Discussions and news about gaming on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems (including the Steam Deck). Potentially a $HOME away from home for disgruntled /r/linux_gaming denizens of the redditarian demesne.
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Hey! If you want something a bit less intimidating and you want an open source platform, you could join us on Owncast! It's a self hosted fediverse-connected streaming platform!
https://github.com/owncast/owncast
We're a small group of streamers, but I can get 10-20 viewers on a stream. Happy to talk more about it if you're interested!
+1 for Owncast! great community.
I would only stream if it's something you will enjoy doing regardless of success. I have some friends who have treated streaming like a job for years and their viewercounts are still pretty low (~20-50). Something like a youtube channel would be a helpful addition/alternative as well, so at least your content doesn't continuously disappear into the void.
Yeah this is it really. If you are aiming to be the next big thing... don't bother. But if the idea of doing it seems fun there is no down side. You probably do it for some giggles in your fee time to a couple of viewers that you form some friendships with. The long shot is you catch on but I would not count on it.
I get like 10 viewers on a good day lol, but it's more fun than playing offline
i want to stream games
Awesome, do it. Have fun. No reason to overthink it. I think that's really cool.
do it for fun, for yourself and your friends. anything else is bonus.
and use Owncast. don't be an ad-mule for Bezos.
Every time I've seen major streamers asked similar questions, the answer has usually been "just do it." If you enjoy it, keep doing it, if you don't stop.
In all likelihood, early on you might get the occasional singular viewer, but otherwise you won't get much, which will provide you with time to get used to talking and narrating while playing, as well as develop some kind of style or tone that you want to go for.
As for concerns over what people think of you, as you get more comfortable with things, you'll find an audience who enjoys what you're doing. It's kind of the nature of the platform. You'll also get people who don't like what you're doing and really want to tell you about it, that's also the nature of the platform. They can be ignored and/or banned if it's bad enough. Probably a good idea to set some stream rules early on and enforce them.
But at the end of the day, what matters is that you're having fun.
I did some vague streaming stuff for some friends and really enjoyed playing around with OBS to get some overlays and stuff. As long as you're getting into it cause you find it fun, I see no reason to not try it. Just keep in mind you'll probably not make it big and this will remain what it starts as: a hobby. Don't let others deter you from trying atuff out. Even If it's not your thing you learned some skills and what you like/don't like.
I'd just do it. And for the platform, don't use Twitch. Use something like Kick, YouTube, ZapStream (Nostr), Odysee, or PeerTube. Owncast might be cool, but I hadn't looked into that yet.
I've seen some streamers set up so that they can stream on multiple services simultaneously. It might be something worth looking into.
Something like Streamyard allows you to do that, but I think A1RM4X did something with a piece of FOSS that allowed one to multi-cast using a computer that isn't the main streaming PC.
You need one of two things, either an incredibly interesting personality with a magnetism that draws people in, or you need to be hot. Otherwise yeah, probably gonna peak around 10 viewers or so. The algorithms of all the platforms, not just Twitch seem to be setup so building a new following is almost impossible
Just do it for a year and see if people will like it. You'll probably not have a lot of viewers, definitely at the start of this endeavour, but perseverance is key.
Make sure you stream with the "linux" tag so thag people who follow that tag around like me can find you!
If by "too late" you mean "too late to get popular, rich or famous", well sure, it's going to be a lot harder now that there are enormous channels that got there first and where people are used to going for content, but if you have something that people want, there's a chance people will find you eventually.
But that's still not to say you'll be big and famous. There are streamers who have been streaming for years who get only a handful of viewers every time they do. And yet they still do it because they love it.
On the other hand, there are many, many people who started streaming but quit because they had to make a living and their time was better spent elsewhere. Streaming only works as a career for, I want to say, the top few percent. (I don't actually know the figures, but I'd be surprised to learn it was a big number.)
As for equipment, I've looked in on smaller channels streaming on Twitch. Not all of them have good stuff. No transitions. No Vtuber avatar. No mic. No webcam. Just raw, live game footage and maybe a little interacting in the chat. Upgrades can happen later.
But if by "too late" you mean that no-one should even think about starting doing streams ever because it's all been done, or someone's already doing it, then no, of course not. The day it'll be too late will be the day all the streaming services shut down.
Streaming is free and easy to get into. Spend some time trying it out to see if it's something you want to do. Will you have a ton of viewers? Probably not. But if you have a schedule and stick to it decently, you can build a community. It may never grow to something huge, but you'll get a few folks who will check in regularly.
I've been steaming with my friends about twice a week for a couple years. It's their channel, I just join in more often than not. They've got like, 30 followers, usually 0-1 viewers, but I think it's more important that it's a scheduled time to play games and hang out.
My advice would be give it a shot, and don't worry about the algorithm, viewers, or content optimization, because getting to be a big streamer is like being a rock star, highly unlikely. Just play games and turn on the stream.
Why are you asking on Linux gaming? That being said when questions like this are being asked here, Linux gaming has gotten quite a bit easier.
Presumably they intend to stream from a Linux machine
How would it be too late? To develop a huge following? Idk, buy if you just want to stream for the hell of it, I don't see how that matters. I've not gamed much the last few years, but I started again recently, upgraded my computer, and my ISP bumped my upload speed (finally), so I can stream without it impacting my game play.
I turn it on if I remember, but since I'm streaming just because why not (maybe I'll find someone new to game with or maybe someone will be amused by my shitty skills), I don't do it regularly and have no regular followers, as such, I forget to check the chat and have often had people join and type and then leave, presumably because I ignored them (or I'm just not worth watching).
OK a lot of rambling, I guess the summary is, stream because you want to, not because you want a following/make money and then it's definitely not too late, but also don't ignore the people who join your stream.
Why do you want to? If it's to be 'famous' or 'make money,' absolutely not. If it's to just have some company while you game, a community might be better but it probably won't be bad for that. If it's because you like to entertain, maybe. It can be practice for public performance. Just beware audience capture.
If you afraid do it on a private discord server with only a few of your friends
