Narcissa Wright is more than just an avid gamer. You could say that video games are her life. She’s set speed run records in many games (that’s when you beat a game as fast as possible in one go), competing in competitions and winning awards. Thousands of followers watch her Twitch streams. But as supportive as online acquaintances and fans can often be, the gaming community is notoriously toxic. And when Wright comes out as transgender in 2015, she’s subjected to harassment from the same community that once celebrated her.
Director Jane M. Wagner’s documentary Break the Game is largely crafted from more than 3,000 hours of Wright’s livestreams to craft an intimate portrait of her world. We spend the bulk of the film staring directly at Wright from the perspective of her web cam as she chats with her followers and games; if her goal over the course of the film can be boiled down into a finite plot point, it’s that she’s trying to beat the speed run world record for Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But that mission is really tangential to Break the Game, whose observational nature gradually unravels the numerous mental hurdles Wright is grappling with, from identity to relevancy (she wonders if any of this matters if no one is watching, her confidence tanking alone with her views) to isolation (she frequently voices her yearning to be close to another person).
And then there’s that corner of the internet where wiser folks say you should never venture: the comments section. Twitch comments are blown up on screen to create a dialogue between Wright (who is often physically by herself) and her viewers, and the latter’s words range from transphobic and ugly to kind and supportive. One of these followers—a fellow Twitch streamer who goes by the username D_Gurl, real name Alex—strikes up a close relationship with Wright that moves into the physical space, when Alex travels to meet Wright and they begin sort-of dating. Anyone who has been online for any amount of time—whether they are a popular internet personality or not—will find a lot to relate to in the idea that sometimes virtual friends become real life friends, and that the toxic nature of many online spaces fails to outweigh the high that a few likes and positive comments on a post can grant a person.
Break the Game depicts Wright’s experience specifically though, and it doesn’t shy away from tough scenes, from Wright calling a suicide hotline while live on a stream to streaming porn in a deliberate attempt to get banned from Twitch. It’s less an expansive exploration of life as a trans person with some online visibility, and more a slice of life drama, depicting lots of little events that culminate in a life-altering breakdown. When Wright finally does break the Breath of the Wild speed run record, for instance, it seems like no one is watching—or cares. What Break the Game lacks, however, is a sense of interiority. For all that it appears as if Wright is extremely honest with her viewers about her feelings, we almost only ever see her when she is on camera, streaming for a live audience of faceless individuals the world over. She’s always “on.” When, toward the very end of the film, Break the Game finally cuts away from the livestreams for verite footage of Wright and Alex exploring the outdoors on a trip to California, it feels like a release in more ways than one.
Break the Game also occasionally utilizes 8-bit animated sequences as transitions, but these cutesy interludes are somewhat at odds with the otherwise serious nature of the film. What does resonate, however, is Wright’s relationship with her mother, who she apparently hasn’t seen in a few years but whose presence (concern for her daughter’s well-being, supportive of her transition) is depicted through old photos and audio of her phone calls with Wright. It’s lovely to witness such strong familial support, especially knowing that that isn’t something all LGBTQ+ people receive. And the ending suggests that, as successful as Wright is at beating games, she’s going to be okay in the real world too.
Break the Game premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival on June 10. Runtime: 80 minutes.
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