Twitch Plays X

(inspired by TwitchPlaysPokemon)

Connect to Twitch's messaging service, (TMI) via tmi.js (previously using IRC) to send inputs to a program and stream it, TwitchPlaysPokemon style. Should support linux/windows/mac.

In Action

Pokemon on Windows

Pokemon Red running in a Ubuntu 13.10 VM

Caveats

On Windows, the program has to be focused in order to send keyboard inputs so you won't be able to use your computer at the same time (unless you run the program in a virtual machine).

Installation

• Install Node.js (check that you can run node/npm)
• Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/hzoo/TwitchPlaysX.git
• Install node_modules in the created folder: npm install
• If Linux: install xdotool: apt-get install xdotool
• If Windows: install python and python win32 (with corresponding versions)

Setup

• Start the program you are going to be sending keys to: (VisualBoyAdvance, Notepad)
• Append environment variables or modify config.js if you need to change the options: TWITCH_CHANNEL=mychannelhere npm start
• Run the server with npm start

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Config

• CONFIG_PROGRAM_NAME: Find out the title of the window that you will be sending key inputs to (may need to check Task Manager to find out)
  • Example: VisualBoyAdvance, Desmume
    • For notepad.exe it would be "Notepad" or "Untitled - Notepad".
    • If you want to test that the key's are sending correctly, run npm test with Notepad opened to see if it sends a key to it.
• TWITCH_CHANNEL: the Twitch channel you want to listen for messages on (twitchplayspokemon)
• Depending on the program, you may need to change the controls (in defaultKeyMap in keyHandler.js, keys.py for windows)

Misc

https://github.com/hzoo/ChatPlays/ used MutationObservers in the browser

Using IRC lets you get all the messages; you can't always get all messages through the browser (quickly or consistently) so this is a better approach overall as others have done.

Method

• Connect to IRC
• Use regex to match for certain commands
• Print out username/message
• Hook up to a program/emulator
  • if on windows: probably uses the win32 api (window has to take focus)
  • otherwise: xdotool
• Stream it with OBS

Contributions

Feel free to give suggestions or report bugs!