Originally Published: 18th July 2020 on eGG Network

Text Version:

Asnur Atiqah

When you’re a timid and shy 18-year-old who is scared of standing out from the crowd, the last thing you’d want is putting yourself in the spotlight – visible to thousands of viewers. But that’s not what Asnur Atiqah, better known as Charlie to her fans, decided to do. Almost a year ago, she decided to tackle her fears head-on, by pursuing a career as a streamer thanks to the strong encouragement from her friends and family. Now, a successful streamer and official Facebook Gaming partner, and her own line of merchandise – you can say, the rest is history.

Asnur started her streaming journey in August 2019. It didn’t take long for her to be noticed – by her third month, she hit 20,000 followers and was made an official Facebook Gaming partner. However, she didn’t just luck out on success – Charlie put in a lot of effort to make it work.

The recently turned 19-year-old treats streaming like a regular nine to five job – except that it starts in the PM and ends in the AM. A regular day for her involves getting up before she starts streaming, having ‘breakfast’, putting on makeup and getting dressed, and plonking herself in front of the computer to play games for her audience – viewers who watch her play games until the wee hours of the morning.

But streaming is not just fun and games for her. Charlie has made it a point to keep to her daily routine, which she believes helps viewers find her content. “You need to maintain a consistent schedule. Like a TV show or drama, people expect you at that time when they log on Facebook.”

MrCocan and her father, both of them content creators, were key influences on her career. They gave her a lot of advice when she was starting out. In fact, it was her father’s use of a webcam on his stream which inspired Charlie to do the same. “The first few sessions were a bit awkward. I had to learn to overcome my shyness and nervousness by practising my intro in front of my mirror before I started my stream!” she recalled.

Makcik Bedah

Now, you might be wondering how she came up with the name Charlie, here’s a fun fact: it was inspired by ‘semut Charlie’ (also known as Paederus). Impressed by its toxic potency despite its small size, Asnur named herself after the insect, aspiring to be just as impactful one day (hopefully not by harming humans!).

Though Charlie is rarely recognized by her fans in public, on GTA V Malaysia roleplay servers, it’s a different story. One of her characters, Makcik Bedah – a striped-bag toting lady who’s usually up to no good and hilarious antics – is infamous. She’s reached a point where other people will call her Makcik Bedah even when she’s playing other games.

She also has a host of other characters she plays on stream – from Farah Nab, the gangster lover; to Pipah and Dayan – JPJ and police officers respectively. There’s a reason Charlie plays these crazy roles – she has made it her mission to dispel stereotypes about female streamers. “Just the whole female streamer stereotype is tiring me. I mean, why can’t a girl be entertaining? I’m constantly battling stereotypes. It can be exhausting. Gameplay brings people in, personality makes them stay.”

While she has been successful in changing that perception for her viewers and fans, she does encounter the occasional stumbling block. Asnur mentioned that some male content creators have refused to play with her due to their own relationship statuses!  For her, it’s no big deal because she’s professional about it. The streamer prefers to keep her real-life separate from her streaming activity.

If she’s not up to shenanigans in GTA V, you can find Charlie duking it out in team-based games like PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends. She’s also a fan of streaming horror games, especially those with support for multiplayer. Occasionally, she’ll also take part in tournaments like the Facebook Gaming Creator Games: Battle of Heroes 2020.

Charlie says streaming is something that she could do forever, and from watching her rhapsodic streams, you can tell she means it. The Malaysian creator hopes to expand her 100,000+ viewer base to include neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Charlie

Her advice to aspiring content creators? “For those who are starting out, you don’t need the best setup – you can upgrade your devices as you go along. However, make sure you have a high-speed internet connection because having a good frame rate is important.” She also mentions that it’s important to build a community of fans. Without them, she wouldn’t be where she’s at.

She continued, “just be yourself and sincere in what you are doing. Let your parents be your backbone and follow their advice. It’s okay if you’re not successful in other fields. One day, you will in yours. Follow your passion, it’s what really matters.”

Tune in to Charlie’s streams on Facebook Gaming to catch her antics live. Follow eGG Network for more stories about your favourite Facebook Gaming creators, and remember to apply for our Game & Grow program to take your stream to the next level!

Originally Published: 13th June 2020 on eGG Network

Text Version:

The Break

Robin Gupta was a young adult who had a good life making a career out of his passions – one of them being gaming. A hobby he’s enjoyed since youth, he developed into an entrepreneur specializing in it. He organized tournaments, managed esports teams, and ran a full-fledged events management company. When it came to the world of gaming, he had a finger in every pie.

However, life took a turn for the worse when Robin’s father passed away and he had to return to home to handle family business. Because it took up a lot of his time and energy, Robin had to step away from his favourite pastime to get things in order. For a few years, he left the gaming world.

