Game Streaming is Harder Than I Thought.

When I found out that many people were making money, or at least a lot of fans by making gaming videos on YouTube and Twitch, I thought to myself that this is something I could do. I never liked playing video games for hours because I felt like it wasn’t something productive. All my time spent into a virtual world that had no progression in reality. So, I thought making gaming videos would be something productive and fun while I play video games since I could potentially make money and fame from it.

I thought I had nothing to lose by investing in streaming equipment. I spent over a thousand dollars on a PC desktop, game capture card, and other accessories to make a quality gaming experience. I realized that game streaming is much complicated than it looks, and if you don’t already love playing video games, then the possibility of making money from video games still won’t give you the motivation to do it.

First of all, there are many different methods to streaming. First, the platform of live streaming, or game capturing. Live streaming is when people watch you play a game in real time. Game capturing is when you record your gameplay and upload it for people to watch at any time.

For people who are interested in game streaming, the first thing I recommend is to decide what platform you want to stream on such as YouTube, Twitch, or straight from your console or PC. Twitch is a dedicated server for game streaming, but I chose YouTube because all the game streamers I watch are on YouTube and I watch a lot of YouTube videos, so I might as well upload my videos there too.

Then, you want to think about what type of games you play and the necessity of streaming method. Sport games are pretty boring to watch, so you would want to include a live video of yourself reacting to the gameplay to make it more entertaining. Call of Duty has a lot of action, so you can do just fine with merely recording the gameplay, and if you want to just add commentary.

But, before you buy any equipment, be honest with yourself about how dedicated you will be with gaming. Factor in your work schedule and every other duty you have on a daily basis. Think about what things are you willing to give up to make time for streaming.

I got so excited about making video gaming a side gig that I didn’t determine what games I’m passionate about streaming, what equipment I need to stream how I want, or how much time I will actually have to dedicate to streaming. I just looked at the equipment top streamers have and went and bought it without realizing that that equipment is advanced for me.

Although, I realize game streaming is more difficult than I thought it’ll be, all I have to do is get aggressive with my time and effort and make it happen.