7 Twitch streams that pushed the platform forward - Polygon

Twitch streamer shuts down trolls and sets boundaries in the best way. She employs a running bit where she sets up her stream to be like an ... Skiptomaincontent clock menu more-arrow no yes poly-lt-wire-logo Filedunder: MasterpiecesofStreaming 7Twitchstreamsthatpushedtheplatformforward By AnaDiaz@Pokachee Jun4,2021,1:30pmEDT ScreenshotviaTwitch Sharethisstory SharethisonFacebook SharethisonTwitter Share Allsharingoptions Share Allsharingoptionsfor: 7Twitchstreamsthatpushedtheplatformforward Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email Partof TheMasterpiecesofStreaming Polygon’slatestseries,TheMasterpiecesofStreaming,looksatthenewbatchofclassicsthathaveemergedfromanevolvingeraofentertainment. SinceTwitchwasfoundedin2011,ithaspopularizedDIYliveentertainment.Atfirst,theplatformwasdesignedforlivestreaminggames;itgaveanyonewithadecentenoughcomputertheabilitytobroadcastthemselvesplayingvideogames,alongwithuniquefeatureslikealivechatfeedthatallowedforaudienceinteraction.Theplatformhassincegrowntoincludeconcerts,livepoliticalcommentary,andchatshows.AlmostanythingcanbeonTwitch—butithastohappenlive. AlthoughcompetingvideoplatformslikeYouTubehavealsoaddedthepossibilityforpeopletostreamlive,Twitchexistssolelytopropupreal-timeentertainment.Contentcreatorscansavevideorecordingsoftheirstreamsonline,buttheycan’tuploadeditedvideos.So,whatmakesforamasterpieceofTwitch?Itreliesonpreparation;itcan’tbeeditedlikeafeaturefilmorevenaVine.Andoften,theaudienceisinvolvedaswell,tomakeittrulyspecial. AmasterpieceofTwitchdoesn’tnecessarilydisplayareallycoolor“poggers”playsomuchasamemorablemomentthatacollectiveviewershipshared.ThislistcataloguestheonlineeventsthathelpedbreakTwitchevenfurtherintothemainstream,orhelpedshapeTwitchitself. AcommunitycomestogethertobeataPokémongame(February12,2014) WiththedebutofTwitchPlaysPokémonin2014,theplatformbecameonegiantcommunalgame.Here’showitworked:AbotdesignedforTwitchplayedPokémonRed,withitsactionscontrolledcompletelybyviewerswhowouldtypecommandsinthelivechat.Ifsomeonewrotetheword“up”intheTwitchchat,thecharacterinthelivestreamgamewouldmoveup.Exceptasmanyas8,000viewerswouldbefloodingchatwithcommandssimultaneously,andthecharacteronscreenwouldrespondtoeachoneinorder.Theresultwasanarchy,butovertime,orderemergedfromthechaos,andthecommunitybeatthegameinaboutonemonth’stime. Related HowTwitchiscrowd-sourcinganamazingPokémonmultiplayergame ThesteamhelpedshowcaseTwitch’spotentialtoprovideuniqueformsofentertainment.Twitch’sheadofstudioproductionsMarcus“djWHEAT”Grahamdescribeditthisway:“[TwitchPlaysPokémon]provedthatthemediumofTwitchwas(andstillis)ripeforinnovation,andthattherearenewandexcitedwaystocreateinteractivecontentthathasneverbeendonebefore.” Ninjagrowsintoafully-fledgedstar(March15,2018) In2018,Twitchwasalreadyawell-knownplatform.In2014,Amazonhadacquiredthestreamingservice,andtheplatformbecameknownforitscadreofpopularcontentcreators.Inthelate2010s,asanup-and-cominggamecalledFortnitestartedtofindanaudience,Twitchalsofounditstruefirststar:Tyler“Ninja”Blevins. Related DrakeandNinjabreakTwitchrecordsinFortniteduostream