Streamer servers like Stgra, VCR GTA, Niji GTA, and Holo GTA can be fully enjoyed just by watching over the city's events through streams, even if you do not participate yourself. In Stgra, viewers on this watching side are called "kansokusha (observers)." In this article, GTA6 FEED has organized, for beginners, the ways of watching, the mindset, and the etiquette to follow in order to enjoy GTARP as an observer.
Note that much of the etiquette introduced here is based on what Stgra's official side presents to observers. Because the detailed requests differ by server, in the end the official announcements of each project you observe take priority.
[Image blocked: A "kansokusha" watching over the city's events through a stream (image)]
What Is a "Kansokusha (Observer)"
In GTARP, participants (streamers) fully become characters and live in the city, broadcasting that on their own streams. An observer is the side watching that stream — in other words, a viewer who watches over the city's events from the outside.
Stgra's official side explains the relationship between participants and viewers as an ensemble drama where the lead and the supporting roles swap depending on whose viewpoint you watch from. Even for the same incident, watching it on the police side's stream versus the gang side's stream makes it look like an entirely different story. The observer chooses a viewpoint they like from among these and can follow the drama in their own unique way of seeing it.
In Stgra's world, it is said that nearly 200 residents sometimes live in the city simultaneously in the same time slot. Because each one of those viewpoints is being streamed in parallel, there are as many ways to follow the story as there are observers. Many people enjoy it by leaving a favorite resident's viewpoint running, like leaving the TV on.
How to Start Observing
GTARP streams flow daily on YouTube, Twitch, TwitCasting, and the like. The entry points to observing can broadly be divided into the following three.
The easiest is to start from clip videos. Because following entire long streams is difficult, it is good to grasp the city's relationships and the feel of what makes it fun through clips that condense impressive incidents and dramas into a few minutes. In fact, many observers come to know GTARP through clips.
Next, there is the method of deciding on one participant to be your favorite and following only their viewpoint. By witnessing one person's life from the beginning, you can deeply immerse yourself in the character's growth and the changes in their relationships.
Once you get used to it, there is "multi-viewpoint" observing, comparing the same incident across multiple streams. Switching viewpoints like channel-surfing on TV reveals even the behind-the-scenes of a single event. However, as described later, you need to be careful about handling information obtained from multiple viewpoints.
Two Major Premises to Grasp First
In enjoying observing, there are two premises you should understand first.
One is to watch while separating the character from the person behind the screen (the streamer themselves). Stgra's official side repeatedly calls on viewers to enjoy it with the feeling of watching a drama, since the events and remarks in the city are all roleplay fiction. Even if a resident plays a villain, directing the responsibility for that at the streamer themselves is the same as blaming a drama's villain actor as if they were the person, and it is misguided.
The other is that the server's rules are not disclosed to observers. For that reason, the basic stance is to watch on the premise that "what is happening before you is being done correctly under the rules." Even if there is a scene that seems questionable from an observer's view, observers are not in a position to judge or point out whether it is a rule violation. If there is a violation, it is handled behind the scenes between the operators and the parties involved.
Etiquette Observers Should Follow
GTARP observers have some etiquette to follow so that participants can perform with peace of mind. Stgra's official side summarizes this with the easy-to-remember word "ohashi." "O" is for not posting okimochi (feelings), "Ha" is for not posting hato (pigeon) comments, and "Shi" is for not posting shiji (instruction) comments — taking the first letter of each.
An instruction comment refers to a comment that prompts a participant's actions. Posts like "you're hungry, go eat something" or "try talking to that person" apply. Participants should move by the character's own judgment, and inducing actions from the outside ends up breaking that person's roleplay.
A hato (pigeon) comment is the act of conveying, in a comment, information that the character could not originally know. For example, a typical case is when someone observing both the pursuing police role and the pursued criminal role posts "the police are heading your way" on the criminal role's stream. Even if you understand the situation, the observer's role is to not tell the parties involved and to quietly watch over how things unfold.
An okimochi (feelings) comment refers to viewers directing excessive opinions or lectures at participants. Along with this, Stgra's official side clearly prohibits posts that disparage the RP, the character, or the streamer themselves. Also, observers are asked to refrain, under any circumstances, from accusing participants of server-rule violations.
As a practical guideline shared among observers, there is the idea that when a comment looks like it would end with a question mark "?", it is good to pause once. This is because comments that end with a question mark, like "Wouldn't it be better to do XX next?" or "XX was on the phone, you know?", are often unintentionally instruction comments or pigeon comments. This is not an official rule but an observer-side device, yet it serves as a basis for judgment when you are unsure.
Finally, if your emotions become uncontrollable while observing, Stgra's official side recommends, rather than venting your feelings in comments, stepping away from the stream once to reset. Putting your own mental health first and enjoying it lightheartedly is important.
Devices for Enjoying It More
On top of grasping the basic etiquette, there are also devices for enjoying observing more deeply.
When following romance or a battle of wits, there is the method of deliberately watching only one side's viewpoint. If you watch both people's streams at once, you end up knowing the other's true feelings and the ending becomes readable. By seeing the world with the same amount of information as the characters, you can enjoy the unpredictable developments while feeling the thrill alongside them.
Content other than the main streams is also substantial. Stgra has a project like a radio program where the operator Shobosuke serves as MC, where you can hear the after-stories and behind-the-scenes of participants who appeared. In Niji GTA, there were also examples of the host doing news-program-style streams summarizing the previous day's events. Even if you cannot follow every stream, you can grasp the flow through such summaries.
Besides this, Stgra has an official community where observers can discuss play-by-plays and analyses of each viewpoint with one another, and there is also a mechanism to peek at social-media-style posts that are updated within the story. Official clips summarizing each week's events are also released.
Note that once you start carefully following multiple viewpoints and archives, you will spend an enormous amount of time. While that is a charm unique to an ensemble drama, it is good to enjoy it within a reasonable range.
The Basics Are the Same on Other Servers
The term "kansokusha (observer)" is one that took hold in Stgra, but the idea of etiquette for the watching side is also broadly common to other streamer servers like VCR GTA, Niji GTA, and Holo GTA. Basics such as avoiding instruction comments and pigeon comments, and thinking of the character and the person behind the screen separately, apply when observing any server.
However, the detailed policies and prohibitions regarding comments differ by project. Before you start observing, it is reassuring to check the viewing requests once on that project's official X (formerly Twitter) or summary page.
On the Certainty of the Information
Among the content of this article, the term observer, separating the character from the streamer themselves, refraining from instruction comments, pigeon comments, okimochi comments, and disparaging comments, observers not accusing of server-rule violations, and the rules being undisclosed to observers are all content that Stgra's official side presents. On the other hand, the guideline of avoiding comments with a question mark is one example of a device shared among observers and is not an official rule. Because each server's policies and operation may change, please check each project's official announcements for the latest information.
Disclaimer
This article is an explanatory piece researched and organized by GTA6 FEED based on various publicly available information, and it has no relationship whatsoever with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive, or with the operators of the various projects and servers. Viewing etiquette and prohibitions differ by server and project and may change over time. For the latest and accurate information, please check official announcements such as each observed project's official X (formerly Twitter), Discord, or official site.