Grace and Peace Blerd Fam! If you didn’t know, Twitch is the platform for everything gaming
related and creativity. Whether its gaming, music, or art you can just about find what you’re
looking for on this platform. You can find some of the biggest names in the gaming community there. I wanted to create a spotlight for growing Twitch streamers and content creators that I know you will enjoy. Especially for those that have been affected by the ending of Mixer, I wanted help with their transition to Twitch. Mixer, owned by Microsoft, was a popular live streaming platform for gamers. It was launched in January 2016 as Beam. Some would say that Mixer was in competition with Twitch when it came to the treatment of their partners and business deals. On June 22, 2020, Mixer was scraped by Microsoft because they were unable to compete with other services. Mixer was in an agreement to collaboration with Facebook Gaming and redirected their users there, but most of them decided to go to Twitch. Partnered Mixer streamers were offered opportunities to Facebook Gaming programs.

I want to introduce you to Munchkindoom! So “What’s Their Twitch?”, you can find her at
www.twitch.tv/muchkindoom. You can find her on Twitter at Munchkindoom.

Round 1:

Give us an introduction to who you are and the in and outs about your broadcast. Share
with the class about your Twitch channel and your community.

I’m Candice Townsend, also known as Munchkindoom. I’m a content creator from Brooklyn, NY who advocates for inclusion & authenticity within the gaming industry. I love making people feel welcomed within my community & I have a passion to be one of the most known Black female influencers within gaming.

Tell us about your former Mixer community.

Doomland was a place where we came together as a patchwork family to game, discuss hot
topics & encourage each other to be a better version of ourselves every day. We were a
tight-knit crew of misfits who didn’t really fit in with standard communities. I will say that we do cater more to POC but we are a very diverse group of good souls.

How do you feel about the changes from Mixer to Twitch?

At first, I was very hesitant as I was informed when I started my content creation journey that
Twitch was not a place for me; I was told it was a hostile place for POC. I made my mark on
Mixer but now feel that no matter where I was, the industry can be a hostile place for POC..
However, what you do to combat that will be the key to success. Twitch has EVERYTHING that we were asking Mixer for and more. We later found out that Microsoft was indeed holding the platform back from making the changes that could have made the site a success. Either way, Twitch has a solid foundation and now a new influx of amazing talent.
Twitch is all about games and creativity. What type of content do you stream on your
channel? Honestly, I’m a variety girl at heart. I mainly play survival games, but you can catch me playing Minecraft, Apex Legends, Paladins, or 7 Days to Die, to name a few. I tend to introduce my audience to new types of games to ensure they are broadening their gaming experience. I also do a bit of Just Chatting with my #realtalk moments because sometimes we as a community need to discuss the real things in life in order to become better for the future.

What made you start this journey in streaming and when did you start?

I pretty much stumbled into streaming due to me being unhappy as a COO for a business
brand. I turned on my Xbox one day after neglecting it and found Mixer on the dashboard. I
clicked on it, and watched various streamers and said to myself “You know what? This is hella cool.” This was around Feb 2018. Once I was a mod for quite some time and figured out that the platform was missing the presence of Black female streamers, I set out to be one of the top, and the rest was history.

What are some of the issues and challenges that you’ve faced on Twitch and how did you
overcome them?

My only issue with Twitch now is not responding to my darn partnership app yo! Really though, I don’t see issues with Twitch at the time other than some of their PR fumbles which I plan to make my way up the ladder and hopefully be a part of that change.

What are some of the resources and support that you use, that’s out there for creating a
broadcast on Twitch?

I use OBS, I have a chibi artist that I’ve been working with for over 2 years (look up “Temporarilyawizard” on Instagram), I have an amazing mentor who’s been in this industry for years. Networking & being a resource to others seems to really help a lot; many of us have information on how to do basically anything we can think of. To camera knowledge, graphics, and more, my community has someone who can help you reach the next level.

Blerd is all things nerd and geek through a people of color culture lens. What makes you a
blerd?

Born in Brooklyn, being a girl who taught herself coding and Photoshop early… I wasn’t the
normal “hood girl”. I watched anime like Sailor Moon, would geek out on new games, and love
to learn more about gaming and the culture around it. Sadly, I was one of the only kids who had their own personal computers. I’m like a weird perfect blend of a hood girl gone geek… well… a Blerd.

Round 2:

You’ve only been given 3 games to play for the rest of your life, what are you playing and
why?

Final Fantasy 7: Seriously, why would anyone question this?
7 Days to Die: I just love the sound of zombies heads exploding from my shotgun. Endless
entertainment!
Age of Empires: This is a game I can play for HOURS on end and not get bored with it because the sound of pillaging villages makes me happy.

Which video game character is bae?

Cloud Strife: Again, Final Fantasy 7 is my life and Cloud is just a soul who needs some real
loving and nurturing. I really love the character developments within this story line & I think most men kinda have moments where they lose who they are to have to find themselves all over again. I tend to be Tifa most times!

What’s a game that you absolutely hate but everyone else might like?

I hate Anthem. What they did to everyone with that game was trash asf & I think supporting that game is a waste of time!

Your favorite person is making your favorite dish, who is it and what is it?

My boyfriend Ghost and the dish is jerk chicken cause he learned from me and just knowing he now can cook is a blessing to my heart!

If you could be any superhero who would it be and why?

Storm. She friggin’ controls the weather, she can fly and she got some bad ass outfits. I think it speaks for itself.

Round 3 Final Boss Battle:

-Playstation or Xbox?

Xbox

-Pepsi or Coke?

Coke

-Night or day?

Night because the daylight hurts my skin lol (cue vampire tendencies)

-Summer or Winter?

Summer

-Cat or dog?

Cats. I have 3

-Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network?

CN because they’re lit!

-Fresh Prince or Martin?

Fresh Prince

-McDonald’s or Burger King?

McDonalds

-Super Mario or Sonic?

Sonic