I Finally Built the Feature I've Wanted for Years

What if following a Twitch channel actually gave you something to do?

I've wanted to build this kind of feature for a long time.

Not just another alert. Not just another follower counter. Not just another
button telling someone to subscribe.

I wanted to create something that could actually make the viewer
part of the show.

Now we're finally getting there.

A Follow Can Become a Reward

The idea is simple.

A viewer follows the channel.

That follow isn't just another number on a dashboard.

It can become an opportunity to participate in the content.

For this project, followers can eventually use TwitchL to authenticate
themselves and gain access to the character request system.

Your Character Could Become Part of the Stream

This particular feature is being designed around The Sims.

A follower can submit an idea for a character.

Male or female.

Human, witch, vampire or alien.

Choose a career. Give the character a name. Add personality, hobbies,
appearance and a backstory.

Then the streamer gets the request and can decide how that character becomes
part of the story.

You aren't just watching somebody else's game anymore.
You can help create the world they're playing in.

From Twitch Follow to Character Request

This is where the TwitchL login becomes important.

Instead of asking viewers to simply type their Twitch username into a form,
the long-term system can authenticate the viewer through Twitch.

That gives the system a real Twitch account to work with.

Why I Like This Idea

Streaming is already interactive, but I think there is a huge opportunity to
go further.

A viewer shouldn't always have to spend money to feel like they matter to a
community.

Following a channel is a small action, but it can be the beginning of a real
relationship between the viewer and the streamer.

Giving that follower something fun to participate in makes the follow mean
more than simply increasing a number on the screen.

And This Is Only the Beginning

The first version of the character request system is intentionally simple.

Right now, the goal is to prove the concept and let people actually use it.
The request can be collected and delivered to the streamer without requiring
a complicated backend.

But once this is connected directly to TwitchL, the possibilities expand
quickly.

• Twitch account authentication
• Follower verification
• Subscriber verification
• Character request history
• One-request-per-viewer rules
• Additional requests through donations
• Database-backed viewer accounts
• Streamer-controlled participation rules

Rewarding Participation Without Making Everything About Money

This is probably the part I like the most.

There are plenty of ways for streamers to monetize their communities, and
those tools are important.

But not every reward needs to involve spending money.

Sometimes a viewer just wants to feel like they're part of something.

If following the channel gives them a chance to create a character that could
appear in a future stream, that's a completely different kind of reward.

You're rewarding participation instead of simply rewarding spending.

The $25 Idea

There is also room for additional participation.

The basic concept can give a follower a free character request. If someone
wants to submit another character, a future TwitchL version could connect
additional requests to a donation or other streamer-defined entitlement.

That gives the streamer control over how the system works while keeping the
basic community reward available to followers.

I've Wanted to Build This for a Long Time

This isn't an idea I came up with yesterday.

I've wanted to create a system where the audience could actually influence
what happens in a stream for a long time.

The technology is finally getting to the point where I can build it the way
I've imagined it.

The TwitchL login is an important piece of that puzzle because it gives us a
way to connect a real Twitch viewer to the tools we're building.

And the character request system is one of the first examples of what that
can become.

This Is What I'm Building With TwitchL

TwitchL isn't just about putting a Twitch login on a website.

The bigger idea is creating a connection between the streamer, the viewer,
and the content itself.

A follower becomes a participant.
A participant can become part of the story.
And the story becomes something the entire community helped create.

Follow the channel.
Create something.
Become part of the show.