PUBG MOBILE STREAMER MORTAL TALKS ABOUT 'THAT EPIC GAME', FOUR-FINGER METHOD

PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds aka PUBG Mobile is one of the most popular Battle Royale games played in India. The game can be played on the mobile as well as on the desktop. PUBG's popularity in India can be linked to a number of streamers — gamers who play their game live and stream it on platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

Due to such online gaming streamers, gaming as a profession has slowly begun to spread its roots in India.

Here are the highlights from a one-on-one interview with one such streamer and a PUBG star, Naman Mathur, popularly known as Mortal.

Who is Mortal?

I would like to introduce myself as a PUBG Mobile gamer and streamer as well as someone who would want gaming to be at a level where it can influence someone to play more and build it as a career option.

What are the first games you remember playing?

Counter-Strike was one of the most addictive games at that point. There was this game called Mini Militia. I used to play it in 2015. I began streaming on YouTube through that particular game, Mini Militia.

How did your family react to you gaming all the time?

My parents were like, "Yaar bandh karde, ab kitna khelega?" (Please stop playing! How much longer are you going to play?)

Because we used to keep playing day and night. We used to play in college, outside, but at home, it was like "itna kyu khel rahe ho, kya milega? Padhai karlo" ( Why are you playing all the time? What are you going to get out of it? Please study!)

But I took my studies lightly, as it was B Com, I used to play more and focus on my YouTube channel a little more than usual.

Why are people hooked to PUBG?

First of all because of the nature of the game that lets you communicate with each other. There are hundred people dropping and you have to survive with your teammate. Your coordination, your strategy, how do you kill the other players by yourself, how to loot. This game has everything. The trend can control anything to be honest. Streaming hasn't controlled any trend. If there was no trend of PUBG Mobile, maybe streaming wouldn't have happened. Today I wouldn't have been here if there was no PUBG Mobile. I believe when PUBG Mobile came, it completely changed streaming. There are so many new streamers now and they are growing at a very good rate.

Now let's talk about 'That Epic Game'

So there were seven of us remaining in one house. Some were on the terrace, some were outside. I was the only one remaining from my teammates. Out of those six people I didn't know how many squads were there. I had no clue. Now at this moment, it is wise enough to you know stay at a low profile. How much ever confident you're, you shouldn't take a risk. Because they were doing the same thing right! No one was making a move.

Then I decided let's take it to the heal battle, heal battle is where the final zone closes in and you have to put on your first aid kits. You have to spam on your health button. I started spamming. I did not realise I had three, right after the third one when I pushed the button of the energy drink, if I had known from before that I didn't have the first aid kit I would have simply rushed, but when I heard the sound of the energy drink, I was oh! What just happened! Next thing that came to my mind was: RUN! And it was that millisecond! If I wouldn't have gone up, I would have been dead.

So when I was running upstairs, people were like how did you know there was someone on your right? Here is where sound plays the most important role when the other player had injected himself, I heard that and I knew he was on the right side. And I went up and I just fired on the right and he was dead. This was something absolutely rare. I had goosebumps all over at that moment. I had become my own fan!

What kind of control setup do you use?

There were people talking about you'll get more dynamic and skilful by using four fingers. When I joined the community, I got to know that this is some new control setup. So I started using three finger controls and the same thing I carried on in PUBG. I never started playing PUBG with two fingers, it was always three fingers.

And then I switched to four finger controls and it worked wonders! I have the Asus ROG phone and on that too I use the four finger technique. So there is as such no difference in the screen, it's all about practice, it's all about giving time and adapting. You use one finger to move around, one finger to look around, one finger to shoot and another to jump. So you know it's everything at once.

Do you remember your first Super Chat while streaming?

My first Super Chat was for Rs 40 as far as I can remember, it was claiming support, "we have your back," "go for it." When I'd reached 500K I got my highest Super Chat of Rs 10,000.

Is PUBG the new way to socialise?

Yes, it is a new way to socialise. You communicate with people you don't know. After talking you might realise you stay nearby, then you might meet over a coffee or anything.

Your thoughts on the mobile VS emulator controversy?

If it's for fun, there's not a problem. You can play on an emulator, or you can use a mobile phone if you choose to. There's no point in cursing anyone. The emulator is legal, Tencent has only made it available. I don't think there should be any controversy. There are people who support emulators, people who support mobile, and people who understand that it doesn't make a difference. I'm in the third category. There are questions as to if you are playing PUBG Mobile on PC, why don't you play PUBG PC? So for that, there's only one reason: the mechanics are different. As far as I know, if you are a clean emulator player and you play against similar emulator players, it's absolutely fine.