'Terrible' Australian video gamer attracts thousands of fans streaming online
Updated
A self-described terrible gamer, who nonetheless has amassed tens of thousands of followers streaming video games online, says he is still coming to terms with his notoriety.
Cody Hargreaves, better known by his online name Excessive Profanity, broadcasts his gaming sessions online via the website Twitch, as thousands of fans watch on.
"It's more of an after-dark, after-hours type of cast where you can let your hair down," he said.
But despite a following of 50,000 Twitch followers, Hargreaves was the first to admit he is not even that good at the video games he broadcasts.
"I'm absolute trash at games," he said.
The broadcasts feature a chat section allowing followers to interact with him, as well as other viewers.
Hargreaves said he thought the interactivity was one of the reasons for his popularity, not his gaming prowess.
"It became a lot more about opening a dialogue with people than it was about playing video games," he said.
"Just conversing and laughing and telling jokes. I would liken it more to stand up comedy than anything."
Hargreaves is one of a number of Twitch streamers in Melbourne for the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Australia gaming convention.
Gamers unite for three-day festival
Tens of thousands of gamers have converged in Melbourne for PAX — a three-day "festival of games".
The expo showcases everything from card games, Commodore 64 computer games and arcade games, to emergent video gaming and virtual reality gaming.
Managing director of the Melbourne-based game publisher Surprise Attack, Chris Wright, said Melbourne was becoming a one of the global hubs for game developers.
He said a growing demand for "emergent game-play" was inspiring new developers.
"There's an explosion of content - game worlds where people interact and the game comes out of those human interactions," he said.
One of the most popular games of the genre is DayZ — a zombie survival game where players can work together in the game world.
Virtual reality 'the next big thing' in 2016
PAX community and content manager Guy Blomberg said the expo provided a meeting place for the gaming community.
"This is our world and we love it," he said.
"The stereotype from years ago was anyone who plays games was the antisocial white fat nerd playing in their parents' basement, but if you look around here, it's everyone."
Among the exhibitors is Earthlight — a virtual reality game developed by Opaque Multimedia in collaboration with NASA.
Players find their way out of a space ship's airlock and are given instructions to move through space.
"You're travelling at 27,000km per hour and in virtual reality that's mapped one to one - it's an experience I think is quite bizarre," Opaque developer Emre Deniz said.
"The feedback we've received so far is that you're able to immerse people fully into that environment so you bridge the gap between the player and their avatar, its total agency - you move your hand and it's moving in space.
"It can be jarring at first, but as you move past thatwe notice people map movements with their in-game character."
Mr Deniz said virtual reality offered value well beyond gaming and recreation.
"Because we collaborate with NASA we're finding there is a huge field available for us to expand on - you can teach people new skills, to confront their fears and experience environments where they may not be able to go otherwise."
Photo:
A crowd of people attend the PAX gaming convention in Melbourne. (ABC Local: Clare Rawlinson)
Topics: games, games-on-the-web, games-industry, games-industry-professional-gaming, computers-and-technology, internet-technology, melbourne-3000
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