One of the things I ended up “debugging” or sorting out for the twitch streams was the continuous having to click onto OBS (which is the software I use for streaming) and change my scene or something in it. This is extremely annoying, and SINCE the two monitor setup I had going entirely failed right as I started streaming, this became even more of a problem. I also got cussed out by a random viewer for not noticing his chat and also having a black screen with just me there doing stuff that no one can see (usually I have code or something up on the screen behind my face). I also kept forgetting to unmute my mic which is a common problem from many new streamers.

All of these problems got me thinking. Most streamers have systems or ways of addressing this stuff. A Stream Deck comes to mind. Now the thing is I knew and still really know nothing about the Stream Deck. I had an idea of it in my head of what it probably is because I had seen it in passing or whatever. As I understood it, it has buttons that correspond to macros or functions that streamers use often. This could be changing scenes (OBS has different “scenes” you can set up for different visual settings for the viewers), muting/unmuting your mic, opening programs you use often etc. I recall thinking how simple that functionality really is when I first learned about it (years ago). But now it was at the forefront of my thoughts. I had picked up hardware components to learn with and build from previously. The very basics of these components are buttons and LEDs running through a microcontroller (arduino). The forefront of my thoughts: It’s literally just buttons that map to something on the computer. That’s gotta be hardware/software 101 right? It must be.

It’s literally just buttons that map to functions on the computer

I also wanted to address my mic mute issue. I can build this thing customized perfectly for me/the problems I face while streaming. And I never saw the Stream Deck market that as a feature or a mini feature (I’m sure it exists tho, I literally haven’t looked at this thing for more than a minute so I could be misrepresenting it heavily. Oh well. Thats not really the point of this.) A simple red LED that lights up while I’m muted. A visual indicator, that works especially well for a one monitor setup since I don’t have to click OBS to see if it’s muted or not.

So this was another side project I had undertaken while streaming and attempting to finish the Zenith Gallery website. So much for those principles? Kind of. The foundation I’m setting is really key, especially in current landscape which of course is constantly shifting faster and faster. So the strategy sometimes shifts too. But the principles remain. Some things are more timeless than others. And even if they aren’t adhered to fully 24/7, they are there to be idealized and reminded of.

Okay so I started building this thing and we got the mic mute LED working after hours of debugging WSL (which I dont even touch anymore anyway lol but it was a really good and important learning experience). That environment is not something I want to be unfamiliar with in this space, and I learned a lot about virtual environments during it (namely just set up a proper VM with VMWare Workstation Pro or have a full linux installed somewhere, though I haven’t tried that yet but intend to). I also spent a ton of the time learning and configuring NeoVim.

Foundation.

Oh and I’m calling this thing the StreamDream. And it’ll be my first offical hardware project/creation.

And to my friends that I told I would be making the blog more understandable for general audiences, I’m sorry ILY.

Also I didn’t really proofread this and for that I’m sorry again and I still LY.

Bye, Fahaam