VTuber's Atelier: The Design Space, Challenges, and Opportunities for VTubing
Daye Kim, Sebin Lee, Yoonseo Jun, Yujin Shin, Jungjin Lee
TL;DR
This paper addresses practical challenges in VTubing by surveying equipment use and expanding the live-streaming design space with six avatar-centric dimensions. It combines desk research with interviews of 16 professional VTubers to reveal that fragmented toolchains and high cognitive load hinder performance, prompting a set of design opportunities aimed at strategic avatar ideation, effortless control, and extended audience interaction beyond streaming. The study contributes a comprehensive design-space extension, an empirical account of current VTuber practices, and concrete opportunities—such as real-time voice conversion, automatic context-aware avatar control, and VTuber-specific platforms—that can improve efficiency, expressiveness, and audience engagement in avatar-based live streaming. Overall, the work advances understanding of avatar-based communication and provides a practical roadmap for researchers and practitioners to enhance VTubing workflows and identity management while maintaining user anonymity and creative integrity.
Abstract
VTubing, the practice of live streaming using virtual avatars, has gained worldwide popularity among streamers seeking to maintain anonymity. While previous research has primarily focused on the social and cultural aspects of VTubing, there is a noticeable lack of studies examining the practical challenges VTubers face in creating and operating their avatars. To address this gap, we surveyed VTubers' equipment and expanded the live-streaming design space by introducing six new dimensions related to avatar creation and control. Additionally, we conducted interviews with 16 professional VTubers to comprehensively explore their practices, strategies, and challenges throughout the VTubing process. Our findings reveal that VTubers face significant burdens compared to real-person streamers due to fragmented tools and the multi-tasking nature of VTubing, leading to unique workarounds. Finally, we summarize these challenges and propose design opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of VTubing.