>> Hey there, I'm Katie Stone Perez,
the Director of Mixer Interactive and Developer Success.
Welcome to the last day,
Friday, of GDC. We have survived.
>> Yes.
>> I am so thrilled to have with us
one of our partners streamers here at Mixer,
Bicycle Walrus from Diệm 21 gaming.
>> Yes. Hi, how are you?
>> Good. How are you doing?
>> I'm exhausted.
>> Yes.
>> It's been a very long week.
>> Yes.
>> Got here on Monday,
set everything up on Tuesday,
three days of shoutcasting and now we're here.
>> Yes.
>> I'm done for the day.
>> Okay.
>> So this is the relaxing bar.
>> I'm glad for you.
Hopefully you guys have actually been watching along.
So, he's been shoutcasting for Darwin project,
which is a fantastic new game out.
It's a battle royale style game,
and you actually have a shoutcaster
which is what he's been doing and he
actually gets to go in and actually help cast votes to
the Mixer audience and then you guys actually get to
vote and say what's
actually going to happen within the game.
>> That's right. Pretty much yes,
it utilizes Mixer interactive.
It does a lot of really cool things.
One of the biggest things I like doing
is just trying to see if I can
manipulate the players and
the audience into doing my bidding.
I mean you get to vote,
but who ultimately gets the say?
>> I love the drama you bring into it.
>> You got to, you got to.
I mean like it's the Hunger Games.
And the main idea was
Darwin project was sort of brought
up a couple of years ago,
and I've been working with the developers since June.
And before they knew about Beam or Mixer,
now Mixer, they were like,
damn, we have to make our own platform.
>> Yes.
>> Which is what we've see the outpost games
do with that SoS as an example,
and then they said, oh, wait a minute,
we don't have to make our own platform,
Mixer does it for us and they just
wholeheartedly went after it and it was pretty cool.
So, it's an interesting story how that came to be,
a lot people don't realize that game's been
in development for years,
and now it's coming out. It's really good.
>> So what is it like for you as
a streamer to now have something like Mixer Interactive.
>> I mean like,
I've been struggling to find sort of
a voice on streaming for a long time.
I'm into content creation since August 2015.
>> Oh wow.
>> So, August 2015,
that's when I got started and we were on YouTube mainly.
Did a little bit of work on Twitch,
and then finally it was like,
no it's not what I wanted,
I didn't feel like I could connect.
YouTube at least gave me the opportunity
to stream higher quality content,
but I didn't really find the home until I
went to Beam, now Mixer,
where not only do I have the ability to talk with
the FTL protocol and actually be able to have
a real conversation in real time with my audience,
which is super important.
I don't have to wait 15 seconds to read a response.
It happens immediately.
That now that level of interaction just the latency
alone opens up a whole new wealth
of opportunity for developers,
for content creators, for anybody.
>> Yes.
>> Really, to just step up
and do somethings for
their audience they never been able to do before.
Like I can't help but
advertise Mixer even as I walk the floor at GDC.
>> Well, thank you.
>> I even brought some people over to
go talk to you guys because it's like,
hey, this is a really good idea.
Have you thought about integrating with Mixer?
And you're like, wait what the heck is that?
And it's like, oh you don't
know about our lord and savior, Mixer.
I mean like it's insane.
And so, you tell them about it and he's like,
whoa, this is cool,
I need to come by and see it.
>> It's been fun this week.
We've had a phenomenal response
from the game developer community.
A lot of people, again that low latency
coupled with the opportunity to do interactivity,
just really I think does take
it to the next level and everything from,
we're talking to developers about just
putting in things where you can cheer along in the game,
to the point where you
see things like Darwin where people are
actually really deciding like
with voting of what's going to happen in the game,
or we have things where you have like Deep Rock Galactic,
you have the ability to actually like
launch enemies and I love it.
My gamer tag like pops up right on top of it and says,
Sweet Ceno is now attacking you, right?
And so I can actually see that
happen instantly within those game experiences.
Hyper Sentinel is another really fun one.
>> I was like, how do I
ask you if I could talk about Hyper Sentinel.
>> Hyper Sentinel is a fun one, yeah.
We were doing an interview yesterday.
So, that will be, that's up on,
going to be up on Channel 9 for
people to check out as well.
>> And that game just sounds amazing.
>> Yeah.
>> And for those who, can I describe it?
>> Yeah.
>> Hyper Sentinel game is
a game that's got me super excited.
It's a basic game, it's like Asteroid Destroyer
except the audience can tune in,
hit a button and attack me or defend me,
depending on what team they're on.
And it's a fully interactive game.
There's leaderboards for the viewers,
and it's something that everybody can participate in.
