Twitch® For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018963624
ISBN 978-1-119-54026-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-54025-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-54029-8 (ebk)
If you play video games — regardless of your age, your platform, or your preference of FPS or MMO — you may have noticed there’s this feature offered to share your gameplay. “What is that?” you might wonder before jumping into your game. Weeks later, that “Share Your Gameplay” option has been nagging at you. The only way you can quell this curiosity is to go online and do a little digging to discover this thing called streaming. Now, if you have been involved with online media for as long as I have (see Wiley Publishing's Podcasting For Dummies for all the details there), streaming in the early days of podcasting was emerging against many technological barriers, dependent on many factors ranging from computer processor speeds to Internet connections to host server capabilities. And if the stars aligned, you might get a video feed matching the quality of a convenience store security camera.
Then technology evolved. Computers not only performed faster, they performed more efficiently. And developers who created the hardware and software to stream also made the technology more accessible. Then came along a service called Justin.tv. Then Justin.tv evolved into its final form — Twitch.
I’m sure my own reaction was not too far from yours. Twitch? Sounds serious. Have you consulted a physician?
Twitch For Dummies offers you an explanation and a gateway, not into a strange medical affliction, but into an exciting, new entertainment platform that features video games and so much more. Beginning with the question at the forefront of your mind — What is Twitch? — this book takes you through the fastest-growing trend that is becoming a source of income for many. By the time you reach the end of this book, you will know how to stream, how to present, and how to effectively get your word out to audiences everywhere — and you can even have a bit of fun along the way.
Twitch For Dummies should be these things to all who pick up and read it (whether straight through or by jumping around in the chapters):
There will be plenty of answers in these pages, and if you find the answers too elementary, I will provide you plenty of points of reference to research. I don’t claim to have all the solutions, quick fixes, and resolutions to all possible Twitch queries, but I will present to you the basic building blocks and first steps for beginning a stream. As with any For Dummies book, my responsibility is to offer you a foundation on which to build your Channel and grow.
I feel the need to also mention that I feature just a fraction of Twitch streamers that are online streaming their hearts out. You may not hear from your favorite Twitch streamer. In fact, you may hear from streamers that you may have never heard or seen before, and you may think “Why didn’t you talk to [insert favorite streamer here]?” While you may not know these streamers, I do, and what I have learned from them I hope to pass along to you.
This book was written as a linear path from the conceptualization stages to the final production of your content. However, not everyone needs to read this book from page one. If you’ve already gotten your feet wet with the various aspects of streaming or Twitch itself, feel free to jump around from section to section and read the parts that you need. We provide plenty of guides back to other relevant chapters for when the going gets murky.
So you’re trekking through the book, making some real progress with developing your podcast, when suddenly these little icons leap out, grab you by the throat, and wrestle you to the ground. (Who would have thought streaming was so action-packed, like a Daniel Craig Bond movie, huh?) What do all these little drawings mean? Glad you asked.
You can find a little more helpful Twitch-related information on www.dummies.com
, where you can peruse this book's Cheat Sheet. To get this handy resource, go to www.dummies.com
and type Twitch For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
In addition to the website hosted by the good people at www.dummies.com
, this book comes with a companion Twitch stream, airing on Sunday afternoons. From your browser of choice, visit www.twitch.tv/theteemonster
, and follow (or subscribe) to receive notifications when Twitch For Dummies author, yours truly, Tee Morris, goes live to take your questions. And maybe, on occasion, I may be joined online or in-studio by special guests, some you may read about in this book. Your questions are encouraged as I cover concepts in this book explored in greater detail, from Photoshop tutorials in creating overlays, to converting video content to audio, to managing the business of your Twitch stream.
At this point, many For Dummies authors say something snappy, clever, or even a bit snarky. Chuck and I did so often throughout editions of Podcasting For Dummies, and I continue that tradition here. My best tongue-in-cheek material is saved for the pages inside, so here’s a more serious approach …
If you want to hop around the book, that’s your decision, but I suggest planting yourself in front of a computer and starting with Chapter 1. Together, we check out a few links, put together a Twitch Channel, and then we start working on that streaming persona. Along the way, I’m going to talk to other Twitch streamers and ask their advice, suggest other Twitch streams and their companion podcasts that can educate, inspire, and enlighten you. And through it all, we are going to work together to create engaging, original content.
Where do we go from here? Out into the Great Wide Open, my friends. So buckle up. It’s going to be a heck of a ride.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Set up your Twitch account and creating a complete profile.
Explore the Twitch platform by watching and following those who are already established on Twitch or are working to do so.
Put together a simple streaming setup using your gaming console.
Launch your Twitch Channel, critique your first week, and consider the options for you and the content you create.