PODCAST: THE NEO-CAPITALIST

Topic: Gaming as a career

Host : (intro) Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to The Neo-Capitalist with
me, Ta Quang Minh as your host. Last week, we had a fascinating conversation
with a radically liberal PM of Canada, Mr Justin Trudeau about his mandatory
vaccination policy. Today, we are not going to talk about politics, economy or
capitalism. The topic of our podcast today is much different from what we have
discussed, it's about gaming as a [Link] might be one of the most historic
episodes of our Podcast. We have two guests here today, one is the face of
Valorant esport NineZ. .He has 1 million followers on twitch, over 1.3 million
subs on youtube and he is currently playing for The Initiators
The other guest is Donki Donit a 16 years old up and coming streamer with over
13k fl on twitch accompanied by his parent
(1st guest)
Host: First of all, how are you doing ?
Pro: I'm doing fantastic, thanks for having me on the show.
Host: The pleasure is all mine, it’s rare to have a professional esport player
spend their free time doing podcasts rather than streaming and hanging out with
friends or something along the way.
Pro: I mean you did reach out to me and said that your show is dying and
desperately needs someone special on the show to keep it alive
Host: Yeah I did say that and boy was I right, so, shall we begin?
Pro: Sure, it's your show.
Host: Excellent. So to start off, congrats on your team’s latest win against
Sentinels
Pro: Thanks alot, this win means the world to us, it took hours of training, co-
operating and strategy planning to pull off the victory, and with it, we are now
qualified for VCT Reykjavik master.
Host: Terrific, I mean I get all what you’re saying but just for the sake of our
audience, can you explain to them what it is exactly that you are currently
doing.
Pro: Sure, gladly, so I am a professional esport player playing for the
Organization The Initiators, competing in the game Valorant. It is a tactical first
person shooter based type game and it requires 5 people on a team. The
objective is simple, there are two teams competing against each other, each
team receiving a role of either defending or attacking. You defeat the opposing
team by eliminating all of them or prevent them from doing their objective
which is attacking or defending.
Host: Thanks for shedding some light on us, so I have a number of questions
that I want you to answer, are you down?
Pro: Gladly, keep the questions coming.

Host: So, what is your general opinion on gaming as a serious career choice?

Pro: I mean my answer to this question is going to be biased because my

position in the industry is stable and I get to play for the org I love, compete in
the game I like and just generally enjoy life along the way, but it’s not always
like that in the beginning.
Host: Oh are we going to have a history lesson here, the origin of NineZ?
Pro: So when I was 15 my mom bought me my first PC setup, a huge mistake
on her part because she accidentally created a game addict. Anyway, I
discovered video games specifically CSGO, another fps based game and
immediately fell in love with it. Basically everyday, I rushed home from school
just to grind the game and I got quite good at it too, I even skipped school to go
to some internet cafes. When my parents found out they were furious, they
started locking away my PC and forcing me to study.
Host: That's tragic right there but to be fair, you were skipping school and i
don't think that is healthy at all.
Pro: Yeah I messed up big time. Anyway, although my pcs were locked away
and I was forbidden from going to internet cafes, I didn't really perform well in
school either, my grades were terrible and I failed classes left and right, till the
point where my folks just gave up on me and gave me back my pc and told me
to do whatever I want.
Host: You know you’ve hit rock bottom when your folks give up on you, so
how did you pull yourself back up from that?
Pro: Yeah so my thought process at the time was I can't get a decent job because
no one’s gonna want me, so I should just turn to the only thing that I was good
at: gaming. I created a Twitch account and started streaming day and night,
hoping to make some money. At the time it was a bad idea because I was
traveling into uncharted territory and I was genuinely scared. But I was in love
with it, plus there was no going back, I even quit school to become a full- time
streamer.
Host: And how did that work out for you?
