WHERE SIMS-IFICATION OF CREATORS CAME FROM.

A new trend in hyper-realistic content is the live streaming of Non-Playable Characters (NPCs). NPCs are individuals in video games who interact with the player character and are pre-programmed to say specific lines. This peculiar trend has TikTokers live streaming themselves repeating certain phrases or movements in a robotic and animated way, mimicking NPCs.

Human creators such as Pinkydoll make up to $10K per live stream for robotically repeating phrases as viewers send her digital gifts. For instance, sending a tip and leaving an ice cream cone icon would prompt 27-year-old content creator Pinkydoll or Ms. Fedha Sinon to say “ice cream so good” or pretend to lick the ice cream on command.

The trend has proved to be a good way for popular content creators like “cherrycrush_tv” and “shu_.tiktok” to earn money from TikTok’s tipping feature that was introduced in 2021. This new format of monetization is turning creators into tools of commodity. Literally becoming a living sim, we guess Lil Miquela, the famous 19-year-old doll living in Los Angeles U.S.A. won. Not only with the whopping 2.7M IG followers but also that the world might be actually going virtual right before our eyes.

Users can spend money on virtual coins which can then be used to buy various icons during the livestreams. When users buy an icon, the symbols appear on the screen as a visual acknowledgment of the tip to which the creators typically react.

WHERE DID THIS TREND COME FROM?

The latest phenomenon emerged last year and was reportedly started by Japanese TikTok creator “natuecoco”, according to the Know Your Meme. In early 2022, she started livestreaming herself wearing cat ears, bouncing up and down repeatedly, and reacting to tips sent by viewers.

She also collaborated with TikTok user “Satoyu727” where both of them pretended to be NPCs in a livestream while seeing who could obtain the most rewards. Since then, "NPC streaming" has been rising in popularity and popping up all over people's TikTok "For You" page.

In the month of September, Ms. Sinon became known for her NPC streams where she performed actions such as popping popcorn with a hair straightener. Clips from her TikTok live streams have notably gone viral on Twitter and other platforms with the phrase “ice cream so good” quickly becoming a popular meme.

“She’s a Sims, I think,” a Twitter user said, referring to the virtual characters in the life simulation video game The Sims.

“She’s not even kind of breaking character and her speech is consistent. I might have to fangirl.”

Some people are fans of her NPC streams while others are confused about the trend.

"I really need someone to explain this to me," one Twitter user commented.

Some users have also expressed disapproval of the latest trend.

"This is very dehumanised behaviour," a user remarked.

This post-truth era has us questioning whether we live in a simulation. 45% of Gen Z have deeply questioned whether truth, facts, or reality exist. Thus, content that plays to this problem is going viral. If you want to explore this trend in terms of your fashion, choose an NPC game character and dress up like them. Here is a few options from us here at SNFM.

Stay tuned for more exclusive coverage in the upcoming SNFM newsletter. Until then, let your imagination unfurl and your style ignite.

Yours in Fashion

SNFM