The streamer who built a giant Starbucks Island in Minecraft to connect with fans



[ad_1]

Twitch streamers are modern celebrities, who address various audiences through video games. But some have taken the initiative to innovate beyond the norm in an attempt to stay in touch with their viewers in a meaningful and relevant way – and this can take quite strange forms. One of the most successful examples of this phenomenon occurred in February, when Daniel "RTGame" Condren gathered 200 viewers into one. Minecraft server to convert a whole biome into an island tribute to the Starbucks corporate giant.

"I started streaming in the summer of 2016, but I have been making videos since 2011," says Condren. At first it was just a hobby, a hobby to keep him busy after school and college. However, the Condren chain exploded in popularity last year and since then it has been keen to take advantage of the endless possibilities offered by streaming.

Community projects like this Minecraft mission are at the heart of the new-age relationships formed between the streamers and their audience. Some streamers may be relatively distant from viewers, rarely reacting to discussions and not wanting to know what they are playing and what they like. On the other hand, Condren consciously tries to involve them in the most attractive way possible. That's why 200 people have spent hours building cafes in a digital space.

"I wanted to get more involved with my viewers," explains Condren, explaining why he decided to orchestrate a project like this. "I would see these big streamers playing a game on their own and do not even try to interact with their cat." to oblige and sincerely thank someone for a large donation.

"It has always been perceived as a waste of potential," continues Condren. "You have thousands of people here excited to see you, but they might as well watch a pre-recorded video. I wanted to present something more engaging to which my viewers could really participate and participate. "

This is one of the most distinct disparities between Twitch and other sharing platforms. While the Starbucks video has since been immortalized on YouTube, users could watch the project now on Twitch. With streaming, you can communicate and connect with viewers immediately. That's why Twitch's cat is often overwhelmed by an avalanche of comments from people wanting to have fun.

This is largely what drove Condren to spread something more tangible in the first place. "I was looking at a bunch of old Minecraft videos where servers would host construction days, "he says. "Twenty or so trusted players have come together to try to create something. The end result would always seem incredible as it was a closed group of people playing with specific instructions – we are building a medieval town, you are building this house, I will make this castle. There was a strong sense of planning and control. "

However, Condren thought that he himself contributed to the concept of construction days. "I thought it might be more fun to give up on that and let people build with a loose direction or theme," he continues. "So, I threw 200 players on a virgin field, saying something like," we're doing a restaurant "and let them get to work."

Part of what makes this peculiarity lies in the fact that it assimilates a plethora of actors into a single space, unified by purpose as opposed to speech. "The only communication between us is the live stream itself, which is already a delayed feed that only allows me to talk to them," says Condren. "I can not hear them and I have no idea what is actually built most of the time.

The way things are structured is also deliberately vague. Participating players have blocks and tools that correspond to the proposed theme, but their use depends on their own will. "It's like planning a construction site without a project," says Condren.

It's not totally disorganized, though. "I have moderators who make sure the theme is tracked and distribute resources to the players, and I can not thank them enough for that," Condren tells me. "But the idea is to let the crowd of players decide how best to represent the theme. It's a totally chaotic experience, but what's remarkable is that it still works. The end result is downright impressive considering the very weak coordination and vague orientation. The construction always comes together.

It's curious to see a project like this come to fruition in a creative collaboration between people who do not even talk to each other. Although it's easy to give up building a coffee in Minecraft as usual, the community aspect of the project makes it extraordinary. It is also sincere and transparent about the fact that it is primarily designed to be fun. "You have 200 people together and a lot of potential," says Condren. "Should we build a famous monument, a temple in the jungle or a city in the sky? No thanks, let's build a franchise cafe. "

This transparency and this unpretentious desire to privilege entertainment are inherent in what makes these flows so accessible. "Part of the comedy of the currents takes a thorny theme and tries to make it impressive," continues Condren. "We had another session during which we tried to build a mansion. It became the headquarters of Yelp, and another where we dug a hole for two hours. The stream was one of my favorites. The end result simply went beyond creativity. In this case, the designated construction site of Condren was located on a small hill, which the players then decided to dig and convert into an arched structure. "Some other players have settled down to build an official cafe with a sea view separate from the main island," Condren adds. "They also built memes. Many terrible memes. "

While Minecraft is an instantly recognizable name, Condren also organizes sessions on Twitch that are a bit more specialized. "I played Keep talking and no one explodes, a game of defusing bombs where one person has a bomb and the other a manual that tells you how to defuse the bomb, "he says. "But the person with the bomb can not see her. I created a stream where I basically gave the manual to chat. I had a collective hive of 3,000 people telling me which thread I had to cut to save my life. It was an experience. "

These are the types of projects that make streaming unique and why communities on Twitch can produce absolute gems. "I'm just trying to find new ways to get my audience involved in my feeds," Condren tells me. "I play role-playing games where I let the cat decide on each major decision. I always let the cat come up with things like character names. If a game supports multiplayer mode, I let my audience join and play with me. A lot of the humor of my flow comes from going back and forth between me and my cat. I therefore try to involve them as much as possible. "

Condren is also extremely grateful for the fact that his discussions are ready to participate in these exciting projects. "Honestly, the support of the past year has been incredible and has completely transformed life," he continued. Since he began investing time and effort in these community projects, Condren's regular audience has grown from 30 to 3,000 people. "There is really a sense of community around the chain and I have made many new friends with her. I really like to be able to entertain people for a living and I will always be grateful to my audience for allowing it. "

"I'm glad it sounds with people, it makes life more interesting, and I'm grateful for it."

[ad_2]

Source link