[MUSIC PLAYING]
KIM SWIFT: Hi, my
name is Kim Swift.
I am a game design director for
Stadia Games and Entertainment.
And this is Creating
for Creators.
So as part of my
job, I am actually
working in the publishing
side of things in Stadia.
And I get questions
all the time about,
how do we actually create
compelling games that
appeal to content creators?
So I decided to put
together this deck.
So if you have ever
wanted to know more
about game live streaming
and videos on demand,
want to understand more about
the culture and community
around gaming outside
the content of games,
are interested in
creating games that
will appeal to content
creators in general,
and are also curious
about creating games
that will engage live
streaming audiences
and ask for participation,
this talk is for you.
So the goals of this
presentation is to provide,
first off, a base
level understanding
of livestreams and VODs.
What are the difference?
And get into the minds
of content creators
and their audiences.
Why do content creators create?
Why do people watch?
So if we understand more about
the context and motivations
of creators and
their audiences, we
can better make informed
decisions about our games.
So I'm going to cover four
categories of topics, content
creation 101, livestream
and VOD audiences,
designing for content
creators, and finally,
covering some Stadia-exclusive
features that we're really
excited about.
So when I talk about content, we
tend to, in our minds, as devs,
think about content as just
the game content itself.
Hey, these are the skins and
mods and models for our game.
But really, the
definition of content
has expanded over the
last several years.
So in the context of
this presentation,
when I refer to
content, I'm really
talking about
livestreams and VODs.
So let's go into
some basics here.
This might seem
patently obvious,
but, hey, I've gotten
questions on it,
so I'll cover this
really quickly.
So what are livestreams?
In livestreams, people are
playing your video game live
and putting it on various
platforms like Twitch, Mixer,
or YouTube Live,
professionally or for fun.
Streaming has grown immensely as
a business over the last decade
or so.
It originally got its
start in early 2007
with justin.tv, which
later became Twitch.
And now there are several
streaming platforms
and millions of broadcasters.
On the flip side,
however, you have
Video On Demand, or VODs, which
is pre-recorded content that's
uploaded to platforms
like YouTube and Vimeo.
The democratization
of video on demand
started with YouTube in 2005.
And though uploaded
gaming content
began almost immediately,
as soon as YouTube went up,
what we really consider as
video game content on YouTube
really kind of got rolling in
2008 with "Call of Duty 4."
So as I previously talked about
with livestreams and VODs,
some code names
for what you might
hear content creators in each
of these formats are as follows.
Livestreams, you're
looking at livestreamers,
streamers, broadcasters.
And then for VODs, YouTube
creators, YouTubers,
that's basically what
you're going to hear.
So here's some interesting data.
So when you look at
livestream platforms,
overall, here's the breakdown
of popularity of each.
So right now, Twitch, for
livestream is leading the pack,
followed by YouTube.
Now, in contrast, however,
if you take a look
at all of the gaming
hours consumed
on livestream
versus VOD content,
this is sort of where we're at.
So 17% of that content
across all platforms is live,
and 83% is VOD.
So you're looking at 15.3
billion for livestream
and 74.7 billion for VOD.
So VOD is a huge business.
I know we focus a lot on
livestream as game developers
because it makes, I guess
the most sense to us, right?
We are used to inputting
something into our games
and getting a live response.
And so I think we grok
livestream better.
But at the end of the day,
VOD is a bigger business.
So if I'm a content
creator, here
are some of the
types of services
that I'm going to
use, basically,
outside of my platform
and some of the things
that I'm going to be
paying attention to.
So for both livestream
and VOD, a community
is really important.
Using Twitter, Discord as means
to communicate when you're
going live, or what
types of things
you're going to see in terms
of content from that creator,
and also just keeping
in touch with community,
those are really
important tools.
And then, additionally,
branding is also
very important to
all content creators.
They very frequently will
work with other services
to do their emojis, emotes,
and other art assets
for their streams and videos.
So for streaming,
specifically, when
they are trying to get
ready for a stream,
OBS is kind of the
go-to software here.
Or Streamlabs OBS, which is
just another version of that.
It's free.
So if you're ever curious about
getting into livestreaming,
I would actually recommend
downloading it and playing
around with it.
And then also, as
well for livestream,
you're worried about
creating alerts too as well.
So you want to create these
custom alerts and pop-ups when
people make donations
or follow the stream.
Then for VODs, editing
obviously is very important--
so using tools like iMovie,
Premiere, and Final Cut
to create these videos, and
then posting them to YouTube.