And it's like, through my stream,
Hyper Sentinel allows everybody to just play along.
And one of the neat things about interactive is it's new,
people are trying to figure out like,
what the heck do I do with interactive.
They try it out, usually the cool down for too short,
they're too impactful, there's
no balance and so it's been hard.
But Hyper Sentinel sounds
exciting because they have built in
balance mechanisms where you
have attackers and defenders.
You get rewarded for taking me out or for defending me.
And you want to be on the leaderboard.
Maybe that's a great place for me to give away prizes.
Who's on the top of the leaderboard,
that's who I want to give a free copy
of Sea of Thieves 2 or something like that.
And it's super exciting.
That's the kind of stuff I've been wanting to
do on my channel
forever and it's the only place I could do it.
>> And it's so fun for me.
So, I've been in the game industry for
17 years and I've always gotten to have
such amazing game development partners to work
with as well as, and consumers.
But this is the first time I've
also really been in a role
where I get to think about
you guys as a partner streamer,
what are your experiences,
and how do I help work with game developers.
So, we're creating an essence of community,
we're creating a tool for you
that allows you to go out and build those communities.
And that's where I think interactive is so
interesting because it creates that rawness,
that richness in that
conversation that's happening in real time.
>> Sure. I mean it's not just a tool though.
I mean, like you're innovating in a space,
you're kind of pioneering here.
So, let's take Darwin Project as an example,
and I have to talk about Darwin Project all the time
because they're doing something
and they're not getting recognition for it.
>> It is very cool, yeah.
>> Essentially, what they're doing is they're
creating a real sport, a real e-sport.
E-sports today are pretty basic, okay.
Everybody thinks it has to be super fair, super balanced,
super perfect,
rigidly balanced and that's not how sports par.
It's never been how any sporting event has ever been.
There's three things you need in a sporting event.
You need the players,
you need an announcer to
explain what the heck is going on.
That's me, hi. And then you need a crowd.
And the thing is that you need spectators,
and spectators affect the sport.
Football, the 12th man,
very well known in Seattle.
Take a look at, watch basketball,
when you're the away team and you've
got a free throw to win the game,
what's the audience doing?
They're screaming, they're yelling,
they're heckling, and they make you
miss that shot and you lose the game.
The audience did that.
And so, it's something that a lot of game developers
don't seem to understand when it
comes to where e-sports going or what we are doing.
>> I think we're just at that forefront, right?
And I do, I'm having these conversations.
We're talking about the 12th man concept,
and how do you have people
cheering on the stream and they are,
the viewers themselves are
becoming the players by cheering along,
and that then is going to make the actual crowds
in the stadium go louder.
And that's going to make
the players actually play better.
>> Oh yes.
>> And the individual who's holding
the controller is going to have
greater success because of all of this happening now.
>> We have our e-sports heroes.
We have, there's a few
that you could probably name and people go,
yes, I know who that guy is.
Faker as an example.
But the thing is is that,
a lot of these people are really into
the game very hyper focused, they're not personalities.
Whereas you take all sports
today in the Seattle Seahawks,
I'm sure you can name a few people that you're like,
oh yes, Marshawn Lynch,
that guy is a personality.
And they have press conferences with these guys and it
even blows up into a thing where you like the player.
Well, now Darwin Project sort of enables
that in such a way where we now
have a complete sports feedback loop in e-sports.
So that's what's been missing, is the trinity.
We had the players, we've had the announcer,
but the crowd didn't matter much,
doesn't matter at all.
And now we actually have the crowd,
and what they think, what they say,
who they like is now important.
>> And even just by being there, by showing up, right?
I love that principle of we are better together.
Just because you show up and view,
even if you choose not to interact,
just like being there,
I think as game developers,
we need to recognize your presence.
>> Exactly.
>> And bring that into the experience
and really reward the player who is
streaming and help them bring everybody along
and recognize that that is an entire organization,
a viewership and community that's sitting there watching.
So, tell me a little bit about,
how long have you actually
been streaming for then you said?
>> I've been streaming for now two and a half years.
>> Two and a half years?
>> Yes. Almost three.
>> And this is your professional.
>> Yes, it's my full time job.
>> This is your full time job?
>> Yes, it's my full time job.
>> Very cool. And what made you
convinced, like what was the journey.
>> What was the?
>> What was the journey to get here?
>> Fear.
I mean like honestly, it's not easy.
It's a lot of hard work. A lot of people will get
like full time streamers
and they say, "wow they're living the life.
They're sitting there, they sit down,
they play video games and that's it."
No it's a skill,
you have a lot to learn about video editing,
lot to learn about broadcasting.
