Creative and/or weird uses and abuses of Twitch streaming

November 17, 2022 7:11 AM

I am interested in innovative, creative uses and/or abuses of the Twitch streaming platform. Streamers who have used the platform as a creative medium, regardless of its (main) intention as a place for game streaming. Art and performance are what come to mind, but I am open to anything, either a single use case or a particular streamer who uses Twitch in an ongoing 'weird' way.

My knowledge of Twitch is small, so I am limited on examples of what I mean... but the streamer 'Sushi Dragon' is doing super amazing things. Using the Twitch platform as a way for viewers to kind of 'programme' his dancing routines. Users respond in live chat, and the responses determine what music is played, filters drafted, and how Sushi Dragon is supposed to respond (and dance). The results are often hilarious.

posted by 0bvious to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

Best answer: Salty Bet is a fascinating example of this. Not used it for a few years!
posted by Ted Maul at 7:38 AM on November 17, 2022

Best answer: F1nn5ter lets his chat decide his gender presentation.
posted by spiderbeforesunset at 7:54 AM on November 17, 2022

Best answer: Desert Bus For Hope (happening now!) is an online charity fundraising telethon, that Internet comedy nerds Loading Ready Run use Twitch to stream every year (as well as their other, more gaming-centric content.)
posted by xedrik at 8:20 AM on November 17, 2022

Maker Deck. Mostly 3D printing but you never know what you might see!
posted by ZenMajek at 9:42 AM on November 17, 2022

Best answer: There is a ton of roleplay on Twitch -- some examples that come instantly to mind are D&D/RPG streams like Critical Role and Just Roll with it, as well as the Dream SMP, which was a 20+ player minecraft server that for two years told a complex ongoing story where (basically) whichever streamer you watched was the protagonist, so who was the hero and who was the villain depended on whose point of view you watched. I understand there is also a lot of roleplay out there that uses the game Grand Theft Auto V as a "stage" but I don't know much more about those.

DreamSMP has basically ended (although there are a number of places where you can watch edited recaps and commentary about the server) but Critical Role and JRWI are both still going strong.

You might also want to look at the streamer Jerma985, who does stream gameplay, but whose real trademark is incorporating robust chat interaction and deeply surreal elements into their streams of both gaming and IRL content. More about Jerma from NPR.
posted by anastasiav at 10:41 AM on November 17, 2022

Best answer: Dandi Does It is very much this kind of thing, a bit similar to Sushi Dragon. Mostly she dances with lots of special effects, but there's an overarching quasi-dystopian storyline going on. Each Dandi clone gets "passed" or "failed" by viewers.

Forgotten VCR edits together "video mixtapes" from his enormous collection of 1980s/90s VHS trash, highlighting particularly ridiculous scenes or interesting themes and juxtapositions. Over the last few years it's kind of morphed into an experiment in interactive memery. Due to the copyright gray area this stuff inhabits, there aren't any VODs so you'll have to catch it live. (Disclosure: I'm a moderator there. It's my favorite thing on Twitch.)

VideodromeTV does a kind of similar thing as Forgotten VCR, but more abstract and with fancy analog video effects. Sort of a video DJ.
posted by neckro23 at 10:13 PM on November 17, 2022

Twitch Plays Pokémon?
posted by snusmumrik at 8:34 AM on November 18, 2022

I used a Twitch stream for an alternate-media-and-forms type class in college ages ago. Wasn't very interesting o watch though, more just the concept of presenting work for critique through a streaming medium.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:41 AM on November 18, 2022

If you like comedy, I think the Best Show is doing something pretty interesting. Took a call in radio show that's been going for ~20 years and after a few years of livestreaming --> podcast is now going live on Twitch on Tuesday nights at 6PM PST. Live musical performances and interviews and still taking calls too.
posted by lolibrarian at 3:58 PM on November 18, 2022

CodeMiko uses a full motion capture suit and face expression tracker to control a virtual avatar that interacts with chat. The actual content is juvenile but the technology behind it is pretty amazing.
posted by Limivorous at 6:52 AM on November 19, 2022