While the idea is interesting and I would have no problem getting a signal boost to my trailers, I have to wonder if 24/7 indie game trailer stream is something people would like to watch?
I'm absolutely not saying that this will be the next Bob Ross on Twitch or AGDQ, but I do think there's the potential for interest. In recent years interest in indie games has only grown, and I see absolutely not reason for that to change. I imagine most here don't either. I think something like this can cater to that interest. I mean, at 7:30am Eastern US time 249 people are watching a MUGEN channel where the AI plays itself, and people are making bets. And not real money, fake money with no winnings or trading it. Just Internet points and chat while it happens. And it has 73k followers. If this got 10k, I'd call it a success for a large number of these games that may unfortunately not meet appreciative players.
And will people watch it? I don't know. I hope so. I like the idea, anyway. And that's why I want to do this. It's something I already wish existed in the world, and if I had money, would endeavor upon its creation. Like MTV, I'm not against related content. But unlike MTV I don't want to lose the message, in this case being a place to find out about smaller games.
What's your plan of getting people to know about your stream? Obviously us devs will know about it but how are you going to reach the gamers?
Getting people to know about it is, exactly the same problem everyone here is facing, or will face. Part of this will be the same activities of posts and press releases when I'm able to launch 24/7. And of course, there's social media (went and grabbed @_screenlook the other day). The latter part will be important because, as anyone who has had a trailer on it will tell you, I say "I'll let you know before your episode goes live." I'm trying to get better about the timing (days before instead of that morning.) I tell them the stream, the time, the YouTube link if it's uploaded and hidden, and I ask if they're willing to tweet or retweet about the show. No hard feelings if not.
The key part of this entire idea is "stronger together than apart". If 30 developers tweeted about each other, that's 30 tweets each, for 900 total tweets to push toward each other. If 30 developers push toward Screenlook, that's one tweet per developer, 30 total, and equal reach for those involved. And even in just a dozen developers, ranging from a few dozen followers to 100k (not counting a tinyBuild or similar small publisher that has given permission.) A few developers have gone along with it. I'm hoping to create a healthy organic growth along with those I'm trying to help grow.
Other ideas. There are additional ideas to be had. In my initial post I often said "video" or "content". I'm not opposed to special events for some games' releases. If a few dozen viewers can be relied on, an amateur who only planned to upload on itch.io and tweet a few times might be willing to premiere their game and do an interview about it. Would YOU be willing to premiere your game on a show if I could guarantee a few hundred live viewers, and more in reruns? If I ever could get those 10k, and a thousand or two at a time? I'm willing to bet some small developers would come on the channel, talk about their game, maybe premiere a new trailer or video from the game. Get some attention both from having them on, and ideally they push to the channel to promote it as well.
Theoretically one could start with interviews and then branch out into the videos/trailers idea, and that's plausible. But that's not how I want to build the image of it, nor should interviews be the focus. (Though working as a TV news producer it's not really a problem to do.) But I might consider it, or even speaking with someone already doing that, and asking them if they want to join forces on that front. Maybe pick out a time for interviews to air every night, and do new ones each week, like the idea of adding a new block of indie game trailers/videos each week.
Why is the branding and logo different in each of your youtube videos?
Because I'm thinking about a stream that lasts 24/7. A little variance isn't a bad thing. That said, I will likely have a single logo (or a take of the "SL") soon for avatar usage on Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube.
Why are the streaming costs so high? I've never streamed before myself so I just thought it was pretty much pressing the record button in OBS when it's linked with Twitch.
Sure, but your data has to get from your home to Twitch's servers, right? And ISPs have data caps. Those data caps aren't just on how much you download, your upload counts to that total as well. And for all the talk about which providers have no data caps, even here in the US if you move 1 TB of data, someone's going to notice. And they're probably going to shut you down. And they'll definitely shut you down if you're operating a business on a residential plan. Business plans cost more than your typical residential home Internet plan does. Often they come with a higher data cap and other perks, but they'll still charge for anything over the plan.
My local provider that offers the best service is $250 for 1 TB. Some quick math tells me doing 24/7 would be about 1.5 TB, so we're talking $500. Then add in regular Internet usage, and I might have to buy a third.
Obviously starting off 720 might be the better choice than 1080.
Anyway, I'll be following the progress of your project closely. I have a lot of trailers from my own projects and client projects that could use extra views so color me interested.
Thanks for the interest. I'm more than happy to answer any questions people may have about this. I mean, obviously it's not a "get rich quick off other people's work", as it won't make me rich. It's just something I think should exist. If anyone out there wants to offer a trailer or video from their game, I'd love for you to reach out to me. I'm Jeffool at gmail.
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