Welcome to the “Interview With” series where I sit down with people from all walks of gaming life and backgrounds.
My first interview is with Chloe, more commonly known as Chlooeeeexo to her gaming and streaming community.
“Even my logo is based around Fortnite (and League of Legends) it’s mad.”
The interview had been in the works for some time and it was great to finally have the opportunity to sit down and have a good chat and get to know Chloe a little more.
Before the interview, I had watched a lot of Chloe’s Twitch streams and I have to admit I found myself admiring her level of dedication to both the game she plays the most (Fortnite) and also her “small community” that is ever-growing.
I have to admit throughout the interview, Chloe’s energy was infectious as she explained how she got into gaming and what drives her to continuously improve. When we spoke about her being a female gamer in this industry, it was clear that she has had her fair share of moments that helped her develop a thicker skin against those who were out to troll her and her content, with that said, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride coming from her as she described to me what she does to combat this.
Chloe’s sense of pride for her “small community” is something I will take away from this interview, as it came across to me that she doesn’t just see them as viewers but almost like an extended family which is rare to find these days.
I hope you enjoy the entirety of the interview below and a very special thanks to Chloe for making this enjoyable and so energetic!
CardinalSpawn: Chloe thanks so much for joining me today. Let’s not waste another minute and dive straight into the interview, So I’ve been watching some of your streams and one of the popular questions I see is”How long have you now been streaming for and what is your current favourite game to stream the most?” so let’s start with this one as it seems as good a start for our opener.
Chloe: I’ve been streaming properly since January 7th this year, but officially I started in June of 2018 on Mixer but the PC I had wasn’t the greatest so thought (at the time) “this isn’t working out for me so I’ll leave it”. Then I got a new PC and began streaming again in January on Twitch. As for my favourite game, it has to be Fortnite and Team Fight Tactics. That said it has to be Fortnite, I can’t stop playing it, I am addicted to Fornite!
CardinalSpawn: I see you love the skins within the game too?
Chloe: Yeah, I love skins, the emotes, the dances. I just love the colour and everything about Fornite, its just pleasing on the eyes. I love all aspects of Fortnite from cosplay, drawing even my logo is based around Fortnite (and League of Legends) it’s mad.
CardinalSpawn: “It’s clear to see that this is more than just a game?”
Chloe: 100% I collect Pop Vinyl’s and have around 300, I have all the Fortnite ones from Series 1 & 2 I have McFarlane Toys. I have artwork from Fortnite, I have even made props myself based on the game too, it’s huge. When you think about that alone the merchandise sector of Fortnite is massive and I love everything about it.
“As for my favourite game, it has to be Fortnite I can’t stop playing it. I am addicted to Fornite! – Chloe“
CardinalSpawn: “It’s clear to see and hear your passion for gaming so what was it that made you decide “I want to share this with the community” from Cosplay, Prop Making and Streams?”
Chloe: “The cosplay and prop aspect started really when I went to Gamescom August last year, after seeing so many people in Fortnite Costumes and carrying awesome props like Pickaxes it was something I knew I wanted to do. Nothing beats making props and having people coming up to you and asking where they can get it and if you can make them one too, it’s a great feeling.”
“The gaming side came after I originally was playing PUBG and didn’t fancy Fortnite at the time as it looked like a “kid’s” game, but I started playing it and whilst I couldn’t build great I was good at sniping/shooting and getting kills that and started duo’s with randoms and soon started gaming with others that Eric (Chloe’s partner) said “if you enjoy it why not stream it?” and so we got a PC built and started to stream, from there its really blown up from there for me considering my channel and how far it has come, it amazes me still to see people come in to watch me”
“The cosplay and prop aspect started really when I went to Gamescom August last year, after seeing so many people in Fortnite Costumes and carrying awesome props”
CardinalSpawn: “As a streamer, you are constantly having to ensure you keep things “fresh” but what’s the most difficult thing you face as a streamer when streaming?”
Chloe: “Trying to keep to a schedule I find quite difficult which is why at the moment I haven’t listed a schedule. When it comes to streaming content, one of the worst things I face (especially being a female gamer in the gaming industry) is Trolls on Twitch. When you have malicious and nasty viewers it can have a real negative or at least try to have that type of impact. Thankfully I have a lot of support in the form of moderators and (at least now) I have grown a thicker skin”
“Thankfully there are always ways in which you can combat them, I have had an instance where I have some create “bots” to spam my account which lead me to have 18,000 new followers but all were the mentioned bots. It’s always worth preparing yourself for what may come and know you can always get support from moderators in your chat who can act quickly in chat.”
