Toward Live Streamed Improvisational Game Experiences

Abstract

In this project, we explore the intersection of improvisational theater and Twitch live streaming. Improv offers social affordances to live streams, while streaming offers improv performers a way to both broaden their reach to non-copresent audiences and create new types of participatory improv games. Based on insights from both domains, we present StAGE, a live streaming system that both communicates performative information otherwise lost when streaming live theater and accommodates participatory roles for performers, hosts, and audiences. Using our system, we created and playtested four improv game prototypes exploring a range of interactions. We show that StAGE affords novel interactions both as a streaming experience and as improvisational theater. We propose that the social transfer of roles and information, particularly by hosts, is a critical aspect of the design. We conclude by discussing newly discovered challenges and potential for the future of the intersection of these domains.