I had to reach out to him so I could learn a bit more about the man behind the microphone; and was over the moon that Patrick was obliging enough to fit my interview questions into his extremely busy schedule.
First, I asked Maka about himself, his origins with gaming, and how it has impacted his life.
Maka is best known for his thorough and in depth achievement guides, so I wanted to know how he got into achievement hunting, what game he first hunted in and what his favourite game was to 100%.
From his high level gamerscore it is clear Maka has played a tonne of games and spent a long time hunting achievements. I asked if this ever became boring and if so, what drives him to continue doing it?
I then joined xbox360achievement.org, now xboxachievements.com, and started becoming a part of the community; i.e. achievement hunting and boosting to get ahead of other people. The community, as well as my place in it, has changed and grown tremendously since then and there will always be a large, dedicated hardcore base of gamers dedicated to achievements.
Many games have that one truly pesky achievement. I was curious to see how Maka dealt with the most tedious and frustrating achievements in gaming.
In a more positive light, I though it would be interesting to hear about Maka’s favourite achievement hunting moment.
As I mentioned previously, Maka’s guides are helpful and popular tools. With so many of his guides hitting thousands and hundreds of thousands of views, I asked what the key was to his videos being so popular.
A few factors that definitely helped were the fact that I got a pretty early start in guide making when the space was still quite young. I was also known within the achievement community which gave me some credibility. I also always strive to make the best content possible. I didn’t want to waste people’s time with poorly edited videos or terribly lengthy commentaries. I continued to improve my content, year after year until I built my channel up to where it is today. I have always said that there is no replacement for hard work, and it goes a long way. Mixed with timing and a sprinkle of luck, I was able to get where I am today.
Finally, I asked about Maka’s plans for the future on YouTube and Twitch and whether he saw these avenues as long term career options.
Many thanks again to Patrick for providing this in depth insight into his life and work. You can keep up to date with all of his videos by subscribing to his YouTube channel. You can also follow him on Twitter and check out his Twitch streams.
As for YouTube as a long term career option; I hope it will be. The internet is new, and these spaces are always changing and evolving, but as long as I can make it work, I will continue doing it. Luckily with sites like Patreon, and direct support for viewers, YouTube has become a possibility for me to focus on entirely, and I think it will continue that way for a very long time. It’s the hardest and most stressful work I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding, and the work that’s made me the happiest so I plan to continue down this path.
