Breaking In: Gaming & Content Creation Pt. 1
What being a content creator boils down to is someone that can not only entertain their audience but can also inspire them in one form or another. I will go over this topic in a 2-part series. Part 1 was completed courtesy of an interview conducted with a well-known Destiny YouTuber; xHoundishx.
xHoundishx. Digital Image. Twitter.com/xHoundishx. xHoundishx. Web. March 2014
When starting out on breaking into being a content creator regardless of your platform of choice (YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, etc.), there are some basics that must be followed to ensure you last longer than a week. During the interview with Houndish, I asked him how he got started and this is his reply:
Me: “At what point in life was it that you realized that this was your calling?”
Houndish: “I always enjoyed games to pass the time and as a distraction from my studies. I studied music production for my degree and following that, I took a long summer playing video games and tested out recording footage for the first time. I continued to work in the production field but spent my spare time making videos for fun. Eventually, my video content started to get more interest, especially when I started making destiny content. “
Going off that it’s clear to see that because of his passion and enjoyment of playing games, he chose to pursue it as a hobby and means to escape from the hardships of life as we all do with hobbies. The push to make a hobby into a career had become prevalent and with that, he is now one of the top content creators in the Destiny community. The hard work doesn’t stop there. There is more to this than just doing what you love and making a profit off of it. One must also understand the business aspect of things and the responsibility that comes with it.
This means that when publishing content online in either video or print form, you are a source of information to your audience. You are to make sure that your fact-check everything, stay relevant, stay entertaining as no one will follow or support someone that puts them to sleep or constantly gets information wrong without correcting themselves afterward. Houndish gives his insights on these topics as well for those that are interested in becoming content creators:
Me: “Do you have any tips on those trying to break into this field?”
Houndish: “I would say first and foremost, do it because you enjoy it. I think you need to have a real passion for what you do, both playing video games but also making content or interacting with your community. As a creator, you need to be able to inspire and entertain, and I think the foundation for that is a true passion for the entire process and less focus on business goals.”
Me: “As trends, games, and technology advance, any suggestions you can give to help those stay on the right path and become successful in this field?”
Houndish: “Following on from the first question, it’s about building from the right foundations. Once you see others taking an interest in your content, it’s easier to start focusing on the career aspect of the industry. Try to stay relevant and take opportunities to experience new roles. Whether that’s in-game development or learning skills around content creation. It’s a very multi-talented field, so I think it’s good to try new things and stay creative.”
This Concludes part 1 of 2 on what it takes to get into content creation for gaming. Make sure to follow this story as we get insight from other content creators on what they experienced and how others can get on the right path.
