Watching a streamer play video games is generally seen as a young person’s idea of fun, but for Facebook Gaming Creator, Abu Midas, that generalisation couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the age of Abu’s fans range from children to as old as the elderly, with plenty of nenek (grandmothers) watching his gaming endeavours and chatting with him.

Jack for all ages

“I talk to my viewers a lot and be mindful of my mannerisms,” opined Luqman “Abu Midas” bin Shahidan on his broad appeal, saying that he wants to be a good model for anyone who watches him online, especially kids, whom he adores. Although it’s arguable that most streamers would act the same, what sets Abu apart from his peers is his empathy towards fans. 

As someone who used to watch video game streams often, “there were times when I commented something and the streamer didn’t acknowledge it, which made me feel disheartened.” Never wanting his followers to feel the same way, Abu goes the extra mile to read literally every single comment his viewers leave. Whenever the aforementioned neneks wish him well in the comments (which happens often), he always makes sure to reciprocate their blessings. “That’s how much I want to show my appreciation to them.”

Sweetly enough, that admiration is a two-way street – Abu gets plenty of personal visits from a portion of his 86k followers, who come to Johor (where he resides) just to see him. “I had a fan from Kedah who came with their family to meet me,” he harked back, an encounter which happened a few days just before the interview. So, even though Abu remains a bachelor who’s still out looking for love, he’s showered with fondness by his fans.

Facing down hardships

Abu celebrated the one-year anniversary of his streaming pursuit late last month, and times have changed a lot for the Johor native since then. After working in Mineski and as an insurance agent, he started to juggle two prospects: as a streamer, as well as a Grab driver to make ends meet whilst pursuing his true interest. “I used to cry sometimes because it was too much for me to handle at times”, especially when he had a lot of financial obligations. On top of that, Abu initially didn’t have a proper PC set-up to assist in his video game streaming, which is why his close friend loaned him the cash to kickstart his journey. “He believed in me, and I didn’t want to disappoint him if my streaming career didn’t take off.”

Fortunately, Abu couldn’t have picked a better time to realise his dreams as a streamer. Despite the arduous early months, when the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia prevented him from being a Grab driver, he started dedicating a lot more of his time streaming Wormate.io on Facebook Gaming. Needless to say, his viewership went up through the roof and Abu comfortably has since settled into his role as a full-time video game streamer, shedding tears of joy and gratitude. “I’m so glad that everything worked out in the end.”

Not falling for it

Like plenty of streamers, Abu has been a gamer since he was young. A PC gamer and fan of Dota 2 (his streamer last name was derived from the Hand of Midas in-game item), he acknowledges the popularity of mobile games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and PUBG Mobile on streams, but because he’s not used to playing games on a smartphone, he instead resorted to PC gaming for his streaming content. He chose Wormate.io as his go-to game, so that he can pay more attention to his fans, granted that he’s been playing it so much that it’s starting to get repetitive. “I voiced out my feelings to my fans and they were understanding, which I’m thankful for.” 

Thus, he’s been slowly transitioning into other games to keep both himself and his fans happy, most notably Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout due to its simplicity. He usually streams Worms Zone for the first half of his stream followed by Fall Guys, so that his viewers also get used to him playing a different game. He thought out loud that he just might stream mobile games in the future, but he’ll have to warm up to it first before doing so. Abu is in this in the long run anyway, evidenced by his decision to join the new GG program, which is designed to help rising Facebook Gaming streamers such as Abu to extend their reach even further. “You must have passion for your dreams so that you don’t give up on it easily.”

At the end of the day, what’s a streamer’s success if it weren’t for the steadfast loyalty of their fans? “I want to express my utmost gratitude to each and every one of you who didn’t give up on me. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to reach this milestone. I promise to be the best I can be and fix my flaws for the sake of everyone. Thank you again for supporting Abu Midas Gaming.”

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