Here, you can listen to Host Alert Episode 2 – “Game Choice“. If you don’t have the time to listen, I will be keeping up with the podcast and publish brief summaries of each episode as they come out, highlighting the major topics and discussions. That being said, I recommend giving it a shot. The hosts have good chemistry together, are like-able and I think this podcast will grow to be a fun and helpful resource for many newer streamers out there.

Episode 2 – “Game Choice”

Overview

Episode 2 of Host Alert covers how important your game choice can be when streaming on Twitch. Marstead and Pythagotron go over different ways you can evaluate a game if you’re thinking of streaming it.

Major Points

• Finding viewer game interests that overlap can be helpful in retaining viewers across games.
• Blind playthroughs of games are attractive to viewers who have already played them and who may be interested in the streamer’s experiences.
• Different games can provide different chat interactions. For example; people may advise you on strategic decisions in games like Darkest Dungeon and Hearthstone, but may be more into discussing Lore/Story in a game like Fallout 4 and Dark Souls.
• The level of chat interaction can be dependent on game choice. Turn based games give frequent breaks to focus on chat whereas fast paced games such as Furi require constant attention during game play.
• Certain games have different levels of loyalty for the viewer. Many people are only interested in watching a certain game. Don’t be afraid to build up a community on a game but be conscious you may also lose viewership when switching.
• Smaller streamers have viewers that are more attached to the game generally than the streamer’s personality
• Gaining loyal viewers to carry over is much easier in niche games/markets
  • Less streamers to contend with
  • Viewers are more attracted to streamers who play their favourite games that may not be big on Twitch. This can create a more intimate connection.
  • Bonding over a lesser known game fosters a streamer-viewer relationship that can carry over to more games when you switch.
• Saturated games will provide little to no growth due to Twitch’s sorting system and the amount of streamers playing that game. Games such as CS:GO, Hearthstone, and Overwatch are examples of saturated games.
• While viewership is important, you have to make sure to stream a game you have genuine interest in.
• If a game is going to be grindy or boring to you to play, it will likely be boring to watch for new viewers. Those situations can be fine for streamers who have large, interactive chats but as smaller streamers it requires more of you from an entertainment perspective to keep people’s interest when doing grindy/slow games.
• While not as entertaining to watch, grindy games can provide more time for a streamer to get to know their audience on a personal level since grindy/farming situations have less game content to talk about. Games like Hearthstone can have the opposite effect since there are always strategic decisions about the game you can talk about.
• Having friends in voice chat can help break that train of technical/strategy talk but always be mindful you don’t get too absorbed in the voice chat conversation. This can lead to ignoring chat as they will feel they don’t want to interrupt your conversation. It’s about finding a balance.
• Choosing games that leave room for viewer interaction can be a double-edged sword. For example, while story games provide lots of cut-scenes and time to interact with chat, you are sacrificing some level of immersion.
• Having a scene built purely for cut-scenes can help alleviate this. A scene for important cutscenes that has no overlays, webcam, etc. to allow both you and your viewers to be immersed in that moment.
• Regardless of the game you choose, spoilers can come in different forms and it is important to start as early as possible in your channel developing rules to handle spoilers and to what degree.

Make sure to check out previous and future episodes of Host Alert here.