Hot Topic: Twitch Streaming
I don’t remember how I found Twitch, but I can remember that when I did, I was instantly hooked. Arriving in June of 2011, Twitch.tv quickly became the world’s largest and leading live stream, social video platform for the gaming community. I was first introduced to video games in my early childhood and have casually played them since. I can clearly remember my first console being a Playstation and the most memorable games my brothers and I played being Spider-Man (2000) and Spyro the Dragon. Now, Playstations are a collectors item, Spider-Man (2000) has retired, and Spyro the Dragon has become extinct, but through Twitch I can still watch them be played.
Twitch.tv is a streaming service for any and all genres of video games, from the widely popular PC/mobile game, Hearthstone, to reliving the glory days with Spyro, and even coverage of E-Sport events. Twitch offers viewers the chance to watch and connect with friends, and streamers that share the same enthusiasm for video games; according to the Twitch.tv website, each month, more than 100 million community members gather to watch and talk about video games, with more than 1.7 million broadcasters. The community is diverse, and has something to offer for everyone.
Streamers on Twitch manage their personal channel that exhibits what game or event they’re going to play, for how long, how their chat operates, and what they hope to accomplish during the stream. Some are just for fun, where the host interacts with the viewers while addressing the viewers’ questions directly via video chat; some are instructive, where the host will specifically tailor the stream to help his or her viewers learn or improve their play of a specific game; some are corporate or event streams, which will debut newly released games or content, or broadcast video game tournaments, or expos.
One of the most interesting and influential features of Twitch allows viewers to donate money to the streamers’ channels in the form of a subscription. A subscription, or “sub,” alerts the donator when that particular channel goes live. Subscribing is a totally personal choice, as what resonates with some may not resonate with others. To further the feeling of a community, by subscribing to a channel, the donator gains exclusive rights on that channel, such as the ability to use custom emojis in chat that were developed by the streamer. Generally, subscription funds go directly to funding the stream by improving the gear available to the host, allowing the host to buy new games or purchase content to offer variety to the viewers.
Occasionally, channels will feature unique philanthropic events to donate money to, based on special terms, such as “every five deaths five dollars will go to insert cause here,” which are generally well received by audiences and often spark much more subscription donations, which are then supposedly turned over to the cause. The most frequented cause to be donated to by channels is Extra Life. According to the Extra Life webpage, the organization unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since its creation by Jeromy Adams, also known as DOC, back in 2008, gamers around the world have been able to raise more than $14 million for local CMN Hospitals. Gamers are able to register on the site, and then can begin fundraising through social media, or by talking to family and friends. The next part is simple; the streamer then games for 24 hours straight, and depending on what parameters were established (such as the parameters mentioned above), begins earning donations. In an instructional video produced by Twitch Streamer, Archon the Wizard, and claimed Extra Life fundraising guru, adding raffles to your stream will increase audience participation in the 24-hour stream. The raffle, he explains, isn’t always an item, but a personalized thank you note; the audience understands what they’re participating in, and their decision to participate via donation reflects their support for the cause and the streamer.
Aside from its philanthropic side, Twitch channels and streams offer audiences the opportunities to check out events, or games that they may be on the fence about purchasing or partaking in. With multiple channels streaming games, viewers are given an inside look as to how they are played, what they are like, what certain strategies work as well as, unfortunately, some plot spoilers. This negative aside, understanding if a game is worth playing, let alone purchasing, is important these days, as a new video game for any platform costs upward of around $60 for the base game, and then an additional $30 for content that will gradually be released throughout the year.
Twitch may be oriented solely toward gamer culture, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t proved to be an effective social media platform for people around the world to partake in. With the ability to chat with other users across the world, and watch channels being streamed worldwide, Twitch is the ultimate social media platform for gamers to share their passion for video games, as it offers the unique ability to create a career through playing games, as well as change lives through various philanthropy.
