Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Nicki Minaj has gotten many gifts as she joined NPC trend on TikTok live.
TikTok has brought forth plenty of interesting trends since its inception. The latest one taking over the internet is NPC streaming. If you’re not familiar, the acronym stands for “non-playable character,” and finds users acting like video game extras while taking direction from those tuning into their broadcasts, usually in exchange for money. PinkyDoll is one of the best-known TikTokers blowing up thanks to her NPC posts and streams, though it seems Queen of Rap Nicki Minaj is coming to give her a run for her money.
On Sunday (August 13), a video from the mother of one’s latest Live quickly began making rounds. “A TikTok gun, it’s sending out money,” Minaj says in a robotic-like voice as viewers add on-screen effects to her face and background. “Oh, it’s a microphone. Y’all know what I do on that mic. I dest- I destroy these h*es. Whoa, a cake! Um, something from medieval times,” she continues, trying to keep up with the never-ending random objects being thrown at her.
TikTok non-playable character (NPC) Pinkydoll was slammed online for allegedly lying about her age on the social media platform. The TikTok star, who boasts a massive following of 463K followers on the platform, currently claims to be 19 years old, however, has previously claimed that her birthday is on April 22, 1996, which makes her 27.
In the game world, a non-playable character (NPC) is a character having a set of preprogrammed behaviors that the player cannot alter or control. Pinkydoll’s live TikTok streams attract thousands of viewers who send her “gifts” in the form of carnations, ice cream cones, cowboy caps, and various other emoticons.
The TikTok trend has so far escaped any kind of large controversy, but it may illustrate a growing desire for relatively mindless content. The creators cosplaying as NPCs are almost AI-like, and watching the videos feels like a concrete shift from reality. But as PinkyDoll told Vice, she doesn’t care what people think. TikTok loves her.
The TikToker responds to these gifts in the same way a real NPC would with predetermined, repetitive answers. As per The NY Times, if anyone sends her an ice cream cone, she reacts with a slurping voice and adds “mmmm, ice cream so good,” in a “s*xy baby” voice.
After the news of Pinkydoll allegedly lying about her age went viral, Twitterati was shocked and furious. Several users called her out for doing something this “weird” and “catering to p*dophiles” online who look for younger girls. Others said she did it for the money and that the “pervs” would like her better if she was younger.
TikTok creators are embracing a peculiar new live genre in which they stream themselves acting like non-player video game characters.
Viewers of such streams become the puppeteers of real-life NPCs, which in the gaming world are typically bystanders in stories programmed to speak only from predetermined selections of dialogue options. Creators can earn “tips” from viewers, who are able to buy virtual coins to spend on cartoon gifts that can be converted into real money. During NPC streams, gifts activate specific phrases or actions — performed with the same automated-sounding tones and motions every time.
The streaming genre got widespread attention when creator Pinkydoll went viral for one of her repeated phrases, “ice cream so good,” which she says every time viewers gift her virtual ice cream cones. Pinkydoll, whose 553,000 TikTok followers include rapper Timbaland, has stirred so much confusion and intrigue that she earned her own entry in the database Know Your Meme.
“I realized being an NPC streamer is kind of the same as a traditional streamer, where usually when somebody donates or subscribes, they say thank you,” Chen said. “But as an NPC streamer, the streamer will make a reaction to the gift as their way of saying thank you.”
TikTokers Natuecoco and Satoyu727, both of whom initially found success adopting anime character personas in their videos, were some of the earliest to pivot to NPC streaming. During their streams, they perform mannerisms and voice effects often seen and heard in anime-style video games.
And it turns out PinkyDoll’s streams, and those of other NPC performing creators, have paid off, thanks to a TikTok Live feature that allows users to pass on “gifts” that turn into monetary rewards.
TikTok users can send these little virtual coins — which come in various forms including dinosaurs, ice cream cones, and roses – to creators while watching livestreams, and they can be redeemed for payment. One TikTok coin is worth around $0.01. PinkyDoll reportedly makes anything from $2,000 to 3,000 per stream, and counts Timbaland as one of her biggest supporters.
