
The Truth About Making it as a Pro Gamer in 2024 🎮 5up spills the tea on his journey to Twitch stardom! 🌟 From Among Us champion to streaming sensation, discover the insider secrets of the gaming world. 🕵️♂️
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James McComb
Want to shop Walmart? Black Friday deals first. Walmart plus members get early access to our hottest deals. Join now and get 50% off a one year annual membership. Shop Black Friday deals first with Walmart Plus. See terms@walmartplus.com okay, I have to tell.
Unknown Gamer
You, I was just looking on ebay, where I go for all kinds of things I love. And there it was, that hologram trading card.
James McComb
One of the rarest.
Unknown Gamer
The last one I needed for my set. Shiny like the designer handbag of my dreams.
James McComb
One of a kind. Ebay had it.
Unknown Gamer
And now everyone's asking, ooh, where'd you.
James McComb
Get your windshield wipers? Ebay has all the parts that fit my car. No more annoying, just beautiful.
Unknown Gamer
Whatever you love, find it on eBay. EBay.
Gene
Things people love.
Unknown Gamer
Not as much as there used to be, but there was a big stigma before. Oh, I want to be a gamer. I want to be a YouTuber.
James McComb
You think it's like a feasible path for most people, though?
Unknown Gamer
Absolutely not.
James McComb
That's what I think too.
Unknown Gamer
I'm sure you get this Also, like, parents, like, oh, my kid wants to do this. Like, do you have any advice for them that are starting this now? And you're like, well, good luck, I guess.
James McComb
All right, guys, we got five up here today. Is this your first podcast?
Unknown Gamer
I've done a few podcasts before, but it's been a moment since.
James McComb
You've done a face reveal recently, right?
Unknown Gamer
No, like two years ago.
James McComb
Two years ago? Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
I guess that's kind of recent, but yeah.
James McComb
Yeah, in comparison, how long you've been playing, I guess, right?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah.
James McComb
You've been PC gaming for how long now?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, I've been playing games, at least in the scene for like, seven years now, I'd say.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, two years. Pretty recent.
James McComb
Yeah. So what was the first big game that. That got you into things?
Unknown Gamer
The game that got me into stuff? Probably League of Legends was like the thing that kind of kickstarted me, if you know what that game is I used to play.
James McComb
I was terrible.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, okay, gotcha.
James McComb
You were probably really good, I assume.
Unknown Gamer
No, I was challenged in that game.
James McComb
Oh, you weren't good?
Unknown Gamer
No, I was. Challenger.
James McComb
Oh, Challenger. Is that the highest rank?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, that's the highest rank you can be.
James McComb
Wow. So you're playing professionally?
Unknown Gamer
Not professionally, but it kind of kickstarted me into, like, getting a bunch of connections and like, meeting a bunch of people within the scene itself.
James McComb
Got it. And then what game after that did you go to?
Unknown Gamer
Uh, what started me online was like, among Us, I guess.
James McComb
Right.
Unknown Gamer
That was the really big kickstart into everything.
James McComb
Right. I used to watch all those videos with Toast and all those guys. Were you one of those players?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah, yeah. I play with Toast all the time.
James McComb
Oh, nice. And you still play among us, right?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, I still do.
James McComb
That's. That's impressive.
Unknown Gamer
I love Deception games in general. It's. People can get tired of them. Me personally, I think I could see myself playing it for still, like, even years to go.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, it's.
James McComb
I love it because I feel like it kind of died off a little bit.
Unknown Gamer
It definitely had its, like, slumps. It's actually kind of coming back right now though.
James McComb
Really?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, surprisingly.
James McComb
What do you think is bringing it back?
Unknown Gamer
Honestly? Toast.
James McComb
Oh, he's playing again?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, he started playing again and everyone's like, well, it's time to go back.
James McComb
Oh, God, yeah. Dude, he was so good at that game.
Unknown Gamer
He's pretty good. I'm better, though.
James McComb
You're better than Toast?
Unknown Gamer
I'm better than Toast. I mean, like, he'll.
James McComb
He'll say that.
Unknown Gamer
Not publicly.
James McComb
What's your ranking list of all time among US players?
Unknown Gamer
Among US players? Overall, I think it kind of depends on, like, so among us, there's different roles and whatnot. Like, you could be crewmate, imposter. You could be like all around player. So I think all around, I'm the best.
James McComb
Whoa.
Unknown Gamer
I think crewmate wise, a person named Hafu is the best.
James McComb
Oh, the girl, right? Yeah. Asian girl. Yeah, I've seen her.
Unknown Gamer
And then Toast is also like, pretty, like between us both also, I'd say.
James McComb
Got it. So you're just really good at imposter?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, specifically imposter. I'm really good at crewmate. I'm not bad at though either.
James McComb
Got it. When you get imposter, what is your win rate?
Unknown Gamer
I think it depends on the lobby. If it's like the lobby of like, I guess, medium skilled people, I'll usually win every time.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Like, higher skilled people. It depends on, like, because it's a two person game, it's very hard to win, like, as a solo person.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
But even if I have like a decent partner, we'll usually win that round.
James McComb
Damn.
Unknown Gamer
Yes.
James McComb
So you're that good?
Unknown Gamer
I'm pretty decent at it.
James McComb
Dude. I need to see some gameplay. So are you just. Have you always been good at like, deceiving, lying, stuff like that?
