42Shops did a Changed collab with YouTube game blogger Charem the Shadox a few months ago. We gave Charem a couple of Puro, Tiger Shark plush toys as gifts and Charem recorded an unboxing video for us via Twitch Live.
We are very grateful to Charem for his video, not only for promoting our products to a broader audience. More importantly, we had just opened our store, and Charem helped us to improve our store during the collaboration process. They even brought up some grammatical and punctuation errors. We appreciate this.
Charem is an exciting and decent person. So after that collaboration, we’ve been looking for a chance to work with Charem again. Finally, we had an email interview with Charem. He provided us with exciting content from the perspective of a game video creator. If you’re a Changed gamer or game enthusiast, this is a post you don’t want to miss. :)
42shops’ email interview with Charem
Q1: When did you get interested in recording video games? How long does it usually take to make a video? What’s the hardest thing about making a video?
A: Oh man, I’ve wanted to record gaming footage for a long time. My YouTube channel is actually very old; I started recording Let’s Plays all the way back in 2008!
How long it takes to release a video can vary. Nowadays, most of my YouTube content is actually streamed Twitch content brought to YouTube so there’s limited editing needed, but I still make logical breakpoints and try to help the videos flow well for both live and recorded mediums. I do knock out properly-edited content just for YouTube as well, and I used to do that exclusively in the past on my YouTube channel.
Editing a video is something I’m quite able to do, but it’s a tedious process for me. My Changed Lubber video, one of my most popular and most-intensively-edited videos, took a very long time to make. Probably around 50 hours of work for that 24-minute video? I’m very proud of it, though! Just the act of editing is definitely the hardest part of making a video for me, not because it’s necessarily difficult to do, but because of the sheer amount of time it can take to properly edit even, say, 10 seconds of video. It feels like it’ll take forever, haha!
Q2: We found that the number of views of your game video varies greatly, ranging from dozens of views to tens of thousands of views. Do you think there is any pattern? Is it predictable which content is more popular? Or is it random?
A: I’m mostly a variety-streamer, and a variety-creator. I am not content to just slip into one niche and stick to it; while it does help some channels grow if they have only one or two identities like this, I simply find it a little too boring and restrictive.
I constantly like to explore new types of content, and thus, hopefully, introduce people to things they’ve never seen before. Of course, this does mean that some content gets often overlooked, especially on YouTube. Some of that overlooked content is still quite enjoyed by my Twitch audience though, which still makes it worth producing.
I definitely know that the more-furry the video content is, the more people will watch it though. I have the Furry Feature series for general furry games that does okay; there’s also my Transfur Treats series and Changed-type content for the many TF fans; though the most-popular content I do has to be my Playing By the Pound series where I check out furry vore, fat and inflation games.
I do enjoy checking all this furry stuff out, but I tend to spread it out. It can take a lot of work to actually set up to play these things, as I have to curate most of the furry content with my staff to ensure it’s all clean enough for public audiences… and I censor/edit the content before sharing it if it isn’t. That’s the problem with furry content; it sometimes goes into adult territory! But me and my staff make sure what I share with others is safe to view. It’s worth all the time and effort, seeing as people love the furry content. :)
Q3: We know that many teenagers like games very much, but many parents worry that children playing games for too long will affect their studies. How do you see the relationship between games and learning? What advice would you give to parents?
A: I would say: All things in moderation! You can have too much of anything, including video games. But games can also stimulate the mind. I’d recommend that parents talk to their kids and figure out with them how to balance what they want to do, and what they need to do. Work before play is typically the best strategy, but play refreshes the mind as well. Find something fair, and don’t just dictate commands; make conversation.
Q4: If a person likes to play games, can he make a living from it? How hard is it to become an esports player and game host? What is the most important talent for making a living playing game?
A: It is entirely possible to make a living from gaming! I am managing it thanks to the wonderful community of people I have built up. :)
But it can be tricky, and risky, and definitely hard to get started with; when I first got to streaming, it was quite an uphill battle to get any viewers. It still is sometimes, but I really have some dedicated fans and friends who I would never have met without this job. <3 As for esports…that is quite a thing! I’m not professional enough at any one game to be an esports player, but I hear that can pay quite well if you’re good at it!
