Twitch observation: Fortnite | 30-60 minutes | One duos session and one solo session
Streamers Observed: SypherPK and partner Ninja_98. SypherPK is one of the top 20 Twitch streamers with 2,918,911 subscribers and 378 million views on YouTube.
Setup
Professional microphone, Live chat, game stream, and video feed of SypherPK. It appears he's streaming from a den or living room.
My Research Notes
I play Fortnite but it's been a while. It's been recently updated, so there's new things to see. I never play with the sound on, and I don't use voice chat either, so this is fascinating!
Descriptive Notes
These two are amazing. They build and edit forts quickly, and it’s a huge part of their defensive and offensive strategies.
They communicate well during gameplay: to spot enemies, plan their attack, and announce the tally and color of damage to enemies. I didn’t understand why the color is relevant, so I did some research:
White Damage to Health Blue Damage to Shields Yellow Critical Hit / Headshot
Analytical Notes According to Taylor "the very act of showing virtuoso play is itself a performance" and SypherPK isn't theatrical or boastful or too animated (2018). He just plays, and he is killer, and has likely built his audience from his expertise. Ninja_98's voice is much more dramatic and animated, but when SypherPK interacts with his viewers and acknowledges their contributions (month subs, prime), that side of him kicks in, as well as when he's filming for YouTube. In duos, SypherPK is a bit outperformed as an entertainer by his more vocal partner.
During solo play, SypherPK keeps his eye on chat and follows viewer suggestions. While there he chats back and forth with viewers, and shares new discoveries with them, theorizing what the meaning of new in-game wall art marked with Xs means. There's value added here for him and his stream in terms of sociality and working the crowd to engage them and "enlist" them in part of the decision making process and allowing them to feel that they are part of his team (Taylor, 2018).
As a professional and leading streamer of one of the most popular games, SypherPK's channel demonstrates monetization strategies and various layers of production. As a top streamer and professional, he is concerned about the business aspect of what he is doing as he discusses a plan to release merchandise, but he reveals that in light of COVID-19 he doesn't think it's right to capitalize on merch when so many people are suffering, and lets viewers know there will be a delay. It is refreshing to see that he has made a decision that is made in good conscience. Taylor mentions streamers' "third-party donation systems, sponsorship deals, and Amazon affiliate links," and Sypher is sponsored by Respawn, a mental performance drink mix for gamers by gamers (Taylor, 2018). As he mentions gift subs and prime memberships, he may be referring to in Twitch or Amazon affiliate memberships, but I don't know enough about the ways donations work within Twitch to differentiate.
In solo play he takes a lunch break and advantage of downtime to add more critique and evaluation while broadcasting a YouTube video showing new developments that have been released in the newest game update. This "reflecting on mechanics, design, gameplay, “feel,” and other aspects of the game itself can form a powerful part of the value of a stream" and it an important part of the streaming process for him (Taylor, 2018). During play it's almost impossible for him to convey these reflections on gameplay and mechanics, because communication must occur to coordinate efforts against enemies. New items are revealed during this part of the session, and SypherPK and his viewers watch in awe as other players demonstrate them. He then redirects viewers to his recently updated YouTube channel, so not only is he promoting his content, he shows his viewers his learning process by watching other players, as well. It was more clear how much more he extends his production into other channels such as Twitter and YouTube to connect with his audience (2018).
In SypherPK's solo play I saw more of the aspects of sociality and production layers that Taylor describes as vital parts of the streaming process, and examples of how SypherPK interacts with viewers in meaningful ways beyond given them shoutouts and recognition for contributing gifts. The layers of production at work to make his channel successful were also more visible as I rewatch to listen to how he talks to people on voice and chat who are working in the background such as the moderator, and there is at least one chatbot, a possible alert system to give him a running list of who to acknowledge as gift givers, or moderation team working in chat which all show the sophistication of his channel and business (Taylor, 2018). His wife is also in chat, too, working in the background to let him know lunch is ready: a beautifully plated salmon over rice and veggies.
References
Taylor, T. L. (2018). Watch me play (1st ed.) Princeton University Press. Retrieved from https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/watch-me-play/9780691184975/?ar?ar
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