Who is Tiktoker, PinkyDoll, who makes $2,000-$3,000 per NPC stream?

Who is Tiktoker, PinkyDoll, who makes $2,000-$3,000 per NPC stream?

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.

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.

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.