Hey Folks! It is a very story morning and I am listening to the rain pouring down around me right now as I sit down to write a post that likely no one is interested in. About a week ago I had an interaction with someone on twitter that was asking a pretty simple question. However my answer veered off in a different direction than I think they were expecting and I have been thinking about my comments for the last week. I guess let’s start with what exactly I said.

No and honestly I am personally tiring of the machinery of streaming. I find it so much more likely that I stick around and watch a stream if it is just a person playing a game with or without a camera, but I might be the exception rather than the rule. Overlays and Alerts and subscription widgets and all of that stuff was really cool when it was brand new, but now that it feels like everyone is obligated to have all of these things going on… it is sorta distorting the experience of hanging out with someone while they play

I realize that I am probably in the minority with this statement, but I have very much found myself tiring of the machinery of streaming. I know that is a strange phrase but I am not sure how else to describe it. Streams as a whole are now these large productions that end up feeling an awful lot like the barker at a carnival sideshow. Logging into a stream these days involves all of these widgets going off competing for your attention. Not only is there the flow of chat that is often incomprehensible but also tickers scrolling indicating who is leading in the donation count and alerts popping up each time some sort of interaction goal is met or follow is achieved. Everything competing for your attention but none of it really garnering it.

Once again I realize I probably use Twitch in a different manner than the most diehard of users. I tune in when I see that one of my friends is streaming and more or less it is for the purpose of hanging out while they play a game. All of the accoutrements feels like it gets in the way of that singular purpose. Twitch has sorta become this nesting doll of mini-games over the years and as a result it feels like the general experience of hanging out with someone while they play a game gets lost in the process. I realize that for some that might not be the core reason why they tune into Twitch or YouTube Gaming, but for me it is very much the case that I am there for that simple core interaction with a streamer while they are playing a game. I remember dabbling in bots and alerts and running StreamLabs OBS because it sort of took care of everything for me. It was all new and exciting and fun to configure the first time, but after having seen it play out countless times on stream it all wears a little thin. I am significantly more engaged when I just see someone streaming a game and occasionally interacting with chat than I am when someone has a streamer theme package and a whole lot of doodads consuming screen real estate. I get in some ways many of these streams are trying to create a self perpetuating feedback cycle that keeps folks engaged in a constant loop, but for me… I find myself wanting off of that ride quickly.

Weirdly I used to stream quite a bit. In my head that seems like it was only a little bit ago that I did this thing but looking back… my prolific period was roughly seven years ago. Also looking back, the very last time that I went live with any game was roughly two years ago. I am not sure WHY I stopped streaming. I think on some level I just ended up stuck in a very turtle mode rut of not interacting with other human beings while gaming. That has more or less been the case for a few years now of me avoiding multiplayer content and absolutely avoiding anything resembling public exhibition while gaming. I do sorta miss the concept of sharing what I was doing with a very small group of people who tuned in to watch it. I’m a Twitch Affiliate, but then again so is everyone else given that those requirements are pretty low.

There are times that I flirt with the concept of going live again but always stop myself before actually doing it. More recently I have recorded a number of videos of me playing various games starting with Minecraft but more recently Valheim. Those have felt pretty good when I have recorded them, but it is also a very one-sided interaction. It feels safe to treat those much in the same way as I do this blog in that on some level I pretend that I am largely talking to myself and ignoring the fact that someone at some point is going to consume the thing I created. With streaming you don’t really have that luxury because you are effectively on air and live to the world, but then it feels bad if no one shows up to that broadcast to keep you company.

The funny thing about my prolific streaming period… is I guess I did not realize just how much I streamed. Essentially there are videos that were replicated over to YouTube of pretty much my entire play through of Elder Scrolls Online and the main story at launch. I think I added it up and just ESO alone it was some fifty hours of streaming. Included in these are a few gems that I have recently revisited of some of us experiencing dungeons for the very first time. This for example is Banished Cells with general group commentary streaming along with me. Watching these again is almost like seeing a version of me that I barely recognize. I was always grouped and always running group content and now I seem to avoid that like the freaking plague. I am not even certain how I used to put myself out there constantly like that.

While I have wildly veered off topic, it seems like my personal jam is just enough stuff on screen to explain what game you are playing and also maybe hide chat. Like ultimately that is why I started putting shit on the screen as an overlay in the first place. It wasn’t necessarily that I was trying to hide anything, but more that I was trying to protect the privacy of any folks that might be interacting with me over chat. Like there was once a time when I would log in to a bunch of messages from friends and I didn’t want any of those inadvertently broadcast. However my personal preference would always land on the side of just straight broadcasting my screen with some random voice over commentary.

I feel like I have lost a lot of the “Me” that existed a decade ago. Like I said before I barely recognize the person who was so prolifically streaming seven years ago. Truth be told I barely recognize the me that was hanging out and streaming World of Warcraft in lieu of recording AggroChat in the above video. I have become so filled with self doubt and anxiety that just talking to another human being in game is a chore that burns through all of my utensils for the day. The problem being that I am not sure how to get back to the person that I used to be. Things change and you don’t realize they are changing until you have gone so far down a path that you can barely see where you started. Today’s post is proof that I do not stage these topics ahead of time, because I started talking about one thing and then have veered wildly into another. There is a part of me that sorta wants to go live again. Maybe in doing so it would force me to start dipping my toes into group play again. I doubt I would have anyone watch my nonsense, but just the act of sorta putting myself out there might start to batter down this barrier I have built up around me. I miss the person that I used to be and I am not sure yet how to get back there. The post Machinery of Streaming appeared first on Tales of the Aggronaut.

