E-sports and video gameplay streaming are quickly becoming big businesses online. Streamers are some of the biggest names in gaming culture, often more popular than some of the games they play.
Speedrunning games always send a channel high up in the charts and will give its follower count a huge boost, but how do you begin? Here is a quick guide on how to start speedrunning online.
Find Your Niche
There are plenty of different types of games to speedrun, from Mario to Minecraft. Which type of games you go for will be crucial to your success, not just on the leaderboards but also to your follower count if you are streaming.
It is important to find a type or genre of games that you enjoy playing, you are good at, and have an existing fanbase that is following speedrunners. With these three criteria met, you have a strong chance of becoming a successful runner providing you can start chipping away at the records.
Racing games will always be popular, so if you are fast on a track, you have an advantage. Trackmania and its various spin-off titles are hugely popular speedrunning games. Every day players compete online for the gold medal in organized competitions or try and set the fastest time on some of its incredibly challenging tracks.
Join the Community
Speedrunning is probably the most popular type of competitive video game playing, and streams showing gamers challenging for the fastest times on a game are always high up the charts on Twitch and YouTube.
Before you start speedrunning and streaming yourself it is a good idea to do a little research and reach out to the existing communities that can help you and offer support. Check out Joystick for some advice and help for getting into pro gaming.
Though you may be on your own in a game, no speedrunner works by themselves. For a successful streaming channel or consistent record-breaking, you need a support network behind you to pick you up when you are down and to push you forward when a speedrunning record is in your sights.
Practice, Practice, Practice
No one can simply pick up a pad and start speedrunning. This sector of pro-play is incredibly competitive and many of the most successful speedrunners spend hours of every day practicing their skills. Without putting the hours in offline you are likely to fail when you make a run online.
Before you begin a speedrunning career you need to put the hours in at home, sharpening your speedrun skills and researching tips, hints, and tricks that will help you smash some records. There are many different types of speedrun too, and you need to know them inside and out.
In Mario Kart games, for instance, there are records for each individual track and the cups that incorporate them together.
There are also shortcut runs and non-shortcut runs, with specific rules for each run to ensure people are competing on a level playing field. You will need to know the specifics if you are going to challenge for titles.
With some research and practice, you should be ready to start streaming your speed runs and smashing some records. If you get good, you will become one of the biggest names in the industry.
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