Yesterday I finally went back to broadcasting. The PC is here and I spent the weekend getting ready so there was no putting it off anymore.
I started the evening with Mekazoo, which I reviewed yesterday. I sincerely love the game but I won’t lie, I played the game on my Lawful Geek channel on Twitch because it was its release day. Still, it was a lot of fun and when one of my recurring viewers came on—when I say “one of” I mean the only one—I was glad to see it’s not just me who’s a big fan of Mekazoo’s soundtrack.
I am seriously considering getting the soundtrack, just so I can listen to it.
When I had already cleared a good chunk of the game, I decided to switch titles to one I had heard great things about: Owlboy. What first struck me was its 8bit graphics, a trend most indies seem stuck on. It’s one of the reasons I find Mekazoo so refreshing, an Indie game that uses modern visuals instead of what I’ve come to consider nostalgia fodder—since most developers who use 8bit mention the games are “love letters” or “pay homage” to classics of gaming.
But I’m not one to unjustly judge a game based just on its looks, so I kept going. The start of the game is a bit slow, and I nodded off for a few seconds at one point, but once things were in full swing, I actually enjoyed it and I’m hoping to play more later this week to see just how good Owlboy really is.
But my viewers weren’t as impressed and my humble numbers decreased so I went for Overwatch, a usual favourite on Twitch, and that’s where things started going badly. Even with my new PC the video quality for Overwatch and even Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was choppy and the resolution was ugly despite my setting it up for 720p.
It was an odd experience seeing the games run flawlessly on my screen and even of XSplit but looking at not only the ugly video on Twitch but also the shoddy framerate.
I’m investigating the causes, of course, and I’ve already requested a new Fibre Wifi plan, which will give me not only higher download speeds but most importantly, nearly double the upload, which should help me broadcast to Twitch at a much better quality in the future.
Still, this week and next one will mostly be about adjustments, trying to get everything to a point where the broadcasts have the high quality I expect.
For tomorrow, I’ll continue with Mekazoo, just because it’s extremely fun, and then pick up Owlboy for a couple of hours just to see how good the game really is. I’ve heard good things—and the music is pretty good—so let’s see!
I’m live on Twitch Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm GMT. See you there!