Unknown Gamer
Okay, well, you put it like that, it looks bad. I've played a lot of deception games throughout my entire life. Whether it be like, there's a lot of different starts with. So like you can have a game called Trouble in Trader Town or Trouble in Terrorist Town, which was a game really popular back in like 2011, which is all about essentially Among Us, but with guns. And then I got really good at Mafia, which is like Werewolf when I Ultimate Werewolf. There's other social deception games like that that I've just played in like, I guess higher skill groups for years. And then like Among Us comes out, so it kind of fits all that.
James McComb
Oh, so you were playing this style before Among Us?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, I have more than like 15 years of experience in deception games.
James McComb
Damn. Okay.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
So when you put it like that, no wonder you're one of the best.
Unknown Gamer
Oh yeah. It's like my skill set naturally built up for this.
James McComb
Right. Because I feel like Among Us was a lot of people's first deception game they tried out.
Unknown Gamer
Right? Yeah. I'd say it's like their introduction to the genre itself.
James McComb
Right. How has the game been evolving recently? I haven't watched it in a couple years.
Unknown Gamer
It's evolved where there's a lot of mods to the game now. So like people kind of got bored of the base game of Among Us and they introduced like, I don't know, like hundreds of different roles, like new.
James McComb
Maps and new roles, new custom maps.
Unknown Gamer
New roles that you can do to kind of like spice it up and keep it like. So no one's just feeling bored like, oh, I got crewmate again. Guess I'll just do whatever until I die.
James McComb
I will say the task did feel repetitive at a certain point.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. I mean doing it for four years, you can imagine.
James McComb
So what's your favorite mode right now?
Unknown Gamer
Favorite mode? I think it's more, not so much modes, more so like lobbies and groups of people. Because the dynamic of the game changes depending on like the group you play with.
James McComb
Right?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
So do you like a skill based group or more just casual?
Unknown Gamer
I like a group that knows how to entertain themselves while still being high skilled. Got it.
James McComb
Yeah. So like toast group, right?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, essentially.
James McComb
Yeah. Because they were all really good, but they would just mess around a little bit.
Unknown Gamer
Knows how to keep it fun and lighthearted, but also like they're still there to win.
James McComb
Right, Right. So you're. You were also a brown belt in martial Martial arts.
Unknown Gamer
I. Oh, wow. You know that you did some research. I was a. The one step below black belt brown.
James McComb
Right.
Gene
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James McComb
I'm James McComb reporting live from home in my bathrobe in slippers. Tonight we're talking Dunkin Poehler peppermint coffee. Gene's here with the latest. Gene, do you copy?
Unknown Dunkin Representative
The home with Dunkin is where you want to be.
Unknown Gamer
It was red, black, red, black.
James McComb
Okay.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. And there's like. Cause there's different black belt. I think it was karate or it was one of the two, but they have different systems for it.
James McComb
And.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, so I was the stuff right below it.
James McComb
And what made you want to stop before you got to black?
Unknown Gamer
I didn't like fighting people to be. That was, like, kind of the crux. So, like, the higher level you got, the more I was, like, sparring and going to tournaments and whatnot. And that just didn't really interest me and really find enjoyment from it. I more like the forms and the, I guess, methodology behind everything.
James McComb
Got it.
Unknown Gamer
So after evolved into that, I just lost.
James McComb
Interesting. Yeah, that. That fact interest me when I saw that, because I know you're a gamer and gamers aren't fighters, so. So the fact that you got that far is pretty impressive, though, dude.
Unknown Gamer
Thank you.
James McComb
Good job. I only made it to blue, I think.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, what made you stop?
James McComb
I didn't like the training, dude. Yes, boring. Like, you know, that's. As a kid, you're just, like, wanting to have fun. And I feel like karate's like. You don't look forward to that.
Unknown Gamer
Mmm. It was excitement for me because you have the. I guess you can see your improvement, I guess, like, visual fair. I don't know, like, breaking through the wooden board. Right. That's, like, not even in the scale of, like, how hard that is to break through. It goes from, like, white to, like. I don't know, I think black itself. And then that would be, like. The wooden board would be like, the third out of 10, right.
James McComb
So that makes sense.
Unknown Gamer
Good to see all the progress.
James McComb
How tough was it convincing your parents you wanted to do this profession, like.
Unknown Gamer
Streaming in like this? Honestly, not hard at all, really. I kind of lived my life where it's like, they couldn't really control me. I was rebellious in the Sense of, yeah, I don't have interest in something. I'm not going to do that. I have interest in this. I'm going to do this no matter what. And they just like, okay, whatever. We're confident in him. He's confident himself. And so they kind of just took a chance on it.
James McComb
Wow. Yeah, because usually you hear that from parents. They kind of rebel against the video games.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah. No, I'm. I was very, very, very. I had a lot of leeway in whatever I did, which is.
James McComb
Got it. Were you really skilled in other aspects in life, too? I'm like academics, like, well, so I.
Unknown Gamer
Was skilled at what I wanted to be skilled at. Like I said, when it comes to realizing, like, if there's something that interest me, I'll do it if there's something or not. So, like, in school, there's a lot of things I just didn't care about, so I didn't try in it.
James McComb
Right.
Unknown Gamer
But the subjects that I did excel in was the ones I was interested in.
James McComb
Got it.
Unknown Gamer
So it kind of goes for, like, every little thing is just pick up a new hobby or nuanced thing, and then I'll become really proficient at that specific thing itself.
James McComb
Right, so that makes sense where your parents just kind of let you do it then.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, pretty much.
James McComb
I mean, look how it paid off. You got almost a million on Twitch now, right?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, really, really close. I think, like 70k off. Off.