Eventually, Robin’s family affairs were all straightened out and he decided to pursue a career that would allow him to stay close to home. That’s when he discovered his passion to create gaming content for a live audience, and a new chapter in his life began.

It’s All in the Name

The core of a streamer’s online identity usually stems from their username, and in this case, it’s no different. Instead of reverting to one of the many aliases he used in the past, Robin decided that he would pick a meaningful streaming handle, one that reflected his affection for his son – SteveZDad.

At first glance, the name’s meaning wasn’t immediately obvious, and so, Robin gleefully explained it to us. “I no longer wanted my name to be taken. Instead, I wanted my Son’s name to be taken whenever someone referenced me. I no longer wanted to be known for myself. I wanted to be known by the name of my son. I wanted to be known as ‘Father of Steve’ or ‘Steve’s Father’ or ‘Steve’s Dad’, and thus, ‘SteveZDad’. Let me be known not by myself but by my blood, by my son, Steve!”

With his new username, Robin started streaming on Facebook Gaming in August 2018. Even though he wasn’t an immediate hit, it didn’t take too long until he was noticed by Facebook in February the following year. The benefits of being an official partner were immense for Robin. It allowed him to receive monetary support from his subscribers to continue streaming for a living – something he didn’t take for granted. Since then he has been evolving and improving his content, and has started initiatives like the Saturday Super Stars, a regularly scheduled tournament; and the SteveZDad Alliance, a Facebook group for him to hang out with his community, which he holds in high regard.

When asked about what advice he would give to his younger self, he replied, “I would tell myself to start working on community building from the very start. It took me some time to realise the importance of it.” Over the years, he has shifted his content from English to Hinglish (a mix of Hindi and English) to better cater his viewers, who mostly speak Hindi. While this has caused him to lose some of his English-speaking fans, who knows – he might return to it in the future?

Robin’s stream has a wide variety of content, while mostly focused on games, he creates other content as well, such as travel vlogs and opinions on world matters. These days he has also been streaming a lot more mobile games – something he enjoys greatly. Although games like PUBG Mobile have been great for his career (his highest concurrent live views have been while playing it) he still longs for the day that his real-time strategy (RTS) and space sim itch will be scratched. “RTS games. I have been a huge Command & Conquer fan and would really like them to return (Author: good news! the C&C remaster has been released at the time of writing). Space simulations are another of my liked category. There needs to better Star Wars games. And jetfighter simulation games, I miss Jane’s USAF simulator.”

Fans, Family, and Fame

SteveZDad’s community might be the backbone of his career, but it’s his family that takes first priority. “My family is one of my most trusted advisors for my business. There is no decision I make without consulting them. The best part is they understand what I am doing. They are extremely supportive and feel there is a lot of potential in this career. They are my top supporters.”

When asked about fame, he replied, “Honestly, I don’t consider myself famous yet. I truly do not know what being famous exactly means. All I know is that I constantly endeavour to get up close and connect with my community to make new acquaintances or potentially friends. I have always given respect to the people who come to watch me and requested the same. There was a time when I wanted to be a celebrity but I soon realised that life has much more meaning to it than acquiring a place in the spotlight. Every day when I stream, I hope that I can live up to people’s expectations and that I don’t lose myself to the limelight. Thankfully, I have a supportive advisory group of family and friends who keep my “anxiety” meter in check and help me stay focused.”

Robin also recalled a memorable interaction he once had with his fans – he had informed them he would be attending an event in Mumbai, and to his surprise, a group of supporters showed up at the venue to meet him. Some of them had travelled from as far away as 600 kilometres! They had a whole day of activities planned out and had a great time together. “Additionally, I am always amazed when several of my fans create fan art for me in terms of wallpapers, logos, or stinger transitions. It feels good. There was also a time when my fans sent me pictures wearing my merch. That was a complete dose of satisfaction.”

The Future

Despite pushing 40, Robin has no signs of slowing down. He currently works with a small crew to handle technical aspects of his videos and streams, so he can fully focus on the content itself. “I’m game for the next five years. I want this to become my primary business and I wish it structures itself into a self-sustaining model as well. Non-gaming, I do not know. Like I said I am an entrepreneur, I might open a restaurant in Australia or buy farming land in Switzerland. Who knows? Time will tell. At the moment, my focus is to bring my businesses that have suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic back on track.”

As a parting message to his fans, SteveZDad had this to say, “Yes, you are extremely important to me. Whatever I am right now is because of your support and appreciation. I know you have the choice to watch other content creators as well. But you come to my streams and give me a gift of time. I will forever cherish this GIFT OF TIME, that you so respectfully give me. Thank you so much, you are a true rock star!”