As for the most important talent to being a content creator…be honest, and be yourself. Give people the genuine article, and don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and get chatty. It’s easy to be shy, but remember that silly mistakes are usually just more entertainment for those watching; so never take yourself too seriously, and value your audience. :)
Q5: What games do you like to play? What’s your favorite type of game? Who are the game developers and game developers you admire the most? If you had the opportunity to temporarily join a game team – for example as their Chief Experience Officer – Which team would you want to join?
A: I like a lot of games! I’m constantly switching between genres; the only things I don’t ever really play are 4X/Strategy Games and Fighting Games. I focus on animal-themed games though, since there’s plenty of variety and it’s a fun theme!
I admire DragonSnow quite a bit for making such an odd furry game that got so much attention; same with Skyox and his team with Tribal Hunter (which just left early access and is getting a lot of attention!). I also really appreciate Stray Fawn Studios as they were the first dev studio to offer me a sponsorship as a streamer, and they bought me a way better mic that really helped me grow a lot as a streamer!
Hmm… I’m not sure what dev team I’d be interested to join myself, but I suppose any furry-friendly team that is also working on an animal-themed game, I’d be interested to hear a pitch from! :)
Q6: What do you think is the most valuable thing that games bring to you?
A: A happy feeling of discovery, I think! I love playing a variety of games and also playing them blind when possible. It’s so much fun to just experience a game for the first time with my audience right there. It’s fun to discuss things I’ve just seen in a new game with people! I love it when games can surprise me in a positive with their content.
Q7: When did you start playing games? Which game do you spend the most time on?
A: Oh gosh, I guess all the way back when my family had an Atari and Nintendo, so like in 1995! I don’t remember all the time back then very well but there were definitely a lot of early-life gaming moments back then; I don’t think I really knew what I was doing though, hahaha. Well, the game I spend the most time on… I like fresh, new experiences with games so I don’t often replay games unless they have a lot of in-game incentives to do so… I used to be really into the MMO Final Fantasy 14 though, and I’ve clocked 1,655 hrs into it, so I guess that can certainly count!
Q8: What character in the game would you most like to be if you could? Why is that?
A: If we’re talking games in general, I’d kinda love to be a Bubble Dragon from Bubble Bobble because they are adorable! Or maybe a Yoshi from Mario because they are also adorable! There’s tons of good options out there, really. If you meant a character from my previous answer, FF14…hmm! The Carbuncle creature, which is a cute summon creature that was in most Final Fantasy games, would be a really neat choice. Magical fox thing!
Q9: When did you first learn about the game Changed? What attracted you most to the game? If you encounter DragonSnow while shopping, you can ask him a question. What would you like to ask?s
A: I learned about it from my good friend Kyrio I think, about half a year after it initially released? Kyrio is my friend most into TF/transfur games, so he was aware of it well before me. I was intrigued by the setting and by the fact a very-furry game got an official Steam release. All of the gooey monsters were very unique too!
Haha, I’ve actually had a few great conversations with DragonSnow here and there, he appreciated some Changed fan content I made! If I got the chance to talk to him again, I think I would just want to wish him well and ask how his life is going? I know he has had a number of hardships over the years and a serious illness of some sort too, so I really hope he is recovering or has recovered from that situation and is living better. :)
Conclusions
Finally, we are very grateful to Charem for generously sharing his story. We are also very encouraged by Charem’s story - that one can make a living from one’s hobby. Of course, this is a challenging path.
Charem is a great person to learn from for those who love games if you want to make a career out of them. If you have any other questions for Charem, please drop us a line, and we’ll send Charem another interview invitation after we’ve gathered enough questions.
Also, please let us know if you’d like to see interviews with other game developers or content creators. Don’t forget to join our mailing list if you want to receive more interviews. :)