James McComb
Dude, that's crazy. That's one of the highest I've heard on Twitch.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah, no, it's. It's a pretty daunting number, to be honest.
James McComb
Yeah, I don't think many have hit that on Twitch. I wonder what the data is on that.
Unknown Gamer
Actually, no, compared to, like, YouTube, Twitch is like. Hitting a million is a big number.
James McComb
Yeah, well, on YouTube, I know this because I'm at a million. On YouTube, I'm ranked, I think, like a thousand somewhere around there in the whole world.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, is it.
James McComb
Or it might be us. I don't know, but I was going.
Unknown Gamer
To say that seems like for now, like, maybe in like 20, like in the tens or something. That makes sense.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
I feel like there's a lot of people.
James McComb
It might be us. Yeah, don't quote me on that, but that makes sense. But for Instagram, I'm at 11 million and I'm ranked like 2000.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
But Twitch, if you have a million, you're probably like, top hundred.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. I would imagine top 500 as like the max, I think.
James McComb
Yeah. And for among us, you're probably the number one. Right.
Unknown Gamer
I think for competitive Among Us stuff. I am.
James McComb
Got it.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. So there's like. Because Among Us has different genres itself within it. Like, you could do the. At the end of the day, it's also, like, four kids, too. So there's a lot of kids channel that just, like, thrive off of Among Us itself also.
James McComb
Right. Are there actual competitions for money with Among Us?
Unknown Gamer
There was every now and then there have been. And that was like, hosted by either, like, Twitch or Faze or whatnot. There hasn't been one in a long time.
James McComb
Okay.
Unknown Gamer
But they were trying to figure out a way to make it kind of competitive. And so there was cash prizes every now and then.
James McComb
So it's kind of like Fortnite for Night kind of fell off, too, with the money.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. Before they also had, like, major organizations backing everything and trying to host tournaments itself. And the creators of Fortnite itself also. Where Among Us is just like this tiny little studio of three people.
James McComb
Right. Have you met the creators of Among Us?
Unknown Gamer
I haven't met them in person, but I do talk to them every day.
James McComb
Oh, yeah. Nice. So they're still working on the game.
Unknown Gamer
They're right now working as a production company, I guess, for other games because they had their big blow up and they were excited about that. So now they wanted to give that feeling to other people.
James McComb
Right. So they must have made a ton off Among Us.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, I mean, think about, like, how many. Okay, so you play a mobile game or whatnot. You see an ad.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
Among Us was the number one game for, like, three years or something like that. Like, there was more than hundreds of millions of people playing that.
James McComb
Dude.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
So just the ad plus the merch.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, ads, merch. And then, like, on Steam itself, it actually costs money instead of being free. Oh, I didn't know everyone that plays off of online. That's, like, what? I don't know how much people.
James McComb
No, it's a lot of people. And when you have kids as your audience, the parents are buying the merch and toys and all this stuff.
Unknown Gamer
They are pretty. They're pretty set.
James McComb
They're pretty killing it, because I know a lot of kids played that game, right?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah. I mean, it was, like, the most popular game, I think, for a solid year. Like, globally. Like, I mean, there's a Jimmy Fallon did a segment on it for, like.
James McComb
Do you ever go and just random lobbies and troll people?
Unknown Gamer
No. Because of this, like, the holiday season.
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James McComb
Too easy.
Unknown Gamer
I mean, you either have to go undercover, but like, people just recognize my voice. Even if I was to try and do that. Yeah.
James McComb
So you need a voice changer, though.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, I need a voice changer. And then I need a different play style. But then I thought, like, what am I really doing there?
James McComb
Right. Yeah. That would take away from your brand, right?
Unknown Gamer
Exactly, exactly.
James McComb
Do you have your eye on any other games or you're pretty set with this one?
Unknown Gamer
For now, I'm. I mean, always looking out for new games. Just like the deception game genre itself is one of the hardest genres to make games for itself. And I don't think there will ever be a boom, like, among us ever again. Right. So I kind of look more for different competitive games. Like there's a new one that just came out called Deadlock, which was by Valve. It's like, it's a moba. So like league, I guess, but the newest one in that genre.
James McComb
Wow. Valve launched a new game.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, like soft launch it. Just public. I guess I can say I used.
James McComb
To love Valve, dude.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, you should check this game out then.
James McComb
Okay. I feel like they haven't launched like a really good game in a while.
Unknown Gamer
This game is pretty good. I think it's the biggest thing since like Apex or Valorant.
James McComb
Oh, wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
Did you ever get into first person shooter games casually?
Unknown Gamer
I did. It was never something I was like, actually just insane at. And it's kind of hard to play the game when you're like. You have to dedicate hours upon hours.
James McComb
Oh, yeah, yeah. You got to build that hand. Eye coordination takes time. You play chess?
Unknown Gamer
I dabbled in chess once upon a time.
James McComb
Okay.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. I was on a chess team in school. So that's why I was like, okay, you know what? I want to. I want to. I'll compete again for a little bit. Why not? I did a thing with Nemo, who's also competing.
James McComb
Yeah, yeah. She's nice.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. So we became good friends. She helped coach me in chess a little bit every now and then. And I did a competition. I got, I think, fourth place. Like a bunch of twitch streamers overall.
James McComb
Okay.
Unknown Gamer
So like still, compared to like actual chess players, what's your elo?
James McComb
Do you know your rank?
Unknown Gamer
I think my peak was 1400.
James McComb
Oh, right now?
Unknown Gamer
No, like, I'm like a 1k player. Max. Right?
