I’m generally not great at video games, not having the skills or the time to develop them, which means that I miss out on the artistry of game design — the visuals, mechanics, voice acting, and interactive narrative. I’ve only recently learned how satisfying it can be to consume video games passively, to watch skilled players move through the game for me. Recent news items show that this entertainment niche is set to grow explosively.
- Games will soon livestream directly to Facebook [Engadget | Jon Fingas] “The social site has unveiled a programming kit that lets developers build Facebook livestreaming directly into their games, with no go-between client or capture hardware required.”
- Facebook starts direct PC game streaming and spectator in-game rewards [VentureBeat | Dean Takahashi] “A new rewards feature enables developers to grant free, in-game rewards for viewers that tune in during livestreams on Facebook. Rewards help to increase community interaction as players watch together while also offering an incentive to jump back into the games.”
- Microsoft’s new gaming cloud division readies for a future beyond Xbox [The Verge | Tom Warren] “We believe there is going to be 2 billion gamers in the world, and our goal is to reach every one of them.”
- Drake breaks new streaming record—in video games [Phys.org] “Seeing a top gamer and musician come together on Twitch and unite their large and passionate communities is a cultural moment in terms of building awareness around the appeal of social video and it’s only going to grow from here.”
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Jungar, Eirik. “Streaming Video Games: Copyright Infringement or Protected Speech?” Press Start, vol. 3, no. 2, July 2016, pp. 22-47.
- Chittom, Lynn-nore and Laura Finley. “Point: Virtual Worlds Are Addictive and Time-Consuming.” Points of View: Virtual Worlds & Mmorpgs, 3/1/2016, p. 2.
- Fiona, Wilson. “On to the Next Level: Why Novelists Now Write Video Games.” Times, the (United Kingdom), 02 June 2016, p. 8,9.
