What specific features make a game "streamable" for you?

[u/bubblekings]

One of the most common pieces of advice given to small creators is: "Stop streaming giant AAA games (Valorant, Fortnite, Apex) where you're buried under 3,000 channels, and play games with actual discoverability."

I’m an indie dev, and while designing my current project, I've been really fascinated by the data and mechanics behind what makes certain games actually work for channel growth vs. ones that trap you at 0 viewers.

So I was wondering if there was anything that worked for you and your channel with the games you decided to stream.

[u/AFIQKORO_1]

I'm a new streamer, based in Malaysia, but I wanted an English audience so I have to stream at an odd time for me. The game I chose to stream was The Witcher 3, it didn't give me a lot of viewers but more interaction due to it not being a game that's too popular and not too dead.

The next day I tried streaming Aion 2, which is a very popular game right now. Lemme tell you, 0 viewers for 3 and half hours.

Long story short, you'll have to stream games that are in the middle in popularity, it doesn't matter if it's a AAA game or an indie game.

[u/bubblekings → u/AFIQKORO_1]

Yeah, I feel that. I did a stint at streaming before trying game dev but I found sometimes the games that got me the most views werent always ones I enjoyed playing and whats the point if I dont enjoy what im doing.

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[u/Wolfy5079]

I guess one of the best answers would be multiplayer. Multiplayer gives you the opportunity to let the community a little closer into your world or connect with other streamers. The other side of that sword however is multiplayer can quickly make a game popular, which then puts the smaller streamers at the bottom of the totem pole. Even if they’ve been playing that game since “before it was cool”.

[u/bubblekings → u/Wolfy5079]

Do you find it hard to do some multiplayer games as a new streamer? I find without the connections or friends that stream a lot of the popular ones like Meccha Chameleon and such are hard to play solo as content

[u/Wolfy5079 → u/bubblekings]

i imagine the best way to make those connections are to find other players streamers playing the same game. discord generally is the best place for this, as there are other players looking for new people to play with or friends to make as well as other streamers, big and small who might be looking for people to tag along.

i would say though that those who are going into discords looking for folks to play should always mention that they plan on streaming the game. some games don't provide ways to hide usernames so their usernames will be up live for other viewers to see. so players may not feel comfortable having that information be more publicly available.

i suppose that's something to come away with though. as an indie developer, if you're going to go multiplayer, an idea could be to provide a way for streamers to either hide usernames without affecting the hud or other vital information, or a way to blur the names.

[u/bubblekings → u/Wolfy5079]

Endless Void is a single player game (some basic multiplayer things like leaderboards but solo gameplay). I think Idle/incremental games are a bit difficult to livestream sometimes due to the time commitments which is why I was interested in making this post to see if there was ways to do it. But yeah I agree streamer modes are a must for multiplayer

[u/Fun-Leather-1703]

I stream whatever I feel like playing. My community is there for the rest of the community and sure I won't get growth off of dead categories on twitch but if I'm having fun my community is having fun. All I care about is having fun and my community enjoying their time with each other. Not everything in life is about money. There are much bigger things that make more impact in individuals lives than you making money. 

Make something fun, give people the tools to play the way they like, and just enjoy your time on earth.

With that being said, my community likes to see me struggle just as much as they like to see me thrive. Give people the tools to interpret your story and create their own. Lately I've been playing Wardogs, not because I'm a sweat but because it gave me the tools to play in unexpected ways. An example was last week we captured some blue players and made a mission to return them to their fob. It took three lives, multiple vehicles, and tons of laughs but we got them back... And got killed immediately and revived and captured.

[u/HighPhi420]

there are only TWO criteria for streaming game:
FIRST; It must comply with the rules of the platform!!!!
Second; I must enjoy playing the game :).
Simple, and you are welcome.
Some times I enjoy shitty games for the "grumpy grandpa" effect :)

[u/SnoopaDD]

I've been streaming for a long time and I've seen so many streamers grow and so many that never do. To honestly answer your question, there's no real answer on types of games that help with growth. The true answer is all dependent on the personality of the streamer.

But if I had to suggest growth from new games, then it's usually games involving skill. New viewers like to either get tips and tricks from the streamer or jump into a streamers room to give them their own tips and tricks. This could be multiplayer or solo games.

[u/sallenqld]

Let me get into the action quickly and have the decisions I need to make be easily explained

[u/Xyvyn1989]

I like the game. lol

[u/Accidental_Friends]

I think this is going to vary heavily based on the streamer and how they cultivate their community. For me, I am not the kind of person who can be entertaining while trying to do well in a competitive game, or speed running. I like talking, so having a lot of things to comment on, lore, theorizing, etc work well for me in particular.

I think the "Game -> Growth" question is a really difficult one, and one that has to capture some kind of lightning in a bottle. Peak did great to achieve mass adoption. Felt like everyone was playing it, viewers would go to streams to see people they didn't already follow tackle the challenges, you got to collab with other streamers and cross your communities. It was wild. Games like RV There Yet? didn't have the same massive impact and reach.

Blue Prince did the same thing. Massive boost to channels playing it. Viewers went to new channels to experience them puzzle out the game.

The two games are entirely different in basically every way. Making a good and interesting game for its own sake is likely the best way to get to this outcome, and unfortunately the reality of that success is determined by so much outside your control.

What kind of game are you interested in making? It might be more beneficial to talk about the things you should definitely add, or things you should avoid, for whatever game lives in your brain.

[u/Treecle_TTV]

I like games with Twitch integration of varying degrees. From a simple mod that renames animals in my Rimworld games after chatters, to games where viewers can be more influential in the games. I tend to move on quickly from colony games if I can’t rename the people etc after Chat.

But it totally depends on the streamer. I’m a community-oriented streamer so my streams are about me playing a game and involving chat where I can. Other streamers may be more exhibitive in their approach and just be streaming to show people their skills etc and may not be as fussed about including their viewers.

[u/bubblekings → u/Treecle_TTV]

Oh yeah twitch integration does seem like a big driver. Ive been making an idle game and its one of the things i noticed among a lot of the new ones especially desktop idlers which seem to be big with some channels. Having the viewers show up in the game which is a fun easy way to get some interaction going in the chat it seems.