Jon Messe Olshefski Project Proposal Title: TBD Executive Summary: In a few short months, I will be graduating and embarking on my professional career. One of my passions is the video game industry, a love that I ve been able to combine with my experience creating content to produce Game On, currently airing on the Rowan Television Network. While Game On has been a great experience, the audience looking for video game- based content on a college television channel is limited at best. I want to take my experience and attempt to reach a wider audience, through the use of Twitch.tv and a blog. Focus: My project will consist of two components; a Twitch.tv channel and a written blog. The Twitch channel will focus on live content such as play- throughs and discussions. Meanwhile, the blog will provide a weekly focused look at industry news, reviews, opinion, and more. I look at the Twitch channel as more of the primary component with the blog being supplemental in nature, although the focus could shift more towards the blog depending on the reception. Inspiration/Comps: Twitch allows anyone to customize their channel to their liking using third- party software such as OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). These
can be as simple or as complex as the broadcaster would like. For example, here s a stream where the only display besides the game feed is their webcam. On the other hand, this streamer has a full border surrounding their game feed. They provide subscriber totals, donation incentives, messages, and even a display of the current song.
I look to have a set- up somewhere in between these examples. I feel that the focus should be on the game and the broadcaster, and adding too much clutter to the screen could be distracting. I don t currently have a webcam but am looking into options now. I like the idea of a music player, along with a notification on- stream whenever someone follows/subscribes as a way to incentivize viewers (Many people enjoy the novelty of seeing their name on- stream). The blog will be made through a standard service such as WordPress, although I want the writing style to be honest and engaging. The big problem with video game writing is that it can come across as sterile, and I want my audience to get an idea of who I am as a person. Here is an example of writing with a distinguishable voice, from GiantBomb.com. http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/mighty- no- 9- faces- third- major- delay- release- slips- /1100-5380/ I believe that I can bring a unique voice to video game coverage. Through years of experience both on Game On as well as being a performer since middle school, I m comfortable in front of an audience and feel natural addressing groups of people. I try to bring a fun approach to everything that I do; If I m not enjoying what I m doing, odds are that my audience won t either. Audience/Community: The Twitch.tv community is vast, reaching one million concurrent viewers daily (Link). Similar to most other mediums, building an audience on Twitch is a combination of skill and luck. You could make the best content in the world, but if no one gives it a look then it will remain unrecognized.
This is another reason why I ll be maintaining a blog, along with becoming more active on Twitter and establishing a professional Facebook page. The more avenues people can discover you on, the more likely you are to build an audience. While it will definitely be slow going at first, I hope to build a small audience (Perhaps several hundred) by the end of this project. If it s successful, I will progress with the work of this project and continue to build my audience. Significance: I look at this project as a way to prepare myself for a possible career in video game journalism. By producing both video and written content, I will have work that demonstrates I m capable of producing compelling content across different forms of media. Building an audience will also show that I m likable and have experience with building a following from the ground up. Goals: As stated above, I want to use this project to act as a resumè booster. I believe it could also open doors to other possible career paths, as social media and content generation are very fluid industries with a huge amount of crossover between fields. New Media Elements: Design: I want my design to be straightforward and content- focused. My design will be pleasing to the eye but otherwise shouldn t distract from the focus of the project.
Structure: The project will be built around my Twitch channel and blog. I will broadcast on Twitch at a TBD schedule, while the blog will be updated once a week (most likely on Mondays). Interactivity: Viewers will be able to interact with me directly through Twitch or Twitter/Facebook. Components: This project will require me to purchase a decent webcam to go along with the desktop computer and microphone that I already have. Content: I will focus on entertaining, humorous content centered around the video game industry along with my personal experiences and opinions on video games. Domain Name: I will hosting all of my content on Twitch.tv and most likely WordPress. Tools: I ll be using Twitch.tv to broadcast myself, along with OBS to customize the layout of my stream. For my blog, I ll most likely be using WordPress. I ll also be posting on both Twitter and Facebook to further interact with my audience and help build a community. Challenges: The biggest challenge will no doubt be establishing and building an audience. The content generation will come easily enough for me, but ultimately it s the variable outside of my control (the viewer) that will determine whether my project is successful or not.
Time Management: As stated earlier, I ll be making one blog post per week. When it comes to broadcasting, my schedule can be much more flexible because of the 24/7 nature of Twitch. I could theoretically stream whenever I want to, but I definitely want to make a habit of streaming at least three times per week. Experience: I believe that my experience with Game On will be key to my success with this project. I have the capability and knowledge to provide compelling content, and it will ultimately be up to the viewer to decide where this project will take me.