“When you have malicious and nasty viewers it can have a real negative or at least try to have that type of impact. Thankfully I have a lot of support in the form of moderators and (at least now) I have grown a thicker skin – Chloe“
CardinalSpawn: “I’d like to stay in this subject for a few more moments because recently you had a message from a person who wanted to join you during a stream and play alongside you as you often do with your viewers but then after saying that you’d be willing to have a few matches with them also the conversation turned very quickly and you were objectified by the person. This can be tough to read or hear, how do you cope and respond to this?”
Chloe: “Nobody should have to deal with this, I have gotten used to this to a degree and understand that they will always try to worm their way in and try to be nasty or in this case suggestive, thankfully social media now has many ways to block and prevent these people from continuing.
“This conversation was very strange as it started with them just asking if they could join me and I explained the ways they could and then suddenly I’m being called “sexy” and it went from one extreme to another so quickly, it can be unnerving but thankfully there are ways to help prevent this, no one should be subjected to this regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.”
“Thankfully I know I have my community also to support me and that makes a difference”
CardinalSpawn: If a female gamer approached you asking for advice as they are about to start streaming what would your advice be?
Chloe: “oh that’s a tough one! I would say that you should research the community, watch other female gamers see how they deal with their content and even the Trolls. Get to know the community and above all else stay safe, it also does come down to having that already mentioned thick skin too. Just make sure you have someone there who you can depend on, you cannot always monitor your chat so having that support is vital.”
“You need to make sure you can take on all that comes with streaming as it’s not just about gaming. It’s about preparing before you stream, it’s what you do during your stream and then the editing that you will need to do after your stream if you are making videos to then put on your channel too. There is so much that goes into and at times it can be mentally draining so take your time and don’t rush, it will take time to get to where you want to be.
“It’s not just about gaming it’s preparing before you stream, it’s what you do during your stream and then the editing that you will need to do after your stream if you are making videos to then put on your channel too. – Chloe”
CardinalSpawn: Speaking of community, you are always willing to play with your viewers (even if they aren’t subbed) which is a great way of including them, is this something that you always aimed to do?
Chloe: “Absolutely, I do have subscriber days where they do have to be subscribed, but I will encourage it but will not force them as some may not be able to afford a subscription. I’d never want viewers to want to go away feeling singled out because you’re not a subscriber to my channel. It blows my mind to see how good people are and I want to play with them, heck I suck! so playing with others is always a good laugh.
“My New emotes (which I designed myself) are a cool way of thanking my subscribers.”
CardinalSpawn: esports is growing and even more so here in Wales, do you think now more than ever the Welsh assembly need to recognise and help the gaming industry in Wales and support this?
Chloe: Without a doubt, sooner or later everyone is going to know what it is about. Gaming and esports, in general, is growing and growing and I think it’s about time that people take notice when you take into consideration that this is now becoming a thing within colleges (and possibly schools) where esports Teams are being created. A prime example of this is today the esports Wales team were at Bridgend College to discuss and demonstrate this, it’s growing and gaming’s perceptions of “just sitting and playing” needs to be changed and this is where the roots can be planted to make that change.
CardinalSpawn: When we consider just how far competitive gaming has come, some have said that games developers and publishers have forgotten about the “casual gamer” in favour of this competitive route, what are your thoughts on this?
Chloe: I grew up on first-person shooters from Quake, to Call of duty. Competitive gaming is the natural progression of gaming, for example, Fortnite was designed for this and it would be silly not to get involved in the competitive scene but there has to be a balance I guess because not everyone wants to be involved in the competition side.
“As the interview was coming to an end we finished up with some more questions on Chloe’s plans, viewer questions.
CardinalSpawn: Seen as you love making gaming props is there one you have made that you are most proud of?
Chloe: “It has to be the axe from Fortnite called Thundersmash, it’s a dark unicorn which is purple and red, the horns and eyes light up. It’s one of my favourites and took around 12 hours to make (over four days when I had spare time to make it). I’d also like to make some more from League of Legends too.”
“It has to be the axe from Fortnite called Thundersmash, it’s a dark unicorn which is purple and red, the horns and eyes light up.”
