GIRLS ON TWITCH

Video password: internetstudio

In order to take it a step further and really put myself out there, I went on Twitch, downloaded OBS (open broadcasting software) and started streaming for about a solid 30 minutes (this is about how long an ARAM match is in League of Legends.) I was originally really scared and hesitant to put myself on Twitch because of my knowledge of how terrible the community can be there, but I decided to give it a go. Being a public figure through my YouTube channel (which I upload viola covers on..) I was initially a bit worried to simulate this kind of stream solely to expand my project, but I wanted to take a risk. 

I decided to remain quiet for the game, while putting myself on a webcam. I publicized my stream and shared it, letting people know that I was online. I got a lot of viewers, of which a lot of them spammed and almost really attacked my stream's chat. I didn't speak, but played music that I liked instead. I thought that, by doing this, it would reveal a lot more about the chat, and not me. I was interested in exploring what they would say. 

I was actually pretty nervous about streaming because A. I don't really like putting my face on camera while I play games, because I can get really competitive and pissed about things when my game doesn't go right, B. I really suck at multitasking, and C. I've gotten death threats a lot in the past because of my moderate YouTube fame. But it was still interesting to see what kinds of comments and chat dialogues popped up during my stream. 

As expected, a lot of them were merely trolling, which I didn't particularly mind. It just reaffirmed how people reacted to a girl streaming. I did pretty well in terms of how I performed in the game, ending in a score of 20/12/23 (20 kills, 12 deaths, 23 assists). I ended up losing because of team complications, but it was still a decently played game on my part.

My sole intent was to showcase that I could play the game well. So many girls on Twitch play with half the screen taken up by their huge webcams, but I kept mine small to focus on gameplay. But in the end, did that really matter? No one applauded my game skills, but rather, they spammed and spammed me with profanity targeted at Riot whenever I died to an enemy champion, or gave me shit for some other girl streamer. And there were WAY too many emotions used from the game, Binding of Isaac (the sad face emoticon). I had no idea why. I was searching for some kind of applause or validation on my gameplay, but was sorely disappointed to find that all I could get as a girl gamer was spam. And a couple of private messages at the end of the game suggesting me to wear more "low-cut, interesting" clothes on stream next time.

Yeah, I'd rather stick to my private gaming time without being under the spectacle of a camera. But it was enlightening, though very disturbing, to see what the chat had to say about me on Twitch. I just wish it could transform into a more positive place for serious female gamers.