EPTIt was a strange piece. There was a lot involved in it, and the symbolism involved in what I described was... weird.
I stayed up for nearly half an hour past all my friends to write it, and I think it was well worth it.
I enjoyed writing it, I enjoyed the solitude, and I enjoyed sharing.
Immediately after I stood up, walked over to the couch, collapsed onto it, and slept peacefully.
We woke up around 9:30, milled about for a good while, and then went our separate ways.
My way home today was much more pleasant than my way there last night. We stopped by a sub-shop and got some pop which we ate on the road. There was no traffic, and everything was right with the world.
I hopped on Skype to chat with the guys and see if they wanted to play some Broodwar (We had specified Broodwar last night). Vec was around and we go to talking. We had discussed streaming several times over the past several months, and had even hosted a couple of small tournaments. We got back on the topic today, so we looked Xsplit back up.
Lo and behold, even after they released the full product, which required payment, they continued to put out a free version. Sure it's not as nice as the expensive one, but it gets the job done, it's serviceable, and it's easier to use than other methods.
So I set that sucker up, recruited the guys to help beta-test the features, and started streaming.
My computer is beefy enough to handle it. Unfortunately, I'm using an older square LCD monitor, so my resolution is causing annoying letterboxing, and I'm not good enough at it yet to fine tune the quality control, but it looks as good as a 480p stream, and the audio is coming across beautifully.
I streamed Starcraft, didn't drop any frames, then tried out streaming Minecraft for a time. It was harder on the poor machine. It came across a tiny bit choppy, and I have to fiddle with some settings to fine tune it.
This development opens up infinite possibilities for my group and I. We now have the ability to learn the streaming tools and business without needing to sink resources (except time) into the possibility of success. We can now produce things to gain prestige among the community, and Vec and I can restart hosting tournaments.
We've even talked about starting a show. You know the ones: State of the Game, Inside the Game, etc. We talked about doing something purely from younger (teenage) members of the community. Since most of the content produced is from the so called "Old Boys Club," it is their opinions and insights that are most broadcast. The idea was to give a fresh perspective. One that was not meant to be informed. A group that was more exploratory, and presented that way.
It's an idea, at least.
In any case, we have discussed much at great length, but it all starts with learning the skills necessary to run the ship.
Now we just need to find the lighthouse so that the running of the ship isn't into the rocks.
For now, I need to get some experience. The key to that is practice, so I must produce content. Laddering is great and all, but near no one wants to watch a Plat scrub ladder, so I need to consider other routes.
I've thought about doing a "Let's Play" or two, like my buddy Farro does, but I don't know. At least that would allow me to learn the program, learn the Youtube interface, and perhaps get some people watching.
Might as well end this with a couple of questions. What would you be most interested in for posted Youtube videos if you were to stumble across my channel one day? Would you have any interest in the whole "Next-Gen Starcraft" (Teenagers slowly delving into the community and game itself)? And any tips on learning to stream or be entertaining?
As always ladies and gents, I hope your evening proceeds well, and have a lovely night.
