Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's Rebirth's Briana White Forges Community, надев свое сердце на рукаве [интервью]

I'm glad you touched on feeling things really big, because something I did want to talk to you about is your gaming channel. You cry a lot over there. I think it's hard to be vulnerable like that. And especially hearing that you felt kinda insecure about that as a teenager. How did you reclaim being vulnerable and crying in public as an adult?

It's crazy that you bring that up because it's true. I sorta made a career out of being the crying girl on the internet, which I did not set out to do. To me, it was never an option to be any other way. It's just who I am.

When I first started my YouTube channel, I played lots of different games trying to figure out what kind of gamer I would be on the internet. There's gamers who play Minecraft and there's gamers who play Uncharted . I was the type of gamer that, I tried lots of different things, and ultimately when I played Uncharted people really resonated with the fact that I could talk about the characters and the relationships between them and why this and that scene was so impactful. People really liked that aspect of my gameplays.

So, that is what led me to The Last of Us , which is an incredibly dark and emotional game. At the same time I was playing Life is Strange which, like I said, just cracks me open in the best sort of way. Игра в эти две игры одновременно было таким очень эмоциональным опытом, что я думаю, что это закрепило тот вид контента, который люди хотят видеть от меня. Which was fine, because that's who I am.

I sort of fell into being a story-based gamer from there. Because that's who I am, that's what people wanted to see. They want to see authentic reactions, they want to see people feeling things.

Oftentimes, I'll get comments like: “I'm a 52-year-old man, I haven't cried in 20 years, but I cried watching your content.” И я считаю это огромным источником гордости, что мой контент может помочь людям, как мы говорили ранее, испытывать чувства на расстоянии, которые заставляют их чувствовать себя в безопасности, чтобы иметь их. Я думаю, что в этом есть что -то действительно прекрасное, что мой контент может помочь немного открыть чье -то сердце и заставить их чувствовать себя в безопасности, чтобы испытывать свои чувства.

I love your philosophy about what a Strange Rebel means to you. Could you talk about that a little bit?

I had always grown up feeling a little out of mainstream. I was never very popular, I was never very normal. And I always very much wanted to be normal, but, somewhere along the line in high school, I grew out of that.

I had a friend, actually, who was completely, loudly, and unapologetically weird. In the best sort of way. Будучи театральным ребенком в старшей школе, мы все как -то приняли это: «Мы не нормальны, и мы не принадлежим в мейнстрим, и это здорово! That's so much more fun than being normal.” And I think that's where I picked up this like: “Being average, being normal… that's not something you should want.”

I took this idea of being a rebel to mean going against the mainstream, but not in a bad way. Not in a way that's “wears all black and is angsty and mean”. I don't want to be a rebel in that I want to hurt other people. I want to be a strange rebel. I want to be a rebel in a way that makes the world a little bit better. I want to be a rebel in the fact that I do cry on the internet and I don't feel bad about that.

It's easy to be mean to others. It's easy to close your heart off when you've experienced bad things. But it's strange and beautiful to do the opposite of that. I want people to embrace being rebelliously compassionate and rebelliously kind. That's sort of where Strange Rebel comes from and that's really a huge part of my mission.

I wanted to ask about the channel and how you've seen that community grow since Final Fantasy ?

Это потрясающе. I mean, when I started out on the internet all I ever heard was that it's a terrible place. That's all I ever heard. I heard about harassment, and women being chased off platforms, and I heard about toxicity in gaming. But, what I found on the internet is that most people are really good and kind, and they just want to share their passions.

I started my channel reading every single comment that was left on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, whatever platform. I'd read every single comment, every single message that someone sends me. And I pretty much still do to this day, which is a lot harder now, but I really make an effort to do that. Потому что, если кто -то изо всех сил старается наблюдать за моим контентом, а затем оставляет мне сообщение, в котором говорится: «Мне понравилось», я хочу вернуть уважение, которое они показывают мне, чтобы дать мне свое время дня и дать им время дня, хотя бы прочитав его и давая им, если я могу. I've found that when I engage with them, that only comes back to me tenfold. Because they're good people, and I like them. I like them as people.

