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CodeMiko
Korean American streamer and YouTuber

Youna Kang (born 27 February 1990), better known by her online 3D Virtual YouTuber persona CodeMiko and alias The Technician, is a South Korean-American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. Kang is best known for her live streams on Twitch, for interviewing other streamers, content creators, and internet personalities as her alter ego persona CodeMiko, and for pushing the envelope with regards to interactivity in VTuber technology.

Kang created the CodeMiko persona using Unreal Engine, a motion capture suit from Xsens, motion capture gloves from Manus VR, and a facial tracking helmet from MOCAP Design. The CodeMiko avatar is composed of 36,000 polygons, modeled in Autodesk Maya, and textured using Adobe Substance. While Kang originally created CodeMiko alone, the project is now being developed by a team consisting of an engineer, an artist / animator / rigger, a publicist, a personal assistant, and a manager.

Kang now focuses on leading the development effort on broadcasting and idea generation. Kang is focused not just on broadcasting but rather on introducing new standards of interactivity with her audience. CodeMiko's virtual environment is designed to be quasi-interactive, meaning that viewers can influence and modify the CodeMiko avatar and surroundings by engaging in live stream chat or by donating money.

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Career

Kang came up with the idea of CodeMiko while working at Nickelodeon.12 After being laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic,13 she decided to pursue streaming full-time.14 Early on, she made around $300 per month from Twitch, which could not cover rent.15 This move was quite risky considering that Kang went into debt to acquire the Xsens Mo-cap suit,16 in total, she accumulated over $20,000 in debt in order to get the setup she needed. She has attributed her success to this debt and her poor risk management. 1718 Kang states that, since CodeMiko project has been a success, she can now afford a comfortable living.19

Streaming

Kang had her streaming breakthrough in 2021. She has attributed her sudden rise in popularity due to having a viral tweet on Twitter20 and going viral on r/LiveStreamFails on Reddit.21

CodeMiko

The CodeMiko avatar's in-universe backstory is that she is a video game character without a game. She had always wanted to be in a mainstream video game but never succeeded in doing so due to her 'Glitch' (a story arc very similar to Vanellope von Schweetz from the Wreck-It Ralph franchise). CodeMiko has expressed that she was forced to take smaller roles, such as a bush in The Last of Us, following the archetypical story of the struggling Hollywood actress, someone who just wants to be in a movie, any movie, but for Miko, any video game.22 She finally managed to find her way into Kang / The Technicians Unreal Engine project, thus becoming a Twitch streamer.23 She is currently roaming different game worlds, looking for a place she will fit in. So far, she has visited the world of dead memes and The Sims.

The CodeMiko avatar is aware of the Technician and frequently breaks the Fourth Wall, both indirectly through cross-over interviews such as CodeMiko interviewing the Technician,24 and directly through the use of augmented reality.25

The "glitchiness" of the CodeMiko character is expressed and explored through her sometimes glitching into her evil alter ego avatar, simply known as "Glitch", exchanging her usual pink-haired avatar for a semi-transparent Matrix digital rain-inspired avatar. The "Glitch" avatar is additionally distinguished by having a deeper and hoarser voice achieved through the use of a voice changer. Glitch is very profane and seeks to offend.

It was assumed that CodeMiko was originally released and developed under the name 'mikoglitch',26 only to be dropped as it conflicted with 'Miko Kubota' of Glitch Techs - but in a VOD,27 Youna said, "this is not true" and explained how she created "mikoglitch" to bypass the temporary shadow ban on her "CodeMiko" channel.

The interview show has been compared to the 1990s animated parody talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast.28 On CodeMiko, Kang said, "She's kind of stupid, unfiltered, and not afraid to say whatever is on her mind or what she sees."29

PogChamps

CodeMiko participated in the online amateur chess tournament PogChamps 3 in 2021. She placed last with 4 losses and 0 wins, along with streamer Myth.30 She was coached by PogChamps coaches, WGM Anna Rudolf31 and Andrea Botez.32

TOS PTSD

Kang has described having developed "TOS PTSD" following her unintentionally breaking Twitch's terms of service (TOS) and subsequent receiving bans,3334 leading to her developing economic anxiety and seeking help from psychiatrist and Twitch streamer Alok Kanojia on stream.35

Kang has expressed worries about Twitch's introduction of a "Brand Safety Score" system,36 with regards to how her X-rated jokes and humor may not be advertiser-friendly content and thus may threaten her income potential on the platform. She has since described how her worries lessened as she came to be sponsored by several brands.37

