The live broadcasts of Dario Moccia – born in ’90, from Pisa – on Twitch are like evenings with friends: we talk about anything, and we talk about it without restraint, honestly, exaggerating, screaming and joking. But the direct of Dario Moccia they are also something else: they are proof of the existence of a different kind of entertainment. Entertainment that does not need publishers, that does not need third parties, and that despite everything – the poverty of means, the incredible competition; audience fragmentation – it works.
In the space of three years, since he opened his channel, Moccia has been able to transform the legacy of Youtube (he has a channel there too; it’s called “DarioMocciaChannel”) into something different. It gathered another audience, turned to another type of audience, and managed to quickly climb the ranks of the most followed – and loved, and discussed – creators of the Amazon platform. A few days ago, it exceeded 10 thousand subscribers. On average, between 9 and 12 thousand people follow him. He has an evening for everything, for every topic. Either he sees old videos or watches a movie or series with his audience; or talk about manga and cartoons. It makes public: and when it mentions this or that title, the sites of the comic book publishers go offline and the copies are quickly sold out. Interview professionals, artists and colleagues. And he always does it in the same tone. With the same immediacy.
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In a year and a half, Dario Moccia has built a real narrative and editorial universe. With regular guests, with creator-masks, with catchphrases, idioms, with memes and continuous references. And above all he managed to gather around him many talents. The most recent example is his collectible cards. He announced them a few months ago; from Thursday, they are in pre-order on the site of Federic, another streamer. Within hours, they sold thousands and thousands of copies. And now they are sold out.
For this project, Moccia has gathered more than twenty Italian artists: some are newcomers; others are established professionals. He assigned themes and characters. He involved not only his community, but most of the channels he came into contact with. There are rare cards and community cards. And in each of them the same attention and the same maniacal care was poured out. It is a commercial gimmick, of course: in fact, this is the merchandising of his channel. But it is also the celebration of one of Twitch Italia’s most dynamic and interesting realities. Because it is, in its own way, an example (not of perfection, but of intentions). And because it gives a precise measure of the possibilities offered by streaming.
The distances, between the public and the creator, are reduced to the bone. People can donate (any amount) and can subscribe (we are talking about 5 euros per month; for Prime members, there is the possibility to connect their account directly at no additional cost). And they can, above all, comment. Dario Moccia did not focus on gameplay or “reactions” (not only that, at least). But on “just chatting”: on constant interaction with its viewers. And often – it is true – he exaggerates, raises his voice and lets himself go to his character (there is a rather evident division between life online and life offline). During the Friend’s Pub, a weekly appointment on his channel, he talks about any topic – sometimes it is about sex, sometimes about embarrassing situations – always respecting the same spirit. That primordial idea: I am like you, I do the same things you do too; and I can make mistakes, slip, I can make mistakes.
Collectible cards are, in this sense, a symbol. They are the synthesis of his work. In the list of names involved there are: Fabio Di Corleto, Simone Peano, Ilaria Catalani, Agnese Innocente, Walter Baiamonte, Lorenzo Di Santo, Enrico Ercolani (Supersonic Taco), Davide Lazzaroni (Solar Fenice), Michela Magni, Marcello Demuru (Emdy) and Francesca Fedele. And again: Nicola Saviori, Lorenzo Colangeli, Ivan Fiorelli, Denny Minonne, Giulia Di Cara, Alessandro Santoro (Santy Comics), Carlo Cid Lauro, NOVA, Daniele Turturici, Mattia Secci, Alessandro Martorelli (Martoz), Daniel Ingenito, Elite4 (collective more illustrators, ed.), Francesco Guarnaccia, Elisa Menini and Antonio Fiorelli (AFDRAWS). Each has its own style and signature. Some are established cartoonists and designers. Others come from social networks, from Instagram. And then there are boys and girls in their first experience. North, south, center: there is the whole of Italy.
Almost parallel, on another level, there are singers and musicians who have found themselves thanks to Dario Moccia’s channel. One of the most significant cases is that of rapper Venz, who a few weeks ago released his new album, “OFFTHEWALL”. Or there is Morgan No Rarity, who produced, wrote and sang several songs dedicated to the “lore” – to history – of Dario Moccia’s channel. In this reality, there is a constant exchange of energies. And ideas call for other ideas, and little artists manage to find their audience, their voice, a place to belong. And it’s not cheap. Especially today, with the overdose of content that has invested any sector.
But there is also the Tomodachi Band, who met on Moccia’s Reddit forum. And there are small developers, who have created video games dedicated to the channel. Let’s talk about graphic adventures, pixel art titles; of small productions of which demos are already available (such as “Tomodachi Kigen” by Marouken). In the case of the cards (the edition is called “Primo Impatto”, at) is the direct work of Dario Moccia. In the case of songs and video games, no: they are phenomena that have fed themselves, that have found interest and feedback in the community, and that have grown step by step, slowly. And such a thing, online but especially on Twitch Italy, is more unique than rare.
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