YouTube: www.youtube.com/FacelessBeanie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FacelessBeanie

In this month’s Creator Spotlight, we are shining a light on Warframe Creator Faceless Beanie - a Warframe Creator who specializes in making YouTube guide videos for both old and new Tenno!

Tell us a bit about yourself and the Warframe content that you create!

I'm a lifelong gaming addict from Malaysia who's also an accountant on the side (oof). I've always been a keen teacher by nature and growing up I'd always be the dude dumbing down physics and accounting concepts for my mates. I suppose that's where my style of content comes from.

I mostly make Warframe guides on YouTube that are short and explain everything you need to know in just a few minutes. Not always the easiest of tasks with some of Warframe's more complex systems, but it's part of the fun!

Where does the name "Faceless Beanie" come from?

I wish there was a deeper meaning to it but it's quite literal. 'Faceless' is because I don't show my face in my content! I wish I'd thought it through as if I eventually do start streaming and decide to have a facecam, the 'Faceless' bit won't exactly make sense anymore! The 'Beanie' bit comes from me wearing a beanie almost everyday in university. Might not be a big deal in colder countries but in the tropical inferno that is Malaysia, almost no one wears beanies and it kind of stood out!

When did you first find the Warframe community? What first drew you into the game?

A couple weeks before Destiny 2's launch in Summer 2017, a friend of mine asked me to join in on the open beta, so I did. After playing together for a couple hours, I realised I enjoyed the game but wasn't sure if I could play it for an extended period of time. That's when that same friend asked me to try out Warframe. I was skeptical as I'd never really had a truly enjoyable F2P experience before. However, I downloaded Warframe anyway, and ran it for the first time after a long day of classes.

All I remember from those first few months is the itch to continue playing. The story quests, the Star Chart progression, the Hek (and Vay Hek) - they all drew me in. The genuine satisfaction of earning a weapon or Warframe's parts and getting them built in the Foundry kept me coming back day after day, week after week, year after year...and I'm still here!

On your YouTube channel, you create a lot of awesome guide videos! What encouraged you to first begin creating YouTube content?

From the start, it was obvious Warframe was a deep game that'd take a long time to master. It wasn't difficult to notice the lack of explanations for the various systems and mechanics within the game. I realised even basic mechanics weren't explained and that led to players heading to YouTube or the forums to learn from other players! That's when I decided I wanted to be one of the players helping players and do it on a basic level to benefit the majority of players.

Proper content creation started with the release of the Plains of Eidolon, Warframe's first open world. A ton of new mechanics were introduced so I learnt them myself quickly and went on to make a ton of guides on fishing, mining, and more fishing! One of my most basic guides 'How and Where to Fish in Warframe' got a ton of traction and kicked off my channel and I never really looked back! Well, maybe sometimes I do look back, especially at those earlier guides and I cringe so hard it hurts. I do suppose it's a good indication of how I started and how far I've come!

When creating your videos, where do you find most of your inspiration?

I think the game itself is the biggest inspiration. There always seems to be something I can make a video on even without content updates. Most of my video ideas just come from my in-game experiences. If I find myself being confused with a mechanic or see squadmates that have no idea what they're doing, it's obvious there could be better explanations out there for whatever it is we don't understand.

For example, taking down the Profit Taker is always a pain in the butt for anyone that tries to do it themselves for the first time, and even in squads I constantly ran into players that had no idea how to actually contribute to the fight. That's what got me making my Profit Taker guide and I'm glad it ended up helping a ton of people out, especially with their Nightwave progression! Besides the game itself, content creators like Tactical Potato never fail to inspire me. His entertaining and informative yet short and to the point videos have really shaped the way I produce content and it's great to see he's kept it the same for years and years, something I hope to do as well!

What is your typical 'process' of creating Warframe videos?

It's easier when there's a big update out because then I know exactly what I'll need to make videos on (the new content!). When it's not an update-driven video, it always starts with "How can I help explain something quickly today?". Whether it's something to do with resource farming, affinity farming, the Steel Path, weapon mechanics or something from the open worlds, there's always something to make a video on. If there's already content out there for a topic I have a video idea for, I'll only proceed with the idea if I feel the subject matter could have been explained better or in less time. There's no reason to make a guide video on something that's already been explained in detail countless times! With every video I try to improve editing quality with minor improvements. Nothing really feels better than looking back at older videos and the latest video you just put out and realising the jump in quality! One thing I probably need to work on most is how quickly I edit. It takes me forever to edit even the most simple videos as I tend to take too many 'quick breaks' and then suddenly it's 2AM.

What has been your favourite memory of the Warframe community thus far?

It's so difficult to pinpoint a specific memory as there's been so many! When I started out a couple years ago, I was reading how Warframe had one of the best communities and I never really understood how true that actually was until I asked for help in chat. There's always someone to help you out no matter what you need help with! Joining my first clan and working together to collect resources and improve our Dojo was really memorable too. This game really encourages players to help players and the community definitely abides. Like any community, there's always some bad apples that try to ruin it for others, but for the most part, this is easily the best community I've been a part of in gaming!

Outside of content creation, what do you spend your time on?

Outside of content creation, I'm mostly working! However, in my spare time, I'm playing games. Whether it's Warframe, Doom Eternal, Horizon Zero Dawn, Valorant,or FIFA 21, I'm always playing something. Beyond that, I also spend a ton of time in the kitchen. Quarantine has really bolstered my cooking skills and I try to cook as often as I can now!

What is next in store for you as a Warframe Creator?

To keep improving and helping this amazing community. I love helping other players out, it gives me satisfaction like almost nothing else, and I've grown very fond of creating content! I plan to stick with Warframe and keep improving my content with every passing video. I've considered trying streaming in 2021 too, so that's something I can work towards, but otherwise it will be more of the same - only better.