How do I make good Dominion commentary?Many people are good at playing Dominion, and then when they try and add commentary to the mix, things just fall apart. People who have been broadcasting Dominion for a while certainly have a head start when it comes to talking while playing -- in my case it actually helps me most of the time to talk about what I'm doing. But these people are the exception, rather than the rule. Dominion is hard, providing commentary is also hard and it's a different skill set, and being entertaining is also hard and it's yet another skill set. The trick is to find out what you're good at and do that, then not focus on the other stuff as much.
Playing Dominion -- well, if you're reading this, that may not really be an issue. I'd recommend either a basic competency at the game (able to build engines, maybe Iso L20 or higher?) or a strong desire to get to that point and use your broadcasting as a part of doing so. Nobody wants to watch someone be bad at a game for a very long time.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are the people who are so good at the game that they don't need anything else. If you're as good as Wandering Winder, Stef, AI, MQ, those top-tier people, you can probably get away with only streaming and not providing any commentary. Unless you're of that caliber, though, you need something else.
Commentary -- The first time you provide commentary while playing, I bet you got crushed, didn't you?
I sure did. It's true that you sort of re-learn how to play if you're going to talk about it while you do it, so be prepared for that. I wouldn't recommend a super-important tournament match for your first time streaming -- you'll want some practice.
Everybody has a different style of commentary, I think the most important thing is to be comfortable and stay relatively focused enough on the game to still be effective. If you've gotten a little bit of practice and want to try and focus on how to improve your commentary, I have a few tips for you.
1.
Listen to yourself. It's a little awkward at first, but I can't begin to tell you how much this can help you. What do you think? Are you talking too much or not enough? Are you saying things that don't matter to the game? Are you saying too many things about the game that are obvious? Do you enjoy listening to your commentary? Why? You could ask other people to listen for you and give you constructive feedback, but who are we kidding? Anyone who does that is probably your friend, so they're less inclined to actually tell you things you could do better when they could just tell you "oh yeah that was really good."
2.
Don't stop listening to yourself. So you did that last thing, and you made some changes and now you feel like your commentary is better. None of these are reasons to stop trying to improve. Do it again, find things you like and do them more. Find things you don't like and work to do them less. You can't just stop watering your plant and expect it to keep growing.
3.
Don't be afraid of silence. I know that talking to yourself is not something most people do out-loud in their lives, and I know that commentary often feels a lot like that. Something I've learned is that you need periods of silence in order for that conversation to go anywhere. If you never stop talking, it's easy to tune you out because not only is there no variation in the quality of your voice, but you end up saying things that really aren't important. If a piece of music is loud all of the time, it's not as good as one that has dynamic contrast. Think of it like Tom Hanks in the movie
Cast Away (I'd recommend a re-watch, but I'm sort of a Tom Hanks fanboy). He's stranded on an island and he's drawn a face (with his own blood) on a volleyball and talks to it for companionship. Is he constantly talking? No, it's a great example of a one-sided conversation.
You'll eventually discover the things you want to say and the things you don't want to say -- and it may even vary depending on your mood. Everyone has a different style, and the best way to discover what works for you is to try lots of different things. If you feel like you're talking too much, see how little you can talk for a game. If you feel like you're not talking enough, comment about everything you can think of in the game just to see how it feels. Or maybe have someone to talk to on Skype.
4.
Ask what people like. I know this won't always work, but sometimes people will tell you they like something you're doing. More people will tell you this if you ask for feedback. Unfortunately you probably won't get many people telling you what they don't like. I'll volunteer to give you constructive feedback on your commentary if that's something you want, all you have to do is ask.
5.
Find your point of view. What is the thing that sets you apart? What is it that people can't get anywhere except for watching your stream? If you can find something like this and play off of it, you'll likely be able to create a fan base that way. I have a lot of things I say repeatedly -- "You make your own shuffle luck" "Thinning is Hwinning" "Dear Deck, I HATE YOU, Love Adam" and the list goes on. You don't need these things, and they can seem a little gimmicky, but the point is that the more your personality comes through on your stream, the more people will like you (unless you're actually a terrible person -- I'm surprised people haven't caught onto me yet
)