Pro: Honestly not really good, I managed to gain a small amount of followers
but it wasn't enough. The game that I streamed was CSGO and at the time, there
were literally hundreds of behemoth super stars streaming that game and even
though I got insanely good at the game, it wasn't enough to compete with them.
But things changed when Valorant launched its beta. I was lucky to be one of
the players to test out the game before it launched and I fell in love with it right
away. When the game officially came out, I had a headstart on people because I
got to experience it before the majority of the playerbase. So I destroyed other
players in games and made a name for myself by being one of the first to reach
the highest rank of the game. My twitch account grew exponentially in terms of
followers, income and that started to attract some orgs. The Initiators scouted
me, wanted me to be one of the 5 players on their roster and I took them up on
that offer, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Host: Wow, amazing, that is one hell of a story, but you didn't answer my
question about gaming as a serious career.
Pro: So in my opinion, gaming is a very viable career choice whether it's
streaming or competing if you put your heart and soul into it. and with the rise
of esport, going so far as becoming an official sport in the SEA games, i think
that the road is going to be wide open for youngsters and people who have
passion and want to pursue it as a living.
Host: That is wonderful to hear, truly wonderful, and I have to ask this, people
say that to become a pro, all you need is to be is insanely good at the game, now
is this true or is there something else, some secret to your team’s success in the
tournament that you’d like to share with us?
Pro: I think that being good at the game will only get you so far in gaming. If
you’re thinking about going pro, it’s no different from any other job, you have
to acquire some soft skills as well. For example, you have to learn to listen to
the team leader, learn to adapt, compromise, be the support while your
teammate shines and win the game for you. It’s a bit complicated really, there is
no clear guideline about this, only feeling while you’re on stage competing, you
only have your teammates and they only have you, you have to be unanimous,
working smoothly as one and hope that things will go your way.
Host: Well that is some in depth info on how The Initiators operates right there.
Before moving on to our next guest, there is one final question I think that fans
are dying to find out: Have you ever wished that you could go back and undo all
of this and head on another career path?
Pro: Wao, that is an excellent question right there and a tough one to answer.
From where I'm standing right now, if I could go back and do things differently,
I would change one specific detail in the past.
Host: oh yeah? What is it that you would change?
Pro: I would finish my basic education first: finishing highschool, then get
involved in gaming later. I'm not trying to glorify gaming nor praising esport
players over any other careers. In fact, I know for sure that we as esport
competitors face a fair share of hardship ourselves.
Host: Interesting, can you share with us the hardship that you face?
Pro: Well first of all, when you go pro, you don't play games for fun anymore, I
mean you can still enjoy the game while you’re competing. But what I am
trying to say here is that you don't simply play the game for fun like everyone
else anymore, you play it because it is your job to play the game and to be good
at it. We here at Initiators Train 10 to 12 hours a day just to keep our mind sharp
and heighten our game sense. We have little free time and even in our free time,
we try to stream as much as we can to make extra money and to talk with our
fans. Secondly, this is a 5v5 fps game, when we compete, we don't play the
game anymore but we play the opposing team, you must be performing at your
absolute peak form, because even the greatest among us could choke and drag
the whole team down with them.
Host: If being a pro has so much down side to it, why don't you just go back to
being a full-time streamer like the old days?
Pro: That's the point I'm trying to make. One of my teammates shared on stream
that the house which he bought his parents last year was exclusively from the
money that he earned streaming. He stated that the only reason that he is still
competing is because he has passion for competing at a professional level, and
so do I. I love the chaos, the discipline, the heat and the pressure of proplay, I
love it when me and my teammates win against our opponent, when we make
an insane play or even when we lose. It’s a package deal, we don’t get to pick
and choose. Me? I love every second of it and I will continue to compete in the
pro league for as long as they allow me.
Host: I am at a loss for words, thank you very much for being so honest and
sharing with us all this info that you can’t find anywhere else. Quite frankly, I
have to say that my respect for you, and for all professional esport players has
gone up alot.
Pro: Thank you for letting me have the chance to share my opinion.