James McComb
Okay.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
If you get back into it, hit me up. Okay. I'm a 1450.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, okay.
James McComb
Yeah, I'm decent. But Nemo is.
Unknown Gamer
God Damn, she's a WG episode.
James McComb
Holy crap. What is she, like a 2000?
Unknown Gamer
Something like that. She's insane, dude.
James McComb
That's nice. And she won the poke tournament last time.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, she was at my table initially.
James McComb
Oh, you played last time?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, she won the first one.
James McComb
Oh, the first one.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
Okay. She was at my table last time.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, okay. How'd you do?
James McComb
I got wrecked. Dude, you should have seen my table. I had her Rampage, Mariano.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, okay, so you lost. Lost.
James McComb
And Mariano and Rampage were right before me, so they were just raising every hand, so I had to play. Kind of tight.
Unknown Gamer
I feel for you. Yeah, that's painful.
James McComb
Yes. It was rough, dude. You play poker a lot?
Unknown Gamer
When I'm not busy. It's a nice thing to just like kind of and not turn your brain off because it's very much an active thing. It's like exercising a different muscle.
James McComb
Yes.
Unknown Gamer
So whenever I have free time, I will go and try and play.
James McComb
Got it. Did you ever realize the money would be insane like this with streaming?
Unknown Gamer
Um, yes and no. I mean, I never streamed for the money itself. I actually got peer pressured into streaming.
James McComb
Really? Yeah. So you didn't even want to stream?
Unknown Gamer
No, it was just something that kind of happened.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
How did that happen?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, I was just friends with a lot of, I guess, YouTubers or streamers within the scene itself. And then when among us came out, they heavily peer pressure me. Like, yo, everyone's asking, who is this guy? Who is this guy? Okay, sure. And they're like, you need to stream this now. I'm like, oh, okay. I guess. Sorry. I guess. So I turned it on and then it was kind of an instant blow up. So I'm like, okay, I know how to run a business, so might as well just get everything kind of kickstarted and just instantly did that.
James McComb
Got it. Where did you learn how to run a business?
Unknown Gamer
My mom runs her own graphic design business. So just kind of self taught from like specialist, I guess, of just seeing the nuances from home.
James McComb
Nice. AI has changed that space, right?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah, yeah.
James McComb
All those artists got wrecked.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, it's a lot of people in the design space itself are like big corporations. Don't realize that like there's a nuance to everything and people can tell if something's soulless or not. But a lot of them soul is like we're cutting corners, saving money. And then a lot of their product just looks kind of mediocre or bad where they can just like spend a little bit more and then they have. It's way ahead of everyone else because it's just not A.I.
James McComb
Right. Yeah. Certain A.I. you could tell it's like generated and it's not human.
Unknown Gamer
Well, even if it looks good, a lot of it just kind of looks the same. Right. So everyone now all of a sudden is just a duplicate of themselves with a different color, a different font.
James McComb
That's a good point. Yeah. I don't think it's at the level yet where it can f. Fully replace talented artists.
Unknown Gamer
No, I don't think it will get to that. Well, it'll get to that point, but not in the sense of originality, I guess.
James McComb
Right.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
There'll always be style because it's a prompt. It's prompted to do a certain thing.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. And it's based off of art pieces that it's taken itself.
James McComb
Right. Were you very artistic growing up?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. Full of art. Like artist family.
James McComb
Oh, yeah. So all your family is into graphic design art?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. Whether it's like traditional watercolor or graphic design.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. And photography.
James McComb
So they're feeling the full effects of AI.
Unknown Gamer
Yes.
James McComb
Dang. Yeah. It's going to wipe out a lot of industries, I think.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. But I mean when, I guess when industries get wiped out, there's always like a resurgence in a different way just by nature of it.
James McComb
Right.
Unknown Gamer
The easiest example was like people always say like a carriage, like horse drawn carriages. That's not. That was a huge thing back when it like there was no cars, but now there's cars replaced. That industry's dead now. It's like a nuanced thing. So there's always going to be fields that kind of replace it and things will come up.
James McComb
Yeah, yeah, that is true. But even when I go to grocery stores now, it's. It's a screen.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah.
James McComb
Like you don't check out with people. I think those, those kind of jobs are going to be gone.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, it's. It'll be something that'll be regulated. But I'm curious what happens with it.
James McComb
Yeah. So are you kind of pro, AI anti or in the middle?
Unknown Gamer
I am not pro. I think there is uses for it. I think there's ways to get inspiration from it without like going into the scummy side of it.
James McComb
Yeah. So similar to Elon, I'd say his view.
Unknown Gamer
Is that. His view?
James McComb
Yeah. He's suing open AI.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, interesting.
James McComb
Yeah, because they. He was one of the founders and then he started it not to make profit, but then something happened where they wanted to start making money and he didn't like that.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, interesting. I didn't know that. That's a big supporter of it.
James McComb
Yeah. Oh, you're a big supporter?
Unknown Gamer
No, I thought he was.
James McComb
Oh, no, no. He's not part of it anymore.
Unknown Gamer
Interesting.
James McComb
But now he has his own with Twitter. I forget the name of his Gronk or something. Yeah, I haven't used it yet, but.
Unknown Gamer
It'S just another like chat GBTS thing.
James McComb
Yeah, I got some trust issues with what kind of data I'm giving companies.
Unknown Gamer
Very fair, very different.
James McComb
Definitely the AI is so good now they can replicate your voice, replicate your face and make videos.