And then again,
for both livestream
and VOD, monetization
is important--
being able to accept
donations through things
like PayPal and Patreon
to receive direct payment
from their viewers.
And then on the platform
specifically, there
are things like paid
memberships, premium
currencies, like Twitch
bits, or paid chat
functions like YouTube
Super Chat and Stickers.
So why do content
creators create content?
I've found that it tends
to fall into six buckets.
And sometimes these
buckets overlap.
So for some, it's wanting to
improve their personal skills
and be more
entertaining overall.
Hey, sometimes people are scary.
And so being able
to talk to a monitor
instead of directly to a
person kind of obfuscates
some of that
insecurity for folks.
And so they actually find that
either livestreaming or VODs
are a great way
for them to improve
their interpersonal skills.
Some folks want to
teach and make sure
that people are having fun
with their favorite games.
Content creators are
super aware that if people
don't play and love the
games that they love,
those games might go away,
especially if they're
games of the service game.
Then also, hey, earning
money playing video games
is the dream.
I've seen how much some
broadcasters make, and, man, it
makes me question
my life choices.
Then, some folks want
to show off their skills
to an audience.
They love to peacock
and be able to show off
that they can do this particular
jump trick shot better
than anyone else can.
And a lot of times,
that actually
combines with the joy of
wanting to teach people how
to do these things too as well.
And then some folks want to make
friends doing the same thing
that they love to do.
And so they got into
streaming or creating
YouTube videos to
find people that
love their common interests.
And then finally,
some folks just really
love to build strong communities
where they're at the center
and bringing other folks
together around the content
that they create.
So when you're taking a look at
the types of content creators
out there, at the
end of the day,
it really comes down into two
extremely broad categories.
One is personality,
and one is skill.
And obviously, for many
content creators out there,
these particular
categories overlap.
So when you think of a content
creator with personality,
you can think of
someone that maybe
does a lot of videos
where there's jump scares,
and they scream
really loud, and it's
really easy to get into
them and watch them emote.
And then for skill,
a lot of these folks
are esports players.
How creators select games is
a really important factor when
thinking about what
types of content
you're going to be
creating for creators.
I'm going to go over a few
broad categories of how
content creators
think about what games
that they want to play,
either on livestream or VODs.
So first off, audience profile
is a really important thing
to pay attention to, especially
if you've got a game,
and you're like, I
want livestreamers
to take a look at this game.
Pay attention to what types
of games they normally stream
or what types of
VODs they create.
Because these folks
very carefully
curate the audience to
be in tune with what
they want to make.
So for instance, someone that is
used to creating VODs for, say,
a first-person shooter, if, all
of a sudden out of the blue,
they start playing games like,
say, "Journey" that are really
peaceful and serene,
their audience
is going to be really confused.
And they might potentially
turn off an audience member
in the future.
And hey, for content
creators, their audience
is how they create money.
So another factor
is strategic timing.
So additionally, choosing a game
to play at the absolute right
moment can be a major
slingshot to a career.
Looking at games
that are projected
to have a potentially huge
following in the future
or have a specific
entertainment draw
are things that a content
creator is going to look at.
So an example of this.
We all know Ninja, right?
Ninja got his career initially
as a professional gamer
in esports playing
"Halo 3," actually.
And so for him, he
kind of got started
on YouTube and
Twitch really going
and being a creator in 2011.
And he did pretty
good and mostly got
into playing battle royale games
after his time with "Halo 3."
And so he really emerged with
"H1Z1" "King Of The Kill"
and then super made his
big break with "Fortnight,"
as we're all aware of.
So he skyrocketed to fame in
2018, going from 500k followers
to over 2 million
in just six months
on Twitch, and over 22 million
subscribers on YouTube.
So that was finding
a game and getting
onto that game at the
exact right moment
to ride the crest of a wave.
So another motivation
is wanting to pick
games that are high
energy and competitive.
This tends to play super
well in livestream.
Games that are competitive
and skill-based
allow a content creator
to peacock those skills
and then really get into
the game play and emote.
And it's easy to
get into the content
and create exciting
entertainment.
Another category
is looking at games
that provide shock and awe.
Again, things with surprises and
jump scares, like horror games,
make for interesting reactions
that's easy for an audience
member to get into.
Folks that tune into
that type of thing
want to see hilarious and
over-the-top reactions.
An example of this
is Markiplier.
So he primarily is on
YouTube, got started in 2012.
