STRUGGLES: My Life As A Gaming Content Creator

Playing a video game is a thrilling experience because it makes us feel the joys of winning and the sorrows of losing. But, the main reason why gaming has become so popular is because it offers entertainment unlike any other. The development of broadcasting and screen capturing software has made sharing gaming videos online possible.

Well if a person is into gaming his whole life and later on chooses game streaming as a career it’s the best without doubt, doing something one is passionate about will obviously be great.

When it comes to earning, it varies from streamer to streamer if one gets higher views they get higher paid but in general every game steamer is financially stable. Other than money they get sponsors from huge brands and get to try out stuff for free.

But whatever may the career be it’s always gonna be hard to rise on top and game streaming is no different. For game streamers, gaming is not the only motive they also want to build an audience and doing so takes a lot of time and if one is not patient enough, would even leave streaming all together. So decide if you are ready to go though all the hurdles because the competition is massive in this arena also.

My story is not very interesting, but I am really keen on sharing it. I wake up at noon after 4-6 hours of sleep only. Make a quick cup of coffee and grab something to bite as I crawl over to my PC and turn everything on. I read the news and notifications and watch a video or two as I eat and clear my head of grogginess. Time to work! Sounds pretty normal, doesn’t it?

Me being a ‘content creator’ for video games is a confusing thing for most people. They don’t REALLY know what I do every day. People think I do ‘computer stuff’, or that I review video games, or some even think that I make video games!

Honestly, life as a content creator isn’t that unusual. It’s just I’m at home instead of going to an office. I can work with my boxer shorts and I don’t have to go to the office and commute with traffic just to get there. There’s also the constant distraction of EVERYTHING trying to bother me while working. Social media calling for my very limited attention, an anime series ready to binge beckoning me away from productivity, etc. I have to focus and discipline myself because there’s no boss breathing down my neck to remind me that this video needs to be done today and if I don’t upload it in time I don’t make any money. The more I work the more I make, the more I slack the less I make. I have to breath down my own neck and my pay is tied to how hard I work.

The real life of a content creator is not what you see when you find out about them. It’s the years before, working and building non-stop until finally you get a break and a little recognition. "Finding Success is Years of Not Giving Up while also Giving Things Up".

I didn’t go partying, didn’t shop a lot, never went on holidays, and I ate a lot of instant noodles. I had a full-time job, a side job, did freelance work, all while continuing to create videos and maintain my Facebook Gaming channel. Seeing friends was a rarity as even when I had free time I was just so exhausted from doing everything. It was slow, a grind, and I gave up a lot of socializing, fun, and really my health a bit. Usually this is how a Gamer/Streamer eyes look.

Main reason for the above look is sleep deprivation, hardcore players/streamers sleep very less which causes them severe eye redness and sleeplessness. They usually sleep less hours than standard sleeping hours and spend their rest of the day feeling confused, tired and drowsy.

However life of a successful streamer with more than 10k+subscribers is much happier when compared to small streamers as they have enough attention which drives them and keeps them motivated to stay awake late nights and stream the game. Another factor is the income generation.

When it comes to smaller streamers (with subs below 1k) they really struggle without proper sleep and are always in worried state thinking of various plans whole day to gain subscribers and promote their channels. And I am one of them. Sad but it's the reality.

So let me ask you this. Is the “Do What You Love” Saying True? I know it’s a common old phrase. Find a job that you enjoy and your work won’t feel like work. It sounds like the perfect solution to life’s problems, so why doesn’t it always work?

Right now, I’m doing what I love for work. The confusion when it comes to people who want to ‘do video games’ for a living is they don’t realize all the things around the video games that you have to love too. If you want to be a gaming streamer and content creator, here are some things that you need to love as well BESIDES playing video games if you want to love your job:
– Writing scripts
– Editing videos
– Designing graphics
– Managing social media
– Researching and reading
– Talking a LOT
– Engaging and entertaining people
– Managing and improving equipment

And there’s so much more to it. I do love video games but I also love everything else to do with the job. I’m writing this article right now and enjoying the process of translating my thoughts into writing! Now that I say it out loud, it’s kind of weird seeing my brainwaves become words on the screen… that you’re reading right now… and that’s why I love doing this job and it doesn’t feel like work despite it being the hardest thing I’ve worked on in my entire life.

That’s the point! If you want to be a video game content creator you have to love more than just video games and that’s why so many people try to make a video or do a live stream and hate it. They give up after just a few tries or a couple months because they HATE everything else to do with content creation. Thank you for taking your time to read this.