Hey everyone, this is Jagdulf and today we’re going to have a quick rundown on Gwent Observer, the Twitch.tv extension, discussing potentially helpful features in the upcoming iterations and asking some of the most popular streamers in the Gwent scene about their opinion on the subject.
Introduction
With Patch 3.2 (Season of Dryad - 2019) came several changes and new features to Gwent. Among the most notable ones was Gwent Observer, the official Twitch extension created by CDPR, intended for the streamers of our beloved card game. It allows viewers to hover over cards on the battlefield, deck and in the graveyard, so as to see their abilities and to look at a streamer’s deck to check what cards might be drawn in later rounds.
We’re convinced the Observer extension on Twitch is an excellent addition for both official and community tournaments alongside the fact that it makes streaming more convenient. There are several reasons why, including but not limited to:
- All viewers can read deeper into every move and are thus better equiped to analyze how the streamer can proceed.
- Casters wouldn’t have to explain every single card’s ability thoroughly, instead they can cater to what’s happening on the board at a certain moment and delve into explaining why a player made a particular move.
- It provides a great learning experience for casual players and newcomers alike, as they can envision themselves as the person playing. This makes it easier to interact with what’s going on in the stream, despite not being perfectly familiar with all the cards and combos.
- Streamers are often advanced players, as they play several hours a day and in some cases are even shaping the meta, so sometimes it can be hard for less experienced players to understand everything that’s going on. Thanks to Gwent Observer, streamers don’t have to spend as much time breaking down the cards and specific combos, which allows them to focus on the gameplay and meaningful chat interaction.
Streamers’ Opinions
We have also approached several streamers in order to gain some insight into their experience with the extension so far, and of course, to maintain objectivity. A set of 4 questions were presented to each streamer to any number of which they could answer at their leisure.
Let’s start with Quillandlance, also known as Lippy’s side chick or Richard. Most of you probably just know him as "Quill".
Jagdulf: How are you liking the Gwent Observer extension so far as someone who is broadcasting the game? In other words in what ways (if any) has it affected your streaming experience?
Quill: I love Observer, it just makes my job easier and shortens the gap between streamer and viewer meaning that, because the viewer has access at all times, it can feel like they are more involved in the game. On the flipside, it can lead to more backseating, but that is a small con.
J: What new features would you like to see be added/implemented in the future so it would be more functional? Are there any changes you would like to see happen?
Q: I think it is currently fine as it is, the only thing that might be cool to add would be to somehow include a button which links to the current ‘playgwent.com’ deck that the streamer is playing.
J: Do you use it yourself when you tune in to a fellow streamer’s channel?
Q: I don’t use it much myself, as I have had a lot of fun since Beta just memorizing decks, I also just tend to meme in chat more than take the game seriously.
J: How has your interaction with chat changed since Observer was introduced?
Q: I don’t think my interaction with chat has really changed.
Next up, we have Spyro_ZA, who recently co-hosted Team Aretuza’s Gwent World Cup series and is currently the #1 Gwent Streamer on Twitch in terms of viewership.
Jagdulf: How are you liking the Gwent Observer extension so far as someone who is broadcasting the game? In other words in what ways (if any) has it affected your streaming experience?
Spyro: I think Gwent Observer is a great addition to the Gwent community. It allows viewers to connect with the game by allowing them to interact with various aspects of the game and gain further insight. This is especially useful for new players or players who are seeking to learn and advance their understanding of the game.
J: What new features would you like to see be added/implemented in the future so it would be more complex? Are there any changes you would like to see happen?
S: I would like to see an option for players to export the deck directly from the Observer or see the decklists straight up from the extension.
J: Do you use it yourself when you tune in to a fellow streamer’s channel?
S: I have used it myself and I find it quite useful. Being able to follow the game better helps me follow the games and more deeply analyze the minor details that weren’t previously available.
Q: How has your interaction with chat changed since Observer was introduced?
S: Ever since it was added, my viewers no longer need to ask me to check things for them like the graveyard or the deck, so a minor convenience for me as a streamer.
Moving on, we have Shinmiri2, everyone’s beloved certified roper, arguably one of the sharpest, most analytical minds in the Gwent scene.
Jagdulf: How are you liking the Gwent Observer extension so far as someone who is broadcasting the game? In other words in what ways (if any) has it affected your streaming experience?
Shinmiri2: I like it very much. I think it’s a great tool for viewers to learn the game and it greatly enhances the viewing experience for newer/intermediate players. Even for veteran players who know all the cards by heart, it is useful for having on-demand access to the graveyard and deck.
J: What new features would you like to see be added/implemented in the future so it would be more complex? Are there any changes you would like to see happen?
S2: One thing I noticed was you can’t look at graveyards/decks during the mulligan phase. Not sure why that is, but ideally, I would like the ability to do that as well. Not a huge deal though. Other than that, I can’t think of any major new features that I need from Gwent Observer.
J: Do you use it yourself when you tune in to a fellow streamer’s channel?
