This is a really primitive guide on getting started with recording videos. It is intended for people who have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about how to go about even getting started with recording video games. I've decided to write this because of my own experiences getting started with starting a YouTube channel dedicated to gaming. I can only speak from my own experience and technological background. If you have more effective and more efficient ways, by all means ignore what I post here. All I want to lay out here is a framework for getting started.
Okay, so you want to start recording gameplay videos, do you? The number of things you're going to need may surprise you. First of all, of course, you'll need recording software. You'll also need a rendering codec. You'll need an encoder, too. If you're recording your voice, you'll need a mic/headset. After all that, you'll need video editing software to edit the video. You may also want to get an audio editing program as well. Lastly, you'll need a Gmail/YouTube account to upload your videos.
So let's get started. First off, we have to look at the hardware. Computer specs matter, as do the graphical cards. If you have a GeForce graphics card, you can use ShadowPlay to easily record. If not (I have Radeon, for instance), you'll need something else. Fraps is sort of generic, and costs $30 or so. For me, Fraps is more useful for recording stuff off the desktop than it is for games, since it will lag games a bit. I recommend Dxtory; I've always used it for all of my videos. Sometimes it craps out for random reasons, but it records DirectX games pretty smoothly and doesn't lag the game much. It's also pretty customizable. OBS also works for recording technology, and I believe that's free.
Once you have your recording software, you'll need a codec. I highly recommend x264 because it will reduce file size by a lot. The only other one I've used is Lagerith Lossless, which is smooth but results in a huge file size. Once you've downloaded your codec, start up your video recording software and change the codec to whatever codec you've chosen to use.
Once you've gotten your recording software and codec, you need to configure the program to best suit your needs. This includes things such as framerate cap, audio input and levels, keystrokes, and folder destination. If you want to record your voice, you'll need a mic/headset or a standalone microphone. I've used both, but the mic/headset is much less cumbersome. When recording voice, you must designate separate tracks for the game sound and your voice. If you wish to record your face, you'll need to borrow or invest in a camera or webcam.
After all that, it's time to record your video. With your recording software on in the background, press the record button during the game. Press the same button to stop recording when you're finished. Open the folder that has your files and you should see your video (it may or may not have sound, or all the audio tracks, depending on how you set it up). Play the video to make sure it works. This is the minimum you need to upload to YouTube. You can adjust the start and end points of videos in YouTube's extremely primitive video editor, but unless your clip is very short, I highly recommend obtaining editing software. Also note that you cannot upload videos upwards of a certain length (I believe 15 minutes) unless you have a certain number of videos uploaded already. Lastly, keep in mind how large your file size is. It can take ages to upload videos of multiple GB in length; by ages, I mean over a day with a constant internet connection. Believe me, I know. This is why you'll want to get a video editor.
Our next order of business is to get an encoder. To be honest, I'm not really sure why this is, but my copy of Sony Vegas won't read .AVI's, so I always have to convert my videos into .MP4 format. Necessary evil, but it has to be done. There are two real options for this: Handbrake and FreeMake. I used Handbrake for my early videos a lot but it was very long and crashed a lot. Eventually it just stopped working, so I switched to Freemake, with which I've never had any problems. Make sure it encodes to the right framerate and audio bitrate, and make sure it encodes to .MP4. If your default video recorder already does this, I guess you don't need an encoder.
So now we move on to editing. This is the painstaking part of the process. There's little worse in life than looking at something you've made and seeing just how fucked it is. Anyway, there are two kinds of programs you might want to invest in. First, there's the video editor. There are two options for this: Adobe Premier and Sony Vegas Movie Studio. I personally use Sony Vegas. It sucks, but it's cheap (like $50). Import your video and audio tracks and put them on the timescale. This isn't going to be a tutorial on how to do different things in Sony Vegas, but suffice it to say that there's usually guides for everything you could want to do on the internet anyway. Once you're done editing, render to .MP4. Then you can upload that finally rendered video to YouTube.
The other kind of editor you may want is an audio editor. This is especially important if you record your voice (if not, I guess you can skip this part). If you do record your voice, you'll want to silence out all those external sounds that aren't your voice. I suggest using Audacity. Edit your track and export to .MP3.
Some other stuff you might want to look into is a silent mouse and silent keyboard. I personally use a silent wireless mouse, which is inaudible during recording, and a shitty Microsoft keyboard from Wal-Mart, which is barely audible during recording. Neither are specifically for gaming, but I've noticed that gaming keyboards and mice are really loud when people record their voice, so much so that it's distracting.
Well, that's all I have. Good luck.