Twitching for a Game Day

This year, I had the opportunity to take a class (APR 490, at the University of Alabama) that allowed me to stream weekly on Twitch. ​

If you don’t know, Twitch is an online streaming service that provides an open platform for gamers and creators to share their content with their community. Initially, I was nervous to begin streaming on Twitch. I never really understood the fascination with watching other people play games, until I was one of them.

For the most part, this class was a really fun opportunity to engage with the public and my peers. We hosted several game nights at a local bar on the strip in Tuscaloosa called Twelve25. Hosting our events there helped foster an environment of great fun amongst peers and allowed our participants to let loose and give in to the game!

Due to COVID-19 and the current pandemic, I’d have to say that there were limits put on our class. If taken a different year, I’m sure we could have gotten the full experience and I would rate this class a 10! Out of my other APR electives, this class gave me a chance to express
myself in a way that didn’t just include analyzing content and writing reports. This gave me a chance to take a hands-on approach to be involved with planning and promoting events. If you’re someone like me who prefers to experience these things instead of just read and write about them then this is definitely the class for you.

The best part of this class is it allowed me the chance to take a break every week and play the Sims 4 on my stream. My stream “Sims Like a Good Time” featured me choosing one of my favorite shows and recreating the characters from them using custom content by the awesome creators withing the Sims community. After a few technical difficulties in the beginning, I got the hang of it and it became a time I looked forward to every week. It gave me an excuse to sit back and decompress while playing the Sims without feeling guilty that I’m not doing assignments.

If you’re considering this class, I suggest watching a few videos on YouTube on how to stream, especially if you’re a newcomer! Once you get the hang of it, streaming is actually pretty easy, but it may take a few tries for you to get it right. There are several how-to videos on YouTube that helped me significantly when I was learning about this whole new world.

If all of this sounds great, then this Twitch class might be for you! Just because this semester is coming to an end, that doesn’t mean UA Twitch is going anywhere. Follow us on all our socials @UATwitch! Keep on gaming!