Docuseek | Break The Game

Alone in her studio apartment, Narcissa Wright livestreams every minute of her quest to be the world's fastest Legend of Zelda player. As a renowned world-record holding speedrunner (a term for someone who tries to complete a video game as fast as possible), she once amassed adoring crowds, viewers in the tens of thousands, and a fanbase of over 150,000 followers. Then at the height of her fame, she stops speedrunning and makes a huge announcement: She comes out as a transgender woman.

Break the Game follows Narcissa as she attempts to break the speedrun world record on the new Zelda Game "Breath of the Wild" in order to win back her massive fanbase, which largely abandoned her after coming out. While some remain loyal, others begin to obsessively harass, threaten, and cyberbully her. Despite the onslaught of hateful messages and threats, Narcissa is determined to hold the virtual space she's created and prove that she's still one of the best gamers in the world. But when her comeback does not go as expected, she is then left to grapple with the mental toll of an online life. The combination of living in isolation and waves of online harassment drive her into spirals of depression where feeding into the negativity seems like the only way to maintain some agency for her online persona, as she leverages her notoriety to help grow her viewership.

Amidst these dark periods, hope comes in the form of an online relationship turned real-world romance with another trans streamer, as well as support from Narcissa's mother. Through these relationships, we witness the emotional nourishment that offline interactions offer. Drawing from over 3000 hours of Narcissa's livestreams, as well as video game-inspired pixel art that illustrates her inner life, Break the Game explores mental health, gaming culture, online relationships, internet harassment, and the personal tolls of internet celebrity.

"An innovative film constructed from excerpts from a vast accumulation of livestream recordings on the gaming website Twitch... excellent storytelling."
— Natalia Winkelman, The New York Times

"A unique, insightful examination of gaming culture with equal appeal for gamers and non-gamers, providing authentic insight into a subculture that's been undergoing rapid change over the past decade."
— Molly Lipson, Polygon

"As gaming becomes a more and more prominent aspect of modern-day youth culture, documentaries like Break the Game offer the human side of an ever growing ecosystem too often reduced to pixels and memes."
— Eric Kohn, Indiewire

"For taking the innovative risks in its execution, that its protagonist took discovering her authentic self. Within the sterile confines of an electronic universe, the director revealed the critical core of human connection, kindness, and growth, which we can shorthand as the real meaning of love."
— Tribeca Jury Statement

"Compelling and often-touching"
— Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com

"A deeply personal and quietly provocative documentary chronicling six years in the life of legendary The Legend of Zelda speedrunner Narcissa Wright, formerly known as Cosmo. Blending rich, original pixel-art animation by Emily Wolver with an extensive archive of livestream footage, chat logs, and vlogs, the film weaves an unfiltered portrait of a life lived largely online. At its core, Break the Game is about connection - how the internet offers both profound community and equally profound cruelty. Recommended."
— Educational Media Reviews Online

"Break the Game provides an uncanny glimpse into the world of game livestreamers, revealing both the adhesive and disruptive forces within the community."
— Martin Kudlca, Screen Anarchy

"Highlights the inherent connection people need and the way online interactions mimic but don't replace the real thing... With delicacy and care, Wagner presents a tale of a warrior on one last mission who doesn't realize that what she's fighting for isn't built on ones and zeroes but blood and bone."
— Douglas Davidson, Elements of Madness

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Main credits

Wagner, Jane M. (film director)
Wagner, Jane M. (film producer)
Wright, Narcissa (on-screen participant)

Other credits

Cinematography, Justin Lee Stanley, Jane M. Wagner, Narcissa Wright; editing, Stephanie Andreou, Nina Sacharow, Jane M. Wagner; music, Jeffrey Brodsky, Jesse Novak; animation, Emily Wolver.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Internet,Video Games,Online Celebrity,Cyberbullying,LGBT Studies,Gender Studies; "Break The Game"; The Video Project; "Złamać grę";

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Break The Game

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