What Makes a Good Streamer?

Before someone gets all bent out of shape yes this is 100% opinion, but I still want to share it.

Since having my two children my gaming time has been much reduced but I still have time to watch streamers, and that has been a really good way for me to keep in touch with a community while feeling pretty lonely. I’m in a new province with two young kids in an unfamiliar town with a husband who works long hours. Coping with postpartum depression has been really hard and I know that without these communities I’d be even worse off.

Watching so many streamers means I have some very specific criteria that I use to judge who is “good” to watch. These criteria are based on my interests and lifestyle, and they won’t be what you use to decide who to watch, but it might help you out a bit.

  1. Friendly. no matter how many people are around. I love streamers who make the small guy feel important. I don’t care if you have 1 viewer or 100 viewers or 10,000 viewers. I’m watching you because I am interested.
  2. Language. Now, this one is situational. I don’t mind some cursing here and there, but when it’s every 3rd word chances are I’m tuning in to someone else. I’ve got kids around, and I watch a whole lot of chill relaxed streamers who don’t cuss a whole lot. Sure, one or two may slip out, but if you can handle an intelligent conversation without spewing hatred all over the place, that’s fantastic.
  3. Reliable. I’m not talking a set schedule that never ever changes because hey lets face it life happens – but if I know I can count on you, if I know what hours you stream, I’m going to make it a point to be there. In some cases I will even make sure my schedule is free just so that I can watch.
  4. Chill games. Some of my favourite streams to watch are not gaming at all but are cooking streams, or crafting streams. Or just interest streams where you’re wandering around looking for a place to eat lunch. They’re streams where the streamer is calm, relaxed, and real. Down to earth.

What streamers have I been watching lately?

  • Squirrel – Does a lot of simulator streams like Euro Truck, very calm, a few curses but not heavy.
  • Bacon Donut – a family friendly minecraft streamer who uses a lot of mods, and it’s awesome.
  • NotEmerse – Streams a bit of everything, but has amazing conversations too.
  • Dustygaming – Mostly MMO gaming, his streams are relaxed and he’s always eager to talk, no matter who is around.
  • ChefJohnReed – Cooking streams (during the week). Friday is a cook-along stream, and it’s amazing.
  • SimCopter1 – One of the most chill relaxing streamers I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. He just had a baby boy, and things have gotten interesting.

There are others I watch, but these are the “regulars” who have taken up the slots lately. If you want to know who else I’m watching, you can check out who I’m following.

Scarf Progress

For some reason my phone camera is doing a very poor job of taking pictures lately, but this is the progress on my scarf. It’s a deep green colour, the yarn is a bamboo blend that I just absolutely love because it’s soft and shines.

The pattern is a feather and fan repeated pattern with only four lines to memorize, so it’s something I can easily knit no matter what is going on. I’m using size 8 circular needles because I prefer using circulars instead of having two loose needles. The pattern is free on Ravelry, and you can find me there as Stargrace if you happen to be a member.

I’m almost done the first ball of yarn, and I’m ready to start the second. I want this scarf to be more decorative than functional, blame Gilmore Girls for that..

Doing a Little Fishing

As far as crafting goes, my goal is to raise each craft to 10, then work on raising them all to 20 (or at least 18, matching my adventure level). Gathering is coming along nicely, at the time of this post I have level 12 in mining, 11 in botanist, and 9 in fishing. For the disciples of the hand (main crafting) branches I’ve gone with weaver (10), goldsmith (8), cullinarian (8) and alchemist (2). I’m hoping my husband picks up my slack and goes with carpenter, blacksmith, armorer, and leatherworker.

Leveling has been pretty quick, but I know that’s because we’re in the lower tiers, and because the cap is currently 70. A new expansion looms on the horizon and it’s a great time to catch up. Will I make it? Probably not, but I’m alright with that. I managed to ding 18, and I’m still further along than I ever have been. My husband seems to be having a pretty good time of things too, in our limited amount of game time together. I’m hoping this week we can both find a few more minutes here and there to level, and I think we have our first dungeon coming up. With him playing tank and me playing healer it should be interesting to see how it works out.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!