Apart from placing Nascar odds and betting on various games and leagues, there are also many gamers, bettors, and players that enjoy watching streamers play games. For this reason, there are various platforms that allow viewers to tune in on games, live or recorded, so they can watch experienced and professional gamers play.
Bigger than YouTube and Facebook, Twitch happens to be a leading streaming platform that allows viewers to watch games for the purposes of entertainment, wanting to be part of a community of other viewers that share the same interests, and to improve on their personal video gaming experiences.
If you aspire to be one of the experienced and professional gamers to provide live video game streaming one day, then you will definitely need a beginner’s guide to steer you in the right direction on how to go about it. Today, you happen to be in the right place at the right time because we have everything you’ll need to get you started.
Twitch: An Overview
The presence of Twitch has played a significant role in allowing live streaming to be possible for various content creators of different genres. Even if you aren’t a gamer, there is still an opportunity for you to make it in the world of live online broadcasting if you know how.
How To Create A Twitch Account For Live Streaming
1. Look At The Community Guidelines
Before signing up on the Twitch platform, it’s advisable that you go through the Twitch website for more information on the legalities behind live streaming. It’s a lot of jargon to go through, however, you must pay special attention to the community guidelines. Be sure to do this before signing up on Twitch, and to keep yourself well informed on these, bookmark the page for those needed occasional updates.
2. Create A Twitch Account
To have access to Twitch features and functions, you need to be a registered Twitch user. With all content creators, you need to create an account with the platform itself. After this, the gear, software, and process behind streaming will follow. This is straightforward to do with no fees charged on registration.
On a desktop, this will be very easy to do. On a mobile device, however, you would need to download the Twitch app first to sign up.
3. Allow For Two-Factor Authentication
It’s worth noting that you won’t be able to broadcast on Twitch if you haven’t enabled 2FA. To do this, you will need a desktop. Log into your Twitch account, locate the security settings, and proceed to enable 2FA. To complete the process, you will need your mobile phone.
Live Streaming Software For Twitch
When you’re broadcasting on Twitch using a desktop, start with software encoders unless you’re able to find hardware encoders. Each encoder will come with its own advantages and disadvantages, however, if you’re looking for some popular options, then you can look into:
- OBS Studio
- Streamlabs OBS
- XSplit
- vMix
When it comes to hardware, you don’t need the best video quality to get started. However, the one thing you should note is that gaming and encoding can sometimes be a lot for a computer’s CPU to process when you’re in the process of broadcasting the video game. So, to avoid any issues, get a CPU that’s powerful enough to handle the process.
The Gear
As you go about broadcasting the video game to Twitch viewers, the basics that you will need are a microphone and webcam. Other important gear that you will need to consider is:
- Proper and adequate lighting so you’re clearer on screen
- A green screen so you can add or remove backgrounds
- Game capture cards in case you’re looking to make use of a two-computer setup or wish to stream console games through the use of a computer
- Stream deck to trigger commands on a touchscreen
As you grow in the light of being an experienced content producer on Twitch, you will gradually add other gear that you feel will make your job easier and the viewer’s experience more satisfying. It’s certainly not expensive to start, so be sure to get going now without wasting another second questioning it.
