As technology advances so does the way we play games. Tabletop RPGs no longer need for every player to sit around a table as the internet allows us to join the game from the comfort of our homes, potentially roleplaying with people from different towns, cities, countries and even different continents. Thanks to the internet we are able to roleplay with no limitations, distance doesn’t hinder us nor do we need to physically appear at the location for a few hours of enjoyment.
As well as this people have also begun to record their RPG sessions, though this brings the question: why? Through making use of recording software there are many people livestreaming their roleplaying sessions, which allows us to watch and be an audience for. In of itself, being a part of the audience is almost as enjoyable as the stream, especially with the interaction that occurs between other viewers and streamers.
But why do people stream their RPG sessions? I’ve asked a few streamers and online dungeon masters for their take on why they personally enjoy streaming and why they enjoy doing what they do.
Using their online aliases, I had the fortune to interview Elacular, DallyDaydream, Cuteless and Newbiespud, all of whom are streamed DMs and roleplayers.
What was your influence for DMing and roleplaying online?
- Elacular: It’s something I’ve always been interested in, especially as I’m a storyteller. I’ve always had partial influences from RPGs, and by DMing I’m able to tell an ever evolving story. What I like about recording and roleplaying online is that people can listen in to the story as it’s another means for a story to be shared.
- Cuteless: Honestly? Because my father told me not to, as well as some partial influence from Newbiespud’s Friendship is Dragons comic.
- DallyDaydream: I’ve always been interested in roleplaying. It had been something I had been doing ever since university, and although I lacked people to play locally once I had finished, being able to roleplay online eliminated that problem for me. I wasn’t initially interested in streaming or being streamed, though Newbiespud’s Fallout is Dragon’s campaign changed that.
- Newbiespud: I’d been roleplaying ever since highschool with some friends, one of whom was my inspiration to become a dungeon master. In my opinion, he was a master storyteller and helped shaped me to become the dungeon master I am now. Slowbeef and Diabetus where my main inspiration to stream, I remember watching them and going “Man, that’d be neat to get into!
Why do you enjoy streaming/being streamed?
- Elacular: The story being told gets shared. It’s not just a private story shared between a small group, anyone can sit in and listen. Seeing as the livestreams are often recorded as well, people can always go back to catch the story from the beginning too. No one has to be left out and can always be up to date if they wanted to.
- Cuteless: It’s cool to see the way people react to events that develop and unfold, be it in a game you’re running or are being a part of as a player. It’s interesting to see it from all sides; viewers can predict something to happen and be completely bewildered and amazed by what just happened as much any player can, players have different reactions as how their player could react can be different from how the player themselves would react – and to witness that kind of conflict first hand is interesting.
- DallyDaydream: As mentioned before, it eliminated the problem of not having anyone locally to roleplay with. Streaming is a great way to record how a session went, you can always go over sessions to see the progression of the story and characters to the the evolution of the players and the world surrounding the game and life itself. It always changes and progresses and recording streams are a great way to rewatch those changes later on.
- Newbiespud: Initially, I wanted to make a podcast. It was something I had always wanted to do. I figured people who were interested in what happened in the campaign would like to know what was going on, but that turned out to be expensive. So I live streamed instead, and have been able to locally record session on Hitbox and post VODs onto YouTube.
What difference between roleplaying online and in a room makes streaming a session superior?
- Elacular: People can be a part of it, even if they aren’t playing. People watch, aliases become familiar, and fans turn into a small community. It’s sweet seeing people join to watch what you do and interact really friendly to one another.
- Cuteless: When you roleplay online you’re not limited to the same group that you know in real life, your options are varied. You experience different roleplayers, different styles of play and undergo completely different experiences, for better or worse, and that’s great. You also get to meet a new people, because of roleplaying online I’d say I’ve met some of the best friends a person could ask for.
- DallyDaydream: When streaming you get to record the stream, you get an actual recording to go back to and recap yourself on whatever has happened prior, you have a permanent log of progression and change ready and available. Not only that, you have a memory you can look back towards and enjoy. As well as this, by looking for roleplaying groups online and streaming you’re able to open your social circles even further, allowing people you may have never even thought about before or met into a familiar space.
- Newbiespud: When you start streaming for a while you eventually obtain some sort of following, from one thing or another. When the people who arrive become regulars you get used to interaction between them and interact more frequently. You aren’t subjected to a name on a screen, you see the person behind it use the alias before you. You may not always get on, but you have interactions between everyone involved, playing or watching. People speculate, laugh, create memes and private jokes. People craft memories, and that’s something special to me.
If you ever want to watch some of these amazing streams you can view them on either DallyDaydream’s Hitbox channel or Newbiespud’s Hitbox. You can also view Cuteless’ and Elacular’s streams via DallyDaydream’s hitbox too, or if you want to ever catch up on some of the older streams you can always view DallyDaydream’s Youtube or Newbiespud’s YouTube