Game Rant recently had a chance to sit down with Amber Howard, the new Head of Talent at TalentX Gaming (TXG), a collaboration between esports leader ReKTGlobal and TalentX Entertainment. Howard has been influential in launching and maintaining the careers of many successful content creators and esports figures following her extensive experience in talent management at both the NFL and Machinima.
We spoke about the keys to success in content creation and TXG’s creator first mentality, the serious implications of internet fame and the future of streaming, and closed out with some of Amber’s insights on the benefits of diversity to gaming as a whole. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Finding Success as a Creator
Q: What makes a good content creator in your eyes? A good esports professional?
A: What I look for in content creators are multi-hyphenate talents- talents that are on a variety of platforms if not all, but also talents who are open to exploring traditional verticals or other verticals within the digital space, something other than the platform that they’re already on. If they’re on YouTube for example, is there interest in merchandising? In traditional voiceover, hosting, acting, shoutcasting? I’m really looking for talent that is interested in multiple opportunities.
On the esports side obviously you’re looking for a player who is good at the game, probably multiple games, but also someone with enough personality that we could look into content creation or something out of esports.
GR: It’s a great point that part of being an esports personality is having a-
A: A personality! laughter We want to watch our favorite competitors, but there’s also something else to it, and why we all have social media. It’s voyeuristic. We’re interested in their lives, we want to have a connection. In purely hardcore competition, there’s very little that an average player can relate to. So it’s nice to have a relatable personality too.
Q: There’s often charismatic creators who go into esports, or vice versa, esports players who find success as streamers or YouTubers outside of pro-league. How important is gaming skill to an entertainer, and how important is being entertaining to a successful esports personality?
A: It’s twofold. If you’re an entertainer, say like Doc (Dr. Disrespect), people are going to come and watch you because you are such an entertainer. Some people might come if a streamer’s good at the game just from a respect for the skill level. There’s two buckets that you can tap into and it’s not one or the other.
Q: What does TXG’s “creator first” approach mean?
A: TXG is a collaboration between TalentX and ReKTGlobal, and it’s creator first in that it was started by people who were content creators themselves. I learned creator first and talent first when I was working at the NFL on the traditional side, and then at Machinima on the gaming side. I’m a passionate sports fan, so NFL was my dream job, but then my dream got bigger. I was working with a lot of A-list talent, and I got to see just how much of a demand was put on them…. they are just being pulled in so many different directions.
The networks or the businesses or what have you didn’t care, because to them it was just a way to make money. I learned early on how to toe the line so that creators feel appreciated and the business feels that they are making money. When I got into gaming, I went to Machinima. RIP, but they took advantage of creators, so I stepped in to try and fix that.
At a deeper level, creatives understand their limits but they’re also visionaries, they have big ideas, and at a traditional company you might not have the opportunity to explore some of those big ideas. We have a huge advantage because we have creatives who are helming the company, who know that there are opportunities outside of the traditional verticals. You can see that in our partnerships, in Tiktok gaming houses, there are ideas that aren’t being explored on the traditional side that creatives aren’t afraid to explore.
GR: It seems like there’s a double edged sword in gaming and digital platforms- any one individual can achieve success, but they also then have to be responsible for all of the backend.
A: Right, and that ends up being an advantage because they then understand all the parts of the business.
The Challenges and Future of Content Creation
Q: Due to platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch, individuals can gain massive celebrity status on the internet based more on their own personality than on any team/organization/company affiliation. As we often see, many creators have no one to answer to but themselves, their fans, and maybe their platform. How do you think that effects the gaming industry?
A: We can see the aftermath of people taking advantage of their platform. For me, even back at Machinima when I was on the management side, I would hammer into my talent all the time that “You are a public figure. You have a platform.” And often they get that to the extent that they feel they have a community, and they feel safe there, but sometimes I have to reel talent in because it’s not just their community that’s following them. There are brands, possible future opportunities watching you. You have to be careful and put context behind what you say even if you’re passionate about it. Twitter is great, it can be a great platform, but it can also be the death of talent. I’ve lost fully funded and paid-for campaigns because of something someone tweeted and didn’t put context behind.
