A quick interview in Tokyo: Avalonstar
This post was originally posted on September 30th / 2017 over at IGDB’s old blog. We decided to save it / repost it here. Enjoy!
Yesterday we met the really cool streamer Bryan aka Avalonstar. Bryan is a professional designer that turned into a full-time broadcaster on Twitch. Before he actually worked at Twitch, as well as GitHub, Facebook and Wordpress. He also designed Mark Zuckerberg’s business card. We sat down at an Izakaya in Tokyo to talk to him about video games and streaming:
Please introduce yourself in one sentence:
Hi! My name is Bryan aka Avalonstar, a community-focused broadcaster on Twitch.
You worked for Twitch before, right? What kind of job did you do?
I was an interaction designer and designed a lot of things for Twitch. Many of the features are still there today. I did the whisper system, theatre mode and the emoticons system (the little smiley in chat that you can press to pick an icon that you want to use), as well as a lot of other things. When I joined Twitch, I had already worked with design for ten years and my first focus was to make sure that people didn’t have to use other sources than Twitch itself (like BetterTTV).
What made you quit Twitch?
As a designer I wanted to focus on the users to make Twitch even more user friendly. However, my priorities and that of the company didn’t align. There was a feeling that the designers weren’t trusted or being utilised to their fullest extent. Because of that we ran into constant roadblocks due to upper management’s micromanagement of our process that it got tiring to continue on. I still love Twitch and miss developing products for its users but the environment and me just weren’t compatible.
What kind of games do you focus on?
Before I played a lot of Mega Man, but had to quit because of an injury. Now I focus on two games: Destiny 2 and Final Fantasy 14.
What makes you stand out as a streamer?
I’m a community-focused streamer and I’m always myself. What you see is what you get. If you’d met me IRL, I’d still be the same person as I am on stream. I’m loyal to my followers and they are very loyal to me. I want to be that friend that you can play games with and not someone that people look up to and idolise. I also welcome heavy topics in chat and like to have various discussions with others.
What are your future goals regarding the channel?
I want to be in the gaming industry for as long as I can be, no matter where or what it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s streaming or working at a video game company. I just want to do this full-time without having to worry about bills. I’m doing my best and will keep doing everything that I can in order to succeed.
I do feel that I have more people watching now when I focus on only two games. I try to capture those viewers and keep them there.
What are your top 3 games?
FF14, FF4 and Chrono Trigger.
Name a few streamers that you like to watch / support.
I wanna mention two teams that I’m a part of:
The Chillest: A collection of casters that focus on welcoming communities, and a positive environment.
The Wigglers: A team on Twitch that’s dedicated to bringing you the best quality entertainment possibly!
Give us your 3 best tips to become a great streamer.
ONE: There will be bad days. You might pick the wrong game or you might feel bad. Be ready to get through them, no matter what.
TWO: Focus on the people who comes to your channel and cherish those who supports you.
THREE: Getting a partnership (Twitch) isn’t the end of something great, but the beginning of a new struggle. No matter how much you grow or how many viewers you get, there will always be new problems or bad thinking. Each time you reach a new goal, that will also be your new base.
Tell us all your social media and links so we can find you.
Thank you for letting us interview you, Bryan!
Good Luck on your journey!
