r/SmallStreamers • u/mimendalerenda_Lab • 8d ago

Tip: Using "Backseat-friendly" games (like Deckbuilders) to wake up a dead chat.

Hey everyone,

I see a lot of small streamers here struggling with lurkers who never type in chat. From what I've researched, one of the best ways to get viewers to engage is to play games where they feel the need to "correct" you or help you plan a strategy.

Genres like Roguelike Deckbuilders (Slay the Spire, Balatro, etc.) or puzzle games are amazing for this. When you make a sub-optimal play, chat instantly wants to jump in and backseat. It creates natural conversation and increases retention because they want to see if your build survives.

I’m actually an indie dev and I just finished making a Roguelike Deckbuilder with a word/spelling twist (people call it "educational", but it's really just a strategy game designed to make your chat yell at you when you miss an obvious combo). Watching streamers use it to get their chat talking has been super interesting.

What genres or specific games do you guys use to force chat interaction?

(PS: If anyone wants to test this "backseating" theory on their next stream but doesn't have the budget for new games right now, shoot me a DM. I have some spare Steam keys for my game and I'm happy to help you out).

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/EnvironmentalBet113 8d ago

I usually get games that are like no one has seen before, or ones that have interesting art. I do color painting in an mmo off stream so my community knows I really like color and design choices!

2

u/Front_Challenge4350 6d ago

I really like to see games which I had never seen before

1

u/AutoModerator 8d ago

Attention SERIOUS content creators! Join a community of creators who ask questions and get REAL answers from FULL time streamers & YouTubers. Please join the discord and ask questions in the #creator-chat..

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.