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Interactivity and Community in Video Game Live Streams

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Interactivity and Community in Video Game Live Streams Twitch TV Uncovered – Interactivity and Community in Video Game Live Streams A thesis presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University and the Institute for Communication and Media Studies of Leipzig University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees Master of Science in Journalism (Ohio University), Master of Arts in Global Mass Communication (Leipzig University) Chris J. Vonderlind December 2019 © 2019 Chris J. Vonderlind. All Rights Reserved. This thesis titled Twitch TV Uncovered – Interactivity and Community in Video Game Live Streams by CHRIS J. VONDERLIND has been approved for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, the Scripps College of Communication, and the Institute for Communication and Media Studies by Veronika Karnowski Associate Professor of the Institute for Communication and Media Studies Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University Christian Pieter Hoffman Director, Institute for Communication and Media Studies, Leipzig University ii Abstract CHRIS J. VONDERLIND, M.S., Journalism; M.A., Global Mass Communication, December 2019 3709740 Twitch TV Uncovered – Interactivity and Community in Video Game Live Streams Director of Thesis: Veronika Karnowski Committee Members: Veronika Karnowski, Jatin Srivastava, Rosanna Planer Online media is continuing to transform the media consumption habits of today’s society. It encompasses various forms of content, modes of consumption and interpersonal interactions. Live-streaming is one of the less observed but growing forms of new media content. It combines aspects of online video entertainment and user content creation such as YouTube, and social media such as Instagram, in a live setting. The goal of this thesis is to explore this phenomenon by looking at the video game streaming platform Twitch, and, more specifically, the interactions taking place during the live streams. The central research question of the thesis is therefore: How are the creators of video game live streams initiating and facilitating interactions with and among their audience members? A qualitative analysis is being conducted to find out which types of interactions are taking place during these live streams. Additionally, relevant theoretical concepts, including parasocial interaction, self-disclosure, group identity and co-experience, are applied to evaluate the interactions based on their potential to influence the construction individual and social identities. iii The interactions of five streamers of different popularity levels and from three different types of video games are analyzed based on these assumptions and concepts. The results show that all streams share five major categories for interactions, namely gameplay commentary, topic-based interactions, streamer- and viewer focused interactions, and interactions based on followers and (re-)subscriptions. The manifestations of the theoretical constructs in the interactions show similar tendencies across the streams, although with some considerable variation. iv Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 5 Twitch ........................................................................................................................... 5 Interactions on Twitch .................................................................................................. 7 Individual identification, parasocial interaction and self-disclosure. ................... 12 Social identification, group identity and co-experience. ...................................... 19 Method Discussion............................................................................................................ 25 General Approach ....................................................................................................... 25 Transcription ............................................................................................................... 26 Case Selection ............................................................................................................. 27 Popularity on Twitch............................................................................................. 27 Video games on Twitch. ....................................................................................... 30 Game descriptions. ................................................................................................ 34 Results ............................................................................................................................... 38 Which Types of Interactions are Taking Place During Video Game Live Streams? . 38 Gameplay commentary and analysis. ................................................................... 38 Topic-based interactions. ...................................................................................... 42 Streamer-focused interactions. .............................................................................. 47 Viewer-focused interactions. ................................................................................ 49 Interactions based on followers and (re-subscriptions). ....................................... 51 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 54 How could Interactions between the Streamer and their Viewers during Video Game Live Streams Lead to Individual Identification? ........................................................ 54 Which types of interactions may facilitate different levels of parasocial interaction? ............................................................................................................ 54 Which types of interactions may facilitate different levels of self-disclosure? .... 63 Extended Interpretation ............................................................................................... 66 v How could different levels of parasocialness and self-disclosure influence the development of individual identification between the streamer and their viewers? ............................................................................................................................... 66 How could Group-Based Interactions during Video Game Live Streams lead to Social Identification among the Viewers? ............................................................................. 72 Which types of interactions may facilitate more inductive or deductive group identity formation? ................................................................................................ 72 Which types of interactions may facilitate different levels of co-experience? ..... 76 Extended Interpretation ............................................................................................... 80 How could different forms of group identity and levels of co-experience influence the development of social identification within the stream’s community? .......... 80 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 84 Methodological Critique ............................................................................................. 87 Outlook on Future Research ....................................................................................... 88 References ......................................................................................................................... 90 Appendix A: Transcript of the Streamer Ligmatrix .......................................................... 98 Appendix B: Transcript of the Streamer FMJayce ......................................................... 135 Appendix C: Transcript of the Streamer LoLNatsumiii ................................................. 182 Appendix D: Transcript of the Streamer alkali_layke .................................................... 279 Appendix E: Transcript of the Streamer LiquidCandyy ................................................. 344 vi List of Tables Page Table 1 Key to the Twitch stream layout and its functions ................................................ 8 Table 2 Basic transcription layout (spreadsheet) ............................................................. 27 Table 3 Twitch status and primarily played game of the selected Twitch streamers ...... 33 Table 4 Streamer statistics on the day of recording ......................................................... 55 Table 5 Possible forms of self-disclosure in an interaction ............................................. 64 vii List of Figures Page Figure 1. Layout of a Twitch stream and its features. ........................................................ 7 Figure 2. Structural model for RQ2. ................................................................................. 18 Figure 3. Structural model for RQ3. ................................................................................
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