Leadinguptohisbreakoutmoment,Blevinswasn’texactlyunknown.Inearly2018,hegainedroughly50,000subscribersinasinglemonthandwouldregularlyhavehundredsofthousandsofviewerstuningintoeachofhisstreams.InMarch2018,whenhip-hopartistDrakejoinedhisstreamtoplayFortnite,Blevinsbecameabonafideicon.Atitspeak,Blevins’streamwithDrakehadover635,000concurrentviewers,breakingTwitchrecords. HavingsomeonelikeDrakeonastreamdidn’tjustbringinatonofeyes;itshowedthatTwitchstarscanbefamousintheirownright.ItelevatedBlevinstoaplacethatnootherTwitchstreamerhadoccupieduptothatpoint.Sincethestream,Blevinshasgottenbookdeals,appearedinaSuperBowlad,andmadeanestimated$17milliondollarsin2019.AlthoughBlevinsleftTwitchatonepointtostreamexclusivelyonMixer,hereturnedin2020aftersigningadealrumoredtobevaluedat$30millionbyForbes.TheDrakestreamrepresentedanearlyhighpointinbothBlevins’careerandTwitch’shistory. PaladinAmbershutsdownthehaters(July23,2019) whenyouhavetosetboundariesontheinternet;pic.twitter.com/kcXQVW6SK9—Paladin(@PaladinAmber)July22,2019 WhileTwitchhelpsbreakdownsomebarriersbetweenitsstarsandaudiencesbyprovidingalivechatforviewerstosendquestions,it’sstillnotareciprocalrelationship.Oftentimes,viewersfeelliketheyknoworarefriendswithastreamer,evenwhenthestreamerdoesn’tknowtheirfan.Amber“PaladinAmber”Wahdambecamepopularbyshuttingouttrollsandoverly-familiarviewersinhilariousways.Whenstreaming,sheusesmultiplecamerasandoverlaystobrushoffrudeviewerswithcomedyandgrace. Related Twitchstreamershutsdowntrollsandsetsboundariesinthebestway Sheemploysarunningbitwhereshesetsupherstreamtobelikeanold-schoolinfomercialthat’stryingtosellyousomethingfor$19.95.Forexample,ifsomeoneasks,“howmuchforahug?”sherespondsbyseamlesslytransitioningintousinganoverlaythatmakesitlooklikeshe’snarratingacommercial.“Youwannaknowhowmuchit’sgonnabeforahug?That’sright,youguessedit,it’sgoingtobenineteenninety-fuckoff.Nobodytouchme.Idon’twanttobetouched.”Asshedeliverstheselines,thecameraangleswitchesandcapturesherclapbackfrommultipleanglesandzoomsettings.TheclipsandhercommitmenttothebitareafunwaytouseTwitchproduction,whilealsoremindingviewersofboundarieswheninteractingwiththeirfavoritestreamer. Mr.ChanChandazzlesuswiththekneecopter(July9,2020) thisisbyfarthebestpersoniveeverhostedpic.twitter.com/MpGRY3VstX—NRGEdgey(@Edgeyy)July9,2020 Anythingcanhappenwithliveentertainment.AndnoothereventbettercapturesthethrillandsurprisethatcancomewithwatchingsomeoneliveonTwitchbetterthanMr.ChanChandoingthe“kneecopter.” ItallstartedwhenFortnitestreamerEdgeyhostedMr.ChanChanafterastream.Mr.ChanChan,whousuallystreamedLegobuilds,wasmorethanthrilledtoseethenewviewerssentbyEdgey.SomuchsothatMr.ChanChaneruptedintoafull-ondanceroutinesettothepopsong“CaramellaGirls”byCaramelldansen. Thespontaneousperformancewaselectric.Hethrilledviewerslivebykneecoptering—adancemovewhereyoushiftweightfromyourfeettoyourkneestosmoothlyglideacrossthefloor—throughouthislivingroomandflappinghishandsonhisheadtodothesignaturebunnyearmovetothesong.ThebrightandcheerysongcoupledwithMr.ChanChan’ssmilewasbrightenoughtolightuptheentireroom,andtheTwitchchatwherethoseluckyenoughtoseetheperformanceunrolllivespammedchatwithflameemotes. Twitchbecomesavehicleforpoliticalchange(October20,2020) UPDATE:AOCgetsImposterinherfirsttimeplayingAmongUsonTwitch.ShegetsvotedoutbyeveryoneexceptIlhanOmar.AOCsays“She’smyrideordie!”pic.twitter.com/afOaBl7bGV—DefNoodles(@defnoodles)October21,2020 AsTwitchhascontinuedtogrowandextenditsinfluenceamongyoungpeople,politicianshavealsoseizedontheopportunitytousetheplatformasawaytoreachnewaudiences.Aspartofaget-out-the-voteeffort,U.S.HouseRep.AlexandriaOcasio-Cortez(D-N.Y.)streamedthehitmurdermysterygameAmongUstothetuneof435,000viewersonTwitch. Related AOC’srecord-breakingTwitchstreamisthefutureofpolitics