Meet Faz_D, our October spotlighted streamer
Tuesday, October 17th, 2023
We couldn’t do what we do without the support of our incredible community of streamers, and as part of our Stream Team Spotlighted Streamer interviews we’ve talked with dedicated supporter and lover of all things pixellated, Faz_D!
Hey there Faz! Could you introduce yourself for our wonderful audience?
Happy Faz Day Everyone! My name is Fayyaz Dawda, aka Faz_D. I am a Muslim, British, scatter-brained variety streamer based in the northwest of England! I create content of all sorts on various platforms but my bread and butter tends to be streaming on Twitch. I like to have my heart on my sleeve and stream what takes my fancy. Usually, I’m making pixel art or playing single or multiplayer games.
Happy Faz Day! Tell us, how did you get started in content creation?
I’ve been dabbling in content creation probably since the early YouTube days, when I was a teenager, and I remember streaming while I was at University when Twitch was still called Justin.TV! I’ve always had an interest in Content Creation, but my current run probably began in around 2017/2018. A friend had started streaming and I’d always admired her, surprisingly my brother was the one that encouraged me to get started myself and here we are years later.
That’s so sweet, it’s wonderful when community is one of the things that sparks creativity! So, what is some of your favourite content to make online?
Oh, that’s a tough one! My favourite type? That’s like asking me what type of biscuit I should have with my tea! Sometimes it’s a cookie, other times it’s all about the Ritz.
I love creating content with other people or with something that helps me create a format to follow. I’ve done interviews with voice actors, developers, and other content creators. Sometimes I create skits with cosplayers… where usually I get beaten up, haha! At least that’s some of my favourite content to make on YouTube. My favourite stuff to stream on Twitch are usually ‘Tournaments’ and ‘Art’. Like I mentioned earlier, I love making Pixel Art and usually it’s based on the game I’m playing at the time.
I’ve always had a love for Fighting Games growing up, and though I’ve played them for a long time I’m terrible at winning them, so when a viewer suggested I try a tournament while streaming I had to!
Such variance, that’s awesome to hear. You mentioned gaming, what are some of your favourite games?
The most important games to me are ones that really make me feel, and especially the ones I have shared with my brother. I used to play a lot of games with him, especially as the youngest in the family, so both Sonic 2 and 3 are equally important to me, and I tended to play as Tails because I was the younger sibling. Plus, Tails is super cute!
Absolutely classic games! So, how did you come to hear about SpecialEffect and choose to support us?
I had actually heard about SpecialEffect for a good while from events, but I’ll admit that the very first time I really got the time to learn about them in more detail was through the GameBlast event, that happens yearly, where fundraisers of all sizes take part. I got involved with the SEGA team, and I’d like to say thanks to the folks at SEGA like Marta, Marilia, Kevin, Ana and Ibs who encouraged us all to participate. They did a lot to inspire me, encourage people to be included and to hear them talk about SpecialEffect so passionately made me want join. So, that’s why I got involved! I know it sounds mundane but it was as simple as that.
I know what it’s like to not have something to take your mind off things, to feel alone in your thoughts, especially when you love something and can’t share it with anyone. In my case, my siblings just aren’t there to spend time with, so imagine for a moment that you can watch people play, and you can’t share in the experience yourself due to a disability, or you can see friends have so much fun gaming but can’t engage in it yourself.
I am lucky that I can play with no physical restrictions. However, I have heard about a Street Fighter player who has arthrogryposis and was beating top players using a special controller and his face. That tenacity, that courage and that passion proves that gaming has no limit. That no matter how many or how insurmountable a disability can be, there is a way for disabled gamers to not only take part, but thrive in gaming.
I’m always reminded that gamers can be of any shape, size, gender and given the right tools, any ability. SpecialEffect have always been an ambassador for giving control back to people and improving quality of life through video games. That’s why I believe in what SpecialEffect can do, because truly “It’s Game on for Everyone”.
That was beautiful, thank you for sharing, Faz_D. Can you tell us some of your top tips for running a charity event?
There are many great tips to charity events, and I’m sure you can find better than ones than I’ll share but I’ll do my best to guide you!
- The first step is to just “TRY” – Like with any event the first one will be the most confusing. There is this weird pressure to get it right straight away, especially when you are entering a space with “more experienced people”, just plan as best you can and learn from anything that goes wrong. But just in case you need a hand, there are people at SpecialEffect that can guide and help you, and you can even speak to other content creators in their Discord.
- “It’s not always about the money, Spider-man” – Setting and hitting a fundraising target is great but it cannot be overstated that the message is just as important, if not more! One more person hearing about SpecialEffect through a stream is a win in my book, as it’s potentially another person that can support the charity, or even use their services. So, find the message that works best for you. It’ll sound cringey to you initially but trust me, you’ll be fine. To help you out, SpecialEffect does provide a lot of material on their website for you to use to help you in illustrating your point and why you’re fundraising!
- “5% of a plan” – Personally, it took me a while to find ideas where I could make my charity events unique, and one of them was an idea of a bidding war. It is “Knuckles vs Shadow”, an inside meme that was created whilst being a part of the SEGA community. It took me about two years to figure out how I wanted to present this and it takes courage to follow it through. It’s not a perfect plan and I share this because you won’t always find the perfect set up straight away, especially when doing something unique. So don’t punish yourself when things don’t go entirely to plan. It’s easier said than done but you won’t be punished for trying something different. No-one will be disappointed with you. Especially if you decide to do something off the wall.
- “It’s dangerous to go alone, join this” – Actually, it’s not dangerous, I just really want you to understand that you can join a team. A team takes a lot of the pressure away of working alone. Grab a few friends and do stuff together. Collaborating makes for a more welcoming experience and when anyone donates you can all celebrate together. Most importantly any SpecialEffect campaign is just a bunch of small teams working together. When they win, you win too! So really, it’s more “it’s good to work alone, but better together! (Okay, I really wanted to make a Zelda reference)
- “You are (K)enough” – Why yes, I did watch Barbie recently, how did you know? What I’m hoping to get across is similar to Point 1. The fact that you want to, and try to help means you can do this. Not having self-confidence is normal. But I hope if you’ve read till this point, you might want to try someday and, if like me, you’ve thought maybe “I’m not big enough” or “can’t raise a lot”, I have thought the exact same things. This is totally normal. In the end I went with “well what if I did it anyway, I want to help” and, that’s all you’ll need. You are you, and that is what makes you unique. The fact that you care about SpecialEffect basically makes you perfect for doing it. So if you needed permission here you go. Let’s get started. You are enough.
That is all INCREDIBLE advice with perfect references! Before we sign-off Faz, do you have any final comments?
Thank you to Paige and the folks at SpecialEffect for reaching out to me! The folks at SEGA and the other Team SEGA members who also help out during events and continue to inspire people!
See you on the next one, stay safe, drink some water and I hope you guys have a wonderful and Happy Faz Day!
Thank you Faz_D! Where can people find you online?
Gosh, there are a lot of socials but will post the primaries. I live stream on twitch a lot, you can find me there playing a lot of fighting games, story playthroughs and running tournaments.
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/faz_d
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@faz_d
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/the_faz_d/