Reception

The CodeMiko project has generally been positively received, with Kotaku describing CodeMiko as "The Future Of Streaming"38 and Designboom stating that she is "Revolutionizing the digital space".39 The Financial Times have reported that her content might be signalling "The next frontier of digital entertainment",40 while Quartz has reported CodeMiko as "The talk show host of the future".41 The Verge has reported CodeMiko as someone who is "reshaping the Twitch landscape in her image".42

The project has also received interest from several producers of sexually explicit content.43

Awards and nominations

CeremonyYearCategoryResultRef.
SIGGRAPH Asia Award Winners2021Best in ShowWon44
Streamy Awards2022Best VTuberWon45
The Streamer Awards2021Best VTuber StreamerWon46
2023Best Software and Game Development StreamerNominated47
The Vtuber Awards2023Best Tech VTuberNominated48

See also

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CodeMiko.

References

  1. "CodeMiko: An Interactive Vtuber Experience". SigGraph Asia 2021 Tokyo. 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2022. https://sa2021.siggraph.org/en/attend/real-time-live/6/session_slot/812 ↩

  2. Marsh, Jack (20 January 2022). "Botez Sisters, JustAMinx, And CodeMiko Unveil Brand-New Envy House". GGRecon. Retrieved 21 January 2022. https://www.ggrecon.com/articles/botez-sisters-justaminx-and-codemiko-unveil-brand-new-envy-house/ ↩

  3. "Pokimane Cancels CodeMiko". YouTube. 29 December 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGuqMeS_tHA ↩

  4. Barandy, Kat (12 January 2021). "Technician and streamer CodeMiko is revolutionizing the digital space". DesignBoom. https://www.designboom.com/technology/codemiko-virtual-streamer-twitch-01-12-2021/ ↩

  5. The face tracking helmet utilizes an IPhone X for its depth camera /wiki/IPhone_X ↩

  6. The motion capture and facial tracking data is fed into Unreal Engine using the LiveLinkPlugin ↩

  7. Barandy, Kat (12 January 2021). "Technician and streamer CodeMiko is revolutionizing the digital space". DesignBoom. https://www.designboom.com/technology/codemiko-virtual-streamer-twitch-01-12-2021/ ↩

  8. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  9. Robison, Kylie (28 May 2021). "This former designer explains how getting laid off inspired her to create CodeMiko, a 'virtual' Twitch star that's now successful enough to be her full time job". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/codemiko-technician-twitch-virtual-character-streaming-design-2021-5 ↩

  10. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  11. Barandy, Kat (12 January 2021). "Technician and streamer CodeMiko is revolutionizing the digital space". DesignBoom. https://www.designboom.com/technology/codemiko-virtual-streamer-twitch-01-12-2021/ ↩

  12. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  13. Robison, Kylie (28 May 2021). "This former designer explains how getting laid off inspired her to create CodeMiko, a 'virtual' Twitch star that's now successful enough to be her full time job". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/codemiko-technician-twitch-virtual-character-streaming-design-2021-5 ↩

  14. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  15. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  16. Stephen, Bijan (7 April 2021). "CodeMiko will see you now - Chatting with Twitch's newest virtual talk show star". TheVerge. https://www.theverge.com/22370260/codemiko-twitch-interview-stream-technician ↩

  17. Stephen, Bijan (7 April 2021). "CodeMiko will see you now - Chatting with Twitch's newest virtual talk show star". TheVerge. https://www.theverge.com/22370260/codemiko-twitch-interview-stream-technician ↩

  18. Robison, Kylie (28 May 2021). "This former designer explains how getting laid off inspired her to create CodeMiko, a 'virtual' Twitch star that's now successful enough to be her full time job". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/codemiko-technician-twitch-virtual-character-streaming-design-2021-5 ↩

  19. Robison, Kylie (28 May 2021). "This former designer explains how getting laid off inspired her to create CodeMiko, a 'virtual' Twitch star that's now successful enough to be her full time job". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/codemiko-technician-twitch-virtual-character-streaming-design-2021-5 ↩

  20. "WANNA SEE SOME TECH?!! This is Miko being mocapped live by technician with facial tracking!". Twitter. 29 November 2020. https://twitter.com/thecodemiko/status/1332954045326082049 ↩

  21. Stephen, Bijan (7 April 2021). "CodeMiko will see you now - Chatting with Twitch's newest virtual talk show star". TheVerge. https://www.theverge.com/22370260/codemiko-twitch-interview-stream-technician ↩