Я имею в виду, что теперь мы являемся частью действительно удивительного, шумного, процветающего разногласия, где у нас есть вечера кино, у нас есть кулинарный клуб, мы только начинали книжный клуб, мы делаем видео момента каждый месяц, мы играем в игры вместе два раза в неделю. We are there for each other. We meet up at conventions with each other. People in my Discord have found love. I mean, a couple people in my Discord have gotten married after finding each other in my Discord!

I cannot state enough just how proud I am of being able to bring people together in that way because they no longer feel alone. What better thing could I do in this life than bring people together? To celebrate each other, be there for each other, support each other in hard times, and share each other's passions. And all in an amazingly respectful way.

They're so generous. We've raised over $50K for charity, just in my Discord in the past four years.

The fact that Final Fantasy is a huge part of my channel, I do think that that really brings in a good audience. A good group of people that care about the world through the amazing stories that Final Fantasy tells.

But really, I don't care much for numbers, how many subscribers I have, or how many views I get on a video. What I care about is the fact that people have found others like them, that give them faith in humanity, that give back to others. They're not alone in this universe anymore. That's everything to me. That's so much more important than everything else.

Community building is huge, and it sounds like you've curated a wonderful community.

I try, but I don't do it alone. У меня есть менеджер сообщества, Джефф, который делает потрясающую работу, управляя всеми этими мероприятиями и планированием, например, у нас есть ежегодный игровой триатлон, где мы все играем в игры и соревнуются, чтобы собрать больше денег. We've even had a custom Dungeons & Dragons Strange Rebel Gaming themed one-shot! We've done so many amazing, incredible things because of Jeff.

I mean it when I say I haven't done it alone. Every person who joins the community is as much a part of the community building as me. And I try to throw that back to them as much as I can. And people say: “Thank you for making the Discord.” No, thank you for being a part of it! It's not me in there chatting all day, it's you all.

Я хотел спросить, прежде чем мы уйдем, если сейчас что -нибудь в вашей жизни приносит вам радость, будь то игры, в которые вы играете, вещи, которые вы смотрите, люди в вашей жизни. What's fueling you right now?

Well, the holidays are coming up, and I'm a big family person. So, being able to see my family is everything to me. I'm excited to see everyone.

Actually, after this, I'm making a sweet potato casserole that can feed 30 people.

Do you do the marshmallows on top?

No. So, I used to work at a restaurant called Ruth's Chris [Steak House] that has the hands-down best sweet potato casserole ever! Because it's, if you look at the ingredients, it's basically cake, but with a sweet potato base. The top is brown sugar and pecans and butter and then it crisps up in the oven, so it's like a crust. It's almost like an upside down sweet potato cake.

It's mind-blowing. If you've never had it, you must!

It's so good. I am not welcome at Thanksgiving without it. I am not allowed to show up without this sweet potato casserole, every single year for like seven years now. People demand this sweet potato casserole. I just get better at it every year.

I love family. Family's really important to me, that keeps me going. Like I said, my dad was calling me the other day. My parents are very proud of me right now, which is really nice to hear!

And your mom's a gamer, too! How does it feel to have that family legacy now being in video games yourself?

It's crazy because my mom's a gamer and I keep asking her to play my game, and she won't do it!

The games for her are like Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask , so with the Z-targeting, the camera's really manageable. Final Fantasy , she missed a few generations of games where you learn to control the camera with the other stick, so camera control is really hard for her. But maybe one day.

But still, they're very proud and very supportive, even if they can't play my game.

For more from Briana White, check out her Game Award-nominated performance as Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth , her Strange Rebel Gaming social media community, and her signature Thanksgiving dish on Ruth's Chris' official website.