As 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons continues to grow in popularity among players, more groups are making the jump from private to public games with live-action performances of entire campaigns through podcasts and streaming services like Twitch. Satine Phoenix is no stranger to table-top gaming – having played D&D for 32 years now – and has been a part of the scene as D&D community manager, Dungeon Master in Sirens of the Realms, and in several other projects.
Speaking to TheGamer, Satine has several tips for players who are looking to take their games to another level and share their adventures with a wider audienc𝄹e, with advice for Dungeon Master💝s and players alike.
Ready To Make The Jump?
While the idea of transitioning from a private play to a podcast or video format may be exciting, the market for such shows is quickly becoming, or arguably already is, saturated. In order to succeed, groups need to consider how best to stand out and avoid🐬 the common pitfalls of new groups.
The solution here lies in preparation, “The internet is definitely saturated with streams so you have to look and sound your best,” Satine begins, “My setup is very streamlined and doesn’t take up much room, giving professional studio quality I’ve been used to from my work with Geek and Sundry and Gilding Light.” In short, practice makes perfect, and rehearsing, viewing, and editing games long before publishing is a great decision until the finished product feels organized and purposeful, rather𓂃 than rushed and strung togetཧher quickly.
With that in mind, there is certain basic equipment that players will need, including some way of recording themselves with video, audio, lighting, and editing software. Satine’s personal s𝔍etup includes, “2 Blackmagic Design products, 3-point lighting and a monitor to my laptop. The Design Micro Studio Camera with a wide-angle lens and the Blackmagic Design give me professional broadcast studio quality. It's small enough to keep up in my living room or put in a backpack and take on location.”
Advice For Performing Dungeon Masters
Guiding a group of friends through a campaign as a Dungeon Master is one thing, but an entirely matter when using a video or audio medium. The shift might seem overwhelming at first, but there are several step♒s that one can take to make it easier, and as always, it relies on thinking ahead and preparing long before a campaign begins, and that includes having a producer as a second set of eyes to keep an eye on everyone at once.
This person will be in charge of the produ💮ction details that players should not even be considering🎶 while playing the game, “the Producer is the one who will be on the computer adjusting audio levels, connecting with the audience if there is a drop or lag and fixing all of the technical issues while the cast is playing the game,” Satine explains.
Ultimately, this allows both DM and players to do what they are supposed to during a campaign, which is necessary because of how important pacing now becomes, “the Dungeon Master is in charge of pulling the acting out of the players as well as wrangling players & character agency…You are no longer running a game just for your players, you are now also aware that the pacing of the game will affect😼 viewership.”
Of course, groups that are only starting to stream for the first time might not have the resources to have a producer. This will require extra care and attention💮 given by both players and DM.
Keep Everything Moving To Keep Viewers, And Players, Interested
The DM needs to maintain a good pace with regards to story and plot in any campaign, and while this is especially true when performing, there is also work that needs to be done on the part of the players. “Should a player take too long to roll and add up their die rolls you could lose a dozen or more audience members. Eating on stream will ruin a stream game,” Satine explains, “A player who loses attention also means that the audience is losing atte♉ntion. If the players aren’t fully invested the audience won’t be either.”
This means that players only really need to focus on the game and ensure they don’t cause any distractions. Meanwhile, “You, the Dungeon Master must work harder and have a solid sense of storytelling in order to make sure the players and audience can keep track of the story,” Satine says. This should come as no surprise given how much content there is to choose from on Twitch, and as such, direct competition for viewers. ꧑Despite the fact that there are so many alternatives, the strategy remains the same no matter what, “Stand out, be professional, tell an engaging and easy to understand story and you’ll go far!”’
A final tip on the finer points of ꦿstreaming lies with the DM avoiding distractions in live chat, “Don’t worry about the comments people make. You rewatch your games and really critique yourself because you know where you need to maneuver to be better next time.” Satine advises DMs to instead review comments after a stream has ended, “…make your own notes, go in and read the chat, and see what people like and what people don’t like. Take t🦹hese comments into consideration, do not take them personally and you do not have to respond.”
Choosing The Content Of A Campaign
Almost everythiܫng until this point has dealt with the technical considerations of creating a stream, but the content that a DM creates for a campaign deserves an equal amount of consideration. How does one determine what kind of adventure lies ahead?
One option is to throw caution to the wind and not deviate from whatever adventures a group normally takes. Ultra-violence and murder hobos? Great. Horny bards who want to seduce everything that moves, and some 🍌things that don’t? Wonderful. There are bound to be people who enjoy whatever is presented before them, and as Satine says, “There is no wrong way to play as long as the story you’re telling is consented to by all of the players.”
On the other hand, streaming content on Twitch or creating a podcast is often done with the explicit goal of reaching as many viewers as possible, and for that, the content of a campaign may need to be carefully curated so a🍬s not to alienate a potential view. In those instances, communication with the part in session zero will be crucial, because, “If the players want to tell the same story and the DM wants to tell a different story then perhaps everyone needs to think about why they are playing together and then have a conversation about it.” Keeping everyone on the sa꧂me page is necessary, and with some planning this should not be a problem in most groups, as Satine states, “Most of us just want to have fun with our friends. Fun looks different to different groups.”
Anyone who has watched Sirens of the Realms, especially all of Season 2, should recognize that for Satine there is a fine by clear line between the stark, dark reality of her worlds, and the feelings she hopes to instill i💎n her players, “Personally I like uplifting games so my games are brutal but allow for the players to feel like heroes. There’s a bit of comedy and light heartedness with major life lessons. In my online games we don’t curse because we wan💦t to be PG 13 so my niece and nephews can watch.”
In the end how a group curates the content for th💟eir stream is up to them, but there are obvious implications of making themes and language too adult-centric.
By following the advice given by Satine above, players will be able to ta♐ke their streaming adventures to a whole new level. Keep at it, and always look ﷺfor ways to improve!