Although Twitch is primarily used for broadcasters to show off their gaming skills and special events, it has also become a place for its community to come together and interact. Nothing demonstrates the communal sense of joy and frustration more than the “Twitch Plays” sessions like TwitchPlaysPokemon, in which thousands of fans enter commands into the chat room, which then translate into movements in the game. Since that time, more games have challenged the community, including Dark Souls and The Legend of Zelda, and now the channel has introduced a new directory devoted entirely to it.

The “Twitch Plays” directory makes it easier for viewers to find and discover community-based sessions with a number of games, including new entries like City Stream,TwitchPlaysZombidle, Kid Mech and TwitchVersusZombies, all with one goal in mind: letting the audience take control of the action. Of course, the Pokemon and Dark Souls channels are still running, along with ones devoted to the TinyBuild mobile game Punch Club.This indicates that the “Twitch Plays” format could be wide open for new games and partners looking to interact with the channel’s vast community.

“The Twitch community has consistently rallied behind organically created Twitch Plays games, with the trend growing rather than subsiding,” said Kathy Astromoff, VP of Developer Success, Twitch. “Making it easier for prospective players to find Twitch Plays games drives developer success, and encourages new developers to begin experimenting. Twitch Plays are just one of the myriad ways developers can discover new users and build stronger engagement with the Twitch community.”

To get further insight on the new directory, we sat down with Twitch’s PR director, Chase, speaking exclusively with [a]listdaily.

What do you think is the biggest driving factor behind the “Twitch Plays” sessions? Is it just how the community comes together for a singular purpose, or perhaps something deeper than that?

People enjoy playing “Twitch Plays” games for the same reason they enjoy multiplayer or co-op games – playing with other people is fun. On top of that, “Twitch Plays” have a live entertainment benefit: each big moment is unique, and that experience is shared among all the individuals who are present. The emotions you feel when you’re experiencing something live, in the moment, are much more powerful when shared with your peers.

The “Twitch Plays” sessions have grown quite a bit since the original Pokemon broadcast. What do you think is the biggest factor to consider when it comes to creating these sessions?

Like all games, “Twitch Plays” games are about building experiences.  We know it’s hard enough to build a compelling experience for one person – building them for thousands of people to play and interact at the same time is difficult indeed!

It’s incredible how other games have been able to factor into the “Twitch Plays” program, including Dark Souls, of all things. How does someone decide what would make a great community-driven game?

Our hope is that developers move beyond adapting existing games to creating brand new experiences specifically for Twitch, like City Stream and Twitch Versus Zombies have done.  Time will tell what makes a great community-driven game in this context.

Do you feel that the program will be a huge draw for potential new partners?

Our goal is for “Twitch Plays” to provide a venue for developers to share and monetize their “Twitch Plays” creations, just like streamers do on their channels today.  So yes, we certainly hope so.

Highlights from TwitchPlaysPokemon, as well as how users can get involved with it, can be found below.