Unknown Gamer
Biggest scare, I mean, there's a whole. The whole voice actor thing of like people are just stealing their voice. There's tons of games now where voice actors didn't say anything and they're just using AI to replicate their voice in the game.
James McComb
What?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
That's crazy.
Unknown Gamer
That was a huge thing recently. That's why a big strike also for voice actors too.
James McComb
Damn. Yeah, because now I can just use anyone's voice. You see fake Joe Rogan ads all the time.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, Mr. Beast Ads. Joe Rogan.
James McComb
Mr. Beast.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
Oh my gosh, that's scary. I wonder if there's a way to combat that. If you're a public figure.
Unknown Gamer
I don't think there's going to be a way to combat that other than like trademark protection on your image. But even then it's like any like 14 year old just with their own computer can just. Yep. Here's a replication of now Mr. Beast doing da da da da da.
James McComb
Right. Because you can't trademark your voice. Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
So what are you going to do to protect it?
James McComb
Right. People are making Drake songs and he's getting pissed.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. That's what you can really do. So it's. It'll be regulation based on the country or whatnot.
James McComb
For real. So what's a typical day like for you right now? You playing all day?
Unknown Gamer
Typical day is. Yeah. Kind of streaming a lot. I was doing a big project or like, do you know anything about Vtubers or whatnot?
James McComb
Vtubers?
Unknown Gamer
Vtubers. It's kind of like a virtual avatar.
James McComb
No.
Unknown Gamer
How to explain this? Imagine instead of like me being in person now there's like an, I guess a art design.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
Image of me that it's not a 3D model, but it's a 2D model, but it moves like it's 3D. And that's a big scene that was blowing up in the past two years that I'm dabbling in.
James McComb
Okay, so what's the plan for that?
Unknown Gamer
The plan for that now is my design is finished, so I've had that launched. But now it's kind of like going to the different design and I guess shows that I can run with that now.
James McComb
Interesting. So you'll be everywhere at once.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, you can be anywhere. You can do collaborations with a bunch of other people that are also in the scene or even not in the scene itself.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
That's cool. Do you ever like the public spotlight being in that scene? Does it ever get to you?
Unknown Gamer
I. So I've always tried to stay as grounded as possible. I don't like to be too much in the public eye itself. So like every now and then I'll go on stuff like this or I'll do a poker show like this. But I try to keep it like how I was before I was even a streamer and whatnot.
James McComb
Pretty low key.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
Laid back.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. I like just meeting people and having fun rather than like all the celebrity lifestyle.
James McComb
Yeah. So that never attracted you? The attention, the views, like hanging out with celebrities?
Unknown Gamer
No, I mean, it's fun hanging out with fun people, but that's for the sake of being, like, having fun rather than like, oh, I'm in like this prestigious area.
James McComb
Yeah. That's a mature take, man. I notice a lot of gamers are pretty logical, actually.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. A lot of them just play, like, stay home and play video games, to be honest.
James McComb
Yeah. Yeah. Who would have thought, though, that would turn into a career.
Unknown Gamer
Right?
James McComb
Like, I got ridiculed growing up.
Unknown Gamer
It's still growing in here also, like in Europe, for example, it's like just a completely normalized thing here. There's still, like, not as much as there used to be, but there was a big stigma before.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
But even now it's like people are like, wait a second, you can earn money doing this now. I like, ask any kid. Right. Oh, I want to be a gamer. I want to be a YouTuber.
James McComb
Yeah. You think it's like a feasible path for most people, though?
Unknown Gamer
Absolutely not.
James McComb
That's what I think too.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. It's. You get parents, I'm sure you get this also, like, parents, like, oh, my kid wants to do this. Like, do you have any advice for them? They're starting this now and you're like, well, good luck.
James McComb
Yeah. I think it's important to be honest and just look at the statistics. How many people play video games and how many of them actually make a livable income.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
It's not high.
Unknown Gamer
No, it's compared to like the thousands of thousands and thousands of people want to do it. It's not.
James McComb
No, not at all. I mean, it probably took you. Oh, you blew up pretty quick, I feel like. But for most gamers, probably took a while, right?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. I mean, you can be one of the best in your field and you can still not have any popularity with that and be able to make money just because it is. At the end of the day, it's also like luck and personality.
James McComb
Right. Because Among Us took off at the right time for you, where you could just blow up. But like you said, you were playing games for ten years before that and they probably didn't have the same eyeballs as among us.
Unknown Gamer
Oh, nothing at all. Yeah. Among us was the. I mean it realistically besides like Minecraft was the biggest game or in. Fortnite was like the biggest game in the public eye for just like normal casual people.
James McComb
Absolutely. Yeah. I wonder if Fortnite or Among Us had more players.
Unknown Gamer
Actually, I think at its all time peak, I think Among Us actually had more.
James McComb
Whoa.
Unknown Gamer
I'm pretty sure that's crazy mobile.
James McComb
That's true. Fortnite got removed from the App Store.
Unknown Gamer
Yes. Yeah. Really funny. To be honest.
James McComb
I don't know what happened. It's still gone.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, there was. I think it was. There was. They didn't want to pay Apple the.
James McComb
Price for skins 30%.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, something like that.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
So it got taken off because they just refused and then they made like a joke. Apple skin in game.
James McComb
Yeah. But now they're both losing.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
So I don't know if that worked out.
Unknown Gamer
I mean, Fortnite's still huge.
James McComb
They're still huge. I mean, but still they're both losing out on probably tens of millions.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, probably. But I mean, at that point, what is tens of millions to them?
James McComb
Good point, good point. It's all perspective. Would you ever launch your own game?