S2: Yes I use it myself quite frequently when watching other streamers.
J: How has your interaction with chat changed since Observer was introduced?
S2: As a streamer, this means less frequent questions about what a specific card does, or what’s left in the deck or what’s in the graveyard. My interaction with chat is better in my opinion, as a lot of the simple questions are answered by the Observer extension and it frees up chat for other deeper questions or meaningful interactions.
Next, we have BushR who goes by many titles, the Caster, the Ball Slapper and the Yeeter Skeeter only to name a few.
Jagdulf: How are you liking the Gwent Observer extension so far as someone who is broadcasting the game? In other words in what ways (if any) has it affected your streaming experience?
BushR: The extension has been pretty much exclusively helpful to my streaming experience.
J: What new features would you like to see be added/implemented in the future so it would be more complex? Are there any changes you would like to see happen?
B: Having a link to a ‘playgwent.com’ deck on the Observer would be really cool. There’s obviously been some bugs with it that let my stream viewers see opponents cards given the correct circumstances, so that’s important to fix. Other than a couple of cool QoL improvements and bug fixes, the Observer is great. Certainly one of the best features about the game at the moment in my opinion.
And finally, we have SirPumpkn, who is one of the most laid back and one of the most prominent streamers in the Gwent Scene. "Eat. Sleep. Gwent. Repeat." is his motto.
Jagdulf: How are you liking the Gwent Observer extension so far as someone who is broadcasting the game? In other words in what ways (if any) has it affected your streaming experience?
SirPumpkn: In terms of it affecting me - it’s obviously great for new players, anyone getting into the game for the first time or old veterans coming back. Being able to see the graveyard of both players plus your deck allows viewers to pop into a stream and catch up to the point in the game. You can get a general idea of what has happened in previous turns/rounds.
J: What new features would you like to see be added/implemented in the future so it would be more complex? Are there any changes you would like to see happen?
P: When your opponent shuffles a card back to their deck (with Assire for example) the spectator can see that card when they draw it, granted this is a bug and the devs are aware of it. Having the ability to copy the deck code from the tracker would be cool. If you pasted this into the deck builder, it would build the entire deck. The issue with this is that they don’t have such a feature implemented in the game. So they would have to add this before adjusting the Gwent Observer.
J: Do you use it yourself when you tune in to a fellow streamer’s channel?
P: I use it from time to time to see if they run any interesting techs or new combos. Or as I mentioned above, when it’s past Round 1 and I use it to see what’s been played.
J: How has your interaction with chat changed since Observer was introduced?
P: I almost never get any questions about the details of a card, but I do have people asking why I play "x card" as they look in my remaining deck and see an abnormal card, so I explain the purpose of it.
Conclusion
It appears that everyone - streamers, viewers and casters are very pleased with the Gwent Observer extension, citing multiple reasons as to why they think that is so:
- For streamers, it makes their job easier, as they don’t have to explain every card or frequently show the remaining cards in the deck/graveyard. The viewers can easily access that information through this extension. This allows for better watching experience for the viewers and it facilitates the interaction from either side by a wide margin.
- Similarly for casters, Observer allows them to focus on explaining what is going on in the game, discussing either player’s strategies and such without having to talk too much about the cards being played.
- And finally, Observer provides an excellent learning experience for newcomers and a pleasant time for old timers. Newcomers especially, as they can be easily involved in the gameplay instead of having to ask the streamers about every card to understand what’s going on.
With that said, there seem to be multiple features that could be added in order to make Observer more functional for viewers and streamers alike. Most notably:
- A feature that allows you to directly export a deck from the stream into the game, be it by providing a direct link to the decklist, or simply by providing deck codes should that feature ever end up being implemented in the game.
- Some other small QoL changes such as making it so that the deck and graveyards are visible during the mulligan phase and fixing the bug where it makes it so that the spectators can occasionally see the cards in the opponent’s hand under certain circumstances.
- Fixing the bug where despite the stream being on delay (e.g. 10 minutes) the Observer still shows cards in hand and remaining cards in the deck in real time. It’s worth noting that it may be possible that there’s not much that can be done to work around this issue other than streamers having to manually disable the extension.
- Showing the actual value of leaders whose strength depends on particular deck building requirements, for example Enslaves’s Seize or Call of Harmony’s provision cap.
- Displaying the entire deck instead of viewers having to figure it out by themselves by looking at the combination of hand, graveyard and what’s left in the deck. A win/loss ratio could be displayed next to the said decklist.
- And finally, as it stands, it is impossible to see the provision cost of the cards that are currently on the board, so adding the provision costs to the description of the cards when you hover over them could prove to be very helpful.
All of our suggestions have been sent to and approved by CDPR employees, so we can hope that in the future, Observer might receive some more love. And with that, I’d like to thank you guys for sticking around until the end. Your opinion on the subject is very much valuable and most encouraged!
Feel free to pop over to the TLG Discord server for any further discussion. Stay safe! - Jagdulf