Hey Folks! It is a very story morning and I am listening to the rain pouring down around me right now as I sit down to write a post that likely no one is interested in. About a week ago I had an interaction with someone on twitter that was asking a pretty simple question. However my answer veered off in a different direction than I think they were expecting and I have been thinking about my comments for the last week. I guess let’s start with what exactly I said.

No and honestly I am personally tiring of the machinery of streaming. I find it so much more likely that I stick around and watch a stream if it is just a person playing a game with or without a camera, but I might be the exception rather than the rule. Overlays and Alerts and subscription widgets and all of that stuff was really cool when it was brand new, but now that it feels like everyone is obligated to have all of these things going on… it is sorta distorting the experience of hanging out with someone while they play

I realize that I am probably in the minority with this statement, but I have very much found myself tiring of the machinery of streaming. I know that is a strange phrase but I am not sure how else to describe it. Streams as a whole are now these large productions that end up feeling an awful lot like the barker at a carnival sideshow. Logging into a stream these days involves all of these widgets going off competing for your attention. Not only is there the flow of chat that is often incomprehensible but also tickers scrolling indicating who is leading in the donation count and alerts popping up each time some sort of interaction goal is met or follow is achieved. Everything competing for your attention but none of it really garnering it.

Once again I realize I probably use Twitch in a different manner than the most diehard of users. I tune in when I see that one of my friends is streaming and more or less it is for the purpose of hanging out while they play a game. All of the accoutrements feels like it gets in the way of that singular purpose. Twitch has sorta become this nesting doll of mini-games over the years and as a result it feels like the general experience of hanging out with someone while they play a game gets lost in the process. I realize that for some that might not be the core reason why they tune into Twitch or YouTube Gaming, but for me it is very much the case that I am there for that simple core interaction with a streamer while they are playing a game. I remember dabbling in bots and alerts and running StreamLabs OBS because it sort of took care of everything for me. It was all new and exciting and fun to configure the first time, but after having seen it play out countless times on stream it all wears a little thin. I am significantly more engaged when I just see someone streaming a game and occasionally interacting with chat than I am when someone has a streamer theme package and a whole lot of doodads consuming screen real estate. I get in some ways many of these streams are trying to create a self perpetuating feedback cycle that keeps folks engaged in a constant loop, but for me… I find myself wanting off of that ride quickly.

Weirdly I used to stream quite a bit. In my head that seems like it was only a little bit ago that I did this thing but looking back… my prolific period was roughly seven years ago. Also looking back, the very last time that I went live with any game was roughly two years ago. I am not sure WHY I stopped streaming. I think on some level I just ended up stuck in a very turtle mode rut of not interacting with other human beings while gaming. That has more or less been the case for a few years now of me avoiding multiplayer content and absolutely avoiding anything resembling public exhibition while gaming. I do sorta miss the concept of sharing what I was doing with a very small group of people who tuned in to watch it. I’m a Twitch Affiliate, but then again so is everyone else given that those requirements are pretty low.

There are times that I flirt with the concept of going live again but always stop myself before actually doing it. More recently I have recorded a number of videos of me playing various games starting with Minecraft but more recently Valheim. Those have felt pretty good when I have recorded them, but it is also a very one-sided interaction. It feels safe to treat those much in the same way as I do this blog in that on some level I pretend that I am largely talking to myself and ignoring the fact that someone at some point is going to consume the thing I created. With streaming you don’t really have that luxury because you are effectively on air and live to the world, but then it feels bad if no one shows up to that broadcast to keep you company.

The funny thing about my prolific streaming period… is I guess I did not realize just how much I streamed. Essentially there are videos that were replicated over to YouTube of pretty much my entire play through of Elder Scrolls Online and the main story at launch. I think I added it up and just ESO alone it was some fifty hours of streaming. Included in these are a few gems that I have recently revisited of some of us experiencing dungeons for the very first time. This for example is Banished Cells with general group commentary streaming along with me. Watching these again is almost like seeing a version of me that I barely recognize. I was always grouped and always running group content and now I seem to avoid that like the freaking plague. I am not even certain how I used to put myself out there constantly like that.

While I have wildly veered off topic, it seems like my personal jam is just enough stuff on screen to explain what game you are playing and also maybe hide chat. Like ultimately that is why I started putting shit on the screen as an overlay in the first place. It wasn’t necessarily that I was trying to hide anything, but more that I was trying to protect the privacy of any folks that might be interacting with me over chat. Like there was once a time when I would log in to a bunch of messages from friends and I didn’t want any of those inadvertently broadcast. However my personal preference would always land on the side of just straight broadcasting my screen with some random voice over commentary.

I feel like I have lost a lot of the “Me” that existed a decade ago. Like I said before I barely recognize the person who was so prolifically streaming seven years ago. Truth be told I barely recognize the me that was hanging out and streaming World of Warcraft in lieu of recording AggroChat in the above video. I have become so filled with self doubt and anxiety that just talking to another human being in game is a chore that burns through all of my utensils for the day. The problem being that I am not sure how to get back to the person that I used to be. Things change and you don’t realize they are changing until you have gone so far down a path that you can barely see where you started. Today’s post is proof that I do not stage these topics ahead of time, because I started talking about one thing and then have veered wildly into another. There is a part of me that sorta wants to go live again. Maybe in doing so it would force me to start dipping my toes into group play again. I doubt I would have anyone watch my nonsense, but just the act of sorta putting myself out there might start to batter down this barrier I have built up around me. I miss the person that I used to be and I am not sure yet how to get back there. The post Machinery of Streaming appeared first on Tales of the Aggronaut.