Host: It is my pleasure to have you on the show. Thank you for your time.
Host: Next up, we have another person involved in the gaming scene. As you
have heard from the intro, he’s Donki Donit, an independent streamer who
streams all kinds of games and you could say that he is a prodigy for being so
young and already establishing a name for himself on a variety of social media
platforms. And because he is 16, technically still a minor, Donki Donit is
accompanied by his mom, Mrs Ly who will also explain her take on her son’s
potential future in the gaming industry. Welcome you both to the show.
Streamer: Thanks for having me and my mom on the show, I'm a big fan of The
Neo-Capitalist and it’s a pleasure to make an appearance on it.
Parent : I have never heard of the show before but it’s a once in a lifetime
opportunity to appear on a podcast with my son so for that I am grateful that
you chose to invite us.

Host: So first of all, I gotta say, I’m really impressed and I find it amazing that
you managed to attract such a huge amount of followers on Twitch in less than
3 months at such a young age.
Streamer: thanks a lot man
Host: How did you do it, i mean what is your secret to gaining all those fans in
such a short period of time?
Sstreamer: Hhonestly i don't know what to tell you, i just got lucky i guess.
Host: Oh wow really, so there is nothing you can share with me about your
success in streaming?
Streamer: Ii mean there are a couple of things that i do that mostly every
streamer already did to reach out more
Host: Oh really? what things ?
Streamer: So the obvious thing is I stream in English because it's the most
common language on any platform and with it, I have an edge on the non-
English streamers.
Host: Of course, of course.
Streamer: Secondly, I try to play a variety of different games to attract more
people and generally just reach out to more viewers because not everyone has
the same taste and my job as a content creator is to keep things fresh, keep
things creative so that my viewers won't be bored anytime soon. And once I
have established a name or developed a number of frequent viewers, I will just
stick with a couple of games to make things less complicated.
Host: Wow, that is a brilliant move coming from a young bright mind. I can see
that you are very invested in this streaming gig atm, how are you doing in
school, are you struggling or affected in any way because you stream?
Streamer: Yeah, so because I'm still in school, I only stream during my free time
and when I'm not busy with school work. Streaming is something that I am very
passionate about but going to school is my duty, so I try to balance things out
you know, can't let one thing swallow the other and till this point, I would be
lying if I said that I didn't struggle between the two.
Host: I am curious, if you are passionate about streaming and want to make a
career out of it, why don't you just drop out of school and be a full- time
streamer? That way you will have more time to invest into your channel, you
will certainly earn more than you do right now and you will get to do the thing
you love most: play video games.
Streamer: You don’t know how many times that thought has crossed my mind,
literally hundreds of times. But every time that I brought this problem to my
parents, you know, to have the talk, they always burst my bubbles by rejecting
the idea that I - their son, would drop out of school to be a video game streamer.
Host: Wow, in my opinion, I think your parents still have some prejudice about
school dropouts becoming successful in life and honestly……..
Parent: Excuse me can I butt in on this?
Host: yes please mr Ly.
Parent: Me and my husband fully respect his decision to drop out of school to
become a full- time streamer. It shows maturity in him to try and support his
family by making money at such a young age. But there are some real reasons
why we are concerned about his decision and choose to oppose it.
Host: This is getting interesting. Can you please elaborate on why you are
against his decision then? I am dying to find out a parent’s perspective on their
child choosing to be a full-time streamer as a career and I bet that our listeners
would be too.
Parent: Gladly Minh First of all, as you said my son is young and has an
appropriate mindset for the job, but as brilliant as he is, my son is still 16 and
his decision could be irrational.
Streamer: but mom, I have thought this through for a long time and…….