Unknown Gamer
Yes, I would if I had the correct circumstance for it. There was a. I was actually making a game. Oh. It ended up getting boxed, sadly.
James McComb
Too expensive.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. There was some complication with one person that was going to fund us that didn't end up funding us.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
But it's something I'd still want to do. I enjoy the production side of things itself and like kind of project directing our direction of it.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
And I think I have a good eye of like what will get popular and what makes a game popular.
James McComb
Yeah, they do seem very expensive. To make a good game.
Unknown Gamer
It's. Yeah. I mean you have to have a lot of passion people because like you're gonna either have to have millions of dollars or you're gonna have to underpay your staff or you have to strike a deal with them to like get a bunch of talented people to make a game itself.
James McComb
Right.
Unknown Gamer
Without any like initial funding and for.
James McComb
A first time game maker, that's like impossible.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, I had the. I had all the devs. It was the art side out was what ended up halting it really.
James McComb
You're an artist though.
Unknown Gamer
Well, okay, I'm an artist, but like making a whole game with like all the 3D assets and music and like, if you really. If you think of a game, right. This is a random tree. You have to make that random tree. There's like so much that goes into it.
James McComb
Wow. Yeah. It made me think of runescape. I used to be a woodcutter.
Unknown Gamer
Spend hours chopping trees.
James McComb
Hours. I Never got to 99 though, man. Did you?
Unknown Gamer
You weren't dedicated then.
James McComb
I got to maybe 90 on one of them, but some people had maxed out accounts. I'm like, how?
Unknown Gamer
Oh yeah, that was my brother.
James McComb
Your brother did that?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. He was a pretty well known Runescape player.
James McComb
Oh yeah? Who was he?
Unknown Gamer
I don't.
James McComb
Honestly, I don't remember the Zemma or whatever.
Unknown Gamer
Oh no. But I do know that guy. He tried to play among us every now and then.
James McComb
Oh really?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
Oh, wow. I didn't know he was still around the gaming world.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, he. He still doubles in Runescape and he's. He's also a big league player.
James McComb
Wow. People still play runescape?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, he. Runescape is huge.
James McComb
What?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. You didn't know?
James McComb
No, I thought it died off because they changed it or whatever.
Unknown Gamer
What happened was they made the newer runes.
James McComb
Yeah. I didn't like the new.
Unknown Gamer
Everyone hated it. So like, okay, we'll just relaunch the old one and then it's like explosion.
James McComb
Isn't it funny how games do that? Fortnite does that with their original map every year.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, people like. Nostalgia is a very powerful thing.
James McComb
That is crazy. No, I mean, what is there to do once you're maxed out though?
Unknown Gamer
That's an excellent question. I don't really. I mean, go for challenges, I guess.
James McComb
Go for Like I guess collect gold.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. I was never like a max. Max out player. I just had a few skills in 99, played it casually.
James McComb
What was your skill of choice?
Unknown Gamer
Thieving.
James McComb
You were that guy.
Unknown Gamer
I was in. Well, once again to the deception stuff. I was a big scammer in runescape.
James McComb
Oh, you were?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, it was. I mean I was like a 12 year old playing that game. I was like, oh, this is captivating. Deceiving people to give them money.
James McComb
Wow. So how did the scam work?
Unknown Gamer
There's a bunch of different ways to do it, I guess. Whether it's just be convincing people to like follow you into a place where you can kill them and get their. Or like I was part of a scamming guild, which was a scamming guild. There's a few. Scamming part of one of the larger ones.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
And we knew a lot of the glitches in the game, I guess to just. Yeah. I mean flat out making it. Forcing people to drop items that they don't know they're dropping and then like you remove them from that area. Or like unpickable. Or like make them drop something in an area where you can't pick it up no matter what.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
You have to use a spell to pick it up.
James McComb
Wow.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, there's just a ton.
James McComb
I would never like know how to do that. You know what I mean?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. It's by word of mouth for sure.
James McComb
That's crazy. Yeah, that was back then when you probably couldn't even look up these scams on Google, right?
Unknown Gamer
Oh no. I mean some of them were public, some of them weren't. Yeah, obviously the good ones weren't.
James McComb
I remember getting PK'd. It ruined my whole week. Oh man. The first time you get PK'd. Yeah. Imagine if you're on the other end. Runescape. Good memories. I feel like that was the first game for me.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, I think that was probably my first game also like actually online first game.
James McComb
Yeah, it was fun. I used to do the Clan wars too.
Unknown Gamer
Oh yeah. That's always fun too.
James McComb
Yeah, those were fun. Did you have the membership paid one? Oh, yeah.
Unknown Gamer
I mean you're dedicating that much time to.
James McComb
Did you ever get into Maple Story?
Unknown Gamer
I did not get into a Maple Story.
James McComb
No.
Unknown Gamer
I feel like it's always like either Runescape or Maplestory. It's never both for people.
James McComb
True. I got in that. I was scamming in that one for sure. Yeah. With the trades. Because all the scrolls look the same. So you could just Replace it with a shittier scroll.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. People are trying to convince me to play Maple Story back in the day because the scamming was good too.
James McComb
There was a lot of scamming and hacking.
Unknown Gamer
That's true also.
James McComb
Yeah. Was there hacking in runescape?
Unknown Gamer
I don't. There wasn't so much as hacking as more just like botting.
James McComb
Botting? Yeah. That was a big one.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. Everyone's just getting like they don't want to chop wood for a year of their life. So like.
James McComb
Yeah. I could never figure it out how to set it up.
