What a player needs

The importance to realize that video game players don’t live in silos

This week I had the fortune of moderating a fantastic discussion for a premier institute’s sporting event that has taken an e-sports turn due to the ongoing pandemic. The discussion, amongst some of India’s top female streamers raised pertinent questions as to what gamers need in order to be both successful players and content creators.

This week, I would like to share three broad insights from the discussion especially by focusing on what challenges gamers face when they choose to monetize their game play. Hope it benefits readers especially those who look at streaming game play or competitive gaming as possible career options.

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The support system:

Most players globally acknowledge that “gaming begins at home” and a lot of early play involves the imparting of valuable gaming knowledge and necessary infrastructure from an elder sibling, close friend or a family member. However, it isn’t limited to gaming related information, players also need constant backing, encouragement and broadening of perspectives. Succeeding at games is often a trial by error thing and players need to be encouraged to try newer games, genres, formats to see what works. The role played by family members, friends and other streamers is often key for player’s success.

The right mentor:

Everyone begins at level 0 and needs to be shown the ropes of both gameplay and what it means to create streams and content worth broadcasting. This is an incredible challenge as learning the two simultaneously can be daunting; at these times finding someone who knows the underlying mechanics of the game or the way streaming platforms work can be a boon. Finding a willing mentor is essential and the willingness to be an apprentice even more so. We as players must be ready to be molded, shaped and recast to find the best versions of our playing selves.

The ability to switch off:

Playing online is constant multi-tasking. You are playing, performing for the audience, entertaining and strategizing. In other words, once you are in the zone you are you own version of an athlete, an actor/actress, stand-up comic (if it fits) and a military general, the juggling of so many hats can leave you drained severely.

Thus, the ability to switch off is a must and the mask must come off so that players find moments to be themselves. This can be easily overlooked at times when players stream marathon sessions but work-life balance in the streaming world means switching it all off completely.

Thus, in a nutshell to be a successful gamer/streamer one needs to break all the stereotypes that mainstream perpetuates about gamers. You need to have incredible social skills, be able to constantly juggle your offline and online levels and make sure the offline backs the online. A carefully coordinated process that needs a lot of keep-up because only when one can derive happiness form the offline can one light up the online and survive the vitriol available there. For streamers out there this everyday life after all.

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