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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperDesignspectators of gaming
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dao cowboy
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« on: August 27, 2016, 09:57:47 AM »


I grew up with two brothers, and we had a Nintendo and later a Super Nintendo.  I was the oldest, but I'm not much of a twitch gamer.  So the division of labor in our playing games went like this:  the middle brother, having the most hand-eye coordination, actually played the games.  I read the Nintendo Powers and knew the level layouts, strategies, etc.  The youngest was the cheerleader.  So for us, gaming was not usually a solitary activity.

Now, I'm not sure it's very likely that anyone here is working on console games.  On the other hand, this concept might work with streaming video.  So, I wanted to open up a discussion concerning:

a)  What makes a game fun to watch other people play?

and b)  How can a game be designed that's fun to watch other people play?
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ACWraith
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« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2016, 11:15:05 PM »

For Let's Play videos, I prefer watching players who are passionate experts (often regardless of the game itself).  For live streams, I've enjoyed high risk/competition mixed with crowd interaction that makes putting myself on the streamer's schedule worthwhile.

Thus far, I've enjoyed permadeath because it makes me feel I'm catching a unique event if I stay.  I've also enjoyed the simple act of renaming characters to match viewers so they can root for each other.

My mind still isn't made up on interacting through text commands.  Chat grows hard enough to keep up with without more spam.  I'd prefer if Twitch had a dedicated command section.  Otherwise, skipping text commands in favor of clients like Legend of Dungeon: Masters seems the way to go.

Overall there's the problem that, once a stream gets enough viewers, much of the original camaraderie is lost.  The streamer is no longer able to keep up with chat and the viewers begin speaking over each other.  Polls are used to get an aggregate value from the crowd.  Maybe the streamer becomes kingmaker and renames a handful of characters after viewers.  Everyone else hopes in vain for senpai to notice them as their text quickly scrolls up off the screen.
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valrus
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« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2016, 06:31:18 PM »

It'd be neat to do something like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes -- only one person directly playing, everyone else helping out with material that the player doesn't access -- except intended for streaming/chat rather than in-person. 

Like a mystery where the viewers can sift through online dossiers of everyone the player meets looking for evidence.  Or an archaeological game where the viewers can decipher the hieroglyphs to tell the player the locations of secrets, where to go next, etc. 

You'd procgen the mysterious bit, and then the stream could display the game seed on the screen or in the title, so players could go to the game's website and access the supplementary material for that particular game.
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oahda
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« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2016, 01:02:59 AM »

That just sounds like following the walkthrough. How's that fun? d: Would be neater if the game generated a new script procedurally each time, that would have to be deciphered every session, more or less impossible to look up online (so long as the game doesn't expose the seeds, I guess), so that it would be a new challenge each time? Sounds like much more fun to me.
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valrus
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« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2016, 10:30:27 AM »

Would be neater if the game generated a new script procedurally each time

You'd procgen the mysterious bit, and then the stream could display the game seed on the screen or in the title, so players could go to the game's website and access the supplementary material for that particular game.

That's basically what I was suggesting; "mysterious bit" would refer, in the archaeology game, to the hieroglyphs. 

The supplementary material shouldn't just be a decipherment key for the hieroglyphs, but something like a full catalogue of artifacts from that culture (some of which have writing on them and/or accompanying text from past archaeologists), generated from the seed that the game generated.  That way the viewers have something that stays still for a bit, so they can puzzle things out in peace without being completely dependent on the streamer's POV.
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ACWraith
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« Reply #5 on: October 02, 2016, 07:37:04 PM »

I'd prefer if Twitch had a dedicated command section.

Doh, I forgot about the /whisper command opening a separate tab.  That can be set up to take input from any selection of viewers and perhaps provide a proxy for a smaller group chat when the main channel gets too busy.

The whisper tab could also be used to output things like the dossiers mentioned to specific viewers.  One could still link to outside catalogs if necessary, but much could likely go right through Twitch.  More importantly, the whisper tab could be used to relay secret information which could help the viewer feel more important/invested.

As another idea, perhaps the whisper tab could be an editor for content the streamer plays through.  I'm thinking along the lines of the live tools used in text MUDs.  Granted, it should be kept simple so enough attention can be paid to the stream. Wink
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