Oddworld streaming on Twitch

[Xavier]

Are any members of the OWF watching the weekly Oddworld streams on Twitch hosted by @elliejoypanic ?

https://twitch.tv/oddworlddev

I like the concept and format but I'd like to have a bit more content than just Ellie plating the game. Like maybe some insights in either the game development or the lore. To be fair I missed a good chunk of today's session but what I saw wasn't very different from the Alf's Escape session.

What are your thoughts?

And for those wondering I'm pazulag in the Twitch chat.

[Connell]

Not the sort of thing I'd watch unfortunately, but streaming is very popular with gamers in general so good on them for reaching out in any way possible.

[Varrok]

Ditto, I wish them all the best. That said, I'm not interested in watching New n Tasty streams myself.

[Havoc]

I was excited when I heard they were streaming, but I closed it when I saw it was just a random Playstation stream with no hint of professionalism whatsoever. Unfortunate.

I really REALLY want to see Lorne play one of the Oddworld games while he answers questions and stuff though. I think that could really pull in the crowds.

[SlashClaw]

maybe if it was that Oziah guy who did a few videos back when New 'n' Tasty was coming out that guy had the voice for it

[Xavier]

I was excited when I heard they were streaming, but I closed it when I saw it was just a random PlayStation stream with no hint of professionalism whatsoever. Unfortunate.

Well Ellie is the new Oddworld community manager, so it's not like they picked up a random stranger to do the streams. She doesn't seem to know a lot yet about the game's development or the Oddworld universe, or at least she doesn't talk about it much. Hopefully that will come with time.

I really REALLY want to see Lorne play one of the Oddworld games while he answers questions and stuff though. I think that could really pull in the crowds.

That could indeed be super interesting. Or, you know, have Lorne talk about what's happening on screen while Ellie is playing.

But to be fair I think we aren't really the targeted audience here. As Connell said, those stream are aimed at the regular gamers to get them interested in Oddworld

[OWI_Pete]

Those streams are to make some fun extra content for our fans, hopefully draw in new fans and make them aware of our games and will eventually help to show some trophies/achievements and secret stuff.
Now, here's the secret, additional purpose for us starting these streams: we want to have a history and a fanbase on Twitch for when we start streaming bits of Soulstorm and doing stuff that I suspect you guys will be much more interested in

[Connell]

Now, here's the secret, additional purpose for us starting these streams: we want to have a history and a fanbase on Twitch for when we start streaming bits of Soulstorm and doing stuff that I suspect you guys will be much more interested in

Now this is something I can get on board with. I'd tune into that in a heartbeat

[SgabbitGabbiar]

Those streams are to make some fun extra content for our fans, hopefully draw in new fans and make them aware of our games and will eventually help to show some trophies/achievements and secret stuff.
Now, here's the secret, additional purpose for us starting these streams: we want to have a history and a fanbase on Twitch for when we start streaming bits of Soulstorm and doing stuff that I suspect you guys will be much more interested in

That's cool, thanks Pete !

[Havoc]

Those streams are to make some fun extra content for our fans, hopefully draw in new fans and make them aware of our games and will eventually help to show some trophies/achievements and secret stuff.
Now, here's the secret, additional purpose for us starting these streams: we want to have a history and a fanbase on Twitch for when we start streaming bits of Soulstorm and doing stuff that I suspect you guys will be much more interested in

That does make sense, but for that to happen you'll need to up the game for your existing streams as well. It really doesn't have to be anything super professional. But ANYTHING is better than having a dev streaming from their livingroom using the built in streaming app on the PS4. It just reeks of amateur hour when you see that interface.

Get her a simple streaming setup, fiddle with OBS for a few hours, invest some effort into making this look good because right now it really doesn't. And she's barely audible as well. It just doesn't grab attention.

[Manco]

Having a second person in the room would be great, too. One person talking to themselves is far less interesting than having another person to bounce off.

[Venks]

I agree with a lot of the criticism in this thread. I was in the stream and did enjoy watching New 'n' Tasty as it's been quite sometime since I've played it myself. But it does come off as rather amateur. To be fair though I'm sure Ellie will get better at this as time goes on. I kinda live on Twitch so I'll be popping into the stream when ever I see it on.

[Gunnr]

Those streams are to make some fun extra content for our fans, hopefully draw in new fans and make them aware of our games and will eventually help to show some trophies/achievements and secret stuff.
Now, here's the secret, additional purpose for us starting these streams: we want to have a history and a fanbase on Twitch for when we start streaming bits of Soulstorm and doing stuff that I suspect you guys will be much more interested in

I fourth this

100%



<3

[Connell]

I just checked out a bit of tonight's stream for the first time. It was kind of quirky and it definitely had a community feel to it, although I don't really watch many Let's Play's or streams or any gubbins like that so I don't have that much of a reference point.