You got to learn how to key,
you got to learn how to do proper audio,
you got know how to use
an audio interface and the mixer and pick up a lot of
professional skills that you take
with you as you grow even here.
There were a lot of questions
that I needed to answer in terms of
setting up the mixer portion
of the Booth and like what are we going to use?
That's been an OBS what are we going to use?
What are we going to do for overlays?
How's for lighting. Where do I need to set the game?
Hey can we turn the lights down or up?
There's lots of things that go into
putting together a live stream and it's.
>> Ain't just having that energy, that personality right?
>> Oh my gosh, all the time 12 hours
a day is how much I stream
they're about 12 hours a day every day seven days a week.
>> No wonder you have those five
hour energies in your pocket.
>> I didn't actually know,
I have that because I was
walking by the Booth and I was like,
"well that's an alternative the G fuel,
I'm just saying." Oh no.
It makes your crowd loves you feel.
No, for the most part it's a lot of hard work,
but the most important thing for me,
and I think this is the key to why I've
been successful is that it's not about me,
it's about the community that we give for.
We have a huge dischord community and I have
moderators that are the backbone of what I do.
You're only as good as your moderators
and you're only as good as
your regulars and you could
be as entertaining as possible,
but I'm not sure providing
a value added service to
your viewers even if that's just community,
even if it's knowledge you need to teach
somebody about a game like I do for Monster Hunter World.
I teach a lot about Monster Hunter World.
>> I'm actually so
excited to start playing that visual game.
>> That is a good game. It's a good game.
If you have any question stop by my string anyways.
>> I got to meet the team
last night and I was hearing at dinner
from other people how awesome it was and then I actually.
>> Wait, the team was there?
>> The team was at
one of the events that was at last night.
We had a great talk.
I'm sorry. Next year.
I promise. But I'm going to
have to pop in now and
you're going to have to help teach me.
>> That's fine.
>> I can connect you to him, I got his card.
>> Yes please. I love that game.
No, honestly and you I came out here and
Deviljho just came out yesterday, the day before.
It came out early and I'm like,
"I can't play, I want to fight Deviljho."
I'm out here doing this work.
It's tearing me up inside.
>> My daughter has that
Detective Pikachu waiting for me at home tonight so.
Oh really?.
>> That is as well as our Detective Pikachu amiibo.
>>Yeah.
>> So that will be my evening once I get off the plane.
So, I love it. It's so funny to get
to be in a world where we get to eat as much as we do.
>> You got to spend the week with my son.
>> Yes. So, what message do you have for game developers
out there that you want them to understand as a streamer,
what you need and what they can do within
their game that's going
to make you want to stream it more?
>> Well, I don't know,
I heard this so,
if I'm wrong I'm sorry,
but I heard and this came from Major Nelson.
So, it's a good source.
Major Nelson said last year at the opening of Mixer,
when Mixer first opened up,
he said that 2017 would be
the first year where more people or
more minutes would be spent watching
streams than actually playing the video games.
>> And that has actually happened and it blows my mind.
Here's the thing, the video game playtime
has not gone down.
>> No.
>> It continues to rise but yet
viewing of games has now overtaken it.
>> Correct. And what that means is that,
you now have two markets to think
about when you consider game development.
You have one market that is purely game play.
Playing the game, enjoying the game, et cetera..
But now you have another market,
a whole new market and it's taken over
internationally not so much
here in the US but it's common.
But here in the US, where you want the audience to do
more than just watch
and now we're having streaming as a profession.
Two and a half million unique streamers on
one platform and granted,
two and a half million of them are hobbyists.
But this is becoming a...
>> So they love content, it's a lot of
connection it's a lot of community.
>> And with that so many people
are spending so much time on those communities.
So many people just watching and paying
attention to what's happening in gaming
at a level it's never happened before.
You have to consider the fact that now we're not
just making games for the players,
we're making games for the audience, too,
which is why it's so important to involve
interactivity and complete that feedback loop from player,
to the streamer, to the audience,
and back, and back,
and back and this is the only platform that does it.
>> Very cool.
>>Which is super exciting.
>> Well thank you so much for
being here all week shoutcasting for us.
>> Yes.
>> It's so fun to get to
interact with you every single time.
>> Thank you.
>> So, please make sure to jump over and give a follow
to Bicycle Walrus and I will be watching...
>> That's DM21game Mixer.com.
>> At DM21game.
>> I got a plug in mixer.com/gm21gaming
>> There you go.
>> Be there.
>> And I'm going to be
watching you this weekend so you
got to play monster kind of work.
>> I got monsterhour to play,
I got Sea of Thieves to play
and I got Darwin Project to play.
I got a busy year folks
>> It's going to be a good one.
>>Yes.
>>Okay. Thanks so much and have fun from GDC.