On Twitch, there are the behemoths of streaming. Those whose subscribers number in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, and whose income is dizzying. And there are the others, the little streamers. Those who have very few spectators, if at all. On the occasion of the Z Event, which begins this Friday, 20 minutes gave the floor to these enthusiasts, who have fun on Twitch, although they are alone, or almost.
This is the case of William, alias Bob the caribou. “I’ve been streaming for four years, and my only viewer [spectateur], this is my video return, he laughs. The only thing that keeps me going is passion. Of course, he says, “I scream with jealousy seeing some who break through.” Especially those who, he judges, do not have “a quarter of the diction or the quality that I have”. “The loneliness of the streamer, it is true that, sometimes, it is demoralizing”, recognizes Mathis. “I got into the habit of talking alone. I’m here to be me, no matter if it’s just friends watching, strangers. Or nobody. »
“You have to be ready to speak on your own”
Recently, continues Alexandre, “I cut short a stream because no one was talking in the chat, and I experienced a huge moment of loneliness”. Thardoth, he has outright “removed the viewer counter” on his live, because “it’s too anxiety-provoking, and it can discourage”. Anyway, he assures, “you have to be ready to talk to yourself, as if you had people. Because in the event that a person clicks on your live and sees you amorphous, controller in hand, it will not make him want to stay! »
Ivan, who streams under the pseudonym of Warnado, has “never exceeded 15 viewers”. But whatever. He sees it as “a discussion in a bar”. “A person comes to my stream and we get to know each other.” And as it is dead calm, she “does not hesitate to tell her life story, and vice versa. It becomes a discussion between strangers, which we may never see again”, says Ivan, who remembers having discussed with “an Army sniper”. Some on Twitch have few viewers. But faithful spectators. And when they’re not there, it’s the blues guaranteed. Like friends, “I miss our relationships”, explains Kevin, alias Quisif, “sad” when they are not there. As much as them, he says, “when I have to be away”.
“I changed a lot of games, I tried everything, but nothing helped! »
But for Lou, aka Loupiotte TV, scores don’t matter on Twitch. “When we start, we rely a lot on numbers, the number of followers, viewers, etc. You have to learn to detach yourself from all that, otherwise you don’t get out of it, and you lose motivation, you stop streaming little by little, then you give up. “Some players, in an attempt to conquer a wider audience, questioned themselves. In vain, sometimes. “I changed a lot of games, I tried everything, but nothing helped! “Laments one of them. “Sometimes we obsess over a game, and we occasionally take a look at the viewer counter which remains stuck at zero, laments one of them. If the channel doesn’t take off, what does that say about the person running it? “But, continues this player, “we must not try to conquer views through a disguise of our tastes”.
Minilazy agrees. “I never forced myself to make a fashionable game to seduce, she confides. I only do what pleases me Sims 4, Animal Crossing, and Pokemon. Some, finally, assure that they are not there for glory. If they landed on the platform, it is to get better. “I started Twitch because I was in a not very cool period in my life, testifies Alexis, who brings together between 5 and 10 people during his performances. I needed to occupy my mind so as not to sink. At first he was a little lonely. “Then came the first spectators,” he notes. “These people then became my friends. My life has changed. »
“Watching streams helped me calm my anxiety attacks,” says a streamer. I got into talking about anxiety, and helping people like me. Today, the stream makes me feel much better and accepted as I am. The community helps me a lot, even for small problems. Sharing with people, laughing, not having this judgment barrier, it makes my world much easier to live in. “Anna, she attacked the streaming to prevent it” from sinking “. “I woke up in tears, but I woke up, because I knew I was going to talk to some nice people who came to see me,” she said. So yes, she is sometimes angry, “to see other people who have been around for less time than me have thousands of followers. But deep down, when I take a step back, I don’t care, I have a very small community, but they are just nice people with whom I have great times. And she wouldn’t trade that, he said, “for anything in the world.” That’s also Twitch.