Maneater is a game about hostile environments.
Alright, kid, I get it. You've been anointed gamer royalty by the council of the nine. You got yourself a rabid and only moderately toxic following on Twitchtube-tok-book, and your content is generating enough raw energy to eclipse the sun.
Now you wanna bling that boogie and swim with some serious sharks in Hollywood. Cool, I'm with the shit. It's my hobby and job to connect the dots and my callsign at the end of this blog is far from cap, I do believe in you and want you to go out there and do great things. I only have one piece of advice, don't do it.
Why? Well, the answer is three-part.
One, Hollywood is on fire. The serial rapist that ran Hollywood died due to common decency snipping the hair that secured the sword of Damocles that hung above his head. This led to a feudal war between digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu etc.. Nobody in the town can tell up from down, shows about people reading the phonebook are getting greenlit then buried in the desert, and every intern has crowned themselves the true Lord Rahl. And all this has been compounded by covid, which solidified streaming as the only game in town.
So basically, the industry is scrambling to position themselves where you already are.
Two, Hollywood doesn't know what it is doing. Let's say you decide to sign on with one of the four old gods; CAA, William Morris, UTA, or ICM. Inside that building are people trained to never say no and strangle a baby seal to close with no hesitation. Most important of all, they don't respect gaming, they don't respect digital content, and they don't respect you. Once they get to talking it's easy to get blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce in the middle of the night. But they don't and they won't. Please don't forget that.
So the question becomes, what can they do for you that you haven't already done for yourself?
Three, You can do it yourself. Build a staff on your terms with people you trust. Organize local events to build real organic community bonds and partner with endemic brands on your own terms. Create a business plan and push hard into merch as a rev stream. Stop working as an influencer and start working as an influence. Sell your content to brands and platforms, not yourself.
A boilerplate five-year contract with an agency you don't trust on a platform you don't even know will be popping in five years might as well be a lifetime sentence. If you wanna see your future in that scenario just talk to any musician that got roped into a record label 360 deal.
Anyway, I know you are gonna do what you are gonna do, so do that and I'll back your move. I've been working in the shadows long enough to know that "Those who can't do, teach." is real talk. My only job is to amplify your value because I believe in gaming and I believe in you. And I'm fine with that. Just be sure to not make your first move your worst move. Alright, fuck off please, my Zoom crochet class is starting. Turtleneck day, I'm hype.
Shouts to info. rip Tb rip TC rip Tall-T. Love is wise, hatred is foolish. Get out there and do great things, we believe in you. Also Jobs.
The Protoculture Mixtape : Issue : Games : Contempo
