Sacramento State students Karenna Miller and Bryan Dosano spent upward of 200 hours combined playing video games in January. Those 200 hours were also spent streaming to a live audience on Twitch.

Twitch.tv is a live streaming website that allows people to watch someone stream video games or other non-gaming content. Much like the way “Friends” or other TV shows have a following, Twitch streamers often build a community around their channel.

Karenna Miller, Twitch name: KarennaM

Karenna Miller, a junior majoring in disability advocacy through performing arts, started playing video games on stream as KarennaM in December of last year. Streaming on Twitch, which provides content for viewers, came natural to Miller.

“I’m an actor by trade and I enjoy entertaining people,” Miller said.

Miller said she became familiar with Twitch by being a part of the Overwatch team for Stinger eSports, as the team often uses the platform to review gameplays.

“I was lacking in the mechanical skills, so I thought maybe I should stream so my coach can give me advice,” Miller said. “I stream about 30 hours a week and 20 of those are Overwatch.”

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When she isn’t playing Overwatch, Miller plays different genres of games, like Minecraft. When she isn’t streaming or going to school, she works at the California State Escape, an escape room business.

“I play escape games,” Miller said. “In my real life, I run an escape room.”

Miller said she started on the multiplayer first-person shooter game Team Fortress 2 about a year ago. It was the first game she started playing outside of using the Wii console.

Miller, who said she streamed into the night over winter break, has streamed about 123 hours in January.

“My average stream length is probably around seven to eight hours,” Miller said.

Streaming long hours is common on Twitch. Just to qualify for affiliate status, an individual must stream at least 500 minutes within 30 days.  

“Probably the biggest issue with streaming is if there is nobody interacting with you,” Miller said.  “You still have to act like someone is interacting with you.”

Another problem streamers often face is being subjected to harassment, and women seemingly encounter more harassment than men.

“People just scroll down and look for a girl with a face cam,” Miller said. “One guy made like twenty fake Twitch accounts saying ‘rape’ and then my name.”

As a streamer, it can be common to have moderators on your channel who will help you ban those people. Miller happens to have a moderator who helps her with those problems.

“Most of the time it doesn’t make me mad,” Miller said. “What does get to me is at least spell my name right or spell abuse right.”

Aside from the occasional harasser, Miller is happy with her stream.  

Twitch made Miller an affiliate two weeks after she started streaming. She streams to an average nine viewers and is usually wearing a beanie.

Watch I have no idea what I’m doing from KarennaM on www.twitch.tv

“So, I have a green screen, and my hair is really blonde,” said Miller, as she began to explain that blonde hair doesn’t seem to register well on green screens.

“I put on a beanie so I don’t look half bald,” Miller said. “If I look over and see myself, I’m gonna be so distracted by my bald head.”

Miller also knits beanies for people who have donated over $20 to her channel.

“I’ve knitted four beanies. It sort of became my brand,” Miller said. “I’ve built up this really cool community. Thankfully they’ve come to stay.”

Bryan Dosano, Twitch name: Lefflite03

Bryan Dosano is a fourth-year kinesiology major who started streaming as Lefflite03 about two years ago.

“I watched other streamers and thought it’d be fun,” Dosano said.

Dosano streamed over 60 hours in January. Before school started, Dosano had a consistent schedule.

“I streamed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. then took a break and started streaming at like 8 or 9 p.m. and went until I was tired,” Dosano said.

Dosano said he’s currently trying to figure out his schedule, so he can post it.

Although Dosano has spent a lot of time on the battle royale game Fortnite, streaming Infestation: The New Z is what helped grow his channel.

Dosano is sponsored by the game. One day, a developer reached out to him after noticing he was playing the game frequently.

“I didn’t know playing a game just for fun can make you be noticed,” Dosano said. “It’s a good feeling.”

When he was sponsored, it helped him become more known in the gaming community.

“Most of my viewers are from that game, and they know I’m sponsored,” Dosano said.

Aside from multiplayer games, Dosano also likes to play games with a story mode when he doesn’t want to be stressed out by people.

“Resident Evil 2 just came out, and I’m trying to get that,” Dosano said.

Dosano has been playing games for about 10 years, calling it his escape route from stress. He first started streaming when he got his computer in May of 2017 and was affiliated two months later.

When Dosano streams he averages anywhere from 25 to 40 viewers. His channel has about 40 subscribers, and he’s trying to get partnered now.

After becoming affiliated and meeting other requirements, Twitch lets you apply for partnership which comes with more benefits.

“At first when I started streaming there would be zero people watching,” Dosano said.

After a couple of weeks, people started to visit his channel.

“People start trickling into your chat saying, ‘Hey, what’s up.’ Then it keeps going and going,” Dosano said. “Making a community for your channel is what kept me streaming.”