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This is Miko. She's a virtual streamer who is controlled by a real-life woman known only as The Technician.
The Technician uses the Unreal Engine and a $30,000 motion-capture suit to create Miko.
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The Technician uses the Unreal Engine and a $30,000 motion-capture suit to create Miko.
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The Technician's story starts like that of many other creators:
At the beginning of the pandemic, The Technician was laid off from the animation studio she worked at, just weeks after moving to Los Angeles.
She found herself unemployed and stuck with a $2,000-a-month lease.
At the beginning of the pandemic, The Technician was laid off from the animation studio she worked at, just weeks after moving to Los Angeles.
She found herself unemployed and stuck with a $2,000-a-month lease.
In her words: “I thought, you know what would be the good thing to do right now isn’t to try to look for work. Let me put down $20K and try to make it on Twitch.”
The early days were slow-going. She made $300 a month and was thousands of dollars in debt from expensive equipment.
The early days were slow-going. She made $300 a month and was thousands of dollars in debt from expensive equipment.
But The Technician was a highly-skilled developer *and* she had hustle and grit.
In a typical day, The Technician would wake up at 2:00am to dev, dev until 12:00pm, and then stream from 12:00pm to 6:00pm.
In a typical day, The Technician would wake up at 2:00am to dev, dev until 12:00pm, and then stream from 12:00pm to 6:00pm.
Her stream really began to take off when she let her viewers *interact* with Miko. Viewers could use Bits, Twitch's native currency, to directly influence Miko's appearance and behavior.
It turned out that viewers especially liked to (temporarily) kill Miko. Here's a GIF of it:
It turned out that viewers especially liked to (temporarily) kill Miko. Here's a GIF of it:
Says The Technician:
"My income tripled the day I put in this interaction where the audience could kill me. When I added the nuke and the mute—where the audience could mute me for 30 seconds—I was able to afford my rent and pay off my debt slowly.”
"My income tripled the day I put in this interaction where the audience could kill me. When I added the nuke and the mute—where the audience could mute me for 30 seconds—I was able to afford my rent and pay off my debt slowly.”
Viewers can also spend money to make Miko dance or to change the size of Miko's body parts.
Here, someone decided to make her head really big:
Here, someone decided to make her head really big:
Since November, Miko has grown from 2,000 followers to 700,000. She's one of the most popular streamers on Twitch 
Once a solo operation, she now employs an engineer, an environmental model artist, a character artist, an animator, & a rigger to help her with development.
Once a solo operation, she now employs an engineer, an environmental model artist, a character artist, an animator, & a rigger to help her with development.
VTubers (Virtual YouTubers) have been on the rise. Unlike The Technician, most don't ever show their real faces.
Until now, being a creator was highly public, making it inaccessible to some. Being a virtual creator lets you preserve your privacy, while allowing self-expression.
Until now, being a creator was highly public, making it inaccessible to some. Being a virtual creator lets you preserve your privacy, while allowing self-expression.
Twitch's "Just Chatting" category for non-gaming is its fastest growing, +300% in the last year.
Just Chatting is now bigger than the next 3 biggest categories—League of Legends, Among Us, & Fortnite—combined.
This speaks to people's desire to connect casually with creators.
Just Chatting is now bigger than the next 3 biggest categories—League of Legends, Among Us, & Fortnite—combined.
This speaks to people's desire to connect casually with creators.
Miko is showing that the future of the creator economy is interactive, raw, engaging. It blends cutting-edge tech with old-fashioned creativity.
Miko is defining the future of media.
Miko is defining the future of media.
