Video Games: More Than Just a Distraction for DePalma

By Sarah Howlan

March 30, 2021

About two months ago, streamer and graphic designer Vincent DePalma was sitting home playing his video games when one of his friends suggested he would make a great streamer. He decided to try it out and was shocked by the results.

DePalma was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 2003. Growing up, he had to move to six different states. Since he was never settled in one state for too long, it became difficult for him to make friends, so he turned to video games as a distraction. He found comfort in watching Youtube videos of people streaming different games.

“I was on planes or on twenty four hour car rides and I would just watch Youtube the whole time,” he said.

While watching Youtube, he also gained a passion for graphic design.

“Seeing the thumbnails and different logos on Youtube is what really got me interested in graphic design,” DePalma said.

DePalma made his Youtube channel, which used to be named “Methodz”, in 2015. He was inspired to create his own channel after watching his favorite Youtubers, such as Oblivion and Blooprint. He posted a few times over a couple years, but was never too serious about it.

During the pandemic, DePalma started playing video games more. He would go online with his friends until one day, someone suggested that he start streaming on Twitch. Figuring it was worth a shot, he made an account.

“Streaming has really been something helping me through the pandemic recently. It gives me something to do and is a way to interact with people while I’m stuck in the house,” he said

After streaming for a few days, he started to gain a lot of followers and viewers. They would all ask to play with him and make requests for him to play certain games.

“I was really overwhelmed with the amount of support I was receiving right from the start,” he said. “I was just doing it for fun, I never thought it would ever turn into something.”

From there, DePalma started promoting his graphic designs on his stream too.

“I have had a passion for graphic design for years,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what started it, I have just always been interested in making logos, thumbnails and things like that.”

Recently, DePalma got certified on a website called Fiverr to sell his graphic designs. Fiverr is an online marketplace where you can sell things. DePalma is selling business logos, Youtube thumbnails and banners for Youtbe, Twitch and Twitter.

Sitting at his kitchen table after working for hours on a Saturday morning, DePalma proudly showed me his new graphics that he designed for a customer. He explained what he designed with a huge satisfied smile on his face, revealing his passion for what he does.

Despite having a good following, there have been some people who haven’t been so supportive. To his surprise, they were some of the people he was closest to. Often, some of his best friends would talk down to him for trying to get his name out into the industry. He was told there is no point in even trying because barely anyone ends up being successful.

“It was hard finding the motivation to keep working when my closest friends were the ones talking me down,” he said. “For a time, it made me want to stop.”

In spite of the negative feedback he received from some, the amount of encouragement from his fans and family motivated him to keep going. I talked to one of his viewers and asked what he thought about DePalma’s streams.

“I join his streams every chance I can,” he said. “Even though I have never met him, it feels like I’m playing along with a friend.”

I also talked to one of his customers about the quality of his graphics.

“His service was so quick and simple. I bought the premium package for his thumbnails, which means I get thumbnails made for me everyday for a month for only $35,” he said. “I’ve gotten three so far and they are so detailed. It is so awesome.”

DePalma talked a lot about his father and said he has always made a positive impact on him. Moving around a lot as a child, DePalma clung onto his father and has always had him as a support system.

“My father has always been my number one supporter, one hundred percent,” he said. “He’s the only person I really grew up with, if I’m being honest. He’s never told me not to do something I wanted to do. He’s never not supported me.”

Although DePalma hasn’t been working for a long time, he is determined to keep up his hard work. His goals are to gain 100 tier-2 subscribers on Twitch and get more partnerships and sponsors. Within the past two weeks, he began working for four organizations, receiving monthly payments from each. Striving to create a larger platform, DePalma is also in contact with many other organizations.

Despite all of the setbacks he may have, DePalma still works hard to create and publish new content everyday.