Twitch is a site dedicated to interactive online video game streaming. It was recently bought by Amazon for around 970 million dollars. My question is: what does this online platform do to the space of play? If players are streaming their playtime live on screen for others to see, then how do other’s interactions with the game affect the way the player plays? How do these online gaming communities expand the space of play? I think that websites such as Twitch can enhance the motivation of a play only in the sense of achievement or ego-boosts a player gets while performing for an audience. However, this leads me to think that Twitch makes play a more superficial performative act once it is broadcasted out. In this sense, does Twitch transform the space of play into instant-gratification? Does play, then, become more about showing skill to viewers than it does about actually defeating the game?
