Rüdiger Brandis

With the advent of broadband network infrastructures, video streaming services such as Youtube and Twitch.tv have become the dominant source of multimedia consumption. As these platforms have matured, the community and its ensuing culture gave birth to a new generation of providers, initially as commercial live feeds, then as adult entertainment and game streams later on. These live video streams allow the audience to interact directly with the performer and talk among themselves through chat widgets. We call the live playing of a game in front of an interacting audience Audience Gaming. Present research focuses mainly on why people watch others play, their socio-cultural characteristics, how they form communities and the performers’ motivations and approaches [Gandolfi, 2016]. However, newly developing affordances of interactivity of the streaming platforms such as straw polls, donation messages and stream integrated games are not well researched. Audience Gaming is a result of the newly formed streaming culture. It influenced the production of games such as DEAD CELLS [2018], where the audience can vote on what will come out of an in-game chest or HEARTHSTONE [2014], where Twitch.tv viewers can get in-depth information on an ongoing game: Similar to theatre in modern times, the spectators have become participants [Scully-Baker et al., 2017]. In comparison to classical multiplayer experiences focussing on a fair and balanced gaming experience, an audience-focused gaming setting is infused with a more complex power dynamic between the streamer or performer and audience. While streamers are forced to accommodate their viewers or face their reactions they also hold ultimate control over game and chat. We will define these new affordances and the change in player agency by analyzing the performative processes arising from audience gaming streams with games that offer direct audience participation like the aforementioned DEAD CELLS and DARWIN PROJECT [2018].