The Reflection That Streaming Reminds Me Daily of the True Value of Gaming: Community.
March 20, 2018 was the day that I created an account on Twitch, one of the world’s leading live streaming platforms for gamers and content creators alike. Over the last two years, I’ve been able to not only learn in-depth about the platforms and other streaming platforms alike (i.e. Mixer, YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, Caffeine, etc.), but have been fortunate to both support and connect with fellow gamers and content creators, especially those who look like me. Last night reminded me of why I have so much love for gaming, as well as seeing the true value of the gaming industry: Community.
I didn’t really get back into gaming like I did when I was younger until about Spring 2018 after finishing my undergraduate program at my alma mater, Howard University. Between 2009-2014, from joining the United States Army active duty to then transitioning into finishing my bachelor’s degree, I honestly did not have much time to be able to sit and enjoy gaming like I used to. Growing up though, you could definitely say I was a video game junkie. Everyone around me knew how much I enjoyed the times spent with my Super Nintendo, Nintendo Game Boy Color, Nintendo Game boy Advance, PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and Xbox 360 (just wanted to list everything that I remembered owning back then…haha). Surprisingly, I even dabbled in a little bit of PC gaming. I wanted to be a part of any and every type of gaming back then, as I was just a little boy of youth with his games.
It wasn’t until I got back into gaming via PlayStation 4 near my 27th birthday (yeah..definitely skipped a couple gaming generations or so), that I was re-immersed into the space that I grew to fall in-love with as a child. Getting my hands back onto the PS controller put me back into a space-time continuum vortex to that exact moment I picked up that Super Nintendo controller. My imagination felt similar to running wild when I was younger…being able to imagine myself doing things like being a part of that story within the game, to being able to imagine myself doing nonhuman actions like jumping 2 stories with a single jump and shooting fireballs out my hands.
One thing that I didn’t have back then that I do now; however, was a sense of community within the space…more so beyond just playing with my three younger sisters and childhood friends. The gaming community related to streaming has affirmed me of how much I appreciate the ability to not only support, but to connect, get to know, acquaint, and in some cases, befriend others who enjoy being a gamer. In my two years in the streaming space, starting at Twitch, I’ve been able to be a part of a gaming community organization, able to have met folks from that space in real life (multiple times),to being able to attend gaming conventions such as BlerdCon and PAX South, to being able to visit Twitch Headquarters earlier this year, to now having a network of hundreds of gamers and content creators in relations to my professional field of journalism and communications.
Now, let’s clear, when I first started on Twitch, I did not bother to stream for the first six months or so. That six months, I started just like any other new user to just roam the space. I’ve started with watching the many streamers of big influence, but after a couple months, wondered where were the black and hispanic gamers out there that looked like me. That’s when I was referred by a colleague to look up certain organizations that related to my identity. I then even moved forward to attempting to do my own streams, starting with streaming through my PlayStation 4 to later now having a gaming PC. Fast forwarding to today though, let’s just say, I’m glad that it went the way that it did. By no means have I seriously thought about the goal of being a full-time streamer, partner, etc., but I simply just wanted to be in space.
So in 2020, I remind myself in the short time that I’ve been in this space (and still learning everyday), to appreciate the aspect of connecting with other human beings through this thing called gaming. And of course, gaming is the introduction of other similar areas of interest when it comes to human interaction, but just wanted to give that true view that the true value of this gaming industry is how the foundation was built to begin with: Community. Community. Community.
UPDATE [3/25/2020]:
Please enjoy this great, in-depth conversation that I had with content creator Andrew Alliance & The Show Radio: A Video Games Podcast about my military/journalism background, gaming, and why community is so important within the video game industry. This was recorded on 3/20/2020 (my 2-Year Twitchversary). Take a listen and enjoy!
Watch Iron Sharpening Iron ft. @Tru1P⚡ from Uriyya on www.twitch.tv
Episode 526 – Be All That You Can Be ft. Paul Holston | @Tru1P
Twitch: https://t.co/7oTuxPNWPJ?amp=1
Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/Smy8QY22cs?amp=1
Spotify: https://t.co/N92Z4ElZmW?amp=1
-Tru1P