He's a huge YouTube creator,
got going playing games
like "Amnesia" and
other horror games.
And his popularity really
grew with this genre
of game and, in particular,
"Five Nights at Freddy's"
in 2014.
His extreme reactions and
jump scares in the game
are what really
started his following.
A few years later, his
videos went from just
like a handful of
views to millions.
He's even gotten into actually
creating his own style of games
too as well with content
like "The Heist."
So another is
community builders.
A lot of content
creators are going
to look at games that
are something that they
can play with their community.
And so what you need
for that is a game
that has a broad variety of
things to do and is accessible.
So someone that maybe isn't as
good at a first-person shooter
can still maybe get into
the co-op content of a game
like, say, "Destiny 2."
Then there's hype train.
Content creators
are obviously going
to select popular titles
that either exist are ready,
like "WoW" and "DotA."
Or try to launch their
viewership, again,
spotting that opportunity
and get into games
that are up and coming.
So for instance, the Pokemon
games that came out in 2019
were incredibly popular
on Twitch and YouTube
when they first came out.
An example of this
for "Overwatch"
is this guy, MoonMoon.
He is primarily on Twitch,
got started exactly
in 2016 because he was
a big Blizzard fanboy
and saw "Overwatch," got
really, really excited
about "Overwatch"
and actually started
streaming because of this game.
So he was one of the first
players that really got good
at the game.
He was fun and
interesting to watch.
And it basically skyrocketed
him almost immediately
on the back of "Overwatch."
So about a year or
so ago, he actually
went from being full-time
"Overwatch" streamer
to switching to variety.
As I said before,
broadcasters and VOD creators
need to be careful about
losing their audience members.
And so for him, he felt
like he had reached
a point in his livestream career
where he could take that risk
and broaden his scope
to a variety of games,
and he's still doing very well.
So another interesting
one to pay attention to
is, just like us, content
creators play together
with their friends.
And a lot of times, those happen
to be other content creators.
So they frequently migrate
through games as a group.
Here's an example of that.
I call this the great battle
royale migration of 2017.
So let's take a look at
H1Z1, "King Of The Kill"
in early 2016.
The game is created by Daybreak
as a riff on the "DayZ" mod.
And they basically
split it into two types
of games, one of which
was a battle royale game.
Everyone who was playing
things like "CS:GO"
took a look at it as a fresh
and exciting interesting thing
to go and play.
So this picture right
here is actually
something I took while I
was helping to run event
while I was working on the
Twitch Prime team called
King Of The Kappa.
So all of these
streamers actually
went through this
migration themselves.
So the next game on
that list is "PUBG."
Again, early 2017, "H1Z1,"
"King Of The Kill"-- this
is something to pay
attention to as devs--
were not responding fast enough
to the content creators' needs
and wants even just in
terms of fixing bugs.
And so when they saw another
competitor on the horizon
with "PUBG," everybody
sort of switched over.
And then again, the same thing
happened with "Fortnight"
in late 2017.
Attracted by the twist of the
building that "Fortnight" has,
people jumped from
"PUBG" to "Fortnight."
And one of the reasons why a
"Fortnight" has sort of been
hanging on for quite
a while, in comparison
to some of these other games
in terms of popularity,
is because of how fast they
respond to community feedback
and constantly having
interesting events
and things to do.
And then the new
hotness now seems
to be "Escape From Tarkov."
And people are kind of migrating
from "Fortnight" slowly
but surely to this game, which--
this took place in late 2019.
Even though the game has
been around for a few years,
again, people were looking
for something new and fresh
that was still in the
boundaries of this genre.
And if you take a
look at "Escape From
Tarkov" and "Fortnight," they're
basically polar opposite games.
So again, looking for
something fresh and different.
And they all kind
of go together.
And then finally,
sponsored title-- hey,
I got paid to do this.
Most larger titles are going
to contract streamers or VOD
creators to play during
their launch windows.
It's pretty common.
Key note that, if
you are looking
to do this, making sure that you
have clearance on that this is
a sponsored title-- so
having somewhere in the video
or in the title of
the video or live,
stream is super
important so you don't
get in trouble with the law.
So let's talk creator economics.
First off, what are the KPIs,
Key Performance Indicators,
for all you acronym fans
out there, for VOD creators?
First off, subscriptions.
This is the amount of people
that are following and tracking
a VOD creator's channel.
I'm talking specifically
about YouTube here.
These are free for this service.
Then there's views.
