Project Introduction and Methodology

Artist: Erin Frazier

“Identity, Labor, and Play on Twitch”

Introduction

This project originated in my experience with video game play and gaming culture, and my curiosity about the rapid growth and variety found on Twitch. Prior to this research (begun in 2018), I had very little experience with Twitch, and I’ve been fascinated to dive into this world.

The focus of my study is to get to know streamers' work and community better. The project is currently in its pilot phase - meaning elements of the methodology and research questions are expected to change.

In its current form, the study is focused on interviewing streamers about different aspects of their work: their balance of gaming as a hobby, streaming as a job, and community management at the same time.

Current research on Twitch focuses on various aspects: economic affordances and incentives; gender and race-based discrimination present on the platform; asymmetrical power relations between Twitch and streamers; attitudes towards competitive play and professional-amateur work.

I'd like my project to contribute to this growing field by exploring how the cultural idea of a "gamer" is colliding with the new economic position of "streamer". My hope is that through conversations with streamers, this collision can be more clearly articulated and realized.

Artist: Erin Frazier

Below are some of the more specific questions I'd like to explore:

What happens when "play" is reconstructed as a mediated online service?
What do the terms "true" or "real" gamer mean to streamers?
How do streamers view their work - as play, work, entertainment, socializing (or something entirely different)?
How do streamers view their role online - as a host, player, entertainer, friend (or something entirely different)?
What effect does Twitch have (if any) on game culture hierarchies, such as the "real gamer" narrative?

Methodology

Recruitment and data collection are currently underway. Participants are contacted via publicly listed email addresses for a short interview.

Participant Selection

My method for selecting participants is influenced by different categories of factors. The first category is related to the experience of the channel itself. In this case, I am looking for:

Consistent interactivity present on the channel
A balance of interaction with gameplay (for this reason, more involved and/or difficult games tend to be good indicators of this balancing act by streamers)

After this, I am looking at the characteristics of the streamer themselves. I am looking for:

As diverse and varied a population of streamers as possible. I am interested in how the narrative of the "real gamer" affects streamers from all different backgrounds and walks of life (if at all)
Streamers who work full-time or close to full-time on their channel. I am interested in how economic incentives to succeed on Twitch influence how streamers interact with the platform
Streamers who are building their channel and growing their audience. I am interested in how streamers adapt and respond to success on the platform

Finally, I am subject to the same algorithmic nudges of the Twitch platform itself. I interpret this to mean:

Artist: Erin Frazier

My attention is tracked. The more attention I give to particular streamers, the more the platform will 'suggest' streamers interpreted to be similar in some way

My response: I have focused on particular popular gaming titles and continually scanned through daily 'line-ups' of streamers, purposefully searching distinct tags, playtimes, follower counts, and streaming schedules

Numbers matter. High-earning streamers are consistently 'suggested' ahead of smaller streamers.

My response: I've set parameters for which streamers I am contacting. These can be described as follows: an average concurrent viewer count of 100; an average follower count of 1,000; regular interaction with the chat during livestream. These parameters typically exclude high-earning streamers.

Game titles matter. Popular titles are regularly sorted towards the top of browsing categories.

My response: I am not explicitly considering game title or genre. However, I am looking for streamers who are developing their channels, many of whom play popular titles as a strategy for growing their audience. This algorithmic influence is therefore considered beneficial for the purposes of this project.

Interview Method

Fundamentally, the interview is approached as a casual conversation guided by some core topics. These topics include:

Streamers' experience towards so-called playbour
Streamers' experience of so-called parasocial relationships
Streamers' experience of the real gamer narrative
Streamers' experience of channel moderation

Interviews are not strictly structured. My hope is that the conversation develops naturally and additional topics or questions may come to light.