I've been in content creation and the video game industry for a long time, and in that time I've found myself answering the following questions:
What can I do as a cis ally to support trans people online?
Nika as 'Kahruhn' in the TTRPG campaign 'Gatewalkers'
Speak up for trans people. In an increasingly hostile world, use your voice to help amplify the voices of your trans siblings, neighbors, and friends. We want to exist.
What made you realize you were trans?
Video games, specifically the Sims and other games with feminine playable characters were instrumental in my exposure to gender expression and identity as a kid.
How can the video game industry foster this kind of positive feedback loop with trans gamers?
With the prevalance of MMORPGs and other elaborate RPG-style games, the video game world has never seen such ease of access to playing a character which feels authentic to the player's gender identity. There is still a lot of work to do in terms of representation in the video game industry (hiring of trans people at video game companies, especially in the writer's rooms and creative side) but I think we are generally experiencing a positive trend in that regard.
"Do you have any tips on becoming a Twitch streamer?"
Audio. Audio. Audio. Audiences will tolerate poor screen resolution. They'll tolerate bad graphics. They'll tolerate most any basic visual thing but nothing will make audiences leave faster than poor audio.
Aside from audio, building confidence in your voice and learning to talk to yourself is key. You'll be talking to yourself a lot, so learn how to have fun with it. Building a relationship with your chat is key. Don't stress about viewership, it comes and it goes and there's not much you can do about it in the long term. Stream because it is fun, and if it stops being fun for you, your audience can tell.
"How do you do all that crazy stuff with OBS?"
I have several hundred scenes in OBS, and I add more all the time. Organization is key, and learning to nest scenes within scenes is fundamental to the process. Learn about OBS extensions, try them out and don't be intimidated by the level of technical jargon out there. And come visit my stream and ask me in person, I love talking about OBS stuff!
"Where can I learn more about Issliss / Plainview / The Nikatine Stream"
