Remember during the pandemic when everyone was looking for something to do?
Each week, there was always a new fad. Whether it was making Dalgona Coffee, creating TikToks, or streaming video games, there was something for everyone.
For me, that activity was livestreaming.
Before the pandemic happened, I was already dabbling in streaming but it wasn’t a serious commitment like my other hobbies.
My streaming journey all started with me doing well in an inter company e-sports tournament back in 2019.
One thing led to another and I started streaming Mobile Legends tournaments for the office using an app called Omlet Arcade. Thus, my streaming journey had officially begun.
Streaming during the pandemic was a great experience.
I learned how to use OBS and even had custom assets made complete with backgrounds. I learned green screen tricks, made some friends and even had a sizable following on Facebook.
Two key moments defined my journey: discovering the VTuber Gawr Gura of Hololive EN in September 2020 and a Genshin Impact stream in late 2021. During the Genshin stream, a viewer pointed out that I looked bored.
I remember it clearly that day, a comment in chat from a friend. It said “You look bored”.
That comment made me reassess how I presented myself.
Fast forward to January 2022, I transitioned to Twitch.
The foundation had been laid out and all that’s left was the debut – there it was, the frog was born.
As a new VTuber on the block, seeing all these weird, wacky Japanese-inspired names was a rush.
You would see their chats ablaze with community interactions. All these emotes floating about and the donations just getting more extravagant by the moment.
I wanted in and the research started.
From my research, it all boiled down to doing collabs and making a name for yourself.
Although corporate VTubers were harder to collaborate with, independent VTubers were more approachable.
Reaching out to bigger name VTubers at the time wasn’t as difficult since everyone was open to collabing.
Each week, I would make an announcement post. I would also commission art, all for the purpose of elevating my brand (or what I thought was a brand) and streams.
I tried creating streamer groups and scheduling popular games for my streams, hoping for a breakthrough that never came.
As the pandemic began to ease, life started to catch up.
People weren’t watching streams like they used to.
Viewership declined and streaming became more challenging. The highs weren’t as easy to attain and while the technology improved over time, keeping up was becoming more of a chore. It was hard to stay consistent, even if the passion was still there.
These days, I stream for fun.
I remember a friend of mine always telling me, “In for a good time not for a long one” and it stuck.
Before I would stream for days, sacrificing my sleep. Until now I still question why I spent so much time and money on certain games (looking at you Genshin Impact!)
But now I go for games and content I enjoy.
Some would say that I wasted so much effort on streaming back then but it’s what led me to where I am now.
The experiences and friendships I gained through streaming led me to my current career and brought along lifelong friends.
I’ve always told my friends that I aim to be the kind of streamer I would enjoy watching. Looking back, I believe I’ve succeeded in doing just that.
