Twitch Experiment Lets Streamers Share Their Vital Signs

Bringing everyone just a little bit closer.

In one of the weirder stories I came across today, a report from New Scientist details how Twitch gamers may one day be able to incorporate their vital signs into their streams.

The primary idea comes from Raquel Robinson from the University of Santa Cruz in California. After taking the pre-existing trend where gamers incorporate the sharing of PC performance stats and live chat reels in their Twitch streams, Robinson hopes to provide an entirely new way to keep people hooked… vital signs.

To do this, Robinson and her team have created a software prototype called “All the Feels”. Using this cleverly named software, players can extract physical data about their body from a wristband that resembles a Fitbit, then display these vitals in a bar graph alongside their gaming window.

In addition, All the Feels incorporates facial recognition software to really hone in on the player’s emotional state. Essentially, we’ll know just how frightened streamers are while playing the latest horror games.

Upon testing this software and surveying participants, 70% stated that they felt more connected to the stream when they could watch the player’s vitals. Additionally, the display of vitals nearly doubled chat participation.

The findings of the project are set to be presented tomorrow, August 16th, during the Foundations of Digital Games conference. While the study itself was small, it manages to offer a thought-provoking look at how we might enjoy Twitch streams in the near future. 

Would streamers sharing their vital signs convince you to sit and watch? Let us know in the comments below!

Morgan is a writer, indie game lover, and socially awkward coffee addict. Need something? Morgan can be reached at morgan.shaver@allgamers.com or if you like, you can say hello using GIFs on Twitter.

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