Looking for a Streaming Buddy or How to Find People to Stream with

It may seem easy to find a partner for a gameplay, but in practice searching for someone to stream with can become a tricky thing. The main rule is never asking a stranger or a person who you absolutely don’t know to stream with. Indeed, in real life, you will never walk up to a stranger offering to spend sometime with you. It is weird and inappropriate. The same thing happens in the Internet: there are some etiquette rules to follow in order to “meet” like-minded people and create stable relations. Below is our simple guide to help you find “your person” to stream with.

Why Searching for People to Stream With?

  • To not get bored. If you are streaming for several years alone, you may become bored to speak to the camera during 2-5 hours. So, finding a person to stream with can bring a little relief and variety to your everyday content.
  • To make your stream more entertaining. Live interaction, discussions and jokes are always welcome in any stream. If you are a reserved person, finding a sociable partner can benefit your stream.
  • To make your stream available in different languages. If your partner knows other languages than you, you can try to do bilingual streams, thus expanding your potential audience.
  • To learn from somebody or share your experience with another person. Game tutoring  (it can also be creative tutoring) is a nice idea. You can stream with a lesser known streamer and help when he/she needs to be assisted, or vice versa.

Search for Someone who Share Your Interests, Do a Research

Many small streamers complain that there is not enough support for them on Twitch. That maybe true, but some things can be done by streamers themselves to attract people to their channels. When searching for a partner, don’t start with huge streamers. They, probably, won’t even reply to you. Once you find a nice person to stream with, do some research work to see if you like him/her personality and produced content. Then, say “Hi” and initiate some conversation. Communicate with this person regularly, demonstrate your interest. Be active in chat, otherwise the streamer won’t notice you. A few hours in somebody’s stream is not enough to get  to know other person. Try to spend a few weeks or months in bold of the streamer you like. It is also a good idea to host him/her on your Twitch channel. When doing this, don’t forget to tweet about this event and tag the person. All these steps will help you become friends and understand if you suit one another. Regardless of response, try to be polite and professional when approaching any streamer you want to play with. Don’t choose a streamer based only on his/her viewer count, it can be misleading. Search for a nice, friendly person instead. The person you want to be around and suit best for your community.

How To Organize Streaming with Two or More People at the Same Time

  • You Are Playing the Game While Other Person Commenting
If you and your partner are streaming from different PC or tablets, the easiest broadcast option is using a Skype video-call or Google Hangouts. TeamSpeak in combination with TS3Video plugin can also be handy. All these software options help organize video-conferences.
  • Co-op Gaming
In order to place your partner’s video into your stream, just use window capturing. Specify a region for a new scene in OBS (XSplit or whatever you use) settings to make sure your partner’s camera is showing on stream. Also, it may be needed to adjust your video and audio source delays in OBS to make everything syncs properly. CheckOverBoredGaming, it is a good example of duo gaming experience. P.S. If you are using OBS software, to adjust your video and audio settings when you stream with another person, do the following: 1) click on a small gear close to the sign “Mixer” and you will sync your audio delays. 2) click on video source, then “Filters” and “Latency Delay Filter” to sync your video delays.

Top Popular Places to Search for Streaming Buddies

  • Reddit
Search for people in “co-op” discussions or simply by typing “who want to play with me” or “where to find people to stream with” questions.
  • Game Directories
Go to the "Games" directory and find games you play or like. Look for streamers with the average amount of viewers, try to interact with them and see if you enjoy them. Here is one of the examples of such directory for all Minecraft fans.
  • Creative Forums and Communities
If talk about co-op streaming for Twitch Creative, search for like-minded people on corresponding handmade and creative directories, there are plenty of them in the Internet.
  • Twitch
Inform on Twitch about the time you would normally stream, go to the game/s you want to stream and channels of your size asking if they would like to stream with you.
  • Steam
It is not only a shop where you can find any game, but also a big gaming community and social network of viewers and streamers alike. Feel free to share your content and events there and use the network to find your perfect streaming buddy.
  • Twitter
Twitter is one of the most popular social networks for Twitchers. Set up your own Twitter account and start building relationships. Learn more about must-known Twitter techniques from our previous post.
  • Discord
Being a freeware VoIP application, it is also a good social place for all gamers. There are multiple Discord servers to help find people to play with based on the similar interests.

Takeaways

When you offer somebody to stream with, make sure that you are not doing this only for advertising, Straight up advertisement is not effective anymore. Networking and cooperation is something bigger. When searching for people to stream with, try to elaborate a streamers’ database of streamers with relevant info about favorite games, streaming times, streaming platforms, etc. Before starting co-op streams, make sure that a chosen person is right for you and your community.

9/25/2017