My old stream layout was something I originally bought off Etsy. It worked for what I needed at the time, but after using it for a while, I wanted something that felt more like Vestige Soul.
I wanted my stream space to feel more personal, more flexible, and more connected to the world I am building. So instead of buying another premade overlay, I decided to use my own modeling and Unity3D skills to build something I could change and expand over time.
The result is the new version of The Den.
Week's Assignments / Starting Soon View
The first major screen is my Week’s Assignments view. This is the screen I use as my default starting-soon layout.
It lists the games I plan on playing for the week, almost like a mission board or assignment screen. I wanted it to feel more interesting than a basic “starting soon” screen while also giving viewers a quick idea of what is coming up on the channel.
On the backend, I can update the weekly assignments by changing a text file. That makes it easy to adjust the schedule without rebuilding the whole overlay every time.
General Screen
The next screen is my general talking screen.
This is the layout I use when I am chatting, explaining something, or just hanging out before switching into gameplay. One of the parts I like most is the sign, which I can change with a button click.
Right now, I am still deciding how far I want to push this screen. It may stay as my main talking screen, or I may eventually turn it into a BRB screen once I build out more assets.
Game Screen
The last major screen is the game layout.
For this one, I use a material inside Unity3D to pull the screen from OBS and display it directly in the overlay. This lets the game screen feel like it is actually part of the environment instead of just being placed on top of a background.
That was one of the big reasons I wanted to build the layout this way. Since it is running through Unity, I have more room to experiment with lighting, animation, objects, and effects later on.
More To Come
This is still only the start of the new Den.
I want to keep adding more assets, more personality, and possibly triggers for Twitch and YouTube. I would like the overlay to react more to stream events over time, whether that is follows, subs, chat commands, or other interactions.
Overall, I am really happy with how the new overlay turned out. It feels more like something that belongs to my channel and my world, instead of something I simply placed on top of my stream.
There is still more I want to build, but this feels like a strong first step toward making the stream feel more like home.
