All video game licenses have their share of passionate players. These players who know a universe, levels and skills at their fingertips are often standard doors for studios, real living pubs. It is not only abroad that we find them, in France, also, we have gamers as respected by players as by video game manufacturers. Today, we invite you to meet one: Dalibor, youtuber (Psyhodelik) and administrator of Trials France.
Thank you Dalibor for giving us some of your (busy, it must be said) time! You are someone who is relatively accessible on social networks. We have already had many opportunities to exchange and debate together. For you, it is normal that popular youtubers remain close to their audience?
It is quite a complex question. Or rather we all have a different personal approach in ourselves depending on many parameters and details. As far as I'm concerned, it's not really a story of being close or not to a community. But simply exchange freely.
Benzaie tweeted something along the lines of "Guys, this is not a favor I'm doing you by talking to you. Too many pseudo-divas must have convinced you otherwise." And that's fair enough. So yes, certainly, when one is called JdG or Antoine Daniel, it is obvious that it becomes completely unmanageable to answer individually. Afterwards, I met videographers confessing to me that they could not manage so many messages and respond to everyone and even less time to respond to comments under their videos… They had less than 3k subscribers… and barely a dozen comments per video… In short, all this to say that there is a double standard.
To finish on top, I think that if we start making videos, it is above all an exchange with the community. If it's to stay in your bubble away and not like to chat with people… Why make videos in this case? But this is a subject that deserves a little more detailed debate, I think ^^
Can you tell us a little more about your background and what led you to video games?
It was through my grandfather who, having looked after me during school holidays, bought a NES to prevent me from getting too bored. It must have been in '87 or '88. Then in the end, he played a lot more than me and he still plays the NES today. Even if he finished Zelda or Metroid 485 times… He still returns from time to time.
He taught me pretty much the basics and values of video games and passed on this inexhaustible passion to me. Without going into too much detail, my journey comes down to the consoles I own which are the following (without taking into account portable consoles): NES, SNES/Megadrive, Nintendo 64, Saturn, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox, 360, One.
How do you manage to reconcile your passions, your youtube channel, video games and your family life?
I do my best, but obviously the more time passes and the more my professional life, my family life (especially now that I have become a Dad) drastically influence my free time and my playing time. So I am forced to make concessions and shift my priorities.
Your Youtube channel has existed since 2006 and currently has 10,898 subscribers. An attendance that continues to increase! Did you expect such a craze when you started?
My channel has existed since 2006, but it was only used to comment on other videos. I started making videos in 2010, first with Superplay where I made games without being touched like Tintin in Tibet, Road Runner, Super Punch Out or Mega Man X.
Afterwards, I did a little bit of everything, reportage, interviews, test videos,, in short everything I wanted and that went through my head. I never felt "obliged" to make this or that video. That is another interesting debate to have. Stay free and not evolve too much or feel obliged to make videos according to the expectations of the community? I talk a lot with the community and with people. But I never gave them the choice to dictate my desires and my videos. It is my choice and my pleasure that prevail.
What does your stage name, Psyhodelik, mean?
Haha it's weird to say "stage name". I am Serbian by origin (born in Paris anyway). During my holidays in Serbia, my girlfriends and girlfriends at the time particularly nicknamed me like that. As if by mutual agreement. Then over time my friends called me the Shrink or the Doctor (haha that makes me laugh myself now that I'm a fan of Doctor Who). They nicknamed me "Psyhodelik" which gives the French word "Psychedelic" which literally means "the hallucinogenic effect of certain drugs". You have to believe that I made them laugh and hallucinate a lot when I was by their side.
I kept this nickname by memories of that time and with the arrival of the internet. I quickly realized that this nickname written like that was never taken anywhere in any game, because the French systematically write Psycho by adding a "c". A few can be found on the Russian side. Psyhodelik is a word quite often used in Slavic languages when it comes to designating a totally hallucinating person (good or bad).
Explain to us how you design your videos, the organization it requires and especially where your inspiration comes from?
I am not necessarily organized, but methodical. If I have to make a video requiring a little editing, I visualize to the maximum this editing and the problems that I will encounter directly in my head before even shooting anything. And I start shooting only when I've fixed all the problems I've encountered. It can sometimes take several days or weeks… ^^'
But having almost no free time, I no longer make many videos with worked edits, reluctantly unfortunately. My youtube channel has changed a lot lately. 2 years ago, I was trying to do stuff that's pretty much "square" and "licked". With the arrival of my daughter, I dropped everything and I make videos almost only for relaxation in "snatch" mode. Sometimes I think my youtube channel is more like a skyblog than a youtube channel. ^^'
Are you helped with the editing and formatting of the videos?
I've always done everything on my own. But after more than 1,000 videos it became mechanical and mechanical.
You are also the administrator of Trials France (www.trials.fr). A French-speaking site that gathers all information on the Trials license (Trials Frontier, Trials Evolution and Fusion) of the RedLynx studio. How did you find out about this license and what appealed to you?
Discovered a little by chance during the very first "Summer of Arcade" organized on Xbox 360. Trials HD came out along with Splosion Man and Limbo if I don't say. I have already played a little before the motorcycle game in flash. But when I launched Trials HD. I knew from the first minutes that it was going to be one of my favorite games for a long time. Especially thanks to the physics engine of the game which perfectly calibrated gives an immediate pleasure in hand.
Your site is a partner of the publisher Ubisoft, so it means that you have links with them. Tell us how your relationship with this publishing giant is like?
