The quick adjustments and settings for everything really allow us to make an experience that is all our own.

What tips can you give aspiring streamers who want to be like you someday?

SuperMCGamer: Any streamers out there trying to build an event need to remember to never settle for what they have. Constantly look into how to improve your event. Microphones, cameras, overlays, entertainment, game skill. Everything can be improved over time, just keep at it and don’t worry about the numbers. Have fun with it.

You can support Zeldathon by spreading the word on your stream and social media channels. It begins on June 15th 2018 and will be live streamed non stop at twitch.tv/supermcgamer.