Veronica Carmen Ripley
Veronica Ripley | |
|---|---|
 Nikatine at TwitchCon 2019 | |
| Born | November 22, 1990 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names |
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| Occupation | |
| Years active | 2016-Present |
Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| Genres | |
| Games | |
| Website | nikatine |
Veronica Carmen Ripley[1] (born November 22, 1990), better known by her online alias Nikatine, is an American streamer and Internet personality. She founded Transmission Gaming, a Discord community for transgender gamers, and currently owns tabletop game publisher Fablescraps.
In 2019, Ripley was inducted into the official Twitch Ambassador program.[2]
Early life
[edit]Veronica Ripley was born on November 22, 1990, to a Latina mother and an American father.[2] Born in the Monterey Bay area, she grew up attending theater classes and participating in community theater productions.[3] As a child, Ripley often played Starcraft with her father.[4] She persued a career in acting, working in casting for a few years, before leaving Hollywood and returning home around early 2013. It was during this time she began her gender transition.[2][3] After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Music from CSUMB, she began to play games professionally on the livestreaming platform Twitch.[3]
Personal life
[edit]Ripley is transgender. She has cited video games as an escape and as a method of expression for her identity.[2]
Career
[edit]Ripley began streaming with Overwatch's release in 2016. She quickly shifted focus toward simulation games such as Kerbal Space Program and Cities: Skylines, and eventually began streaming Grand Theft Auto roleplay.[5] She also does "Just Chatting" streams, where she discusses politics.[2]
In 2016, she founded Transmission Gaming, a community on the instant messaging Discord for transgender gamers to meet and play games together.[6] It has since grown to include a 68 member group of Twitch streamers.[2]
In addition to streaming, Ripley also owns the tabletop game publisher Fablescraps.[7]
Activism
[edit]Ripley has been an outspoken critic of Twitch's content tag system, calling for the creation of a transgender tag.[8][9] According to TechRadar, Ripley was quoted as saying: "I hear this argument a lot, that trans doesn't deserve to be a tag because tags are reserved for content not for identity. But I would posit to you that if I had a podcast, and my podcast was focused on trans issues, wouldn't that make it trans content?" To circumvent this issue, she encouraged other transgender streamers to use a keycap making tag, in an attempt to create a safe space.[10] In May 2021, Twitch introduced the "Trans" tag.[11]
Ripley has done several charity streams, both independently and with Transmission Gaming, raising thousands of dollars for LGBTQ charities.[4][12]
References
[edit]- ^ @NikatinePrime (2020-10-03). "Hi my name is Veronica Carmen Ripley bc my initials used to be 'TV' and now they're 'VCR', which is funny to like 3 people including myself" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e f Sams, Brandon. "How Nikatine Became a Voice for Trans People on Twitch". Lifewire. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Abraham, Kera (2015-02-12). "Civil rights activist answers these questions so other transpeople don't have to". Monterey County Weekly. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ a b Leon, Pauline De (2020-08-03). "LGBTQ+ Gamers on the Need for Proper Representation in Today's Gaming World". Hypebae. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (17 September 2020). "Streamer Spotlight: Nikatine". Gayming Magazine. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Small, Zachary (27 December 2023). "Video Games Let Them Choose a Role. Their Transgender Identities Flourished". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
Ripley founded Transmission Gaming in 2016 after experiences with online bullies who mocked her voice; almost 2,500 members belong to its Discord channel, where players can meet and organize tournaments.
- ^ Girdwood, Andrew (27 July 2023). "Issliss is an RPG set a thousand years after humanity invaded a land of monsters and lost". Geek Native. Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (2020-06-23). "Pride Week: LGBT+ streamers and the importance of communities". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Castello, Jay (2020-08-25). "Trans streamers need better discoverability on Twitch". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (2021-01-18). "Twitch LGBTQIA+ tags: do they work?". TechRadar. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (10 July 2021). "Trans streamers share how Twitch's new identity tags have helped them: 'They do a world of good'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Faber, Tom (24 April 2021). "'In the game, I knew myself as Hannah': the trans gamers finding freedom on Roblox". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2024.