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TPP and Salty Bet are a genre. What's it called?

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gruebacca

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I wasn't sure of what kind of game to call Salty Bet back when it became very popular because there wasn't really anything like it out there, but now with the release of Twitch Plays Pokemon, I feel like these two games/game-thingies have similarities that qualify them for a genre of their own. I'm just not sure what to call it. It's definitely some form of social gaming, but that term is incredibly vague. I have some key points that could help define a new genre for these kinds of game.

Both Salty Bet and Twitch Plays Pokemon are modified versions of old games (or, in Salty Bet's case, an old customizable fighting game engine) that are then streamed and controlled by a huge mass of players over the Internet in a structured format. Players over the Internet have some kind of limited control over the game and share that power with many others who are playing the game simultaneously.

The potential for this new genre could be huge in the future. I have no doubt that developers and publishers are paying attention to TPP with more than just simple curiosity. Right now, I just hope that humanity can come up with a good name for this that isn't something terribly simplistic like "Twitch Games" or something painfully verbose. Or who knows? Does these things even deserve a name at all?

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Vuud

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Stupid.

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truthtellah

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#3  Edited By truthtellah

Single Player MMO.

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TyCobb

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Casual

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Slag

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#5  Edited By Slag

Massive Saltyplayer Online Mugens

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soldierg654342

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#6  Edited By soldierg654342

Saltybet isn't a genre, it's just gambling. I mean, I guess there's kind of a meta game with the fighter stats and knowing when the Illuminati are around fucking up the odds and other things like that, but in the end you are betting (fake) money on fights.

Twitch Plays Pokemon is just crazy, crazy bullshit. If you have to name it though...Crowd-sourced Control?

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RoboRoosevelt

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Hivemind is probably the only way to describe TPP. Dysfunctional Hivemind but still Hivemind.

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Yummylee

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Anarchy.

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Fredchuckdave

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#9  Edited By Fredchuckdave

Internet IQ Test

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Dalai

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SaltyBet is a casino game since the audience has no control over the fighters or the outcome. It's the simplest form of gambling, but more amusing and less expensive.

Twitch Plays Pokemon is a massively multiplayer clusterfuck, or an MMC for short.

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ChrisHarris

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#11  Edited By ChrisHarris

Populist Interactive Streaming Spectacles?

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ArbitraryWater

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Saltybet is just gambling. Sure, if you play it long enough you'll be able to predictably bet with some accuracy, but it's not interactive, it's observational.

Twitch Plays Pokemon, on the other hand, might as well be simulated anarchy.

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ilikepopcans

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#13  Edited By ilikepopcans

Social Experiments

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TheBluthCompany

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Schizophrenia in game form.

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ch3burashka

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Twitchin'.

#dropdamic

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Levius

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#16  Edited By Levius

eSports.

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xymox

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SaltyBet and Twitch Plays you say...? What if there were two streams, each controlling one of two fighters (each fighter controlled by a separate Twitch chat)
and people could bet on the outcome of those matches? One could be fueled by anarchy, and the other, by democracy.

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abendlaender

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#18  Edited By abendlaender

I call it "Things I don't understand"

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LackingSaint

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Indie.