VTubers are the next step in content creation. Part digital avatar, part human, they have millions of followers on social media. But are VTubers a fad or the future of streaming?
Take a look through the top YouTubers of the moment, and you stumble across Bloo. He has blue hair, deep, wide eyes, and a jolly, outgoing personality. Yet Bloo isn’t the kind of boy-next-door college type you would assume generates 2.5 million subscribers. In fact, he isn’t really at all.
What is a VTuber?
Bloo is one of a new generation of content creators, known as VTubers. He enjoys gaming, particularly Minecraft, and likes to stream games to followers. Yet he is part digital animation, backed by a human.
He isn’t the only popular one, either, with channels dominated by anime-looking creations such as Cookie Swirl C. On the surface, they are 100% artificial, looking and sounding like game characters. Yet behind them, a human controls the movements and voice using technology such as motion capture and face tracking. The rest is done through AI.
Technological Advances Enabling Virtual Avatars
Huge advances have been made regarding this in the blockchain sphere. TimeCoinProtocol is one company that is building a project named GameTomodachi. It is a social Dapp that allows people to meet friends and play games. Crucially, it provides them with ways to play with their favourite Vtubers. As they play games and interact, people buy tickets that provide allotted time frames with which they can engage.
As this works on the blockchain, the preferred method of payment is cryptocurrency. The bitcoin price today has reached its highest level ever, achieving $111,201 in relation to the USD. This has been after a period where it stagnated around the $107,000 mark. This new high is mainly down to increased institutional adoption, combined with innovative solutions for cryptocurrencies such as this. However, its weighty place in the world of finance now suggests that bitcoin may be more of an investment tool as opposed to one used for goods and services.
More likely is an in-game currency based on stablecoin technology. The firm behind this has been working with VTubers in Japan for some time. They have also created a VTuber production, which goes by the name of NeoRad to support content creators, and the list of VTubers backing it is crazy. While these names won't mean much to most people, they include Irodori Mushiki and Shirahari Uni. Essentially, people are taking VTubing very seriously.
The Double Lives of VTubers
Many VTubers have double lives. A recent article in the LA Times shed light on one named Kou Mariya. In her real life, she is a performer, singer, and musician. Yet in the day, she dons a motion capture suit and dresses up as a vampiric K-Pop star. Behind the digital facade, her location and even her name are a closely guarded secret. So big is this phenomenon, she has even played in a live concert. Hosted in Hollywood, the VTubers arrived virtually while a live band played along with them.
Another of these pop stars is Ironmouse. Another anime-style character with horns, she is a member of a whole VTuber group known as VShojo. For a period, she was the most subscribed Twitch streamer of all time. Her past is documented online, but it is hard to know what is real and what is not. Once an aspiring opera singer, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was bedridden. Soon, she began streaming online and hid her face using VTuber technology.
Becoming a VTuber
The biggest outlay when becoming a VTuber is having the right software. You need a good computer that is capable of handling avatar rendering. A processor of at least 2.5 GHz and 8GB of RAM is essential, with at least 4GB of dedicated VRAM also required.
Facial tracking software will be used, but this will only be as good as your webcam. Thus, you need something capable of handling a virtual avatar. Look for the best one you can afford within your budget, from a well-known manufacturer like Logitech. A quality mic to give crisp audio will also be needed.
The next step is to get the right software. You should shop around for this and check reviews and tips in forums. Some may be more suited to your style of VTubing than others. Face-tracking and streaming software are the key bits of kit you require. There are even some free ones like VSeeFace.
You then need to create the avatar itself. There are free ways you can do this, and those with design skills can use Blender. However, if you want something complex and unique, you may have to hire an animator for the process. Luckily, they are available for almost any budget.
After this, it is just a case of planning content. This is hard: A successful VTuber needs to get a balance between having personality and interests, but not giving too much of themselves away. Once you have found this, it is just a case of creating content regularly. With the right approach, you could be earning as much as some of the biggest VTubers online.