LIVESTREAMING IS BECOMING MAINSTREAM. Human Centered Design is more than just another buzzword. Players are now both the producers and the consumers of video content, creating new challenges and opportunities for publishers and brands. The eSports industry is turning gaming into a lucrative spectator sport; over 200 million viewers in 2014 with over 3.7 billion hours watched. The rise of Youtube Gaming, Periscope, and the $970m acquisition of Twitch show both the potential and popularity of streaming in the gaming community. TWITCH HAS CHANGED THE GAME. Twitch accounts for more than 43% of all live video-streaming traffic by volume. BRANDS AND PUBLISHERS ARE STARTING TO SEE THE VALUE. -Red Bull Twitch ’n Ride - the Red bull Twitch channel has 65,000+ followers -Old Spice Nature Man - this Twitch campaign alone earned Old Spice over 32,000 followers -Coca-Cola - partnering with League of Legends Snickers - partnering with Twitch for their “You’re not You” campaign WE FAIL FAST, EARLY, AND INEXPENSIVELY IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT HUMAN CENTERED SOLUTIONS. “GREAT DESIGN ALLOWS PEOPLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME GOALS IN THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MOVES.” DAN SAFFER Author of Microinteractions: Designing with Details eSports is changing the way we compete - http://esports.digitalsurgeons.com/

1. HUMAN
CENTERED
DESIGNBetter Twitch broadcasting through rapid prototyping

2. LIVESTREAMING IS
BECOMING MAINSTREAM.
• Players are now both the producers and the consumers of video content,
creating new challenges and opportunities for publishers and brands.
• The eSports industry is turning gaming into a lucrative spectator sport;
over 200 million viewers in 2014 with over 3.7 billion hours watched.
• The rise of Youtube Gaming, Periscope, and the $970m acquisition of
Twitch show both the potential and popularity of streaming in the
gaming community.

3. TWITCH
HAS CHANGED
THE GAME.
100 million
active users
currently
11 million
broadcasts
per month
Twitch accounts for more than 43% of all live video-streaming traffic by volume.
Over 400
unique games
broadcasted regularly

4. BECAUSE TWITCH
IS ENABLING
EVERYONE
TO STREAM.

5. AND PEOPLE
ARE TUNING IN.
•Twitch reaches over 32 million users monthly.
•Over 16 billion minutes of content is consumed per month on
Twitch’s website.
•58% of Twitch users spend more than 20 hours a week
watching videos on its site.

6. BRANDS AND
PUBLISHERS
ARE STARTING
TO SEE THE
VALUE.

7. SOME BRANDS HAVE
ALREADY LEVERAGED
LIVE STREAMING.
• Red Bull Twitch ’n Ride - the Redbull Twitch channel has 65,000+ followers
• Old Spice Nature Man - this Twitch campaign alone earned Old Spice over 32,000 followers
• Coca-Cola - partnering with League of Legends
• Snickers - partnering with Twitch for their “You’re not You” campaign

8. SO HOW DO WE
DRIVE BUSINESS
GROWTH?
And increase customer lifetime value through broadcasting…

9. WE DID OUR
HOMEWORK.

10. AND FOUND
PAIN POINTS IN
STREAMING.
• Streamers need to focus wholly on engaging their audience in order to become/remain relevant.
• Entry-level streamers and brands are not familiar with how overlays and advertisements work
on their channel(s) – many are discouraged from participating due to the learning curve.
• Xbox One controllers are being repurposed to control professional streams due to a lack of options.

11. WE ASKED A
PRO GAMER.
Twitch user bifuteki,
(17.5k+ followers)
“I’ve always said that if someone would make a product which is basically a
capture-all, do-all thing that can make life easier for people, it would be so much
easier for me or someone who doesn’t want to go out there and spend so much
money buying a mixer and a capture card and all this stuff, it’ll be great.”

