
Having finished all 12 hours of the 2018 Gaming and Giving stream, I've now started on the 2017 one. This will sound odd, but: I'm loving how much less professional they are. They're all cramped into a tiny little studio, and Alex apparently hasn't bought his CEO blazers yet and also has glitter all over his face, and Lydia is eating cake (which Anil baked himself?), and they're all kind of surprised that someone in Canada is watching. It all feels less like a performance (though of course it is a performance) and more like people just playing games together.
For me, watching the stream is not that far from the experience of actually hanging out with people. In groups I tend to go quiet and listen hard (because I find it difficult to follow when many people are talking) and observe. So . . . this sort of replicates human contact, but in a low-stakes way because I don't have to worry about what kind of impression I'm making or whether people like me!
(I am both comforted by this and slightly saddened. Envying other people's social ease--even the social ease of manifest and self-proclaimed geeks--is very me.)
Other good things: Bryn is there! Jonny is complaining about Christmas while wearing a Christmas jumper! Mike is still lovely! Alex looks much less stressed than in 2018!
Hopefully by this December life will have normalized enough that they'll be able to do a livestream. I'd like to watch live this year, schedule permitting.