I do have to agree with what's been said though; considering it's an official stream I think it could do with a bit of a boost in production values. Nothing extravagant, just maybe an Oddworld poster in the background or something and a professional mic. I agree as well that I really think the commentary could flourish if there was someone to bounce off. Considering it's really not my cup of tea though, I did enjoy most of what I saw.

[Xavier]

I just checked out a bit of tonight's stream for the first time. It was kind of quirky and it definitely had a community feel to it, although I don't really watch many Let's Play's or streams or any gubbins like that so I don't have that much of a reference point.

I do have to agree with what's been said though; considering it's an official stream I think it could do with a bit of a boost in production values. Nothing extravagant, just maybe an Oddworld poster in the background or something and a professional mic. I agree as well that I really think the commentary could flourish if there was someone to bounce off. Considering it's really not my cup of tea though, I did enjoy most of what I saw.

The community feel is why I keep coming back to it.

I agree on the professional mic point. Yesterday the game's sound covered Ellie's voice from time to time. This could have easily been prevented.

And the communication is lacking as well as there is quite a big lag between the chat and what Ellie is seeing and responding to. This leads to some awkward communications issues with Ellie getting comments way out of time. Also she's missing quite a bit when she is concentrating on the game (which is normal)

The fact OddworldDev was in the chat yesterday made it much more fun.

[Manco]

And the communication is lacking as well as there is quite a big lag between the chat and what Ellie is seeing and responding to. This leads to some awkward communications issues with Ellie getting comments way out of time. Also she's missing quite a bit when she is concentrating on the game (which is normal)

That’s a limit of Twitch though, Twitch automatically delays the stream by 30 seconds or so if I remember rightly. Not much OWI can do about that.

[Phylum]

That isn't true any more. Some streams have a very low delay, and streamers have much more control over it now.

I'd guess the delay comes down to the Playstation streaming. Like other people have said the PS4 streaming overlay just looks a bit crappy, so really think about a capture card and moving away from that ASAP. Even a chill community stream benefits a lot from simple things like having different scenes. Plus once you have a good setup it will in theory be easy to switch away from PS4 streams to basically anything else.

I also have some advice on handling chat. The most important thing is to not try to read and respond to everything. Don't apologize when you stop reading chat to focus on the game. The best streams I've seen - and been involved in - have a certain flow of content. The Oddworld games have a fair bit of downtime, plenty of opportunities to make some space and interact with people, but the chat can tell when something important or interesting is happening.

One much smaller thing I think could be better is to say people's usernames when talking to them in chat. Chat is always out of sync with the stream, and even though with the PS4 overlay we can see exactly where the streamer is with chat I find it still just makes more sense if everyone is 100% clear on who you're addressing. Obviously this doesn't apply all the time, but it's something I've noticed a lot of good streamers do.

[Connell]

The main thing I feel is, I know so many people (myself included) who's living room looks exactly like where Ellie is playing from. It's a very standard living room, and I feel like they could make it a more "Official OWI" setting, with posters in the background or something, and a proper setup, rather than a webcam at strange angle that anyone could replicate. Just my two cents. At the end of the day, I'm glad OWI are reaching out.

I always feel like I'm stabbing a friend in the back when I say not great things about OWI, because they strive so much to have the community at the heart of their interests. But I guess it's good to hear criticism sometimes, right? I'm always supportive of any venture OWI takes, but this is the place I express my true feelings, so I want to be upfront. I've just come to realise that I hope no ones is offended by what I say.

[Xavier]

That’s a limit of Twitch though, Twitch automatically delays the stream by 30 seconds or so if I remember rightly. Not much OWI can do about that.

Well if it's a limit of the system they should take it into account and realize that Ellie is always going to be out of sync, so asking us thing like "tell me where to go" doesn't make sense. Or as Phylum suggested invest in a better setup that gets rid of this limitation. Because right now it feels like there is a gap between the chat community and Ellie.

The main thing I feel is, I know so many people (myself included) who's living room looks exactly like where Ellie is playing from. It's a very standard living room, and I feel like they could make it a more "Official OWI" setting, with posters in the background or something, and a proper setup, rather than a webcam at strange angle that anyone could replicate. Just my two cents. At the end of the day, I'm glad OWI are reaching out.

I agree with you, they could work a bit on the setup and general background to reduce the "I'm a fan streaming from my living room" factor.

Also, always remember that constructive feedback is a gift. Some of the stuff we are suggesting is probably obvious for OWI but some stuff may be new to them and could be quick wins to improve the general experience.

[Phylum]

Yeah I did my usual thing, getting caught up in feedback so much I forgot to say I'd enjoyed what I saw, even if I didn't find it especially compelling.

And yeah Xav knowing how to ask a chat for something is a real skill, factoring in delays and how insane chats can get with even 200+ people. Google is faster in many cases, or having specific people who can message you outside of chat to help you out. By the time I ask if my sound levels are ok in a Quake competition stream I've already got a few Steam/Discord messages telling me to turn myself up or something - before what I've said can even be broadcast.

Or if you know there's a tough bit in the game coming up maybe brush up on it before the stream A good stream is a performance more than anything.