A new addition to my interests that I've only recently discovered (and I'm sure they've been around for a lot longer than I think they have) is watching streams. For the unfamiliar, it's basically a live video feed of some professional or popular gamer playing a usually competitive game. If you'd like a comparison, it's like listening to one of your favorite radio DJ's, complete with their personality and appeal, but you get to watch them play a game you enjoy at the same time.
I find it highly entertaining to watch some of the best players in the world play the same games that I do. For one, it's cool to see how different others play, especially at such a high level where players regularly attend national tournaments that award cash prizes. For two, they usually stream by themselves or with one of their friends, and while they earn money by playing ads, you usually learn some valuable tips and see some helpful plays that the streamers pull off.
There are an endless amount of games that people stream, and frankly, it's possible to stream any video game with the right equipment, be it on console or computer. The most popular are competitive PvP games that are big on the eSports scene such as League of Legends, Starcraft II, and recently Diablo 3.
If you're looking into watching some of your favorite games, a few popular sites are own3d, twitch, justin.tv, and my personal favorite, teevox, which has all of the above built into one website with convenient lists and features (pictured above, try it out and you'll instantly love it, though right now I think they're missing a couple of websites because of an update they're working on).
Watching streams has become pretty much a second form of television for gamers recently, and like in other mediums like sports, it's a great way to watch an event that you're interested in.
Now if only some other sorts of gaming television didn't mostly suck...
No comments:
Post a Comment