I had the incredible opportunity during the release of Trials Evolution: Gold Edition to be invited alongside aBzMagic & Cruxy to go to the Enduropale (a huge Motocross race that brings together more than 1,000 competitors at the same time on the race line… It's pretty crazy to see.) So, I took this opportunity to speak with the Ubi & RedLynx staff who were present to tell them that the Francophone community was hyper active and overflowing. But that the only meeting place was the JVC forums… Which is not tip-top. The official forum being only in English, it was a real lack.
Shortly after, they contacted me again to offer me to run a site dedicated to the Trials brand and put me in touch with Adam from Absolute Gaming who had already built several sites for them.
At that time, I was leaving my position as Vice-President of a retro-gaming association for lack of time and I jumped at this opportunity that came at the right time. Because I really enjoy dealing with the community aspect and managing that kind of thing.
I have a good relationship with Ubisoft, they have a lovely, friendly and human staff. They are open to discussion and try to do their best with the means they have. You have to understand that it's a giant, when I'm in relationship with them, it's just a very small compartment of a small section. In particular, with the Community Manager dedicated to the Trials brand for the France.
Without going into details. It's really great to be able to organize tournaments and contests for the Francophone community with real prizes. For anecdotes, to celebrate the 1 year of the site and the game. The first place was able to leave with 5 games to choose from the Ubi range, the second with 3 games and so on, in addition to various Tshirts and other prizes.
Do you happen that you are invited by Ubisoft to previews or meetings with the press as for Assassin's Creed?
So for Assassin's Creed for example, it was as part of a "Fan Day's" party organized by Absolute Gaming, before the release of Unity. We had organized a party in the Caves Saint-Sabin and they were kind enough to come with a TV to demo the game 15 days before the official release. I invite you to see this short souvenir video made by Le Playground
Absolute Gaming has made other Fan Day's, including that of Watch Dogs which was also very nice and more will be coming :3
We know you have impressive statistics on Trials. Can you tell us what your position is in the rankings and where your medal count is in Trials Fusion?
Oula, I'm very far from having impressive stats on Trials ^^'. I gravitate around the 600th place with about 32 million points and I have "only" 17 days of play if I remember correctly and 500 medals. Where a lot of colleagues are approaching 60 days of play and are all in the top 50 and obviously have all the medals… We're going to say it's because of age… From the age of 30, the skill only goes down.
What kind of player are you? What media do you play on?
I am a "solo" player. I particularly like RPG/Adventure games, especially those that tell a story and make me live crazy adventures. I only play on console, with very rare exceptions. I'm more comfortable slumped on my couch than in my office chair. Then I'm tired of PCs. Admittedly, we do not have the "superior version". But I'm tired of always having to ask myself if I have the right graphics card, the right number of ram, the right drivers… On console, we press and poof it works.
What are your favorite video games?
This is really the kind of question impossible to answer after more than 20 years of video games. There is far too much play that should be mentioned. However without thinking too much I would say Lost Odyssey which managed to dethrone Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana in my heart. Dragon's Dogma that made me tremble from beginning to end, Life is Strange intoxicating and refreshing, Dragon Age Inquisition epic from start to finish. Heavy rain that shook me like rarely a game could. I was the hero and I had to know if I was able to endure all this to save my daughter, Trials obviously…
Ho my God, Mario 64, Sonic Adventure, Zelda, Battle of Olympus, Faxanadu… It would take several days, months, whole years to tackle all the games that have marked me!
You are also a fulfilled dad! Will you pass on your fiber for video games to your daughter?
I don't know, I'd obviously leave it up to herself. Although I hope to pass on this passion to him as well.
You are sometimes invited to events such as Paris Games Week 2015 where you commented on the tournament and the final of Trials for the first time live from the Sony booth. How did you react when you were contacted for this adventure?
The Community Manager simply sent me an email asking if I would be interested in commentating on the Trials final at PGW by glory4Gamer and Sony… I accepted with great nervousness. Admittedly, I am used to making videos, to hold stands at small conventions. But let's say that this was another scale.
To get over this nervousness more easily, they offered me to make the comment in pairs. That's how I met Powa Tequilaz, a young boy of extraordinary sympathy. I had a great time with him and thanks to him, I felt at home.
On the other hand, the grand finale was commented directly on stage with Genius from Game One. Having a delirious audience right in front of me and Genius doing the show… I felt like a cake, I still have my buttocks that make bravo … It was embarrassing, I didn't know where to put myself ^^' But what an experience! Just wow and Genius, what a man, but what a man <3
Recently you went to visit the RedLynx studio in Helsinki, can you tell us more about this expedition?
I had the incredible honor of being invited with 10 other players to visit RedLynx Studios in Helsinki for 4 days. On the other hand having to sign an NDA. I couldn't make videos, but I did a little feedback with some pictures here if you're interested.
I know that you are held to the greatest of secrets about the Finnish studio's projects. But to put it simply, should players expect a big surprise?
I ate reindeer in Finland… I could feel Santa's contemptuous look at me for devouring Rudolph… T-T
Do you have some funny anecdotes from your life as a gamer / youtuber to tell us?!
There, from goal to blank, I don't really know… Maybe the time I recorded 4h00 of super good and dynamic video to realize in the end that I had never started recording… Or the corrupted videos that wasted hours and hours of taff ^^
My life as a gamer where I remember playing Final Fantasy on PS1, we had to change CDs. We open the hood, we change CDs, we close the hood and out of habit we press power… And we have more than to retype 3h00 of game not saved … ^^'
In any case, thank you for this little interview, it was nice to discuss all these topics.
