Twitch, a video game streaming platform owned by Amazon has become an essential tool for every gamer of this generation. Now, it is finally prepared to create its own video game, beginning with a karaoke title that was specifically created so users can take advantage of the Twitch platform. The news about the said game was announced last year, on the first day of the TwitchCon Europe. The announcement marked the video game streaming platform’s first-ever dive into the area of game development. The said game was named Twitch Sings and is downloadable for free on Windows at sings.twitch.tv.
Twitch Lifecasting: A Life Mistake?
Twitch began as a platform for lifecasting. However, it shifted into a platform that is more game streaming-oriented. Apart from being a video game streaming platform, Twitch has also become a home for a number of experimental efforts to take advantage of its nature along with its competitors. The most popular example of this effort is the Twitch Plays Pokemon. In this stream, a programmer set up a live version of the classic role-playing game. The said game is controllable using crowdsourced inputs that the user can get from the chat system of Twitch. Ever since then, party and puzzle games from various developers like Jackbox Games have added features like spectator mode so audiences can participate during live streams.
However, although people can consider games like Twitch Plays Pokemon as a unique game that can only be played on Twitch, the platform did not want to create its own game that can tap into the features like that of Twitch Plays Pokemon. However, this decision changed and Twitch Sings was born.
Twitch Finally Delved into Game Development with a Game Built Specifically for Streaming
According to Joel Wade, the executive producer of Twitch Followers popular Sings, the game combines the energy and fun of being at a live show with the streamers’ creativity to make a shared interactive performance. He added that there are many games that were made better on Twitch. However, they believe that there is a vast opportunity for games designed to make streaming and audience participation accessible.
Twitch Sings was launched into a beta version last 2018. The said version included a vast array of karaoke classics that players can sing solo or in a duet with another person. Additionally, players can turn on the camera feed so their audience can see them while they are performing. Or if they do not want their audience to see their face, they can create a customized avatar which will be displayed on the screen as they sing. The songs available on the game are licensed using karaoke content providers and not the major music labels.
Twitch Go Live Feature Makes and Breaks It
According to the company, Twitch Sings has a “go live” button that allows users to begin streaming the play session immediately. The audience participation feature includes cheering with emoticons, virtual ovations, as well as the ability to vote that allows them to decide what next song would be in the queue. It also includes a feature where the audience can challenge a player by removing some part of the lyrics on the track or singing using silly voices like the voice of a cat and other goofy stuff. Users can also access customizable avatars as well as a camera feed. In addition, there is an option where you can choose if you want to sing solo or duet so you can sing with other streamers, friends, and even the audience who watch your stream.
In addition, Twitch announced that it will be launching the game with a library of famous karaoke classics and will add more to the catalog every week. How the company will license the music is still unknown. However, it may be similar to how bars, karaoke lounges, as well as other live venues, license the music they use using licensing organizations like the Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), BMI, and the American Society of Composers. Also, Twitch has not yet announced how it gained access to the music tracks.
Twitch Streamers Get In Trouble
In a lot of cases, many Twitch streamers have faced some trouble in live streaming copyrighted music. Some popular streamers have even acquired a partnership with record labels. For instance, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, a professional Fortnite player and Twitch streamer partnered with the electronic music label Astralwerks so he could use the label’s music without facing copyright issues.
Furthermore, Twitch exerted some effort to help their streamers gain access to music. The said platform released an array of free to use music libraries and clarified its rules and regulations regarding copyrighted content. However, using music is still a difficult issue for many streamers. But with Twitch Sings, it seems as if the platform has acquired the appropriate licenses so the game’s users can perform copyrighted music themselves.
Twitch’s Expansion Efforts Outside the Video Gaming Industry
However, unlike other similar platforms, Twitch Sings is primarily created to be both live streamed and interactive. The game is designed to capitalize on the platform’s live-streaming capabilities. In addition, it is made in order to engage Twitch viewers to tune in and watch without having to stream themselves.
More importantly, the said game is an array for expanding Twitch on the areas outside video gaming– something that Twitch attempted to do in the past years. It can be recalled that in the year 2015, the video game streaming platform once launched an area on its site for creative content.in addition to this effort, Twitch tried catering to vloggers. It also partnered with different media companies so it could stream marathons of some audience favorites like the painting series of Bob Ross and the coking show hosted by Julia Child. Twitch’s very own studio put efforts into producing shows that are not related to gaming like the one about sneakers. It is also worth noting that the platform also partnered with the Disney Digital Network in order to bring some famous personalities to Twitch.