Parent: Let me finish. Me and your father know that you have a passion for
gaming and you want to make money from it. But you have to understand this,
your passion could change when you grow older. Your love for gaming could
die out in just a couple of years
Streamer: we don't know that yet
Parent: you’re right, we don't, that’s why I don't want you to risk dropping out
of school chasing being a full- time streamer yet. Moreover, I think that this is
just a fad at the moment due to the recent influx of social media and how easy it
is to become a streamer. I am not trying to undermine the streaming career
because you guys have a fair share of hardship, I am just stating the fact that to
become a streamer, all you need is a set of computers, a camera and an account
to stream on, whilst if you want to become an engineer or lawyer, you need
years and years of training and education in college, not to mention the chance
of not getting a job when you finished studying. There is nothing wrong with
choosing the easy way because it’s not wrong and it is an honest living, but your
decision stems purely from your love for gaming at the moment. What if you
suddenly want to quit one day. You’ll have nothing in your pocket to get
another job. What I’m trying to say here is that I don't want you to be limited,
son. I am fine with you going to school and streaming part time at the moment.
You get to have the best of both worlds. When you turn 18 and you still want to
pursue streaming, me and your father are 100% with you till the end because by
then, you will be mature enough to decide what’s best for you. And if you think
that you are tired of streaming and want to quit, you have the choice to go to
college and have another career path.
Host: Miss Ly, I have to say, your reasoning is beautiful and like every parent,
you put your child’s interest above all else and that is something that we all can
respect.
Parent: Thank you Minh., but to be fully honest, I still have grains of doubts on
my mind about letting my son to be a full- time streamer.
streamer: tell me what’s on your mind mom
Host: Yes please share with us your concern.
Parent: I want to clear things out first. I am not doubting my son’s ability to
become a full- time streamer and I'm certainly not doubting his passion for it at
the time being, the things that worry me are the things that we can’t control.
I know that with the rise of sites such as Youtube, Switch or even Facebook
Gaming, it is now easier than ever to “make it” so to speak and have a career in
gaming. My son can surely list countless examples of streamers who made a
name for themselves playing their favorite games. But for an ordinary
individual to “make it big” in the industry, it is nearly impossible for one to be
sure.
Host: Can you please elaborate on that, I am still a bit vague on where are you
heading with this.
Parent: yes gladly. As I have said before, the rise of streaming platforms have
invited youngsters and people passionate about gaming to have a career. That is
wonderful for the gaming industry in general and it also creates opportunities
for people to make money from doing things they love. But for each individual
streamer, this raises a challenge, for a massive amount of people turning
streamers, it creates inflation. There are countless accounts on platforms which
stream the same content and viewers could only choose one of those said
accounts to view. This odds will be rising daily as many people join this site to
be a streamer, and to be successful among them, you have to stand out, have
something unique and as my son has said: a bit of luck as well. These reasons
alone made me worry if gaming is truly the right path for my son to choose.
Host: This is truly wonderful, to see a parent take an interest in their child’s
career and moreover, you look into it on such a deep and thorough level. But
Donki, don't you have anything to rebut
Streamer: Of course, this is also something that I wonder every time I think of
becoming a full- time streamer. The problem that my mom has just brought up
is actually very common in all careers, not just in streaming. Your competition
will appear at every corner and your job is to best them in your field. Streaming
is no different. Having other streamers compete with me isn’t something to be
afraid of or to be discouraged about. On the contrary, it’s something I need to
take on: if i want to beat the competition, i have to invest more into my content,
up my marketing game, reach out more to my fans and followers, all and all be
a better creator. Only by that will I be able to grow and thrive in the industry.
Parent: Son, I don't know that you have that much on your mind, maybe you are
mature enough to decide what is best for you, just maybe.
Streamer: I appreciate that mom.
Host: Wow, the chat with the both of you has been wonderful and I wish I
Could continue to find out more about young Donki’s career path for the future
or listen more to miss Lythoughts on the gaming industry, but sadly we have
reached the time of our show, thank you to our guest for their amazing stories
and thank you guys for listening. This has been Ta Quang Minh on The Neo-
Capitalist see you guys next time.