Gaming communities can be a little daunting. Knowing that almost everyone you speak to has much more information than you can be a little offputting. Otzdarva, like many other content creators, has provided hundreds of hours worth of tutorials and breakdowns, making joining that community just a little easier.
I have never spoken to a Dead By Daylight content creator before. Though I enjoy the game quite a lot, I've never really found myself to be part of the community, so to speak. This is why I was surprised that Álex, AKA Otzdarva, ever responded to my Twitter DM. Within a few hours, he organised a slot on a Tuesday and gave me an hour of time to chat about whatever came to mind. This meeting ended up lasting almost 90 minutes.
In this, Álex was receptive to all conversational paths and loved talking about his drives, the things that scare him, and why he makes content in the first place. I got a person different to the streamer in a way, but also quite familiar to the DBD geek I watch on YouTube. I understood why so many like him.
Identity
Being born in Spain, currently living in Andorra, and streaming primarily in English, Álex has had to fuse many different backgrounds and identities to get to where he is today: "If you speak Catalan, you are closing yourself to a lot of people, even within Catalonia." This barrier makes speaking Catalan nearly impossible as a streamer. "The reason I started making content in English, many years before I started streaming was first out of necessity. The things I was interested in didn't have any communities that spoke Spanish…. very quickly, I learned I could make friends across the world… that is something charming about the internet."
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+ 4It is clear that this breakout into internet success was partially a result of online friendships. Starting his videos with "Hello friends, this is Otz," you can look back all the way to Dark Souls red running videos to see the way that Álex's friendship shapes his channel. Though the English-speaking market was bigger, the Spanish-speaking one was less crowded, so Álex didn't see either option as good or bad, just different. This being said, Álex saw how widespread English is as an excuse to meet more people and stay connected across the world. Álex seemed very grateful for his friends and family in our chat, and this only came out more as we talked.
I then asked if he ever feels that his choice of language changes the way he engages with the rest of the world: "I do feel a bit more in touch with more international or Americanised communities, whether it is video games, politics." We talked about what identity means, and what we take from it. "Even though I like to meet people from anywhere, I don't think I need to belong in a group. I think of myself in a very individualistic manner."
Philosophy
From here, Álex talked about the struggle with keeping in touch with multiple communities. Citing the Hogwarts Legacy boycott, he said "in the English-speaking community, everyone was up in arms. In the Spanish community - crickets." Though he acknowledged the anecdotal nature of this view, Álex said that cultural barriers, reporting barriers, and language barriers made him realise he needs to stay informed on topics that may not touch his unique sphere of the internet.
click to enlarge + 4Previously making more factual videos without his voice or style, Álex cites one specific project as the reason he changed to a more personality-driven channel. "It was a video that was very sarcastic - basically trolling my viewers. Showing things that were completely wrong just to see if people would see the sarcasm. People liked it and I loved it. "
"It was like someone who tells a joke that gets a reaction so good they grow up to be a comedian."
Oftentimes being the comedian is about laughing at yourself, and Álex loves to do that on stream. "I have a certain naivety that makes me susceptible to embarrass myself." His challenge runs are one of the best ways of doing this. He talked very highly about the value in getting not only the audience but yourself emotionally invested in each stream.
What's in a name?
When I asked about his name, he brought me right back to my first question once more. Otzdarva is a name Álex grabbed from Armored Core. Thinking back to being a kid, he said "It wasn't translated. There was no content in Spanish for decades. I read all the guides, resources, and games FAQs in English. That's part of how I learned English."
I then asked what his name might be if he started now, following that same naming convention. "If I started today playing DBD, I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to take some risks I have taken." Sometimes, content creators can be locked into a niche, so we talked about what it means to be "the DBD guy," and if he is worried about losing his audience if he changes focus.
click to enlarge + 4"It's disheartening when you are the Dark Souls guy… and people are like 'why don't you go back to the thing everyone wants to watch you for?' If you listen to those voices, you will never try anything new. If you never try anything new, you will stagnate. If you stagnate, you will die as a content creator."
Criticism
When you're creating content, it is your job to both spot where your channel will go and retain the audience you have already captured. Álex seemed grateful to have friends and family to keep him in line, filtering through a lot of that criticism to know what is justified.
"One of the most eye-opening things that happened to me: I was browsing the internet and found a forum where people gathered to harass streamers." When chatters were encouraged to stream snipe Álex, they chose not to as they wouldn't get the charged reaction they look for. This is part of the reason why his rules say it is okay to be mean to him but not other chatters or mods.
Naturally, if bad actors don't get the results they want, those who criticise in good faith can be met more appropriately. "If I know someone is being cheeky and tries to ask a loaded question… I try to direct it in a way that gives them the benefit of the doubt…. If you build a reputation around doing this, people will understand it's not worth their time trying to mess with you."
Privilege
"I do have a very big advantage or privilege in that I'm in the middle of a safe demographic/racial pod that I'm not offensive to anyone. There are very few out there who are offended by my presence." Álex often tried to drive this point home throughout our conversation. Though he can give tips or say how he deals with adversity, he can't claim to know the experience of those who are more disadvantaged than he is.
click to enlarge + 4Álex comes across as very sincere in how he thinks about politics and social issues. He tries to make his stream safe for marginalised people but casts aside the "Ally" label in our chat, as he thinks there are many out there who do a lot more for LGBTQ+ people on Twitch and wants to celebrate those instead. He seems to believe he hasn't quite done enough to claim this label.
"The way I see it, I've done nothing to earn a medal of being an LGBT fighter or ally. I've done the bare minimum which is to treat people with respect." This being said, Álex seemed very willing to own up to mistakes he has made throughout creation.
Cancellation
"There's not always a desire to see the other side and be better." Álex gave me a story about a viewer who brought up channel watch time rewards. For watching Álex's stream, you could earn points to go towards a leaderboard and earn small rewards. Though seemingly harmless initially, the viewer said this made them uncomfortable as the wording and system reminded them of gambling. Álex changed the watch time rewards and wording in order to make his Stream feel like a better place.
"When you listen to people that have a different view from you, if you show that, people appreciate it a lot." He then told me that he worries that the bar for respect and decency given to LGBTQ+ is quite low on the internet, and that is perhaps part of the reason he is seen as an ally.
"I remember watching one of my old videos recently and my jaw dropped. In the first minute of the video, I dropped a slur. Not one of the more charged and offensive slurs but one nonetheless… I went 'that's not me anymore.' I took that video down." Álex talked about growth a lot in our conversation, and seemed rather proud of where he is now and where his journey has taken him.
Apathy
One thing that popped up consistently in our conversation was the concept of apathy. Álex used to work as an emergency services call handler and his stream taking off moved him away from a career he found filled with people who have become apathetic to bad situations. Within this role, you are trained to almost assume the worst so you leave or get used to it.
Álex was afraid of developing this apathy himself, and spots a trend of apathy spreading online too. Ultimately, not caring about your work, friends, and family can result in you not caring enough to be happy and fulfilled. Though he loves streaming, Álex chatted to me quite a lot about his friends, his partner, his dog, and the joys of the world around him that keep him centred and moving forward.
Lamenting on his time here, he told me: "I don't know if I want to find out that one day the suffering doesn't get to me." When thinking about his colleagues and even himself, he said "You're going to start to think that society isn't worth fighting for." It was clear in my 90 minutes with Álex that he thinks it is.
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