We chose a livestream as our practical component as it demonstrates the level of audience interaction that has become synonymous with online screen media; by essentially giving the viewers complete control over our actions as the streamers, we are showing how the traditional screen media (such as TV and cinema) has developed from a one-way means of communication into a far more communal experience that can house thousands of members at any given time. It was also intended as a more symbolic response to the loss of control that content creators are experiencing.
The project involved playing the online version of the game Cards Against Humanity. As each black card was played, 2 spectators in a separate Twitch chat would decide which of our white cards to play, giving them complete control of the game. We couldn’t find a way to make messages sent in the chat act as input commands, like what was done in the inspiration for this project, but the spectators were still able to dictate our gameplay by simply discussing in the chat, though any disagreements were decided by us. We believe this experiment effectively portrays the power of the audience in online screen media, and their nature as key components in the medium’s function.
This ultimately raises a worrying point; what will become of content creators in 50 or so years? Given we are already developing forms of online media with this level of direct contribution from viewers, is there a possibility that streamers will someday become obsolete, or at the very least, lose control over the content they’re creating? If we note the rapid growth of this form of content and expect it to continue, it seems possible that eventually, the viewer could ultimately take the role of creator in our increasingly interactive world of media.