I'll say it again, because people don't seem to understand it: STREAMING IS NOT A JOB. For those of you Twitch, YouTube, or whatever streaming provider service users you are out there, streaming gameplay or posting recorded videos is not a viable source of income and should NEVER be considered such. While developers, ourselves very likely included in the future, appreciate attention, comments, feedback, even bug reports resulting from something funky happening during play, we very likely have no funds for those playing our games, and it seems unreasonable to expect ad revenue for playing games that others made. I am a huge proponent of game streaming, and I, myself, absolutely adore watching streamers play because you get a window into the skills of many people, with a huge array of games to choose from. I'm a strange gamer: I enjoy playing at times, but mostly enjoy watching others. I'm the same with any kind of media (except books, maybe) - I love the experience, and I love it far more when it's shared with others. Saxxon is wrapping up an all-endings run of Chrono Trigger - a game I've played through once and stopped after two endings myself. He greatly enjoys the game, I greatly enjoy watching him play it, and it's a win-win for the both of us. The thing to note here is, for both of us, it's relaxing - it's something we enjoy, it's a destresser, and it's something we do to pass our time. It's a post-work activity that takes our minds off of things and helps us unwind.
Streaming. Is. Not. A. Job. I've seen lamentations from those who stream lately placing a huge effort into their streams, and that people don't seem to appreciate them; also that they're being "screwed out of cash" by those using ad blocking software. This is where I start getting pissed: streamers play games that, 99% of the time, they have not created, are doing so because they want to, and are simply sharing their experience with others. That's how online streaming began - people wanting to share their gameplay. We began with community gaming in person in arcades, moving to home consoles, moving to emulators with netplay, moving to emulators that recorded button presses in such precision that those outputs could be played back on ANOTHER emulator, independent of a person being there, and the same experience shared. Now that we have means of showing video online, gameplay was recorded with capture tools and posted, and eventually, YouTube and digital capture was possible. FRAPS was a huge means of live streaming until better software came along.. and then Twitch.TV happened. People got into the culture of streaming games, watching games, participating, and becoming a cultural phenomenon as is what happened with the infamous "Twitch Plays Pokémon". I get it. This is a thing, and it won't stop BEING a thing for a very long time.
All said, though, gaming is a hobby. It's a means of enjoyment that transcends generations, genres, platforms, and emotions. Games are an artform that can be appreciated by everyone, as they can utilize any sense a human can perceive. They're interactive, they're engaging, they're useful, they're creative, and they're a means of expression. I understand this all very well.
Streamers, I respect you. I understand what you're doing, but for those of you who think you deserve to profit from your time.. I'm sorry, but I think you're wrong. Taking a person's or company's copyrighted work of art and, in essence, performing it without license for profit is illegal in almost every medium. The fact that game producers allow you to stream things as is is already a deviation from the norm; if you were to screen a movie somewhere and charge for admission and not have the proper authority, license, and profit agreements made, you'd get sued. The fact that some game streamers have a feeling of entitlement to money for their time is just.. wrong. You have to understand why this is - go read up on the advent of public performance, which began with minstrels and performing troupes hundreds of years ago, capitulating in church music and eventually in public performance for the bourgeois. Simply put, charging for something you don't have the right to charge for by the content creators themselves generally yields a healthy amount of legal trouble.
Let it be known that Zero Hour Productions, as of right now, has absolutely no interest in placing ads on our website, sending any kind of solicitation via email, phone, or post, inserting ads into our radio stream, or making spammy games. Both Mr. Bond and I agreed to this when we first started producing content together, and to my knowledge, we have no interest in shoveling that garbage at anyone who consumes our media. We appreciate those of you who read our posts, listen to our shows, and contribute to our banter. We're content creators that still strive to make content longterm, and we don't want to jeopardize that.
There are some websites, streamers, companies, what have you, that provide services that are funded by ad revenue. I understand the concept, and in some applications, the practice is A-OK in my book. I, unashamedly, use an ad blocking plugin. I can't stand watching webpages get mangled, sitting through garbage ads on streaming video websites, or having my reading interrupted online. I block popups, I gratuitously edit my hosts file on my phones if I can, and sometimes, I go as far as blocking ad content on a proxy level. I feel ads are only effective if they're unobtrusive and get their point across quickly and elegantly. By default, I blacklist all advertising online if I can, though certain websites present ads in a pleasant way. I'll use Reddit as an example: while Conde Nast does, indeed, own the company, the ads listed throughout Reddit don't alter the page layout or usability of the site, generally aren't malicious, and engage the user in a style that's representative of the site they're being used on. Reddit's an example of a site that I whitelist in my ad blocking software, and if you want, try it yourself!
Some streamers rely on spammy video ads to make cash, and while I truly do understand the desire for a paycheck, bothering your viewers with garbage only serves to either have them ignore the ad or stop watching your stream. A lot of people do tough it out, and they are, indeed, the ones giving you your fractions of a cent per impression. I don't feel that's fair - while websites that offer free services do have to earn money somehow, gratuitious ad mongering is precisely the kind of thing that will make the anarchist in me cackle with delight as I stomp on those efforts. Streamers, if you have some better way to do things, try it out. I know many of you have donation links, and if you truly feel you deserve them, fine - post them. If people want to give you money for what you offer, all the power to you (so long as it's allowable in whatever service's Acceptable Use Policy lists). Any automatic ad revenue medium will earn an instant ban from me if I can help it - and trust me, I'll work damn hard to get that slime off of my screen.
To recap - those of you who rely on ad revenue for copyrighted works that you DO NOT OWN and EXPECT money for something you enjoy doing.. screw you. The gaming community is something that's been just that - a community - for many, many years, and the sense of entitlement I've seen lately is appalling at best. Attempting to force people to give you cash for streaming is dirty, but if you really need the cash, either provide a service people would find valuable, or allow viewers to donate. Don't force the issue and maybe, JUST MAYBE, people might not be so disgusted with your content.