I encourage my talents to take consideration into the fact that they are a brand, they are a public figure, and even though they’ve created a community that is safe there are people in and around that who are watching, so they have to be extremely careful about what they are putting out there. I had to speak with a talent last week about being careful about what’s said in DMs, because people will screenshot it and put it out there, and not everyone is your friend.
GR: Yeah, it’s interesting. To be on the internet at all is to give up a certain level of privacy, and to be a part of a community, possibly the focus of a community, is to accept a certain level of responsibility. That’s a tough mix to put on one person.
A: Especially young people. That’s something that many young creators are not prepared for.
Q: Content creation is a huge industry, but it’s also very young and it’s changing so quickly. Do you have any predictions about the future of esports and content creation?
A: That’s a big one. It’s not going anywhere. Content creation and streaming is still very much the wild wild west. Now that its becoming more mainstream it’s only going to continue to grow and expand. You see platforms like Twitch and Facebook doubling down and trying to get more and more creators on their platform.
GR: And you see things like Mixer, which was huge and backed by Microsoft, can totally fail.
A: Right! And that’s unfortunate, I had creators who were growing and really finding a home on Mixer who are now out of a platform. Mixer really did have some amazing tools for streaming and accessibility that we found extremely useful specifically for Ewok. It’s a tough lot but in gaming you’re never too big to fail. We’re all still very shocked by it.
Diversity and Potential
Q: You’ve been involved with the success of many female and/or POC gaming personalities. For the people in the back, why is diversity in entertainers and esports pros good for the games industry?
A: It’s as good for the games industry as it is for every other industry. People want to see people who look like them. I want to be able to be able to relate to them on a deeper level. When I was growing up I used to watch Pam Oliver on the sidelines of football games. There’s a certain validity and pride you feel as a person of color when you see another person of color succeed in something you are passionate about about, and gaming is no different. You’ve got these games that are massive, and content creators who are massive, and there’s billions of dollars involved. When I go to a competition or an event I want to feel like I’m part of this community and I’m not the odd man out, I want there to be a connection to creators.
It’s not something I got into gaming wanting to do; it’s not something I thought about when I started. But brands later on would notice when I was filling a roster with 18-34 year old Caucasian men, and they’d ask if I had any women or anyone else, and I would look at my roster and have to say no. When I started at Machinima it was just: “these are the biggest guys, they get the most numbers,” I didn’t even think about it. Later on down the line I wanted to work with other women because I had worked in male dominated fields my entire career. I want to make sure that I can recognize and elevate other females, no matter what space I’m in. I want to be represented and represent other women, to create another layer of personal connection.
45% of all US gamers are women. And Black and Hispanic video game players are twice as likely to identify as gamers. It just makes sense to strive for that representation because it’s there in the numbers.
Q: On that note, now that so many creators directly effect gaming communities, and some have even forayed into game development, how much potential do you see for content creators to change the way that games are made?
A: I think it depends on the creator. They have to not just be a large creator, but they need to be unique and have a real value that they can add to the game. In our case, Soleil, Ewok, is one of those cases. There are so many platforms that are interested in hearing form her, and a big initiative we were working on with Mixer was a drive to make the platform more accessible for hard of hearing and deaf people like her. To not only work on Xbox and cloud, but also Mixer. And there was tons of development that they wanted to involve her in, in addition to games.
Publishers have a focus of putting out a really great game that’s compelling and entertaining, and those are the main factors. I think sometimes accessibility, and even inclusion- characters and what they look like- can be overlooked. As people with social media are calling out game developers, they’re saying to put more people of color and women in the games. For Ewok, she’d love to be able to play many games on launch but they don’t have accessibility features. It took Fortnite a few years before they added visual cues and other cues to make it easier for people like her. If there could be more collaboration with people with disabilities or insights on things like character development, it would be beneficial for everyone.
Q: For my last question, I just want to ask what projects you’re most excited for moving forward.
A: We’ve got some cool projects coming out. TXG is launching a gaming house, so we’re really looking to double down on what we’re saying about being creator first. Bridging the gap between esports and Tiktok gaming is something we’re looking forward to. We have GameMaster, the reality show, that we’re looking forward to. A lot of things are under the hood right now. I’m excited to be a part of this team because I think we can make a lot of headway and be a leader in what we are trying to do.
