Featured Contributor Spotlight – Tyger with MUD2MMO

GameSkinny’s Senior Editor, Amy White said:

“I look forward to each new post from Tyger because I know the content will be entertaining and thought provoking. He’s a video personality who’s full of insights, and we’re delighted that he’s a part of the team.”

Check out TygerWDR’s profile to read his articles and watch episodes of MUD2MMO. 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

“So who am I?  My name is Rob, nickname is Tyger.  I’m old enough to know better and young enough to not care.

Okay, now your questions.”

When did you join GameSkinny?

“Umm, a few months ago I think?  Isn’t that, like, logged?  I’m bad with days.  First to go is memory they say.  Wait, who are you again?  Oh, right, interview.”

Where are you from?

“This is a question that has baffled mankind for generations.  Where are we really from?  Why are we here?  Where are we going?  Why am I in a hand basket and why is it getting awfully hot suddenly?  I won’t be literal nor eclectic but I’ll say I’m from America, the upper Midwest which means the center of the country.  Lived in Chicago, now I’m a little further north in “Chicago Lite”.”

“Unrelated, who decided where the Midwest was?  It’s like talking about the Middle East or the Far Eastern countries.  East compared to WHAT?”

What initially brought you to GameSkinny?

“In all seriousness, one of the GS editors saw one of my videos on another forum, and said “You should post that video over here.”  So I did, and people for some reason liked it.  So I just haven’t stopped.”

Why do you post your videos on GameSkinny?

“People seem to like them?  Not even really kidding when I say that. That and I like making videos.  And I figure that I’m gonna do it ANYWAY, may as well share it with people who might find it interesting.  It’s also pretty nice to share gaming videos with people who actually seem to be more in depth with the industry than most.”

We were really excited when you started sharing original articles in addition to your YouTube show posts – what instigated that?

“Anger.

No, really, anger.  Some people drink when they’re angry, some get into fights, some scream and trash furniture, some get frighteningly quiet and plot various ways to murder the one who angered them… But I write.  Many, many years ago I was a professional writer so I learned a long time ago how to channel anger and rage into printed word and leave the printer smoking.  I’ve found that writing tends to at least get it out of my system, and it provides a channel to try to put a more humorous spin on something that normally would drive me insane.

I think the first one was Please Leave, which was literally written while I was still in-world and after I’d been kicked out of a raid for the crime of not being what the party thought it needed. Most of the time it’s like that.  A lot of the other articles like the /pizza or No Armbands is mostly me seeing something as a trend that should be addressed, and the written word is a better way to do it.

It’s sometimes better than videos too.  I remember when the bottom dropped out of magazine writing, a lot of people in “the biz” *rolls eyes* told me that the written word is dead and the future was video.  This isn’t true, writing just shifted mediums.  Writing has a subtle nuance you don’t get with video or audio, so I still prefer the written word to video on some occasions.  That and, well, a typical show takes me 10-12 hours to make with writing, editing, lights, camera, ANGUISH!  A written article takes 30-50 minutes. It’s nice to be able to get on with my day.”

What do you think is the most exciting trend in the  gaming industry?

“I’m answering this VERY carefully, because half of what people are hyping right now will either never come to it’s fullest potential, or will be reworked between now and release.  We’re in a pretty volatile moment right now with the next gen consoles about to come out, so it’s a pretty hard thing to say “Oh, THIS will be huge!” because it may change between the next conference and release.

So instead I’m gonna paint with a broad brush.  to ME the most exciting thing is end user created content.  Games are now either including, or being built around, the concept of user created builds.  Racing games like Trackmaina and Trials HD allow players to build their own courses.  Minecraft is centered on user builds, finding materials and constructing things.  HALO games allow players to make games within the game.  I could keep going but you get the idea.

Giving players the tools to create their own content is literally a game changer.  Granted, the signal to noise ratio is going to be high, but you’re going to find some very talented people who aren’t in the game industry who will make content that will blow away the AAA studio works.  I for one am looking forward to seeing more of that.”

What world gaming issue would you solve with the snap of your fingers?

“Short term or long?  I could think of a few short term “problems” that need to go away now but will need to be dealt with eventually.

Overall the biggest “BIG” issue that I’d like to see go away is the media response to gaming.  Every time there’s a shooting or similar gaming gets blamed universally.  I would like to think that E-Sports are a part of the solution to make gaming more mainstream but really it would be the gaming industry pooling money and resources to get people on the ground in D.C. to talk to politicians.  But yeah, getting the stigma of “gamer” (say that in your head in a deep, dripping, dready voice) out of favor would be the thing.”

Any tips or tricks you want to share to gain a larger audience or inspire compelling discussions?

“Not really anything they shouldn’t already know.  Speak from the heart.  Argue with passion but not with ignorance.  It’s cool to debate as the devils advocate but admit when you’re doing so.  You can’t force passion, if you do we can tell you are.  But mostly don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” or “You have a point” or “I may be wrong” or in fact “I was wrong”.”

What advice do you have for someone who is interested in starting their own YouTube show?

“Don’t.  RUN!  RUN!!!!!!

Oh, seriously….  Umm…

Kinda a harsh topic because as much as I’d love to be happy sunshine rainbow puppies on this, there’s a reality here that needs to be addressed.  There are thousands of people with cameras making YouTube video shows.  The genre is beyond over saturated   So unless you’re extraordinarily lucky, you’ll never get noticed.  I mean hell, I’ve been at it for a few years and my subscriber count is less than 1% of people like PewDiePie *bleah*.

So my honest suggestions.  Write.  Don’t do a “talking to the camera” thing without a script.  There’s too many 20 minute video “UMMMM” fests already.  Write your show out.  EDIT!  For the love of all things good, EDIT!  EDIT EDIT EDIT!  Learn windows movie maker if you have to, but EDIT!  Use the miniskirt rule.  “Long enough to cover the subject, short enough to maintain interest.”  Understand that putting stuff out there is forever, so keep that in mind.

Mostly tho, do it only if you really, REALLY like it.  Make a show, then see if you can motivate yourself to make another in a few weeks.  Then another.  If so, keep going with it.  Odds are you’re not going to make money on it, so do it for the passion of making content.  Not in the hopes that you’ll get picked up or that you’ll become another sensation.”

Any suggestions for how we can make GameSkinny better?

“I think ya’ll are doing a pretty good job so far.  I just make videos and write stuff.  What do I know?  I mean back in my day we did HTML by hand and we LIKED IT THAT WAY!  DURN KIDS!  You don’t even know what a BLINK tag does!   GET OFF MY….   wait it’s not my lawn. umm…  UPHILL BOTH WAYS WITH A POCKET FULL OF TOKENS TO GO TO THE ARCADE!”