Streamer Spotlight: Little Legs TV
How did you first get into gaming? For Little Legs TV it was playing Final Fantasy games with his mum, which helped shape his taste in games. He started as a Final Fantasy XIV streamer and it remains a favourite.
More recently, though, he’s deep into Animal Crossing with over 900 hours of playtime and five island redesigns! Above all, he’s known for his friendly and welcoming stream, spending as much time giving advice and chatting with his community as terraforming his island.
Keep reading as we chat Final Fantasy, mental health awareness and finding friends online.
When and why did you start streaming?
I started streaming a long time ago but it was intermittent. And then two years ago I went through a bit of a poor mental state and was very antisocial with everybody and I shut myself away. One thing I used to do was watch a load of streamers because it was like being able to have that social company without having to interact. Because video games have always been a part of my life, I thought this could be a turning point for me. I managed to somehow pluck up the courage to put myself in front of a bunch of people I do not know and have not met before. It’s certainly helped with mental health. I understand what it’s like for people coming to my stream now, I’m glad I can offer that support for other people.
Where did Little Legs TV come from?
It was an accident because I’m actually 6ft1! So I’ve not got little legs, they’re very much there. My character in Final Fantasy XIV is called Little Legs and it’s a Lalafell so it’s a tiny character. The channel just grew from there.
What makes Final Fantasy XIV so special for you?
I’ve been there since the very beginning. It’s a beautiful game, one of the best communities you’ll ever find. It’s people playing an alternate life. It’s people escaping their own reality and role playing. You’ve got the story content that everybody absolutely loves and it’s written beautifully, which wasn’t such a big thing for me when I’ve played other MMOs in the past but it’s the only game where I’ve sat there from beginning to end and watched every cutscene. It’s hard to let go of. Even on the days you’re not doing anything in-game, you’re still part of something.
What games do you prefer to stream?
I would consider myself a variety streamer. As much as I love Final Fantasy XIV, I didn’t realise how much I was going to fall in love with Animal Crossing. But I’m not limited to those games and I’m not afraid of playing new releases. I know that’s a bit of a bugbear with a lot of streamers scared that their community will leave them if they change games for a second. But I’m not really that frightened of that.
How do you stay so active in Animal Crossing?
The best thing I can advise is to not have a routine. There are so many different ways you can design your island and I get really excited by it. I think that comes from playing The Sims when I was a lot younger. I love being creative, I’m always changing things, whether making custom designs, putting buildings in other places, or even creating in-game games sometimes and inviting people over and doing little events. For instance, we were on the front page for Pride and because we couldn’t go out and have a Pride parade I thought why not build one? There was loads of confetti and other stuff, people were wearing Pride outfits. It was amazing to watch people walk down this street and the chat went off screaming “gay rights!”. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had on this platform.
What makes your stream unique?
Honesty. We don’t believe in oversharing. I know there’s a lot of uncomfortable topics floating around, there’s always going to be uncomfortable conversation. However we’re not gatekeepers in our community, we actually talk openly and honestly about mental health. I want to make people feel as welcome as I possibly can, even if they’re lurking. I’m not talking openly and honestly about my experiences just for clout, I’m saying these things because I’ve experienced them and the empathy we share between each other helps to know people aren’t alone. And this is what brings people back. This is exactly what I imagined would turn out for our community. I keep saying ours because it’s more us than just me and them, we’re more friends than anything. It’s a gorgeous thing.
You have a super friendly community, is that important to you?
Very important. It’s easy for people to get lost in Twitch, they bounce around different communities. I have to read every piece of chat and make sure everybody is answered. It keeps that conversation going and even for those five minutes that person hopped into the channel, it may have changed the way the rest of their day’s gone because they had a conversation with somebody. And that’s what I would’ve wanted for me, even before Twitch happened.
How do you find being an out LGBT streamer?
This is going to sound really blunt, but I do not care! I do care for everybody on that platform, but I’m 33, I’m tired. I’ve seen it all, I’ve heard it all before and I’m using this platform I’m given to educate people who don’t necessarily understand it so much. We don’t go off at trolls, we let them know our own personal experiences. When I first started streaming I thought “oh god is this what I’m going to have to deal with?”. And then to add, I happen to be black as well…
Is that doubly difficult?
It certainly makes things harder. We’re not only an easy target for trolls, whether it be racist or LGBTQ targeting, but you tend to get overlooked a lot so we have to work twice as hard to put our names out there. If anything, I personally feel a bit more empowered than I used to. I don’t let anything bug me anymore. I’m very straight to the point and basically say it like it is, because we have to. If we give in to all the hate raids, it’s just going to ruin everything we’ve worked for so far.
What’s your main goal as a streamer for the future?
I’d love to say I can keep doing what I’m doing, but I get restless very quickly so I’m more than likely going to keep changing it up in terms of content. More importantly, I want to keep on building a community that’s putting out a positive message. I don’t beat around the bush, I don’t bullshit, I’m very honest about absolutely everything. If I’m having a bad day I’ll talk about it on stream. That’s not to say it’s a depression session, it’s that people can relate and you’d be surprised with what they come back with. I want to keep growing in that sense.
What’s the best thing about being a streamer?
The best thing is proving the validity of online friendships. There’s negative thoughts around “these aren’t real people, you don’t know them, you’ve never met them before” that is just absolute bollocks! It doesn’t matter if people have been subbing to you for five minutes or five years, these people spend more time with you sometimes than some of your closest friends. The community is wonderful, even if you do get trolls they’re gone as quick as they came in. But friendships…it’s just absolutely gorgeous.
What advice would you give to gaymers wanting to start streaming?
Be your authentic self. The LGBTQ community is a lot smaller than we think on Twitch. If you’re going to come into streaming, promote your journey and be proud of yourself as a streamer, as someone in the LGBTQ community. I wish I’d done that right at the start and been a bit more active in communities rather than just the white cis gay males. I wish I’d been a bit more open. Even though I’m very out outside of Twitch, I knew what I’d be letting myself in for and I wish I hadn’t been so afraid of it back then because it’s a beautiful thing and the community is one of the best. We build each other up.
What got you into gaming?
Gaming in general was a family thing. It was me and my single mum playing all these video games. We lived in the middle of nowhere at the time so we played all these video games together. We grew up and she got me into RPGs. The first RPG she got me was A Link To The Past and it evolved from there. We started playing Final Fantasy together. I think we played pretty much the majority if not all of them. The last one before I moved to Manchester was Final Fantasy X and we both cried and it was lovely! She still games. I’m trying to get her into Animal Crossing but she’s not doing it!
What’s your game of the year so far?
There’s quite a few for different reasons. Final Fantasy VII Remake, it’s a beautiful game. It was exactly what I expected, it flowed perfectly, the story was great and it fleshed out a lot of the story that was in the original. And then obviously Animal Crossing! There’s Trials of Mana which didn’t get a UK release until it came out on the Switch. I bawled my eyes out because it was everything I expected! Lastly, Final Fantasy XIV’s newest patch and expansion. I have never been so enthralled by an MMO like this. Everything from the way it’s written to the character development and it’s community has made that one of my favourite games year after year.
To find out more about Little Legs TV, catch him streaming on his Twitch channel.
Don’t forget you can vote for your Streamer Of The Year at the Gayming Mag Awards right here!
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