So views are the number
of folks that have
watched a particular video.
A successful number of views
is, let's say, it's about 14%.
So if they have
100,000 followers,
then success is maybe about
12,000 to 15,000 views
on each one of these videos.
Then there is engagement.
So viewer comments are important
things to pay attention to.
The expectation is that
content creators should maybe
have, like, about a
0.5% engagement rate.
So again, for that
100,000 followers,
about 500 comments on that
video is considered sort of
like, this is a baseline.
I'm doing pretty good.
Then, finally, paid memberships.
Viewers can pay a monthly fee
to their favorite creator.
The service takes a
cut of this revenue.
YouTube Gaming, I believe,
requires about 1,000 followers
in order to activate this
particular monetization.
And I could be wrong, and
I might be in trouble,
but, hey, we'll find out.
And then on the flip
side, for streaming KPIs,
for people that
are livestreaming,
followers and subs
are very important.
OK, so here is an
interesting detail.
On YouTube,
subscriptions are free.
On Twitch, subscriptions are
actually a paid membership.
So being able to track, again,
people following for free,
this particular live content
creator is a good way to start.
Then concurrencies
for livestreams--
so the number of viewers that
are watching a broadcaster
at any given amount of time--
so generally you're
going to look
at the peak and average
concurrencies of people
watching that livestream.
And then finally, paid
memberships-- viewers
can pay a monthly fee on
all the streaming services
to their favorite broadcasters.
It's a major indicator of how
a broadcaster is doing and is
a way for them to determine
whether or not this could maybe
be something they can do for
their first and primary job.
Again, the service takes
a cut of this revenue.
For YouTube, the benefits
are for their entire channel,
both VOD and live.
So how do creators
make money knowing
that these are the KPIs?
So obviously, from viewers.
Depending on the
platform, viewers
can contribute to
a creator's revenue
in a number of ways--
paid memberships, tips,
or premium currencies.
Then there's ad revenue.
Creators can run ads
or banner displays
in both their stream and
videos, pre- and mid-roll,
and get a small amount for
their impressions there.
Then finally, sponsorships.
Content creators can
be paid to stream
or create videos for
particular titles or products.
And creators are also paid
for going to sponsored events.
So we've talked a bit about
the creators themselves.
Let's talk about the audiences
that watch this content.
So why do folks watch
VODs and livestreams
of their favorite games?
Well, here are six reasons.
First-- wanting to
make friends that
have the same tastes as them.
I actually have a friend of
mine who is in his late 50s,
and none of his other
friends play video games.
And so when he wants to
talk about the new game
that he's playing, he actually
turns to Twitch and YouTube
audiences and following along
with his favorite content
creators and talking
with their communities
when he wants to say how
much he loves this thing.
Another reason is, love
being a part of a community.
I know this is
what really got me
into watching
Twitch and YouTube.
I love feeling like
I'm a part of things.
And I think we tend
to underestimate
just how important internet
friendships are to people
and that they're just as
important to our audiences
as their real-life friendships.
And then another
reason is wanting
to learn more about the games
that they don't necessarily
have time to play, but they
want to keep up with what's
going on, because FOMO, right?
I do this all the time.
Sometimes there's a game
where I'm like, yeah,
I don't really have
time to hit my head
against the wall in this
really, really hard game,
so I'm going to watch someone
better than me play it.
Another reason is wanting
to learn and improve skills
by observing.
This is really popular
with esports games.
So I'm going to launch this
"DotA" streamer or YouTuber
to find out what's happening
with the latest meta,
and what are the strats that
people are playing around
with right now.
I want to check out games
before I invest in buying.
This is incredibly common.
A lot of our gaming
audience members
are feeling a little
disenfranchised
when we put up these really
beautifully rendered videos
that don't necessarily reflect
the game content that they're
going to play through.
And so they turn to somebody
actually playing the game
to see what it's like.
And then finally, I really
identify with this broadcaster
or VOD creator because I
love their personality.
Even though I know
they're not my friend,
I feel like they're my
friend, or maybe they
could be my friend.
And so I'm going to get really,
really into this creator.
Another thing to think
about too, as well--
so this is how YouTube
actually thinks about their VOD
content and the types
of categories and things
that people like to watch.
So first off, there's
competitive, obviously,
skill based.
So people are going to get
into this type of content,
again, because they want
to learn by watching.
Another category is let's play.
And folks like to tune
into these types of--
I'm going to play
from the beginning
to the end of this
particular game
because they want to know
how to accomplish something
or just to see the length
and breadth of the game.
