A streamer with a plethora of tricks (and content) up his sleeve!
This month, get to know zeromatter128, one of our GungHo Ambassadors for Ninjala! Over the last two years, he has built his streaming career from the ground up and established a lasting place for himself within the community! Read below for his serendipitous start as a streamer and valuable advice on becoming a content creator!
Please introduce yourself!
How's it going everyone, my name is zeromatter128. I stream a variety of games on Twitch, and create a wide array of gaming content on YouTube.
When and how did you start your career as a streamer/content creator? What kind of streams/content do you make?
"Well, one can only imagine the look on my face when Twitch emailed me that I had reached "Twitch Affiliate" on my birthday."
Oh man, that's a memory I don't think I can honestly ever forget. The year is 2020. I have a degree in the Graphic Design field, the reason I bring that up is because I definitely needed a pretty sturdy PC to be able to keep up with all the ideas I had going on at the time, and my laptop was pretty much on its way out. As I'm sure you can guess, one of the things I really wanted to test was how well a stream would hold up on the PC I built. Needless to say, it was quite the success, as I have since been able to get a lot of work done that I have had stored in the backlog for quite some time—years actually. The next part—I think—is something magical, because when trying to obtain the mark of "Twitch Affiliate", you need to meet certain criteria in order to get it. Well, one can only imagine the look on my face when Twitch emailed me that I had reached "Twitch Affiliate" on my birthday.
From there, I realized that I could finally get my ideas out there and maybe, just maybe, some people would be entertained at the ideas that I was presenting. The pledge I made to myself was that I would not be a one-trick pony, so we streamed over 30 games our first year to really get my name out there. Some of the notable games that currently stay in our schedule lineup are games such as: Ninjala, Apex Legends, and Dead By Daylight. I'd like to think that my team and I run like a programming/gaming block, if that makes sense. Something similar to Miguzi or my personal favorite, Toonami, in the sense that whenever one tunes in to the stream, it'll be like catching the latest episode of whatever shenanigans I get myself into.
What is your favorite GungHo game and why? How did you first learn about that game?
Ninjala would definitely have to be my answer, especially because of the amount of hours I have logged in that game. When comparing numbers, in terms of hours, Ninjala and Apex Legends are my top 2 games for sure, and depending on the game, just cramming in that many hours is quite the task itself. I actually first heard about the game around E3 time and when the news popped up on the Nintendo Switch.
Do you have any advice for someone who just started playing Ninjala?
Well for starters, in Ninjala, I definitely want to say DON'T GO LOOKING UP GUIDES on what builds are good here and what builds are good there. There's a lot of things to glance over, especially with this game. My hot take: it doesn't help to just assume other people's builds will work for you. The builds may be good, sure, but what happens when the builds are suddenly not good? Or the builds are just too complicated to follow? Learn the basic fundamentals first. Definitely take your time with it and please, don't rush. I'm sure I speak for all gamers when I say you have your good days and your not-so-good days. Be sure to explore any and all possible options the game has to offer. It may seem overwhelming at first, but trust me, once you get it down, the game is actually quite fun. If you go in weapons a-blazing and try to learn that way, I can guarantee it will be more frustrating. No gamer is just THAT GOOD from the start; I'm sure a lot of us Ninjas did a lot of practicing before we went into the ninja pit. Also, maybe play with friends so you all can share the experience together; it would definitely be better than going into it alone.
How did you become a GungHo America Ambassador and what do you like most about it?
"My favorite part of being a GungHo Ambassador is that I get to meet new fellow gamers and help spread Ninjala news wherever I can."
That's an interesting question. I'd imagine it began with filling out an application. How I came to that part, I'm not really sure, but I can recall that a good portion of the community, at least on my side of the tracks, really wanted me to be to become an ambassador. So, needless to say, I definitely owe it to them that I'm even in the community's conversation. Additionally, another fellow GungHo Ambassador, Jennerationz, encouraged me to go with it. She definitely helped boost morale for sure.
My favorite part of being a GungHo Ambassador is that I get to meet new fellow gamers and help spread Ninjala news wherever I can.
Do you have any goals as a GungHo America Ambassador?
Any goals as GungHo Ambassador? Lets see; I actually pitched/created an idea for some type of Community Story Board, which is an idea that Jennerationz (I think) helped tease. It's always interesting to see the community come up with OC's and stuff and I want to see if I can maybe talk with some of those individuals. These artists always come up with like some crazy backstories for the characters they make in Ninjala. I know someone has like....60+ OC's. I'm just like, how on Earth do you keep track of them? Haha. How I want to go about it is still being drawn up, but I would like to get back on track with that idea by seeing if the community is up for it. However, the pitch has to be done the right way. Especially for something like this!