  22. Stephen, Bijan (7 April 2021). "CodeMiko will see you now - Chatting with Twitch's newest virtual talk show star". TheVerge. https://www.theverge.com/22370260/codemiko-twitch-interview-stream-technician ↩

  23. Faber, Tom (20 April 2021). "VTubers and the women behind the masks". Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/9d8ec8be-1329-4840-8428-e787058169ff ↩

  24. "CodeMiko Interviews her creator, Technician". YouTube. 6 April 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuWTOo7di-s ↩

  25. "I have infiltrated your world, humans..." Twitter. 29 March 2021. https://twitter.com/thecodemiko/status/1376569956029014016 ↩

  26. "mikoglitch channel". Twitch. Retrieved 29 March 2020. https://www.twitch.tv/mikoglitch ↩

  27. "CodeMiko explains creation of mikoglitch". Twitch. 9 April 2023. https://www.twitch.tv/codemiko/v/1789435332?sr=a&t=7504s ↩

  28. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  29. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  30. "PogChamps". PogChampsChess. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210606211044/https://www.pogchampschess.com/player/codemikoAtTwitch ↩

  31. Rudolf, Anna (15 January 2021). "Can popular V-streamer CodeMiko play chess?". YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bjykWTs8m0 ↩

  32. Botez, Andrea (12 February 2021). "Chess lesson but my student won't stop moaning..." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttSsMlE4fiA ↩

  33. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  34. Michael, Cale (23 January 2021). "CodeMiko talks reason behind Twitch ban, her approach to streaming, and plans for return stream". Dot Esports. https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/codemiko-talks-reason-behind-twitch-ban-her-approach-to-streaming-and-plans-for-return-stream ↩

  35. Puleo, Anthony (25 February 2021). "Streamer CodeMiko Claims to Have PTSD From Twitch Bans". Game Rant. https://gamerant.com/streamer-codemiko-ptsd-twitch-bans/ ↩

  36. Stephen, Bijan (25 February 2021). "Twitch may be adding a 'brand safety score' for streamers". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/9/22321311/twitch-api-brand-safety-score-advertising-uber-lyft ↩

  37. Robison, Kylie (28 May 2021). "This former designer explains how getting laid off inspired her to create CodeMiko, a 'virtual' Twitch star that's now successful enough to be her full time job". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/codemiko-technician-twitch-virtual-character-streaming-design-2021-5 ↩

  38. Grayson, Nathan (4 March 2021). "CodeMiko Is The Future Of Streaming, Unless Twitch Bans Her First". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/codemiko-is-the-future-of-streaming-unless-twitch-bans-1846349881 ↩

  39. Barandy, Kat (12 January 2021). "Technician and streamer CodeMiko is revolutionizing the digital space". DesignBoom. https://www.designboom.com/technology/codemiko-virtual-streamer-twitch-01-12-2021/ ↩

  40. Faber, Tom (20 April 2021). "VTubers and the women behind the masks". Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/9d8ec8be-1329-4840-8428-e787058169ff ↩

  41. Epstein, Adam (28 March 2021). "The talk show host of the future is a 3D video game character on Twitch". Quartz. https://qz.com/1987291/codemiko-on-twitch-is-the-talk-show-host-of-the-future/ ↩

  42. Stephen, Bijan (7 April 2021). "CodeMiko will see you now - Chatting with Twitch's newest virtual talk show star". TheVerge. https://www.theverge.com/22370260/codemiko-twitch-interview-stream-technician ↩

  43. Faber, Tom (20 April 2021). "VTubers and the women behind the masks". Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/9d8ec8be-1329-4840-8428-e787058169ff ↩

  44. "SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 Tokyo". SIGGRAPH. 14 December 2021. https://sa2021.siggraph.org/en/attend/award-winners#rtl ↩

  45. Hipes, Patrick (27 October 2022). "Streamy Awards Nominations: MrBeast Tops List Again". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 October 2022. https://deadline.com/2022/10/20220streamy-awards-nominations-list-1235155842/ ↩

  46. Miceli, Max (22 February 2022). "All nominees for QTCinderella's Streamer Awards". Dot Esports. GAMURS Group. https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/all-nominees-for-qtcinderellas-streamer-awards ↩

  47. Michael, Cale; Taifalos, Nicholas (18 February 2024). "Streamer Awards 2024: All results and winners for every category". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Retrieved 18 February 2024. https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/streamer-awards-2024-all-results-and-winners-for-every-category ↩

  48. "Nominees". The Vtuber Awards. Retrieved 28 December 2023. https://thevtuberawards.com/nominees ↩