Then there's sandbox, which
is things like, say, "Roblox"
or "Minecraft."
They say that it's
narrative based.
But really what
that means is that I
want to be immersed in a
world with a person I love
to watch and see
what types of stories
that are going to come out
by this person interacting
with the game.
And then finally, reaction--
these tend to be humor
and horror games.
So people are going to get into
watching these types of content
because they're
just fun and funny,
and they want to
get into the LOLs.
So that's why audiences watch.
So why do audiences pay money
for this type of content?
First off, being supportive--
viewers look at paying
their favorite creators
like paying for a service
like, say, Netflix.
The way they see it,
content's content.
And they should
support the content
that they like so that
way it'll continue.
Then there's community.
So things like
gifting is actually
extremely popular in
VOD stream culture.
People want to share
and grow the community
around their favorite
content creators,
again, because they
love this content.
They love the creator.
And so they want to be
supportive and bring
more people into the fold.
And then finally, this is more
important than you would think.
But exclusive features is a
way for people to really get
into a content creator.
So collecting emotes,
emojis, special features--
believe it or not,
super important.
It's a huge part of the culture.
People love to show off
the ones that they have
that maybe someone
else hasn't seen.
I liken this to being a
little kid and loving stickers
and sticker books,
and you would just
want to collect and
fill them up and then
trade them with other people.
And I don't know, it
has the same feel to me.
So now that we set the
ground level of understanding
of content creators
and their audiences,
how do we design for these
creators and their audiences?
So one important success
indicator is readability.
And to be honest, this is
a really important success
feature for a lot of
us creating games.
So in a game scene, it's
particularly important
to livestream, I would say.
So folks that are
just tuning in should
be able to quickly understand,
at a glance, what's going on,
at least at the highest level.
And then hopefully
the game has depth
that, if the audience members
want to ask more about,
hey, how did you
do this one thing?
Or hey, what's that over there?
It doesn't make it
so the broadcaster
has to kind explain
what the game is
over and over and over again.
So a really great
example of this
is football/soccer,
depending on where you're at.
So let's pretend you are an
alien, and you came to Earth,
and you watched a soccer
game for the first time.
And you're like, oh,
hey, I think I actually
kind of know what's going on.
You've got two teams
and these costumes.
And they're wearing
the same costume,
so, yeah, they must be on
the same team together.
They seem to be kicking
this ball around.
And oh, hey, it
looks like there's
two goals here that they're
trying to get the ball in.
Cool, I get the
base understanding
of how this game works.
And obviously, the
game has depth.
There's all of the
different players.
There's the different positions.
There's all the stats going on.
And so this allows, again,
people to get into the game,
understand what's going on.
If they're in a soccer game,
they can get into the action
and then provides depth
to think about how
the game operates later on.
Another important success
indicator is excitement.
Moments of surprise
and excitement
not only delight your
players, but the folks
that are watching too as well.
Viewers are going to want to
root for their favorite creator
when they're doing really well.
And then maybe like have a
little bit of schadenfreude
when they're not doing so well.
Or empathize and be like,
oh, man, that sucks.
But these exciting
in-game moments
make it easy for
content creators
to really be entertaining.
We're doing some of
the work for them.
And so they don't have
to try to really makeup
or think hard about how to make
this particular stream or VOD
exciting.
A good example of this are
most multiplayer first-person
shooters or other
competitive games.
Watching a content creator play
a super intense match of, say,
"CS:GO" is entertaining
with lots of PVP,
and these dynamic moments
that are coming about from
the interactions between the
players and the mechanics
of the game.
Another important one, where
that sort of excitement
is super, super
important for livestream,
I would say creativity is
more important for VOD,
and it's a high priority
for VOD creators.
Allowing creators to express
themselves within the game
is not only rewarding for
them, but it's something
that the audience can
get engaged and chat
about, either in comments
or in a livestream chat.
Creating something and trying
new experimental things
is an easy way to create
content for an audience.
A great perfect example
of this is "Minecraft."
It's evergreen in the realm
of creativity and expression.
Its broad sandbox capabilities
allow folks to really express
themselves in multiple ways.
The game has remained
steadily in the top 15
on both Twitch and YouTube
after a decade, which,
if you think about
internet time,
is a really, really long time.
Another important
factor is pacing.
So just as excitement is
really, really important,
downtime is actually
equally as important,
particularly if you're
talking about livestream.
