Twitch & Audible: 1984

To celebrate the release of George Orwell’s 1984 on Audible, we developed an AI-driven, interactive Twitch experience that immersed viewers in a modern version of Orwell’s world of surveillance, propaganda, and rebellion. Through real-time gameplay, AI-generated visuals, and active audience collaboration, our activation brought 1984’s core themes to life, engaging audiences on a new level. The experience, streamed live over three intense streaming sessions, captivated viewers, generating over 3.5 million minutes watched, 34,000 chat messages, and ultimately, driving 1984 to **#1 **on Audible’s global and UK charts in April 2024.

The narrative followed three top UK Twitch streamers, each acting as a unique character from a rebel group aiming to infiltrate TruthHQ—a mysterious propaganda center broadcasting dystopian content inspired by the 1984 world. Each streamer faced a distinct role and challenge—a fully developed game crafted specifically for them. Alongside their online communities, they navigated traps, decrypted messages, and manipulated the environment, all while AI adapted to their strategies, securing rooms and operating machinery in response. In the final showdown, human collaboration triumphed as players dismantled the AI’s system, unlocking the first 10 minutes of 1984 audiobook. But, in true Orwellian fashion, Big Brother ultimately regained control, ensuring the rebels would pay the price for disobedience.

At the heart of the experience was Gaze Monitor, an AI agent designed to embody the totalitarian regime of 1984. The AI antagonist adapted to streamer actions by securing rooms, locking down systems, and manipulating information. Audience participation was further enhanced through impostors—human agents of Gaze Monitor—who spread misinformation in the chat, requiring communities to distinguish truth from deception. This created an engaging, layered challenge that required collective problem-solving.

Online communities were crucial to the gameplay. Streamers relied on chat input to overcome challenges, and Twitch’s live integration allowed for seamless interaction, making every decision impactful. Game documents were provided physically to streamers and digitally to Twitch viewers and shared across screens to ensure synchronous gameplay. Without the audience’s help, streamers would have been unable to complete the tasks, blending storytelling with viewer participation.

1. Pre-Launch Engagement: Narrative “Injections”

We built anticipation through two pre-launch “injections” that immersed viewers before the live events:

• First Injection: Streamers’ channels were “hacked” to display 1984-style propaganda, setting a foreboding tone.
• Second Injection: Streamers received physical letters containing critical clues, which they revealed live to further engage audiences.

2. Stream Sessions and Gameplay Mechanics

Each session was customized to the streamer’s role, and every decision influenced the live broadcast:

• Session 1 – Engineer: The streamer collaborated with the Twitch chat to solve puzzles and hack the "Radio" device.
• Session 2– Operator: The Operator remotely controlled a robot, retrieving a floppy disk and unlocking vital data on TruthHQ’s servers.
• Session 3 – Artist: The Artist took over the AI-driven propaganda stream, briefly broadcasting anti-regime visuals and The first 10 minutes of the 1984 audiobook.

1. AI Integration and Propaganda Generation

Gaze Monitor, an AI agent designed to embody the totalitarian regime of 1984 was responsible for generating propaganda, manipulating the environment, and deceiving players. Gaze Monitor was developed using detailed data from Orwell’s novel and trained to generate outputs that adhered strictly to its core themes of surveillance, control, and manipulation. Gaze Monitor created:

• 5,000 Unique Images: Over 900 images were integrated into the campaign.
• 500 Propaganda Slogans: AI-generated slogans created a realistic chatbot that reinforced the omnipresent regime.
• 300 Anti-Propaganda Visuals: Designed to embody the spirit of resistance, these visuals countered Gaze Monitor’s messages.

2. Custom-Built Gameplay and Challenges

To create a fully immersive experience, we developed custom mini-games in Unity tailored to each character’s role. Players faced challenges that mirrored Orwell’s dystopian setting, using clues from the Gaze Monitor Website—a simulated console that contained manuals, system logs, and puzzles.

3. TruthHQ: 3D Propaganda Hub

TruthHQ, a continuous 24-hour broadcast environment built in Unity, was the nerve center for the activation. AI-driven propaganda streamed in real-time, as streamers and their audiences battled misinformation and sought hidden messages within Gaze Monitor’s system. This live 3D environment elevated the experience, making Orwell’s world interactive and immersive.

During the experience, each streamer faced an AI in a unique mini-game, introducing a new layer of human-AI conflict. In this mini-game, players navigated an electric circuit grid, flipping branch blocks to redirect power toward specific targets, unlocking blockades, and disabling firewalls. Meanwhile, an AI-controlled pawn disrupted their efforts by flipping blocks back to power nothing and re-enabling firewalls, effectively reversing the player’s progress.

We established the criteria:

• Linear Progression: The player could not lose to the AI, as the experience followed a linear narrative with no branching storylines.
• Realistic AI Behavior:The AI needed to act believably, mimicking human-like responses and creating the illusion of a second player.
• Fail-Safe Mechanism: In case ChatGPT became unresponsive, a backup algorithm would control the enemy’s actions.

We utilized GPT-4. ChatGPT was primed with the game’s rules, formatted like a board game manual for clarity. Each time the AI acted, a prompt was generated with the latest game data and map state, instructing ChatGPT to make the optimal disruptive move. The AI would then return a single block number to interact with, avoiding excessive explanations and maintaining seamless gameplay.

This design met all criteria, creating an asymmetric, non-real-time game where the AI operated smoothly without requiring complex responses. The simplicity allowed for an alternative control mechanism if needed, keeping the experience fluid and reliable.

Audible’s 1984 reached #1 on global and UK charts in April 2024, driven by the success of the 1984 campaign—an innovative interactive experience that set new Twitch benchmarks:

• 1 million unique viewers
• 34,000 chat messages
• 3.5 million minutes watched

This activation introduced Orwell’s classic to a new generation, seamlessly blending narrative depth with cutting-edge technology.

Want to create your own AI-driven experience? Reach out to see how we can bring your story to life.