Do you have any goals as a content creator/streamer in general?
One of the goals I had at the time was to create some sort of "Twitch Group" for Ninjala and oddly enough, it actually got created! So I'm pretty happy to work with like-minded individuals and share TOP-SECRET ideas.
Another goal of mine is to keep on being somewhat consistent. However, with the ideas I have in my head, the ideas I CURRENTLY have drawn out in front of me, and finding a balance between Twitch and YouTube, it's a lot for one person to shoulder, so we will go at a snail's pace. At least this way, I won't suffer from burnout, and I can always go back to the drawing board to fix/tweak any idea that doesn't really work.
What are your motivations for streaming/creating content?
"If you're not in the conversation, then you must be doing something right."
This is a good question. What keeps me motivated is being able to run around in the "underground." What I mean by that is, I get to tackle the things I want to tackle without having any outside interference. It's no secret that not many people have heard of me; in fact that's kind of what makes it exciting. It means most of my plans for doing X, Y, and Z never get "leaked" haha. This much I can say, whenever my team and I do go public with whatever info we want to share, we do it in a particular fashion. Announcing something just flat-out doesn't cut it for me. It's too bland and there's no surprise factor. I throw so much into having a surprise factor which has gotten me more than a few raised eyebrows. If I managed to do that, then that means whatever I'm doing on my end is working...somewhat, lol.
One quote a certain someone from my team and I go by is, "If you're not in the conversation, then you must be doing something right."
Do you have any tips or advice for someone who wants to start streaming/creating content?
From the experience I have streaming and creating content for over the past two years, I have some notes:
- Don't be a one-trick pony in terms of content, whether it be games or something else; have at least two ideas going and see what sticks. If it sticks, repeat it, but don't overdo it. For example, if people like the content you create for one game, try one or two days of that game, and explore other options on the other days. Always make sure you have a backup idea in case something needs to change. In terms of creating content or streaming games, ask yourself this question: "Do I want to be stuck doing the same thing day in and day out?" I feel like this question is one that goes WAY over people's heads in the beginning of their journey and then soon after, burnout creeps up behind them. Then, when they want to switch up their formula, they get left behind because they were only known for ONE thing.
- Establish yourself first. This one may not sit well with most, but from my personal experience, following crowds doesn't get you anywhere. Meeting others is all cool and fine, I'm not saying that's bad. Don't try to establish yourself from within other spaces that you have no control over. Take me, for example. Too many places these days just come off as "exclusive," so I established a "home base," or "bubble," first for my personal space. Before we knew it, the team and I called it the "Zero Matter X-periment." Definitely wouldn't have been able to do that if I was bouncing from one place to another.
- Communicate with your followers as much as you can. This one I find strange that I even have to bring up. I'm sharing this because one of my earliest mods said something that to this day, I can't shake out of my head: "You know, you talk to us a lot. Streamers don't normally talk to their audience, at least not like the way you do. You want to get to know your followers it seems." I find that communication within your "home base" is key. Gather some feedback, chat with them in the morning/afternoon/night or whenever you can, I wouldn't leave them hanging. Who knows, you might even find others that share the same vision as you.
- Make Bold Announcements. Don't just type, "Hey I will be playing a game with so-and-so." Be bolder about it. Make a graphic sign or something about said announcement. If you have a team, have little meetings about spreading your announcements here and there. Meetings between teammates are always important.
- Communicate with others who are in the same boat as you. Time and time again, I see so many beginners trying to make their way into a big space just to try to get some type of attention or something they think will help them. Don't do this. Look into other people maybe doing the same thing you do and see how they are starting their journey too. Connect with them on that level, support each other, and let it happen organically. Have your home base team up with their home base, host community events with each other, shout each other out, etc. THIS, I think, is better than trying to muscle your way into an already-established home base. At least in yours, it's your rules instead of someone else's.
- Take care of yourself. This one is pretty self-explanatory, but don't let others tell you what to do or what to play; stick to your vision. Don't let others sway your opinion. Rest when needed.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
I skateboard and longboard whenever I can these days haha.
Who are your favorite Ninjala characters?
In no particular order: Ron, Berecca, Burton, Jane, and Emma
Learn more about zeromatter128 on his social channels!
Instagram | Twitch | YouTube
Are you also a streamer or content creator? Love GungHo games? Apply now to be a GungHo America Ambassador and rep our games!