Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as streaming, the real time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other forms of streamed media, such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos.
The Potato Sack is the name of an alternate reality game (ARG) created by Valve and the developers of thirteen independent video games to promote the release of Valve's game Portal 2, in April 2011. Valve president Gabe Newell envisioned the game as a "Cross Game Design Event" in December 2010, and allowed the developers free rein to design the game using Valve's Portal intellectual property. The game, requiring players to find and solve a number of puzzles hidden within updates of the thirteen games, led to the opportunity for players to release Portal 2 about 10 hours earlier than its planned release by playing games under the pretense of powering up GLaDOS, the sentient computer antagonist from the Portal series. The ARG's theme of potatoes is based on plot elements within Portal 2, specifically that for part of the game, GLaDOS's personality module is run off a potato battery.
Twitch is an American video live-streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and "in real life" streams. Twitch is operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon. It was introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of the general-interest streaming platform Justin.tv. Content on the site can be viewed either live or via video on demand. The games shown on Twitch's current homepage are listed according to audience preference and include genres such as real-time strategy games (RTS), fighting games, racing games, and first-person shooters.
John Patrick Douglass, better known as jacksfilms, is an American YouTuber, videographer, and sketch comedian, best known for his series' Yesterday I Asked You and Your Grammar Sucks, in which he commentates on content sent by fans.
War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat multiplayer video game developed and published by Gaijin Entertainment. Announced in 2011, it was first released in November 2012 as an open beta with a worldwide release in January 2013; it had its official release on December 21, 2016. It has a cross-platform format for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Oculus, and Vive. A spinoff game called War Thunder Mobile was released in May 2023 for Android, with an iOS version released in August 2023.
Mark Edward Fischbach, known online as Markiplier, is an American YouTuber, actor and filmmaker. He mainly uploads Let's Plays and is known for his videos of indie horror games. After joining YouTube in 2012, Fischbach became popular on the platform with Let's Plays of Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010) and the Five Nights at Freddy's series. As of March 2024, his channel has over 36 million subscribers.
A jump scare is a scaring technique used in media, particularly in films such as horror films and video games such as horror games, intended to scare the viewer by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, jarring sound. The jump scare has been described as "one of the most basic building blocks of horror movies". Jump scares can startle the viewer by appearing at a point in the film where the soundtrack is quiet and the viewer is not expecting anything alarming to happen, or can be the sudden payoff to a long period of suspense.
Jesse Louis Cox is an American YouTube gaming personality, comedian, voice actor, media commentator and video game producer. He is the owner of the YouTube channel previously named OMFGcata, a gaming channel on which Cox posts most of his content. As of February 2024, the channel has over 1,000,000 subscribers.
VRChat is an online virtual world platform created by Graham Gaylor and Jesse Joudrey and operated by VRChat, Inc. The platform allows users to interact with others with user-created 3D avatars and worlds. VRChat is designed primarily for use with virtual reality headsets, being available for Microsoft Windows PCs and as a native app for Android-based headsets such as Meta Quest, Pico 4, and HTC Vive XR Elite. It is also usable without VR in a "desktop" mode designed for either a mouse and keyboard or gamepad, and in an Android app for touchscreen devices.
Paul Michael Joseph Denino, better known as Ice Poseidon, is an American Internet personality, and live streamer, primarily of the video game Old School RuneScape and the IRLTooltip Real life genre. His peak prominence came in 2017 when his IRL streams became popular. He is best known for his IRL streams, which he describes as "life streaming". Rolling Stone named Denino as a "pioneer 'life streamer'".
James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson, better known by his online alias MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, online personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for his fast-paced and high-production videos, which feature elaborate challenges and large giveaways. With over 250 million subscribers, he is the most-subscribed individual on YouTube and the second-most-subscribed channel overall.
The Backrooms are a fictional concept first mentioned on a 2019 4chan thread. One of the best known examples of the liminal space aesthetic, the Backrooms are commonly depicted as an extradimensional space containing impossibly large expanses of empty rooms accessed by "no-clipping out of reality" in certain areas.
Among Us is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game developed and published by American game studio Innersloth. The game allows for cross-platform play; it was released on iOS and Android devices in June 2018 and on Windows later that year in November. It was ported to the Nintendo Switch in December 2020 and on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in December 2021. A virtual reality adaptation, Among Us VR, was released on November 10, 2022.
Phasmophobia is a paranormal horror game by British indie game studio Kinetic Games. The game became available in early access for Microsoft Windows with virtual reality support in September 2020. In the game, one to four players work to complete a contract where they must identify the type of ghost haunting a designated site. It is based on the popular hobby of ghost hunting.
Michael Reeves is an American YouTuber and Twitch streamer who produces “comedy-tech” YouTube videos. He is a member of OfflineTV, an online social entertainment group of content creators.
Poppy Playtime is a 2021 episodic survival horror video game developed and published by American indie developer Mob Entertainment. Set in the year 2005, the player takes the role of a former employee of toy-making company Playtime Co., who revisits its abandoned toy factory 10 years after its staff's mysterious disappearance. The player navigates through a first-person perspective and must solve puzzles, some requiring a gadget named the GrabPack, to progress while avoiding various enemies.
Crab Game is a free-to-play video game developed and published by Norwegian indie developer Daniel Sooman, also known as Dani. The game was initially released for Linux and macOS on Itch.io and for Windows on Steam on 29 October 2021; the Linux and macOS editions were later released on Steam on 16 November. Based on the Netflix series Squid Game, players compete with each other in minigames in order to be the last one alive.
Lethal Company is a cooperative survival horror video game created by Zeekerss. It was released in early access in October 2023 and gained popularity on the Steam storefront.
Buckshot Roulette is a 2023 short indie tabletop horror video game developed and published by Mike Klubnika on itch.io. It was released on Steam by Critical Reflex on April 4, 2024, to coincide with a new update. The game has been likened to the 2021 roguelike game Inscryption, featuring gritty and industrial visuals as opposed to Inscryption's more rustic and mythical style. Klubnika developed the game in the Godot game engine, and also composed the game's soundtrack.