Theeventquicklygrewtoincludeawho’s-whoofnotablestreamers.Ocasio-CortezwasjoinedbythelikesofImane“Pokimane”Anys,Rachell“Valkyrae”Hofstetter,andCorpseHusband.Whilemurderingandschemingonthespaceshipinsidethegame,Ocasio-Cortezbanteredwiththeothersandtouchedonimportantpoliticaltopics,likehealthcareaccess.Thestreamdidn’tjustendearOcasio-Corteztoitsviewers,italsocreatedablueprintforhowpoliticianscanstayrelevant.AsPolygonwroteatthetime,Ocasio-Cortez’sTwitchstreamshowedthata“modern,tech-savvypoliticianattractsnotjustsupporters,butfandom.” The31-day-longslumberparty(March14,2021) TherulewassimpleforLudwigAhgren’sTwitchsub-athon:Foreachsubscriptionhegot,hewouldextendthelengthofhisstreamby10seconds.Atthestart,hedidn’tthinkhewouldbestreamingforallthatlong—maybeoneortwodaystops,sincestreamingforasingledaycouldtakeasmanyas8,640subscriptions.Youcanimaginethestreamers’surprisewhen,dayafterday,thesubscriptionskeptcomingin.Thestunteventuallyledhimtosteamcontinuouslyfor31days,breakingtherecordforhighestnumberofTwitchsubscriberspreviouslysetbyBlevins. Related LudwigAhgrenendsTwitch‘sub-athon’bysmashinghisracecarbed Therecord-breakingstreamhelpedpopularizelesser-knownwaysofstreamingonTwitchaswell.Ashestreameddayandnight,Ludwigintroducedhisviewerstotheconceptof“sleepstreams”duringwhichpeoplewouldjusttuneintowatchhimsnoozeintothenight.Atonepoint,hehadroughly65,400liveviewerstuneinjusttowatchhimlayinhisredracecarbed. Theeventalsofeltlikeamuch-neededbalmduringthepandemic.Itseemedintimateandreal,showingviewersasnapshotofLudwig’sday-to-daylife.Butitalsoprovidedthecollectivefeelingthatcomeswiththousandsofpeopletuningin,spammingchatwithLudwig-themedemotesmadeoutofhisface.Therewasaweightysensethatthepeoplewho’dtunedinhadbeenpresentforsomesortofgiant,sharedmoment,anditjusthappenedtobethatLudwigwasthecenterofitall. A“perfect”Mariorun(April7,2021) SpeedrunninghaslongbeenastapleofTwitch.Itnotonlyallowspeopletodocumenttherarefeatsofstreamers,butitgivesthosedoingrunafterrunaplacetohangoutonlineastheyplayformonthsandsometimesyears,perfectingtheirplayinasinglegame.Andwhilethereareplentyofremarkablerecord-breakingspeedrunsoutthere,onestandsout:thecurrentworldrecordforSuperMarioBros.fortheNES. Related ‘Perfect’SuperMarioBros.speedrunbeataftertwoyears Themereideaofa4:54SuperMarioBros.appearedtobeapipedream.Theoretically,the4:54runwaspossible;aYouTuberhadbrokenitdownframebyframetoshowhowitcouldbedone.Theonlyproblemwasthatnoonewassureifahumancoulddoit.Therundidn’tjustrequiretheperfectplacementofMariowithinapixel’sdistance;italsorequiredaspeedrunnertomakeuseofaglitchthatrequiredMariotobeplacedinaspecificspotattheendingflagpole.Itmakestherunintricatelydifficult,andoneofhardestinthespeedrunningcommunity.However,Niftskipulleditoffin2021,makinghimsuccessfulincompletingoneofthehardestrunsinspeedrunninghistory. |Photo:TCL TCL85”ClassXLCollection $2,999 Pricestakenattimeofpublishing. TheXLCollectionisdesignedtodeliverlarger-than-lifehomeentertainment.LoadedwithentertainmentviewingfeaturestheseTVswillmakeyoufeellikeyouareinthetheaterfromthecomfortofyourownhome. $2,999 atAmazon $2,999 atBestBuy TheMasterpiecesofStreaming The50masterpiecesofthestreamingera CantheStreamingAgedeliveragenuineclassic? Thegreatbinge-watchesofthestreamingera ThecinematictriumphsofVine ThevideoessaysthatspawnedanentireYouTubegenre ThegreatestachievementsinDumbInternetVideo Who’stakingthemostadvantageofwhatNetflixcanoffer? Streamingischangingdocumentaries’nature—andmaybeeventheirpurpose DisneyPlusisforgettingtheDCOMformula Loadingcomments... Signupforthe newsletter SignupforPatchNotes AweeklyroundupofthebestthingsfromPolygon Justonemorething! Pleasecheckyouremailtofindaconfirmationemail,andfollowthestepstoconfirmyourhumanity. Email(required) Bysigningup,youagreetoourPrivacyNoticeandEuropeanusersagreetothedatatransferpolicy. Subscribe close Sharethisstory Twitter Facebook