So when a streamer is playing
a particularly intense moment,
they're not really going to
be checking or reading chat.
And so they're not
going to be responding.
When a game has a
break in the action--
and really, this can be
as simple as like a lobby
in a multiplayer game--
they have a chance to take
a minute, look at chat,
talk about, hey,
this is maybe what
I'm going to do next in the
game, respond to questions,
and shout out to new
donations or followers.
An example of this
is, say, "GTA" online
or "Red Dead" online.
They're a good example of pacing
because if you watch, say,
a session of about
four hours of someone
playing "Red Dead"
online, you can see all
of these high and low moments.
So high moments, when you
come across another player
and you have a PVP
shootout and then
lower moments when you're
riding around on your horse
and talking to your audience,
having this ebb and flow
of pacing is really important.
And something to keep in mind
for livestream too, as well,
is these folks are
talking for four hours
basically at the
minimum and are doing
multiple four-hour sessions
throughout their day.
And so if they're always on
like high-level excitement,
it's going to get
tiring pretty quickly.
Another important
factor is variety.
Just like players, sometimes
viewers get a little bored
of seeing the same thing
over and over and over again.
Having variety of things
that a content creator can
do within the scope of
one game will likely
keep them engaged in
your game for longer.
Creators tend to
pick maybe one or two
games to play predominantly
sort of as their staple games.
You increase the likelihood
of being one of these staples
if there's lots of
different modalities
that you can play
within your game.
So a clear example
of this are MMOs.
So I'm using "Elder
Scrolls" online
because I play that sometimes.
But any massively
multiplayer online game
really are great
examples because you
know you've got things
like crafting or housing.
You can go experience a
single-player storyline
or have an exciting PVP match.
So I talked about
these staple games.
So how do I create a
game that is not just
a five-minute
wonder of something
that people play once and
then maybe not stream it
or create VODs for it anymore
and to become a content staple?
So I'm actually
taking this slide
from one of Raph Koster's
blog posts, which
I think demonstrates it really
well, and it's easy to grok.
So first off, steady
content trickle--
is there a reason
for players to want
to come back and check
to see if there's
something new in your game?
Something to note here is that
content doesn't necessarily
have to be made by us as devs.
This could also be UGC
content too as well.
Then there's persistent
profile investment.
So I feel personally
invested in this game
because I've spent
money, I've spent time,
I've built friendships.
I don't just want to
stop playing this game
because I really feel like I've
put a piece of myself into it.
Then there is
in-world investment.
So this is like persistent
profile investment,
but with other players.
So think of this as, we've put
a lot of effort as a community
into, say, this
"Minecraft" server.
And so I'm less likely to
walk away because, here, I've
created this landmark and
something that I can go to
within the game with my friends.
Then there's social connections.
This should be fairly obvious.
My friends play this game.
I want to keep playing
this game because that's
how I get to hang
out with my friends.
Then there's economic play.
So this can be real-world
currency or not so real-world
currency, like gold
or silver or whatever
we make up as a code name
for our in-game currencies.
Then there's extreme
game depth-- so
think of this as games
like, say, again,
MOBAs or card games where the
meta is changing all the time.
There's lots of
characters and stats
to memorize and sort
of lots of permutations
to play around with for success.
Then PVP competition--
fairly obvious.
And again, user creativity--
again, I think this really
plays well into VOD creation.
Then there's story.
I want to keep playing
this game because I
want to find out what's going to
happen to the characters next.
Again, within the context
of content creation,
the story can be my
own personal story
as a content creator
going through this game
and having these experiences.
And then finally,
emergent play--
so this is having lots
of different mechanics
that are permeable
with one another
to create things that maybe
players might not expect.
So you want to make a game that
appeals to content creators.
I'm asking you to do
this first and foremost.
Make a good game, which
is hard enough as it is.
So content creators
are just gamers
that make money playing games.
If your game is not fun,
engaging, and interesting,
content creators won't play.
And before designing
features just
for content creators
or their audiences,
make sure the game is good
for all of your players first.
So it's easy to get
caught up wanting
to focus on just
the content creators
because they have
millions of followers
and they're able to get
data out about your game.
And hey, this is
great marketing.
And we can kind of get in
our own heads about it.
But you have to take a
look at your overall player
funnel first.
So you start off with a
particular funnel for your game
depending on what
genre you have,
who your target
demographic is, et cetera.
So you've already
shrunk your funnel
at least a little
bit from everyone
to specifically for this game.
