Today, we held our very first VoxPop Games Platform AMA (Ask Us Anything).
Below you will find all of the Q&A goodness:
Q: Biggest question... When is the beta coming? How soon?
A: You know, it's funny you should ask...
Q: Who's that cool, sunglasses wearing pineapple?
A: We call her Piña and we love her. She's our spirit fruit. Have you found all of her hiding places?
Q: Whats the difference between someone who is signed up as a streamer, and someone who is signed up as a Platform Streaming Partner?
A: We will do everything we can to boost the Platform Streaming Partners through our social media outlets and Twitch. Partners will also have access to special streamer tools on the client that will help developers identify you.
Specifically, streamers get a special badge, and will be listed in their own directory so it will be easier to get/stay in contact with developers. They will also get to search for Devs. However, we are still in Beta. Some of these features are not ready yet.
Q: I've been wondering.. How many gaming creators are participating in the beta?
A: Over 40+ developers and streamers have partnered with us so far, prior to the launch of our closed beta. Hopefully, many more to come!
Q: Will there be somewhere that Devs can request to have a game play-tested or streamed on the platform? It would be easier for us to schedule our streams and recordings.
A: Not in the Beta, however a developer "bounty board," requests for collaboration, is a planned feature. For now though, you could try doing it in our company Discord? We can even setup a channel for it, if there's enough interest!
Q: On the fun side - who does all your awesome synthwave/darkwave vibe memes?
A: That is our AMAZINGLY TALENTED SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER & CONTENT CREATOR @VoxPop_Holly!!! We workshop things, get the VIBEZ right, and she works MAGIC!!
Q: Are you planning on doing VoxPop Exclusive Games?
A:
Q: Where do devs sign up to for consideration as a platform exclusive or limited-time exclusive?
A: Any developer that signs on with us, we will evaluate for potential future partnerships. As well, they will be the first to see when we are ready to begin issuing RFPs.
Q: Is one week a long time? :o
A: Einstein said time was relative, right? Maybe Things are not so much late. Maybe things are really, early!?
Q: Ok - serious question: VoxPop is going to be a platform that lets streamers and gamers profit-share with indie devs; how fine-grained are the tools we'll be able to use to set percentages?
A: Upon submission, you will be prompted to determine what percentage to share. This will be publicly displayed, and can be altered at any time. Additionally, you can also give special rates to specific users. Giving extra for recommendations from a specific streamer, for example.
Q: Can you elaborate on how this works as a streamer? Is there a simple affiliate link?
A: You will be credited for a recommendation in one of two ways: 1.) You can link to your profile, which will have a list of games you recommend. 2.) One of your viewers can enter a code. They can also pick this from a list if they've entered it once before.
Q: Will we be able to see a dashboard with metrics showing who is helping us the most? I'd love to be able to see a specific streamer or gamer is becoming a champion, and help them out with a bigger share.
A: Yes. As well, users (streamer or no) will be able to see which games are making them the most via their profile. We are still working out some kinks in the back-end, but expect this feature come open Beta.
Q: How do you plan to set yourself apart from the bigname game platforms? If competition wasn't bad enough, you also have to deal with the pressure of the Covid crisis. How has Voxpop handled operations during these times? Will your devs also be able to release to multiple platforms?
A: We separate ourselves with our model, and commitment to small creators. We want to forge a space people can support the artists they love, so artists and creators can make a living even without chasing trends. In that way, I see it as being more Patreon than just Steam.
Operationally, we would be lying if we said things have been easy. We have had to work through various new and experimental ways of working. We were ahead of the curve with working remotely as our Operating Office is in Williamsburg, BK and this has become a hotspot for COVID.
For Client Side Operations, our Platform Software Engineer @VoxPop_Elisee has been working tirelessly to get us to spec, @VoxPop_Holly and our COO have been working with #IndieGameDevs to Partner and we are building something completely new and unique, in a new and unique timeline!!!
Developers will be able to go MultiPlatform, however, of course we are looking to do the most for our Platform Developer partners, by offering support via Streamer, Content Creators and Gamer community. The client platform ecosystem is built for this specifically
Q: Is there a way to extend our reach so that streamers can benefit from streaming our games on console? Will they be able to just use their same codes and referrals?
A: Naturally, we can't share profits from sales that don't happen on VoxPop! However, as long as your viewers buy from your link or with your code, you will get your share. Regardless of what you were doing when they decided to purchase. Streamers can stream the console version of your game and get paid, as long as they are recommending the VoxPop version to their views.