12. INSIGHT
APPROACHING!
Streaming hardware and software requirements require multiple third party
components and a strong knowledge of the platforms – creating a barrier for
entry level players and brands to livestream, both physically and mentally.
Making streaming easier for entry level players and brands would increase
engagement in the community and ultimately drive customer lifetime value.

13. WE IDENTIFIED
THREE
OPPORTUNITIES.
EDUCATION
SOFTWARE HARDWARE

14. AND PULLED THE
TRIGGER ON ONE.
Entry-level streamers and brands would benefit from a lightweight, dedicated
broadcast controller that allows them to quickly toggle the stream on/off, start
recording, and toggle between overlays while utilizing LEDs as feedback to the
user on what the hardware is doing at any given time.

15. OUR
APPROACH.We used our proficiencies as experience designers to
design and develop around existing streamer and brand
pain points through rapid prototyping.

16. DIGITAL SURGEONS &
RAPID PROTOTYPING.
Rapid prototyping is an initial or preliminary version from which
other forms are developed. This provides you with insight into the
functionality of your design and any changes needed in order to
make your work a pleasure to use. In other words…

17. WE FAIL FAST, EARLY, AND
INEXPENSIVELY IN ORDER
TO ARRIVE AT HUMAN
CENTERED SOLUTIONS.

18. “GREAT DESIGN ALLOWS PEOPLE TO
ACCOMPLISH THE SAME GOALS IN
THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MOVES.”
DAN SAFFER
Author of Microinteractions:
Designing with Details

19. DESIGNING AND
PROTOTYPING
OUR BROADCAST
CONTROLLER.

20. WE EXPLORED
FEATURES
THROUGH
SKETCHING.

21. • Dremel tool
• Soldering iron/solder
• 18 gauge wire
• Wire cutters/strippers
• .22” acrylic sheet
• Utility knife
• Blow torch
• Momentary switches
• LED lights
• Micro-controller
• Eye protection
WE
GATHERED
THE RIGHT
TOOLS.

22. WE REPROGRAMMED
MICRO-CONTROLLERS.
Reprogramming our makeymakey micro-controller to control a PC.

23. WE SPARKED
OUR BLOW
TORCH.A .22” thick sheet of acrylic was heated linearly in order
to soften it enough to bend a desired form.

24. WE GAVE
IT A FORMThe acrylic sheet was bent in order to give the
controller a ‘leg’ to stand on. Elevation was also
important in order to contain the “brains.”

25. WE MADE
A MESSHoles were carefully plotted and drilled out to
make room for momentary switches and LEDs.

26. WE GAVE
IT INPUTS.Momentary switches were mounted in
order to control streaming software
with the ‘push of a button.’

27. WE
SOLDERED.The momentary switches were properly configured
and soldered to the micro-controller.

28. WE MADE
IT OURS.Branding elements were added to the prototype.

29. AND WE
DELIVERED
VERSION 1.0
A fully-functional working prototype featuring two
primary momentary switches (buttons) and four
auxiliary switches. The prototype successfully controls
Twitch broadcasts through the OBS software.

30. V1.0 BY THE NUMBERS
4 20 38 11Days Happy StreamersConcept Sketches Conversation
Topics

31. WHAT V2.0 COULD
LOOK LIKE:
Research Topics:
• A deep dive into the
content creation process
• Console gamers
Features:
• Integrated audio capture card
• Integrated video capture card
• Integrated wifi receiver
• iOS companion application
• 3D rendered/printed form
• Custom momentary switches
• Polished design/form
USER TESTING
bifuteki
fragabrag
thesteamco

32. WHAT ELSE ARE WE
PROTOTYPING?
• Innovative ways for food brands to deliver trial and experiential tasting
• Crowd funded non-profit for NASA
• Immersive product demonstration through virtual reality
• ‘Snappable’ Xbox One companion application for use with connected wearables
• Table-top Augmented Reality spectator mode for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

33. What can Digital Surgeons
prototype for your next big innovation?
LET’S TALK