CardinalSpawn: In terms of streaming what is your greatest achievement to date?
Chloe: Personally the community that I have, currently I have roughly 4,500 followers (ignoring the 18,000 bot incident) on Twitch, 4,000 followers on Instagram and 200 people on Discord too. But to have the little community that I have, I love it and when I can then share another streamer who is also in the same position as me and to bring them 50 more viewers, it’s awesome to see their reactions it’s priceless because it is tough to build that Streamer + Viewer base.
CardinalSpawn: It’s the “Message from the future” question! If you could leave yourself a not on your computer in the past what would it be?
Chloe: “I would say that when I first started I wish I researched more before streaming because women streamers to get a lot of unwarranted criticism and if I had been prepared for that I think it would have helped me so much more, I guess I would leave a note saying “Don’t Let the Haters Bring You Down”
Viewers Questions:
The first one was submitted by bmrsonic: “Do you hope to become full-time in the future in terms of gaming and streaming and how do you plan on transitioning?
Chloe: “A really good question thanks Sonic! I would love to become a full-time streamer, technically with the hours I put into streaming I almost already am as I fit in roughly 30 to 35 hours a week, I can’t always agree to that at the moment but without a doubt in the future its a definite end goal to be a “big” streamer with a massive community that support me and each other.
Next up we have jprphoto who has asked: “What is the best moment you have had in gaming so far”
Chloe: “Oh god, Ok I am going to tie this all into one. So to start, over the weekend prior this I cosplayed as Peely and the reaction I got was amazing and their reactions on their faces. Come to think of it the reactions of my face are highlights of their own. If I hit a sick snipe or win a ranked game, receive a massive donation ( I once received a £300 amazing donation), I have had 50 gifted subs. My community is incredible so a massive shout out to them as they are a highlight every day.
Next Hunterdowntime Asked: Earlier this year an Overwatch team (Second Wind) announced that their first female player “Ellie” was stepping down from their team after being announced as a member of the team back in December. It was soon found that the reason was based on Ellie being harassed, what made this worse was that after investigations started to take place it was found out that Ellie was, in fact, a male player with another female lending her voice when playing or on voice chat. My question is that although it was claimed to be a social experiment do you think this did more harm than good?
Chloe: “I wasn’t aware of this until this interview, it is a shame that although this was a “social experiment” still (what was believed to be) a female gamer was still harassed, however, we also have the other side of this which is will this team be able to trust taking on another female gamer onto their squad, the issue they face a tough issue where if another female player gets into their squad how can they ask them to prove this.”
“This just again makes it very difficult for female gamers to be accepted into the industry, there isn’t a lot [Female gamers] in the industry at this time the percentage the last time it was around 80% Male and 20% female which is a disgusting statistic in its own right.”
“Personally, it’s bad enough that women have such a bad name in the gaming industry you see many women in male teams. Women are creating their own teams which are purely women only because they can’t get accepted into the industry which is bad enough, and this “Ellie” situation has it made it worse or better it’s a tough one to fully side with.” That was a great question thank you!”
And Lastly, from JackFlash, they ask “What is next for Chlooeeeexo?”
Chloe: I would like to be a little bit more known than I am now, perhaps grow my audience base further and improve my “Chloe” brand, I have started making my own merch, I’ve started with stickers, I am super excited for the future. In all honesty, there’s no set timer as this is something you simply cannot rush, I have an end-goal in mind but it’s how I get to that goal and it will take time.
In short, I hope the Chloe brand is more recognised and that my streams become more recognised too!
“Nothing beats getting a rare sniper rifle and fitting an 8x or 16x Scope” – Chloe
As the interview ended I came away with a greater sense of understanding on how it can be difficult for a female gamer in this industry, but to know that there are people like Chloe who are taking this challenge head-on clearly gives hope to those who wish to follow in their footsteps. My Daughter loves gaming amongst other things and I hope that if she ever decided to go into streaming that she realises anything is possible with dedication, hard work and a passion for what she likes.
I’d like to thank Chloe for taking the time from her schedule to sit down with me and give me a greater insight into their world.
Don’t forget you can follow Chloe on Twitter and also on their Twitch channel.
In my next interview, I speak with the founder of Esports Wales John “SlayerJohn” Jackson so make sure to check here for this exclusive interview. Thank you to all for taking the time to read this and if you want to stay up to date with all things Esports Wales follow us on Twitter right here