And then the more you
specialized for creators,
for the VOD creators
and livestreamers there,
the more you're going to
prematurely shrink that funnel.
There's more players out
there than content creators.
And so you want to make
sure that, with the features
that you're creating
for content creators,
you're not going to turn off a
potential rest of your audience
as well.
Another thing to keep in
mind is latency, particularly
for a livestream.
So there's actually a
delay between the streamer
broadcasting their experience
and the viewer watching it.
So folks responding in
chat or to an interaction
prompt-- so let's say
I'm a content creator,
I'm livestreaming, I'm playing a
game, and I ask for chat input.
Hey, what should
I go and do next?
It's going to be a few
seconds before that's actually
going to get back to me.
Because first off, the me
saying that into the screen
has to then go to the service.
And then from the service, it
then has to go to my audience.
Then audience members
are going to chat back,
and that takes some time.
That's going to go back
through the service
and then again to
me as a streamer.
And if I wasn't really like
watching at that exact moment,
you're going to get
some amount of delay.
So if you're looking to do
livestream-facing features,
making sure that
you have ways built
into your game to
account for this latency
is really important.
Another thing to keep in
mind with livestream audience
participation is the
breakdown of what
a livestream
audience is actually
doing at any given time.
So first off, lurkers,
that's the bulk
of an audience of a
livestream, about 75% or so.
They're going to be viewing
on PC or mobile, maybe
their console, but that
slice is really small.
They're probably busy.
So they're probably having
this as background noise
for themselves.
They're passively
consuming this content.
I actually heard of a guy
that was a long-haul trucker.
And he actually turned Twitch
on while he was driving
across the United States.
He would obviously not
play the video part,
and he would just have
the audio going so
that way he didn't
crash his truck.
But that type of
person is obviously
going to stay a lurker.
Then you're looking
at active chat.
That's about a quarter
of the audience.
So folks that are active
in chat are generally
consuming their
livestream, again,
while they're multitasking
or doing other things.
But they're at a computer
or on their phone where
they're able to type
into chat, maybe
take a minute to say hi folks.
And then finally,
active player-- so these
are players that
are stream viewers.
They're probably already
playing a video game
and also have their favorite
Twitch and YouTuber up,
on a second screen
or on their phone.
And so they're just listening,
again, as background noise.
And so if a streamer
said, hey, I'd
love to play with anybody in
my audience who's up for it,
realistically, you're
only going to be looking
at about maybe 1% to 2%
of that audience that
can jump on right then
and there to participate.
So another thing to keep in
mind, as a design constraint,
are pain points actually
for a content creator
because obviously this is a
part of their motivations.
So opportunity--
acquiring viewers
is an issue for the majority
of content creators.
Lower- and mid-tier
creators, getting exposure
is a huge, huge priority.
And finding an audience
is really difficult.
And so I would actually
recommend that,
if you are looking to get
content creators to help
support your game, looking at
low- and mid-tier streamers
or VOD creators
because they're going
to work really hard
for you because they
want those opportunities.
Then there's balance.
Having a reliable revenue
stream is really difficult
because there's so many
variables that go into it.
Every day that a creator
doesn't make content,
they might lose a significant
chunk of their audience
and, therefore, their revenue.
So finding a work-life
balance is really important.
If you are coming to content
creators, and you're like, hey,
I would really love it if you
did this thing for me for free
and take a day from
streaming or creating
VODs to come out to my
studio and do stuff.
Keep in mind that
they're losing money
by coming to help you out.
And so think about maybe
paying them a day wage.
Then there's safety.
Security obviously
becomes a huge issue
for people that
are on the internet
if you're a public figure.
Issues like swatting,
doxing, hacked accounts
are still very
frequent occurrences.
If it's a game that encourages
playing with the creator,
something to keep
in mind is consider
how they will want
to control who, when,
and where they're
playing with folks.
So the likelihood that a creator
is going to play with you
is on the spectrum.
So first off, there
are friends and mods.
So that's a really
highly likelihood
that a content creator
will want to play with you.
I feel like friends are maybe
something self-explanatory,
but hopefully you
know what a friend is.
And then what a mod
is, it's somebody
with admin permissions on
that particular channel that
can edit chat.
And it's really important
for a livestream
to have super good mods that
you trust that can basically
filter out, say, racial slurs,
or some rando coming out
of nowhere telling
you you're fat.
It's good to have somebody you
trust on your side to filter
out this negative content.
Then a regular-- so
what's a regular?
