Press Play to Start: What the emergence of “IRL” streams on Twitch means for gaming


We’re finally back on campus!

Who would’ve thought that, after a year and a half, we would actually return to in-person instruction? 

It’s not as if staying at home really impacted much of my job anyway. I am one of the few lucky sports columnists who still had something to write about during quarantine. After all, video games are designed to be played in the comfort of your home. Even when we’re talking about Twitch, streamers usually stay in their rooms. Usually, that is.

If you’re familiar with Twitch, you probably know what “IRL” streams are. For those who don’t, they’re basically streams where the host is doing something other than playing a video game, usually with an emphasis on real people. 

Because this is such a broad definition, the content of IRL streams tends to be extremely varied. Sometimes, they involve a streamer baking a cake. Other times, the host might perform a really dangerous activity, such as rappelling down a building. Regardless, as long as someone is physically able to do it (and follows Twitch’s terms of service), there’s a good chance someone is out there streaming it.

With more and more people getting fully vaccinated and life slowly getting back to normal, there has been a recent resurgence of interest in IRL streaming, especially when two or more streamers collaborate with each other. And understandably so. 

During the pandemic, Twitch experienced a boom in viewership. This likely means many new viewers started using the platform and developing ties with their favorite streamers during this time. So when there is an opportunity to see their favorite creators in-person, of course fans will be interested. This has led to many meetups and even more overall collaborations over the span of a few months.

While all of this may sound exciting, the reality is that most of these meetups just end up feeling like friends hanging out. That is to say it’s not necessarily bad but also not great content for the viewer either. Sure, it might scratch a particular itch for in-person interaction especially after the pandemic, but once you’ve seen one hangout, you’ve seen them all.

But once in a while, a truly remarkable stream happens that broadens the horizon of IRL content and Twitch in general. In this case, I’m talking about Jerma985’s “Dollhouse” stream.

For those of you who didn’t watch it, the “Dollhouse” stream was a series of three live-streams in which chat “controlled” Jerma in what can only be described as a real-life version of “The Sims.” While Twitch chat controlling the stream is certainly nothing new, what was so interesting about this particular iteration was its overall professionalism. 

Jerma brought together a huge team for behind-the-scenes work, which allowed the entire operation to run similarly to a Hollywood production. Jerma and his team incorporated a Twitch extension that allowed users to modify the house and dictate Jerma’s actions in real-time, discovering a completely new form of content on Twitch.

Unlike other IRL streams that I mentioned earlier, the “Dollhouse” streams were actually planned out, with overarching storylines and entire rehearsals dedicated to getting everything just right. But because the stream was a live production that relied heavily on audience engagement, it also had to account for improvisation. 

The end product was a trio of streams that felt highly polished but still accessible for the average viewer. Naturally, these feelings translated into numbers, with more than 100,000 viewers tuning into the three-part stream.

While other streams have reached similar levels of viewership, this form of engagement is unprecedented on the platform. No one has ever achieved something like Jerma has — incorporating the best features from TV production with qualities unique to live-streaming. 

While it may take a lot of work to produce a piece as tight as the “Dollhouse,” the general formula of planned, live- streamed content still holds up regardless of financial background. After all, it does not take a millionaire to be able to write a story with a beginning, middle and end. 

It does, however, require a writer.

This points to what may become the legacy of such a stream: the overall shift in attitude toward livestreaming as an actually viable and deserving platform to tell compelling stories. 

If more streamers try to follow in the footsteps of Jerma, odds are we will likely see more
well-produced IRL content on the platform, which is bound to turn some eyes in the entertainment industry. Once that happens, it isn’t too far-fetched to imagine a world where people will begin specializing in livestream IRL content. 

Until that happens, though, we’ll just have to wait until the next big IRL stream. Based on the massive success of the “Dollhouse,” it shouldn’t be too far away.

Guilherme Guerreiro is a junior writing about esports. His column, “Press Play to Start,” runs every other Wednesday.