Ikkiw makes a fun living
By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of True iContent
Did you know
The first game that Ikkiw ever played was The Sims 1.
Many avid gamers enjoy watching commentators play video games on YouTube so that they can learn about the games and the best strategies for playing them. In Thailand, computer game commentators are known as game casters.
Attapol Kaewarsa (Ikkiw), better known as Xcrosz, is one of the top Thai game casters, with more than 470,000 subscribers to his channel at www.youtube.com/user/Xcrosz.
In 2011, Ikkiw created his first video, for Resident Evil 5, with a school friend. The feedback from YouTube viewers was better than he expected, so Ikkiw worked on improving his style and the quality of his videos. The 19-year-old is now so successful that he can make a living as a game caster.
Student Weekly recently caught up with Ikkiw at the True iContent office, where he told us all about himself and his cool job.
Student Weekly: What made you decide to post your first game casting video on YouTube?
Ikkiw: The popular game caster Lawbreaker inspired me. Before that, I used to post videos of games with my comments on YouTube, but I didn’t develop it. Then later I saw Lawbreaker’s videos and found that he did what I was doing before. I decided to comment on the game Resident Evil 5 with my friend, and I posted the video on many web boards for people to see. Lawbreaker shared my video with his fans, and a lot of people came to know about me from that.
Student Weekly: How did you feel when your video got a big response?
Ikkiw: I was thrilled. I didn’t expect to attract that much interest. Before my inbox was empty, and now I receive lots of messages and have a lot of subscribers. When I got a compliment, I felt overwhelmed. Those comments inspired me to do my best and to keep improving. I really have to give Lawbreaker credit for making me known at the beginning.
Student Weekly: How have you improved your videos?
Ikkiw: I learned more about equipment from the Internet and by asking staff at electronics stores. I’ve improved a lot since my first video. My first video had unclear visuals, and the sound of the game was louder than my comments. Now the visuals in the videos are clear and I use better equipment to record my voice.
Student Weekly: How would you describe the style of your videos?
Ikkiw: When I do voice acting, I try to become the characters so that the viewers can feel the emotions of the characters. My videos are quite raw. I don’t use a lot of special effects, but I edit some parts so that it isn’t too long or boring. My videos don’t have a lot of jokes compared with some popular game casters, because I’m not good at making jokes. But viewers have told me that my videos are delightful.
Student Weekly: How do you select games to post on your channel?
Ikkiw: I choose games based on my understanding of the English language used. There are still some slang terms that I don’t understand, and I find content related to business or the military difficult.
I also can’t do action games, because players have to make many choices, and different choices lead to different content. This kind of game requires a fast interpretation, which I’m not able to do.
Student Weekly: What skills should a game caster have?
Ikkiw: Having a great voice isn’t as important as being able to come up with nice things to say. Don’t use swear words too often, and don’t be too aggressive. Knowledge of the English language is important. You also need to have some basic equipment to make recordings.
Student Weekly: How do you deal with negative comments?
Ikkiw: I don’t mind criticism about work, but I block any rude comments that relate to my relatives or friends.
Student Weekly: What has been your proudest moment as a game caster so far?
Ikkiw: I’ve developed from a boy who had nothing to becoming Xcrosz. I now have my own merchandise including books, hats and T-shirts. It’s hard to believe!
Student Weekly: Do you have any advice for anybody who wants to be a game caster?
Ikkiw: Start by creating a simple clip and posting it on Facebook, so that your friends can see it. Then learn from what you do. Keep trying to improve. If you want to be part of a game caster community, you can check out www.caster.os.co.th.
Vocabulary
- avid (adj): very enthusiastic about something
commentator (n): a person who is an expert on a particular subject and talks or writes about it on television, radio, in newspapers, etc.
living (n): money to buy the things that you need in life
edit (v): to take what has been filmed, recorded, etc. and decide which parts to include and in which order
delightful (adj): very pleasant
swear word (n): a rude or offensive word
aggressive (adj): behaving in an angry or very determined and forceful way
