Who wouldn’t want to sit and play video games all day? Well, there are many who wouldn’t. But if you aren’t one of those people, there is ample money to be made in gaming. Whether it is to stream playing games or farming in-game items and gold, playing games can be a profitable venture. But just like any other business, there are some important things you should know if you want to make money by playing video games.
Do you stream?
Getting paid to live stream isn’t easy, but is quite achievable. The premise is that you stream your gameplay in real-time for the world to view. You should aim to build a big community (which can then be monetized with ads) or a loyal community (which you can monetize with subscriptions and donations). The largest platform right now is Twitch, but YouTube Gaming is also on the rise. However, it takes quite a long time to build a live stream audience. There probably won’t be more than 10 viewers for several months, and you may not have 100 viewers for years. To earn a living by streaming video games, you’ll require thousands of regular viewers. Remember to differentiate yourself from the competition with your humor or personality, or by playing games like no else is.
Virtual farm boy
If you like to farm but hate the outdoors, you can always try your luck with in-game farming of equipment and currencies. Most video games, like World of Warcraft (WoW) actively ban this kind of activity, but some games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) allow it and even go so far as to promote this.Depending on the game and the product in question, shave the potential to be quite profitable. However, there is a downside. Which is the amount of time involved to farm the stuff in the first place, particularly for things like gold where you need a lot of it to earn a bit of money. This certainly won’t help you retire by 30, but you could make a living on the side of it.
A good computer and fast Internet access
If you’re thinking about streaming, Twitch recommends having at least an Intel Core i7 processor (or the AMD equivalent), 16GB of RAM and Windows 10. Don’t worry about Mac though, you can also stream with it. More fundamental than your PC specs is your Internet connection – you’ll certainly want to stay wired via Ethernet for the best possible bitrate. If you’re streaming PC games, you’ll require a graphics card fast enough to support whatever you’re playing, as well as one that supports DirectX 10 and up. The quicker your Internet connection, the better – you should likely aim to have an upload speed of at least 3MB/second. While it’s recommended to stream from a desktop if possible, going live from a strong gaming laptop is totally doable with the right specs.
Train
Exercise can have a major impact on your gaming performance. Most of us know that training is great for our overall health, there’s plenty of research that supports this. Training produces countless physical adaptations that can aid players play to reach a higher level – both mentally and physically. Improved physical and mental endurance develops from better energy levels. The cells in your body contain mitochondria that produce energy. As you incorporate training into your daily routine, the number of mitochondria will rise due to increased demand on the body. You will feel this increase not only in your muscles but also in your brain. This is a vital advantage during video game playing. Extensive research shows that training can improve cognitive functions – attention, speed, and flexibility, as well as pump up your hippocampus (responsible for processing new data and learning). Besides this, exercise improves your motor function, such as hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
Do you cosplay?
Cosplay is an integral element of gaming too. With whole communities devoted to breathing life into their favorite fictitious gaming characters, cosplayers have grown to be an essential part of gaming life. Enormous cosplay competitions have now become a tradition that goes in line with e-sports tournaments. Cosplayers spend weeks, even months, perfecting their costumes and their act. Cosplay needs one to be dramatically good at crafting their own costumes. All of this means you should cosplay!
The career opportunities are pretty big in the gaming industry. An essential trait in any gamer is to have the right balance in a healthy lifestyle and their gaming habits. The gaming industry is growing rapidly with expansion into multiple domains and prospects for talented individuals have never been larger.