Unknown Gamer
I mean it's just auto clicker.
James McComb
You had one, didn't you?
Unknown Gamer
I had a person level. Other things for me but like.
James McComb
Oh God.
Unknown Gamer
You can have full on programs like run Pathing for you.
James McComb
Pathing. Wow. Did you get into Fliff?
Unknown Gamer
No.
James McComb
Really?
Unknown Gamer
Wait, what is that?
James McComb
Fly F, F, L Y, F, F.
Unknown Gamer
I don't think I know what that is now.
James McComb
Oh, okay. It's like a Maple store. Trying to think what else? Team Fortress.
Unknown Gamer
Oh yeah. Huge Team Fortress. I mean any type of game that you have like trading in.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
Whether it's like items or like I guess. And TF2 has hats and weapons and whatnot. Usually I'm playing that type of thing.
James McComb
So you played Fortnite too then?
Unknown Gamer
I did play a little bit of Fortnite. Fortnite was actually.
James McComb
You can't trade.
Unknown Gamer
You can't. You can't trade in Fortnite. But it was like an okay game. It wasn't really my style.
James McComb
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can't trade. Team Fortress. That was so fun.
Unknown Gamer
Team Fortress. Csgo.
James McComb
Csgo. What was your class in Team Fortress? I shouldn't have even asked that.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, it's kind of obvious but I like.
James McComb
Yeah. So you like those movies where people are undercover?
Unknown Gamer
Oh yeah. Any type of like you have to outsmart people I guess is a fun way to think about what I like.
James McComb
Have you ever done an IQ test?
Unknown Gamer
I. I don't think I've taken an official IQ test. I've taken one of those like ADHD facility kind of testing all around things.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
What was. What was the results of that?
Unknown Gamer
The results of that? I came back as an anomaly.
James McComb
Really?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. It was. Yeah. Inconclusive in some aspects.
James McComb
I didn't even know that was possible.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, I didn't either. It's kind of hard. It's bad to be honest. No, what they ended up doing was there was a few tests that was based off of doing things in the fewest moves possible. A lot of like if you've done one of those tests before is very similar to an IQ test. You have like puzzles in front of you or like logic deduction things or memory based things.
James McComb
Yeah.
Unknown Gamer
And a lot of the tests, they held a stopwatch in front of me and they're like, I looked, I'm like, oh, is this timed? And they're like, no, don't worry about the time at all. I'm like, but there's a stopwatch in front of me. So I ended up doing everything extremely quickly but interesting. As accurate as I could be, but I still ended up doing it quick.
James McComb
But they weren't even running the, they.
Unknown Gamer
Were running the stopwatch.
James McComb
Oh, they were?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. It was based on, it was based on accuracy and I didn't know that. I thought it was gonna be based on time.
James McComb
Got it.
Unknown Gamer
So that's where a lot of things kind of came back inconclusive. But I was also in the place I tested was the first person to get 100% on a memory section.
James McComb
Damn.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah.
James McComb
Do you have photographic memory, you think?
Unknown Gamer
Not. I don't say a photographic memory, but like I'm. I have like memory based on relation to things.
James McComb
I guess there must be a word for that because I know there's photographic audio, graphic, and then there's one for touch kinestheology or something.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, it's. I, it's. It's very hard to describe how my memory works. It's very much. Once I can associate something to something, I won't forget it.
James McComb
Wow. Yeah, that is interesting. So you just tie it to an object or a thing and tie it.
Unknown Gamer
To an object or a place or a feeling.
James McComb
Wow, that's impressive because a lot of humans just forget everything.
Unknown Gamer
I mean, I, I don't get to choose often when I get to do that. It's just something I like. I naturally remember it.
James McComb
So you got some bad memories too then?
Unknown Gamer
Oh, yeah.
James McComb
That are still with you?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. Bad memories are also how, like I'll just. There's something important, I'll just forget it because I just don't deem it as important.
James McComb
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. How close are you with your brother?
Unknown Gamer
Um, they talk every now and then. Not too close.
James McComb
Okay.
Unknown Gamer
I'm a fairly independent. I mean, I guess my entire family is fairly independent, as is.
James McComb
All introverted, kind of.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, introverted or like just kind of staying in their own lane, doing their own thing.
James McComb
That's how my dad's side is. All PC gamers, all introverted just lock them in a closet for a year and you wouldn't notice?
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, pretty much.
James McComb
Yeah. That's interesting. Well, dude, it's been fun getting to know your side of the world. What do you got going on next, and what are your predictions for tonight's game?
Unknown Gamer
Mm, kind of going into stuff. I'm getting a lot more into cooking overall, and then, like, cooking and poker, like, my two endeavors. Kind of interested in overall, I guess, for today, I think. I mean, Wolfgang, my table.
James McComb
Oh, that's tough.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah. Pretty decent shot at winning, I think any of the people that just, like, actually play poker a lot. So, like, obviously Nemo also. Yeah, big advantage. But there's, like. I mean, by nature of poker and how. Especially how quick this tournament is, it's anyone's game, really, to be honest.
James McComb
Yeah, we'll see what happens, man. Thanks for coming on.
Unknown Gamer
Yeah, thank you for having me.
James McComb
Yeah. Thanks for watching as always, guys. See you next time.
Digital Social Hour Podcast Summary
Episode: The Truth About Making it as a Pro Gamer in 2024 | 5up DSH #938
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Unknown Gamer
Release Date: December 1, 2024
In this engaging episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly delves into the evolving landscape of professional gaming in 2024 with his guest, a seasoned gamer known as Unknown Gamer. The conversation navigates through the guest’s extensive gaming background, the impact of AI on creative industries, the realities of streaming, and personal insights into memory and cognitive abilities.
