Chapter #5Scenario 6. The video game streamer by: Kirafair   In this version of the multiverse, 16 year old Chris Jackson lives with his 14 year old sister Hannah and two parents in a middle-class neighborhood. Like many kids his age, Chris was trying to find his own unique way in the world. it seemed unlikely any of the competitive sports was ever going to garner his interest
Standing at 5’5”, Chris placed on the low end of the curve for his age group. For example, there were basketball players at school a foot taller than him. Truth be told, Chris was closer in height and weight to many of the girls in his class.
While physical sports weren’t an avenue to any sort of fame or popularity, advances in technology did offer an alternative path. Chris began dabbling in the area of E(lectronic)-sports. At first, his parents were reluctant to indulge his interests. Both Tom and Cynthia Jackson came from somewhat conservative backgrounds and had old fashioned expectations of how children should be raised.
But Chris was persistent and did a lot of extra chores around the house. His parents finally relented and began to financially support the tech needs to stream video games. Chris eventually assembled everything he needed. A decent computer with a high-end video card, a microphone on a boom, a camera for showing him as he played, a cool looking headset, and a gaming chair.
Now all he needed was an audience.
That was easier said than done. Twitch was the world’s most popular streaming service and in any given year millions of people took to the platform with the same dream. Over time, a few made it big. Players with nicknames like Ninja and Summit1g annually raked in millions of dollars.
There were several ways to make money streaming. Viewers could subscribe monthly for $5 which was split between the streamer and Twitch. The audience could also support their favorite streamers by sending money directly in the form of tips with a brief message attached. Some streamers were even famous enough to get endorsement deals from big corporations. Chris hoped and prayed that one day he might make it big
But the reality is for the vast majority of streamers, they made no money at all since they had no viewers. When Chris first started out, he could only count on a few friends at school to watch him regularly. Despite months of effort, his viewer numbers remained stagnant. At this rate, he was never getting to gain traction on Twitch. After putting in some research, Chris came to understand his problem
There are essentially two ways to gain viewership. One was to be ultra proficient at a popular game and be willing to teach the audience how to improve their skills. Another option was to be very entertaining. This could be accomplished by engaging the viewers with funny banter. Some might even argue there was a third way. That involved wearing a skimpy bikini and chatting with the predominantly male viewership while lounging in a hot tub.
Chris thought that possibly two of these methods to grow his audience were feasible for him.
It turns out he might not have fully considered all his options.
*****
It was a Friday night and Chris eagerly fired up his computer for a streaming session. His parents were out with some friends leaving him and his sister alone in the house. Twitch helpfully sent a notification to those people who followed his channel that he was going live.
All 25 of them.
Chris had already shed his school uniform shirt and pants and replaced them with a dark Gray t-shirt emblazoned with a Golden Triforce symbol and some loose Black shorts.
“Hey everyone, it’s your boy CJack here. Are you ready to see me clap some cheeks in Escape from Tarkov tonight? Good! Let’s rock and roll” he exclaimed with a great deal of enthusiasm. It was necessary to be energetic and engaged to hold onto the viewers attention.
Chris had gravitated to first-person shooters like Tarkov because the constant action made for a great stream. But Tarkov stood out above similar games because of its difficult learning curve. The game blended a slowly growing suspenseful backdrop punctuated by seconds of absolute terror. Chris observed that Tarkov viewers practically sat on the edge of their seats as they watched a streamer locked in a stealthy duel with another player. It was very common for the hunter to become the hunted.
Chris was still working on his mastery of the game. He stared intently at the monitor as he maneuvered his character through a ruined building. Chris was so focused, he failed to notice his bedroom door opening and his sister creeping in.
“Did you hear that gunshot? That’s a RPK assault rifle. Someone is downstairs” he informed his audience. He quietly crept his character to a stairwell and peered over the railing. A flash of light on his monitor caused Chris to visibly flinch. The view faded to black as his character died.
