Gabriel- Disabled Gamers Streaming
Greetings, Dear Reader, it has been a long while since I've graced your bookworm eyes with my writing. I want to talk about the aspects of disabled gamers streaming themselves live. Firstly, to a Witch Hunter combating Ableism in a Scorched Earth manner who is eager to point out how patronizing it is for such things to exist: Please, put that accusatory finger down and listen.
These streaming websites were made to be accessible for us disabled folks who are unable to find employment through conventional means and a source of social stimulation who are homebound and/or oppressed by unsavory individuals prowling about in the streets. I am one of those disabled folks and I regret not jumping on the bandwagon earlier in my life, circumstances permitting. When I started to stream, I was already met with skepticism and resistance by a-holes, including local riff-raff and distant toxic fam-members, projecting their insecurities & abandonment issues onto me but much to their chagrin: Twitch's Security Team was quick to remove these trolls out of my chat, they went out kicking & screaming to other socials. As I got back into my groove, I noticed my alert box kept pinging new followers back-to-back; 1 hour turned into 2, 2 turned into 3 and so forth. I even earned a tip of $13.37 which I already spent on a subway sammich! Last year, I ran a charity stream for the benefit of the AMC Support group for 6 hours but unfortunately it didn't take off due to others missing the memo even after I announced it the beginning of the specific month -however- I was raided by multiple friendlies at the 5th hour, receiving new followers and such considering I was running on old hardware from 2007ish.
My followers were genuinely interested to know me and see how I played my games with my lobster claws for hands as I ran a dual webcam setup after many trial & errors with Open Broadcasting Software aka OBS and I enjoyed talking to them, answering their respectful questions with humility. I did not feel lonely throughout my streaming sessions for I feel it to be a healthier source of consuming media; felt great to be a "creator" in lack of better terms. The longest I streamed to was 6 hours and 15 min narrating the storyline of Final Fantasy 14: Realm Reborn, peaking at 7 viewers without the help of other friendly channels who do not mind sending their fans to me: My jaw was sore after I ended the stream, it hurts so good. This has provided my mental health a huge positive boost for it keeps my mind occupied from wondering into dark places, one can call it an unconventional form of "Occupational Therapy". As much as I've been doing this, I have not yet reached "Affiliate" level which allows me to earn bits, subs, and deploy custom emotes due to unfortunate real-life obligations requiring my utmost attention. I am not the only one who is an AMC Streamer for I have discovered others and inspired another to hop on the wagon:
https://www.twitch.tv/brolylegs
https://www.twitch.tv/deafpunkk
https://www.twitch.tv/thatravingcat87 <---Me lol
Giving credit where credit is due: I want to pass my thanks to Steven Spohn for keeping the disabled gaming community together. He runs a charity called "AbleGamers" which makes adapted controllers and settings for each disabled individual who reaches out and wants to add to the table.
https://twitter.com/AbleGamers
https://twitter.com/stevenspohn
https://www.twitch.tv/steveinspawn
https://www.twitch.tv/ablegamers
In conclusion, if you are such an individual that has a desire to start streaming and looking for a sign of good omen: This is it. We will make sure you have a safe time on Twitch and other streaming sites. Not only Gamers are welcome, even Creatives (Cooking, Art, Singing, etc) are encouraged to stream!