YouTuber Tribal Instincts, a.k.a. Jesse, twirls a morning star around his gauntleted hand. A naked gladiator approaches, shoulders the size of tree trunks, with a menacing look on his flattened face. Jesse slices at him, and knocks him to the ground, cutting off his arm in the process. Somehow, the gladiator rises, and comes in swinging, one-armed — so Jesse skillfully removes his remaining appendage. Blood spatters the ground, but the deformed gladiator keeps approaching, only downed when Jesse picks up one of his amputated arms and hits him with it. He’s laughing somewhat hysterically, understandable, as it’s a surreal experience. He’s playing in virtual reality, but his experience is every bit as incredulous for me as I’m watching mixed reality footage of his gameplay on YouTube.
Before we go further, you probably want to know what exactly I mean by mixed reality. In this case, it’s easier to show than tell, so take a look at the following videos for a better sense of what I’m talking about.
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Mixed reality footage also solves the accessibility problem that virtual reality has, where nonplayers feel excluded from gameplay. I believe this issue is far greater than the high cost of the equipment needed to play the games, because it’s understanding the content of the games that makes people want to experience it for themselves, which leads to market penetration for VR.
Think of it like this: When you put a headset on you’re transported, but for people around you, it’s pretty boring. Sure, your squeals and stabs are entertaining, but after a couple minutes, it becomes dull. Mixed reality changes this dynamic by letting you see inside the game as it happens, in a way that you can understand.
A number of YouTubers have taken up the mixed reality mantle and have started building a fan base that’s closely following their mixed reality video uploads. Around 94,000 results are found by searching “mixedreality” on YouTube, and “Mixed Reality” returns 1.4 million. Many of these are likely unrelated to this style of gaming video, but it does speak to the rising popularity of this emerging genre and the attention that should be paid to its early adopters, a new breed of YouTube influencers who merge the virtual and IRL together
They may be niche channels right now, but the same could once be said of PewDiePie, currently valued at around $50 million and for gamer Mark Fischbach/Markiplier who made $5.5 million in 2016 alone. YouTube influencers are greatly desired by brands, and AdWeek reported that 75% of all marketers are investing in influencer marketing — seen as a great way to build their brand and reach their demographic with targeted content.
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Children play virtual racquet ball in the Rocket NX display, at the VRLA (Virtual Reality Los Angeles) expo in Los Angeles, California on April 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
“Gaming is one of the biggest verticals out there,” says Gus Schultz, vice president of talent acquisition at ScaleLab, a YouTube network. “I would see this as a full-time career. A mid level gamer can make anywhere from $2000-$5000 a month, up to $10,000 [for a bigger gamer].” But he says that breaking into this market can be hard, as it’s so saturated. To stand out, he says he’s noticed more 360 videos and more drone footage, but that the virtual reality space is still growing, something he credits to the affordability of the technology, and that it’s hard to make the games immersive. The companies he works with that target gamers are generally on the accessory end, from gaming chairs to snacks, rather than the hardware companies, and he says that Oculus and HTC have not come calling.
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For thirty-year-old Jesse, a.k.a. Tribal Instincts, his YouTube popularity came as a surprise.
“I didn’t start this with the expectation of being a YouTuber,” he says. “I had a Vive early [they went on sale in April 2017] and I knew people who wanted to see it so I started live streaming.”
His early videos are what you’d expect, shaky footage, with his superimposed head in the corner. But then he came across some mixed reality videos by developers and this all changed. He thought it was the coolest thing ever, and with his background as a developer knew he could rig up a way to do this at home.
“I don’t know a better solution for showing virtual reality to people who don’t have it,” he says. “Virtual Reality is fantastic, but on YouTube seeing the standard eye view, it’s not interesting, it doesn’t convert to the viewer what it is that the players experiencing.” He now regularly uploads gameplay, and a quick browse of his channel has him manning submarines, slicing life size hot dogs and aliens and flying a dragon — all performed with entertaining commentary and occasional screams. He’s endearing and engaging to watch, and it’s not hard to imagine legions of gamers creating similar videos.
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Even so, there are a number of mixed reality stars who have managed to address the various technical issues. Here are the top five Mixed Reality YouTubers you should know about:
YouTube channel: Googly Eyes
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Subscribers: [as of April 2017] 11,131
Video views: [as of April 2017] 2,849,989
Most popular video: [as of April 2017] 995,810 views
About: German YouTuber Marcel posts mixed reality videos where he plays racing games.
YouTube channel: Brometheus
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Subscribers: [as of April 2017] 1,837
Video views: [as of April 2017] 322,082
Most popular video: [as of April 2017] 66402 views
About: “Do you enjoy Virtual Reality? Are you planning to become an early adopter of VR? Are you amazed about HTC Vive just like I am?” he writes. His videos are enthusiastic, fun to watch, and his growth is impressive since his channel launched on Oct 24, 2016.
YouTube channel: Node
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Source: Forbes