“Dammit! That guy was camping the corner and got the drop on me. Dude one shot me in the face” he wailed while disgustedly throwing his hands in the air.
With the need for pure focus gone, Chris finally became aware his sister was behind him watching. He was just about to yell at her when the ‘text to message’ app announced that he had received a 100 bits award. The message then read aloud “That sucks. Better next luck next time bro”
Hannah appeared very interested in the dancing icon announcing the gift.
“What’s that alert for?” she asked
Chris glared at her. She could be super annoying since she was always trying to hang out when he played games. Their parents were trying to raise her to act like a proper young woman. The problem was Hannah was not having it. Unlike Chris, she was tall for her age and wanted to play all kinds of sports. Hannah might even have been good at them since she was a stereotypical tomboy. But Mom absolutely forbade it. Despite her annoying habits, Chris often felt sympathy for her plight
Recently, their parents had given her a similar computer setup so she could keep herself occupied by streaming games as well. But there was one condition. She could only play non-violent games like Animal Crossing or Hello Kitty Online.
“Hold on” he growled at her. He turned back to the camera “Thanks Grimm for the bits. Yeah, I’ll get them next raid. I should have just pushed the guy. Well, on to the next one!” he said faking a cheerfulness he didn’t truly feel.
Chris muted his microphone as he turned his chair to face Hannah “The bits are basically a tip from someone watching”
“A tip? Like real money?”
Chris nodded somewhat proudly. She probably didn’t know about the tip system. It was unlikely anyone gave her bits for playing with cute animals. “Yeah, 100 bits is equal to about a $1”
Hannah condescendingly patted his shoulder “If you get a $1 every time you die in game, you must be a millionaire by now” she quipped.
Chris’ brow furled in anger. He wanted to make a witty retort but the problem was she had a point. His character in game did die a lot. Instead of staying mad at her, Chris decided he could entertain his audience with some self-deprecating humor. He moved his chair back a bit to provide the camera a better view of the two of them
“Hey chat. I’d like to introduce my annoying younger sister Hannah. She is quite the comedian” he said sarcastically. Chris then repeated her snarky comment. He saw the chat box begin to scroll rapidly as it filled with a bunch of ‘LOL’ and other amusing comments.
But one reply stood apart for its longer length. Chris read the comment aloud “What is that symbol on the t-shirt your sister is wearing?”
He turned to look at his sister “Would you care to tell them?” He swung the boom microphone closer so her reply would be audible
Hannah seemed hesitant to answer. Chris gave her a reassuring nod. She was already here and the couple dozen viewers might end up getting a few laughs out of it.
He hadn’t really paid any attention before but now he saw she was wearing a Pink t-shirt with a cartoon horse on it. Chris was also getting kind of curious about the character as well. He knew she totally hated the clothes their Mom bought for her. However, at this age she had little recourse but to wear them.
Hannah leaned a little closer to the camera “It's a My Little Pony t-shirt. I have no friggin clue which pony it's supposed to be. I don’t watch that crap. I’m only wearing it because my Mom makes me” she said rolling her eyes.
Chris chuckled at her boisterous response when he noticed that chat began scrolling rapidly with comments. He had never seen it this active before. As he struggled to keep up with the deluge, Hammah stepped in to fill the silence
“Hey chat, check out my skirt. It's from Forever 21 or some other godawful place that cost way more than it should because it came with a sparkly Pink belt” she fumed
Chris noted a theme developing among some of the comments. He provided a summary for Hannah “They want to know why you hate your clothes so much? They say you look very cute in them”
She snorted her disapproval “Thanks chat but honestly I’d rather be wearing something cool like CJack here” she said waving a hand towards her brother
Within seconds, a 1000 bits icon began dancing on the screen. Chris blinked several times to make sure he was seeing the number correctly. No viewer had ever given him basically a $10 tip before. But the message attached caused him to gulp nervously.
What did the viewer ask Chris to do?
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