“My dream is to be the Number One Malaysian Gaming Youtuber!” declares Farhan “TheAimGames” Aiman when we approached him recently for an interview – and guess what? We believe him!
Not only did he manage to be one of the top three gamers in Fundeavour in the month of July, TheAimGames has been an entertainer in the gaming community for an amazing 2 and a half years, making Youtube videos on his gaming channel after the same name.
“I got started in gaming from watching other people play games on YouTube, specifically KSI and PewDiePie. My cousin also got me into gaming, showing me a variety of games to try out. Watching both KSI and PewDiePie making videos of themselves playing games inspired me to start my YouTube Journey, but I constantly reminded myself at the time that if I were to ever start that journey, I needed to complete SPM first,” he says.
Wisely going after his own advice, TheAimGames started making videos only after finishing SPM (the high school leaving examination in Malaysia) and managed to get a partnership with Freedom! MCN, a Youtube network that enabled him to learn more tips and tricks on how to grow, access to some music libraries, and joining a great community of fellow Youtubers.
“It is the same site where I found CallMeMok,” he says (Note: CallMeMok was also featured in our Gamer of the Week several weeks ago!), “And from there, we started becoming friends with one another.”
It is thus no surprise that being on Youtube as a content creator has given TheAimGames memories like no other. “Interacting with my viewers and sharing funny moments with one another is an experience I will always cherish deep in my heart,” he relates.
Not surprisingly, TheAimGames admits to sharing the same opinions with our previous Gamers of the Week on the problems facing potential Youtubers – and gamers who want to follow in his footsteps.
“Our country does not recognize gaming to be a potential career path, thinking video games will only distract our minds from pursuing a different career path,” he says. “They do not understand how gaming can help a lot of gamers in their future, whether they want to be a competitive gamer, an entertainer or a content creator. Therefore, it is up to us to show them what gaming can really do to change a person’s life.”
“Our country does not recognize gaming to be a potential career path, thinking video games will only distract our minds from pursuing a different career path.” – TheAimGames
He suggests gamers who want to help can begin by showing them the success that other gamers have found in video games. “For example, (these can be) gaming YouTubers who found success from making videos of themselves playing games, or competitive gamers who found success from winning video game tournaments. Both methods are reliable enough to make a living off of playing video games and despite many challenges they face, like media backlash, hate and so on, they never gave up on their passion.”
He also believes that there might be light at the end of the tunnel, as video games could soon be recognized as a mean to earn income in the near future. That said, the extent of this remains to be seen as many people are still unaware of this possibility.
How, then, can the industry help speed up this process?
“If brands start sponsoring the gaming community, it can definitely help change people’s perspectives,” he enthuses. “These brands are providing devices or financial support to our gamers knowing that there’s value coming from it. If brands are willing to invest their money and time (in us), then the rest of the community will know how important gaming is to us.”
He adds that other brands could also jump onto the bandwagon. “There are other brands who invest in gamers mainly because of how inspirational they are – like AudioBible (a library of audio books for people who prefer listening vs reading) or even MyLocalPitch (a company that provides a football field for gamers who play football every so often in their videos),” TheAimGames replies, citing Youtubers such as Pewdiepie, Miniminter and The Sidemen who have benefited from such sponsorships. “What these brands can expect in return is an increase in sales upon having a sponsorship deal with these gamers. Just like how they sponsor celebrities in their products, sponsoring gamers will have a similar, if not bigger, effect on their company.”
Last but not least, he has these parting words for his fellow Youtubers.
“When you’re a small channel, don’t always focus on the numbers and instead, focus on having fun when making your videos. Making YouTube videos is a hobby and if you’re not having fun, then what’s the point in making them? This is YouTube, where we can share our experience with people of the similar interest and express ourselves to the world, showing them what we can do through our videos. As long as you’re having fun, nothing else matters.”
Follow TheAimGames on social media here:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAimGames
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAimGames/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAimGames
Fundeavour: https://fundeavour.com/TheAimGames/
This feature was written as part of a partnership with Fundeavour, a site that helps aspiring gamers around the world to get a head start on beginning their journey as content creators, streamers and eSports players. Want to be featured and share your stories with over 20,000 readers? Check out more info here or sign up with Fundeavour.com!