---

Catch SteveZDad’s streams daily on his Facebook page, and join the SteveZDad Alliance to be part of his community.

Originally Published: 16th May 2020 on eGG Network

Text Version:

Entertaining Khmers from his gaming chair.

Ream Angkor might be an unfamiliar name to most of the non-Khmer-speaking regions of the world, but if you’re in the PUBG or GTA V scene in Cambodia, it should ring a bell. From a small-time PUBG Facebook page for the Cambodian community to an official Facebook Gaming partner averaging 1-3k viewers a stream (and still growing); Seihaream “Ream Angkor” Dyna has come a long way since his humble beginnings.

Ream started playing games when he was a young boy, sharing fond memories of running a farm with his sister in Harvest Moon on the original PlayStation – a gift from their father. Even though the first-person shooters he enjoys now are a far cry from the farm simulator games of the past, he is grateful to his dad for sending him down the path he now travels.

He has since doubled down on the hobby and turned it into a living, leaving behind a white-collared job at a telecommunications company in the process. No regrets for the 29-year-old who looks forward to a long career in this industry.

Ream’s foray into content creation started in 2017, when there wasn’t much localised PUBG content for Cambodia – it was a niche he wanted to fill with his Facebook page. Influenced by summit1g and Dota 2 Cambodia, he decided to start live streaming on the page, which was when he took off. He then created a YouTube channel to share his gameplay videos, which subsequently became an outlet for tech reviews as well.

The streamer’s passion has always been for the people of his country. When asked about his decision to stream in Khmer instead of English, Ream replied, “At first I started streaming in half Khmer and half English but later switched to focus on the local language when I realized that the country’s esports industry needed more help.”

His initiatives to bring vernacular gaming content to his countrymen included a well-received GTA V roleplay server, which he set up to educate Cambodians about roleplaying. The streamer also mentioned that he had quite a number of Khmer viewers living abroad, who get a sense of home through his content.

In addition to creating content on the fly on his live stream, Ream hasn’t stopped making his regular pre-recorded videos even though he seems to prefer the former over the latter these days. “Streaming can be more enjoyable as you are playing your favourite games with your favourite people. You are allowed to be yourself, make mistakes, and correct yourself on the spot. For YouTube, you have to think a lot about what to include in a 10-minute video from hours of preparation and footage! Once it is out there, it is harder to correct yourself.”

When asked about what a typical day was like, he responded, “My day usually starts just after noon, beginning with administrative duties – replying to emails, calls, meetings, and so on. I will then shoot videos for final footage, B-Roll, or test out products I am going to review. I would also try to find time to work out for about thirty to sixty minutes, then wrap everything up by about six or seven PM and stream until one to two AM. After that, I would have dinner and edit some videos until four to six in the morning. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll watch summit1g instead.”

Talk about a day packed with activities! Well, nobody said the grind would be easy. Fortunately for Ream, his hard work and dedication have paid off, after all, he has been recognized by Facebook Gaming and picked up as an official partner. Since then, his viewership and popularity have steadily increased, allowing him to even branch out into casting gigs for competitive PUBG Mobile – which he is a fan of.

When all’s said and done, Ream isn’t content with just being a streamer. He plans to be much more involved with esports in Cambodia, with hopes to develop, consult, and promote projects for the scene. He also has aspirations to be the go-to content creator for tech products, PC, and mobile games.

Even though Cambodia has its fair share of streamers, Ream stands out due to his maturity and passion for helping out the community. He had some advice to share with aspiring streamers: “Don’t focus on your viewer count – they are a blessing and a curse. Instead, focus on building a community around your personality and what you love. Also, start it as a hobby. Work smart, not hard to grow this hobby into a job. Once you have a good following and steady income, you can consider going full-time. Also, collaborate with other streamers to learn, share, and expand your reach. Staying and streaming within a small group of friends or streamers can cause you to grow and learn slower.”

Ream also spoke about the benefits of Facebook Gaming as a streaming platform. “Facebook is the go-to place for gaming for Cambodians. If you do it right, it is a lot easier to get recommended through Facebook Gaming than other platforms. And a lot of ISP (Internet Service Providers) give extra speed to Facebook.com, which makes it easier to stream (and watch streams) on Facebook.” He also found their events like the Creator Summit helpful for his career.

Till this day, Ream remains grateful to his loyal fans. “Thank you for your support over the years. I am not the most entertaining streamer out there, but in every stream, I will try to make you laugh at least once and hope to brighten up your day!”

Catch Ream Angkor in action live on his Facebook Page – he plays PUBG, GTA V, and looks forward to Valorant when it is released in the region.