Our own Malystryx caught up with Razer partners Viva La Dirt League to talk about the highs and lows of their video game sketch comedy empire.
The ridiculously power of Stims in PUBG, the weird logic in Red Dead Redemption 2, or how female armor in video games is plain stupid sometimes— Viva La Dirt League hits close to home for many gamers in its unforgettable skits.
The New Zealand sketch comedy group makes YouTube videos that poke fun at the more bizarre parts of gaming culture. And with millions of views on their most popular uploads, they’ve clearly struck a chord with a lot of people.
Our Director of Content Lawrence "Malystryx" Phillips broke down some of Viva La Dirt League’s best sketches with the creators Alan “EpicNPCMan” Morrison, Rowan “Rowan” Bettjeman, and Adam “TheWatcher” King.
As part of our series highlighting Razer partners, the trio talked about behind the scenes shenanigans and whether boy band StarCraft 2 parody songs make a good foundation for YouTube success.
Watching back one of their earliest uploads, a music video about eight pooling in StarCraft 2, Adam King wonders “how did Viva La Dirt League become famous after this…”
“It’s very different from what the channel has become since” says Alan Morrison. Morrison stars in many of the group's skits as the Epic NPC Man, an unlikely hero in a fantasy RPG.
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Building Viva La Dirt League's YouTube Legacy
As of a few weeks ago, Viva La Dirt League has been in the sketch-comedy game for 10 years. The channel's content has branched out a lot. Now it features skits about the Battle Royale genre, Dungeons & Dragons, and working in video game stores. That’s why it’s interesting to hear about their relatively recent move to scripting their videos. And how they’ve learnt through trial and error when a joke goes too far…
“We’ve got quite savvy these days about how far we can push the R-rated-ness of our content without YouTube demonetizing us” Says King. “It’s a bit of a battle that we’re constantly… battling with.”
The biggest difference maker for Viva La Dirt League against this threat? Their Patreon. “The money goes straight back into making our videos as high quality as they can.” That kind of stability can be essential if you’re a creator with a specific audience in mind. “YouTube and Facebook, month-to-month, are just all over the place.”
You can catch Viva La Dirt League’s sketches on their YouTube Channel, watch them live on Alan, Rowan, and Adam’s Twitch Channels, and support them directly on their Patreon here.
Part Two will be released next Thursday at 5pm EST on the Esports.gg YouTube channel.
