Twitch funds chat-driven game Choice Chamber

Twitch matched funds pledged to Studio Bean's chat-driven Kickstarter project, Choice Chamber. The developer's crowdfunding campaign ends Sunday evening and raised nearly half of its $30,000 goal, and Twitch's contributions put it near the finish line. According to the project's reward tiers, the game is expected to launch in December.

Following up the success of Twitch Plays Pokemon, Choice Chamber is a PC and Mac game that is designed to be played while streaming live on Twitch. Described as a "real-time, crowdsourced, procedurally generated game," it allows stream viewers to use Twitch's chat functionality to either aid or hinder the progress of the game's primary player by voting on game-changing polls.

The player, who can choose to go the single-player-only route with offline mode, navigates an "endless series of dangerous chambers" while wielding a variety of weaponry with which to defeat enemies. In the prototype version of Choice Chamber, viewers vote on said weapons in addition to powerups, abilities and special maneuvers, though Studio Bean plans to add many more modifiable elements.

[Image: Studio Bean]

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Twitch Announces Support of Studio Bean's Choice Chamber

Live streaming platform doubles down on crowd-sourced gaming and interactive controls as next trend

Twitch, the world's leading video platform and community for gamers, today announced it would match the funds needed for Studio Bean to launch Choice Chamber, the first game built specifically for Twitch with interactive commands as part of the core experience. Studio Bean currently has a Kickstarter which needs to reach $30,000 in pledges by Sunday, April 20th at 7:00pm PT. Twitch has offered to match the remaining amount at the time of this announcement to help turn the concept into a reality. There will also be a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) at 11:30am PT on April 20th with Studio Bean's Michael Molinari spanning all of their previous games and Choice Chamber.

"The Twitch community has already shown extraordinary enthusiasm for interactive games using Twitch chat," said Brooke Van Dusen, Director of Business Development, Twitch. "Choice Chamber is an excellent example of how developers can embrace this next-generation concept, so we are helping support this evolution of gameplay experiences in the age of social video."

Mass-chat interaction game Choice Chamber is designed from the ground-up for use with Twitch. In the game, the player will be fighting off a never-ending horde of enemies in dangerous chambers. However, it's the players watching the broadcast who decide the player's fate, as they constantly give input to change the game in real time.

"Studio Bean is excited to have Twitch support us through the Kickstarter campaign," said Michael Molinari, Studio Bean. "The game itself would not be possible without the convenience and simplicity of Twitch's broadcasting and chat features, and this whole dream wouldn't be happening were it not for their help and support."

Studio Bean is led by Michael Molinari, 13-year indie veteran who developed the award-winning [...But That Was Yesterday] and IndieCade nominees BasketBelle and Soundodger. On the design side is Chelsea Howe, named one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business in 2011 and 2014 and recently hired Creative Director at EA Mobile in Austin. The pair has been developing experimental games together for almost five years, focusing on cooperative multiplayer mechanics and evocative systems. Joining them on character design is Kent Mudle, Telltale Games' cinematographer by day and comic artist on Beret by night.

For more information on Choice Chamber, visit their Kickstarter page: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1451486150/choice-chamber