Unknown Gamer shares his journey into the gaming world, highlighting pivotal moments and games that shaped his career.
Early Beginnings:
The guest began his gaming career with League of Legends, reaching the Challenger rank—the highest tier in the game.
“I was Challenger. Is that the highest rank? Yeah, that's the highest rank you can be.”
[00:41]
Transition to Among Us:
Unknown Gamer credits Among Us as a significant catalyst for his rise in the gaming scene, noting its influence on his streaming success.
“Among Us was the number one game for, like, three years or something like that.”
[10:47]
Twitch Success:
With almost a million followers on Twitch, Unknown Gamer discusses the challenges and triumphs of maintaining a high-profile streaming career.
“I got almost a million on Twitch now, right? Yeah, really, really close.”
[08:49]
A substantial portion of the discussion centers on the repercussions of AI advancements in creative fields such as graphic design and art.
AI vs. Human Creativity:
Unknown Gamer expresses skepticism about AI’s ability to fully replicate human originality.
“There's a nuance to everything and people can tell if something's soulless or not.”
[15:19]
Industry Shifts:
He draws parallels between historical industry shifts and the current AI revolution, suggesting that while some sectors may decline, new opportunities will emerge.
“There’s always like a resurgence in a different way just by nature of it.”
[16:39]
The guest delves into the dynamics of building a streaming brand and the pressures that come with newfound popularity.
Peer Pressure and Organic Growth:
Initially reluctant, Unknown Gamer was encouraged by peers to start streaming, leading to his rapid ascent in the gaming community.
“I actually got peer pressured into streaming.”
[14:31]
Vtubers and Virtual Avatars:
He discusses his foray into Vtubing, adopting a virtual avatar to diversify his presence and collaborate with other creators.
“It's kind of like a virtual avatar. Imagine instead of like me being in person now there's like an... image of me that moves.”
[19:11]
An intriguing segment where Unknown Gamer shares his experiences with memory tests and cognitive assessments.
Memory Techniques:
He explains his unique approach to memorization, associating information with objects, places, or feelings.
“Once I can associate something to something, I won't forget it.”
[29:03]
Cognitive Testing:
Discussing an IQ test, the guest reveals his exceptional performance in memory sections, leading to an inconclusive result.
“I was the first person to get 100% on a memory section.”
[28:43]
Unknown Gamer provides candid insights into the gaming community’s evolution, touching on aspects like scamming in games and the stigma once associated with gaming careers.
Scamming in MMORPGs:
Reflecting on his early days in Runescape, he recounts participating in scamming guilds and exploiting game glitches.
“I was part of a scamming guild. There's a bunch of different ways to do it.”
[24:58]
Changing Perceptions:
He observes that gaming has become more normalized, though challenges remain for aspiring professionals.
“It's still growing in here also, like in Europe, for example, it's like just a completely normalized thing here.”
[20:33]
In the final segment, Sean and Unknown Gamer discuss the feasibility of pursuing gaming as a career.
Realistic Expectations:
Both agree that while gaming can be lucrative, it's not a viable path for most due to fierce competition and reliance on luck and personality.
“It's absolutely not feasible for most people.”
[20:52]
Parental Guidance:
The guest emphasizes transparency with parents about the challenges and statistical realities of making a living through gaming.
“Look at the statistics. How many people play video games and how many of them actually make a livable income.”
[21:03]
The episode concludes with Unknown Gamer sharing his future endeavors, including cooking and poker, while maintaining a grounded approach to his streaming career. Sean Kelly wraps up by acknowledging the depth of the conversation and the valuable insights shared.
“It’s been fun getting to know your side of the world. What do you got going on next, and what are your predictions for tonight's game?”
[30:03]
Unknown Gamer on Among Us’ Popularity:
“Among Us was the number one game for, like, three years or something like that.”
[10:47]
On AI and Originality:
“There's a nuance to everything and people can tell if something's soulless or not.”
[15:19]
About Memory Techniques:
“Once I can associate something to something, I won't forget it.”
[29:03]
Reality of Professional Gaming:
“It's absolutely not feasible for most people.”
[20:52]
The Path to Professional Gaming: Success in professional gaming requires exceptional skill, timing, and often, a bit of luck. Not everyone can achieve the same level of success as Unknown Gamer.
Impact of AI on Creative Industries: While AI presents challenges, particularly in graphic design and art, human creativity and originality remain irreplaceable. The industry is likely to evolve, creating new opportunities.
Streaming as a Business: Building a successful streaming career involves strategic branding, consistent engagement, and adaptability, such as integrating Vtubers to expand reach.
Cognitive Strengths: Unknown Gamer’s exceptional memory skills contribute to his strategic gameplay, highlighting the importance of cognitive abilities in competitive gaming.
Community Evolution: The gaming community has shifted from being stigmatized to being more accepted, though aspiring gamers still face significant hurdles in monetizing their passion.
Balanced Perspective for Aspiring Gamers: Aspiring gamers should approach their ambitions with realistic expectations, understanding the competitive nature and limited opportunities in the field.
This episode of Digital Social Hour offers a comprehensive look into the life of a professional gamer navigating the complexities of the digital age. Through candid conversations and insightful reflections, Sean Kelly and Unknown Gamer shed light on both the opportunities and challenges within the professional gaming arena, providing valuable lessons for listeners aspiring to make their mark in this dynamic field.