You come to the stream
or YouTube channel,
comment frequently.
People see you all the time.
And they're like, OK,
you're a known quantity.
Then descending in
terms of trustability,
there's paid member.
A lot of times, regular and
paid member tend to overlap.
But somebody that has
paid for specific content
from a content
creator, like, say,
access to a Discord channel
or those emotes or emojis
that I was talking
about previously.
And then finally,
there are randos.
These are completely
unknown quantities.
The content creator
has absolutely no idea
who this person is.
They just came out of
nowhere and are now saying,
I want to play with you.
The likelihood is
pretty slim there
because, at the end of the day,
the questions that creators
are going to have
about the audience
features that you're
interested in are--
will involving the audience be
more of a mental load for me?
Will involving that audience
add entertainment value,
or will it be annoying?
Because even if I, say,
wanted to play with a friend
that I trust, maybe they're not
the most entertaining person
on that stream.
So I don't know if I really
want to play with them.
Then there is, how
much power will
audience members or new players
have over my experience?
And then, can audience
members be heard on my stream?
If so, can I trust them to not
shout out horrible racial slurs
and get my channel banned?
Then there's, will people
being heard on my stream
be entertaining,
even if I trust them?
And then finally,
will these features
help or hurt my bottom line?
At the end of the
day, audience is how
content creators make money.
And so the way that
content creators think
about their content is, it's
the same as any other content
you consume, whether
it's a video game,
whether it's something
on Netflix, et cetera.
And so if I am saying,
hey, go play my game,
or go off the
platform, making sure
that those people
come back and aren't
hurting a content creator's
bottom line is super important.
So finally, I'm going to talk
a little bit about Stadia
exclusive features.
These are things
that we are really
excited to be bringing
to our platform as ways
to interact with livestreamers.
Hopefully, folks will like them.
So first off, there's
click to play.
This is pretty simple.
Essentially, we
are allowing people
to create these
deep links that they
can post on social
media or Discord
or wherever that will then link
back into Stadia as a platform
and allow people to
directly buy or play a game.
Then there's crowd play.
So we want to enable YouTube
creators to let folks play
with them on their channel.
Obviously, we want to have
filtering mechanics, talking
about safety and
security earlier.
We're really
concerned here as well
in making sure that our
content creators feel safe.
So the way that works
is, essentially,
a streamer on YouTube
can turn on crowd play
to help populate their game.
So we see this as being
something really, really
exciting for things like
battle royale games, actually.
Because you want to fill that
game with all of your friends
on your channel.
Then there's crowd
choice, again, something
we're really excited about.
Which is allowing a
streamer on YouTube
to create these live voting
polls that will either
allow you folks on the dev
end to create hooks to change
gameplay, to maybe do polling
on a narrative-driven game about
whether or not I should
be the good guy or bad guy
in this particular scenario.
We think there's all
sorts of really fun things
that we can do as
mechanics here.
Then there's state share.
So content creators can share
specific experiences and items,
again, determined by
you as the developers
with their particular audience.
So players will be able to
create a 30-second capture
video of something and
then share that link out
on YouTube with these
associated states that
are determined developer side.
Viewers can then
click that thing.
And then it'll launch the
game within that snapshot.
So this could be really
interesting for games
with random seeds
of hey, I played
a game, say a rogue-like, with
this particular random seed.
And I want to share
this as a challenge
with all of my
audience members to see
if you can beat this better
or faster than myself.
So we've actually reached
the end of the presentation.
I hope that you learned
something today,
and that you maybe
had a little fun.
So here are some
takeaways at the end here.
Good content
creators are experts
in curating their brands
and making strategic choices
on what they play,
how they play it
to attract specific audiences.
Audiences place monetary
value on the content
that they enjoy and will
happily pay to support
their favorite creators.
Content creators are
gamers first that happen
to play games for a living.
So focus on creating
a great game first.
Again, harder than I say it.
And keep constraints on
potential content creator
features in the periphery.
So focus on your game, making
it for the audience demographic
that you're going after.
And the things that I
spoke of earlier, just
keep it on the sides,
and think about it,
and check in from time to time.
Is my game readable?
Are we looking to
index more on creators?
And so, hey, let's go take
a look at some VOD creators
that create, say,
"Minecraft" content.
And then finally, be careful to
not alienate potential players
by tailoring too closely to
the content creator market.
Again, pay attention
to your player funnel.
That's it for me.
Thank you so very
much for watching.
And I hope you have a great day.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
