BlueStacks, a leading mobile app emulator, enables users to play mobile games on their computers. Many of these gamers stream on Twitch to share their experiences with an audience, creating opportunities for engagement and content creation. My case study explored how our team designed an experience to help streamers and their audiences connect with a new tool called Pika.
The problem
Despite having a large community, interaction between streamers and viewers was limited. The only way viewers could interact with streamers was through chat, which unfortunately was oftentimes easily missed by streamers.
My role
Working with a 2 Product Manager, 2 Product Designers, and 6 Developers. We set out to create a better interaction experience between streamers and their audience.
Competitive Analysis: The UI and features across all competitors were quite similar. They all provided multiple ways for viewers to interact with streamers, from emojis to monetary donations, but animated stickers appeared to be the most common way for users to express themselves.
User Interviews: Focusing on our user base in Taiwan, we conducted interviews with streamers and asked about their background, streaming habits, and motivations for streaming. When speaking with viewers, we inquired about their experience with Twitch and how often they watched live streams.
Personas
Streamers: They balanced two key factors—entertaining their viewers by playing the game while also engaging with their audience to make them feel like part of the group.
Viewers: Our primary users were those between casual viewers and the more hardcore fans. These users wanted to connect more with the streamer, often sending stickers or commenting in the chat in hopes of being acknowledged. They also aimed to build a sense of community with other viewers.
Based on our research, we had a better understanding of what our users needed for Pika to work. The streamer sets up Pika on their channel, which displays a QR code on their stream. Viewers can scan the QR code to access the Pika app. Once they have the app, they can start sending stickers from it.
Concerned that not all users would be comfortable logging in with their phone number, we decided to demonstrate Pika’s value before the login step. Ultimately, we allowed users to access only a limited selection of animated stickers before logging in. To encourage sign-ups, we positioned the login button more prominently and added the text "To unlock all stickers" along with an unlock icon.
The Pika app paired with the QR code didn’t work as well as we hoped. Downloading a separate app proved to be too much of a hassle, and users had difficulty scanning the QR code on stream. To streamline the experience, we simplified Pika’s feature set to its most essential function: allowing viewers to send stickers via Twitch chat.
To better understand audience interaction, we observed several popular Twitch live streams in Taiwan. We found that many viewers expressed their reactions by typing numbers like 66666 or 777777, which were internet slang for specific emotions. Using this insight, we created a set of stickers mapped to popular commands
The ability to send stickers through chat commands proved to be far more engaging. Since Twitch users were already familiar with typing these commands, adoption was easy for them to pick up. Streamers could also visually see their audience’s reactions on OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while staying focused on their gameplay.
Between games, streamers had downtime, during which they interacted with their audience by responding to comments or mentions. Knowing that our users were passionate about gaming and competition, we introduced mini-games that streamers could display on their screens during this time. Viewers could participate by typing commands to compete with fellow viewers.
To enhance engagement further, we designed a website where users could track their stats—such as the number of stickers sent and games won. With an account, users could customize their stickers for a more personalized experience. Additionally, they earned in-game currency for participating, which could be redeemed on BlueStacks.
We successfully created a new, exciting way for viewers and streamers to interact. In the first 30 days, 50 streamers adopted Pika. Within 90 days, viewer engagement, measured by sticker usage, increased by 300%.
