About

Welcome to vTual, a project presented by Silverspoon.

Before we start the journey, let's begin with a brief introduction about what is vTual and what is offered to you.

Background

It all began when COVID-19 started. At that time, I was a fresh graduate with a keen interest in vTubers.

Just like today, most vTubers operated across several different platforms, which made it challenging for me as a first time vTuber enthusiast, since I tended to focus on just one platform. If a vTuber wasn't active on one platform, I often assumed they were offline, only to find out they were streaming on another platform.

I wanted something that could simplify tracking these vTuber streaming activities. So, as a naive fresh graduated programmer, I tried to create a portal that could monitor vTuber activities across various platforms. Alone in the dark. I know that sounds ambitious.

Initially, this project was named VNS, the abbreviation for "Virtual Network Services."

However, the effort proved to be challenging and took an exceptionally long time, largely due to my limited coding experience as a fresh graduate.

To make it worse (?), in the midst of development I miraculously landed a job that demanded all of my time, from 8 to 4. As a result, this project had to be halted gradually and then escalated to be abandoned due to my lack of experience and time constraints.

Thus, there was no more development for VNS in the next few years.

At least until about four years later, specifically in 2024, the year when layoffs in the IT sector became kinda... meta. And unfortunately, I was also affected by this.

To maintain my sanity, I sought an escape. Despite everything, I chose to continue the development of the late VNS project while utilizing the experience I had gained from working over the years as a developer.

After that, VNS development was rebooted in early 2024.

Of course, redeveloping this project was no easy task. The existing codebase was simply a poorly organized collection of garbage because of its poor quality, making the development process feel like starting from scratch.

However, some ideas from the main core were still usable, significantly facilitating the upcoming rapid development. Miraculously, this project was completed successfully.

And after some consideration, the VNS project was eventually renamed the vTual Project.

Terminology

Like most projects in the virtual content creator niche, the "v" in "vTual" stands for "virtual," while "Tual" itself doesn't hold any special meaning. However, if you look closer, "vTual" could also be interpreted as "v(ir)Tual" or simply "virtual," aligning with its niche and initial ideas; vTuber activity tracking.

Even though we focus on virtual content creators, non-vTuber content creators are also invited to use our services. Although some features may seem chuunibyou-ish and otaku-like, you can just ignore those features. Gomentehepero.

Goals

vTual aims to bridge the gap between viewers and content creators, making it easier for viewers to find appealing content and for creators to expand their reach. By enhancing discoverability and accessibility, vTual serves as a powerful tool for enriching the viewer experience and supporting content creators in growing their audience.

In fact if you are a content creator, you can join us so that we can feature your content on our platform, allowing it to be seen by a larger audience. By becoming part of our community, you can expand your reach and engage with more viewers who are eager to discover and enjoy your work.

And if you are a viewer, join us to receive the latest updates about your favorite content creators or even discover new and promising creators. By becoming part of our community, you can stay informed and explore a wide range of content that caters to your interests.

Verdict

This project also serves as an opportunity for me to create an impressive portfolio. Because I think skills can be proven better with real applications than just writing on a CV.

By developing vTual, I am not only honing my technical abilities but also giving back to a community that has provided me with so much enjoyment and inspiration. Through this endeavor, I hope to showcase my capabilities and simultaneously make a meaningful impact within the vTuber community and content creator community in general.

So this project clearly allows me to contribute something valuable to the community using my skills. Anything beyond that, I will consider as a bonus.

With love, really.