Two mobile phones, a mirror, and two phone stands is all it takes for Filipino streamer Christian Dimaps to entertain viewers by playing League of Legends: Wild Rift on his Facebook Gaming channel Degrees Gaming TV.
Streaming is tough on any platform and usually requires a high-speed internet, one or two PCs, and a camera to host a quality livestream.
For Dimaps, however, access to this equipment isn’t possible. He works as a seafarer in an industry severely disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and doesn’t have high-speed internet or a laptop. The streamer initially tried going live and playing Wild Rift on a single phone. His 5Mbps of Wi-Fi speed, however, isn’t adequate for streaming and gaming on a single mobile phone.
“I couldn’t stream [on a single device] because of the internet speed—it’s really slow,” Dimaps told Dot Esports. “While I am streaming, the game is really laggy.”
Dimaps was determined to find a way to stream Riot Games’ new mobile MOBA game, though. After looking at various ways to do so, his wife pointed out a unique method that a Mobile Legends: Bang Bang streamer was using on Facebook Gaming that could solve his problem. The streamer was using two mobile phones and a mirror to go live.
“I looked at his setup and was like, ‘oh this is interesting, I should copy it,’” Dimaps said.
He wasn’t immediately able to do so, however. Dimaps had a single phone stand and says he had to borrow money from friends to get a second one. He then took his wife’s phone, an OPPO A13, and attached it to one stand while his device, the VIVO V15, was attached to another. His wife’s phone is placed vertically and used for livestreaming while Dimaps uses his personal phone to play the game.
He places this setup on a small table in front of a mirror and sits on a stool. Viewers are able to see a great view of the Wild Rift gameplay and can also see Dimaps in the mirror. He sticks pieces of paper on the phone stand and mirror containing his in-game name and asking the viewers to react and share his stream.
Dimaps connects the phone he’s livestreaming onto the Wi-Fi. The other device is connected to mobile data, enabling him to simultaneously stream and play the game smoothly.
Since he started streaming about three months back, his channel has gained a lot of traction. He has over 2,100 followers currently. But Dimaps is still unsure about his future.
Due to his profession as a seafarer, Dimaps’s company can ask him to sign a contract at any time. This means he’ll be sailing on a vessel for “eight to nine months,” unable to stream.
“Maybe [my community] will be a little lonely because they won’t be able to see me on a daily basis,” Dimaps said. “But if there is time, I’ll try to build my community even if I am not around to stream.”
Dimaps is still unsure about what to do when he has to leave for an extended period of time due to work. One possibility, he says, is to temporarily allow a trusted member of the community to stream on his channel. Until then, he will be streaming daily on his Facebook Gaming page.
When Wild Rift was announced in October 2019, Riot insisted on making it as accessible as possible. The game’s low system requirements makes it playable on a wide range of devices enabling stories like these to be told.
