Roblox is a global immersive platform where tens of millions of domestic and foreign users connect and communicate with each other. Meanwhile, the ways in which Generation Z, digital natives, use Roblox are becoming increasingly diverse.
They perceive Roblox as more than just a hobby where they can enjoy, learn, communicate, and expand their friendships while exploring the digital space. They develop and create experiential content and user generated content ( UGC ) themselves , or some creators even turn it into a career.
In addition, there are people who start out as Roblox players, pioneering careers that never existed in the world, and realizing new opportunities and dreams through Roblox. This is Punkerson , a Roblox animator who is active not only in Korea but on the world stage . Funkerson, a Roblox animator and YouTube creator, has been producing animations using Roblox since 2017.
Popular Roblox experiences ‘DOORS ’ , ‘BedWars ’)’, etc., his YouTube channel has grown into a popular global channel with 1.95 million subscribers (as of September 2023) not only in Korea but also in the United States, Brazil, and Vietnam. In particular, among the various YouTube videos produced by Funkerson, the Doors Animation Complete Edition has recorded 27.43 million views (as of September 2023).
For Funkerson, Roblox is a platform that opened the way for him to pursue his dream of content creation. He expressed his ambition to enjoy a variety of experiences as a Roblox player and at the same time convey various Roblox stories in animation form to viewers around the world.
The following is a Q&A with Funkerson.
Q. _ Hello Funkerson, please introduce yourself.
▲This is Funkerson, a Roblox animator who produces Roblox animations and a YouTube creator (YouTuber) who runs the YouTube channel ‘Punkerson’. We are uploading animation series content inspired by popular Roblox experiences ‘DOORS ’ and ‘BedWars ’ , with 1.95 million users (as of September 2023) not only in Korea but also in the US, Brazil, and Vietnam. has subscribers.
Q. _ I think I’ve liked animation since I was young. ▲ I have enjoyed watching various TV animation programs
since I was young . Personally, I liked ‘Finn and Jake’s Adventure Time,’ and I found it fascinating that each of the various characters had their own narratives. In particular, the fact that each character’s individual story does not have a happy ending broke the stereotypes I had about stories when I was young, and also influenced the animation storylines I produce. Q. _ So, Mr. Funkerson, did you major in games or animation?
▲ Since I was very interested in video production since I was young, I was able to make my dream concrete by producing animation content. As a Roblox player, I naturally came across Roblox Studio while enjoying various Roblox experiences and games. After various experiences, I became familiar with how to use Roblox Studio to implement my ideas, and later took my first steps as an animator by challenging animation content.
Since I started making Roblox animations as a hobby, I taught myself everything. Since my school days, I have been running a YouTube channel and producing content , and I wanted to prove my capabilities by participating in user created content competitions and contests held on and off campus . Although it was a contest for two-dimensional (2D) animation at the time, the experience I gained at that time was a great help in growing into the animator I am today who produces three-dimensional (3D) animation. Even now, every time I create an animation, I challenge myself by filling in the gaps and learning .
Q. What prompted you to create content using Roblox?
▲ When I was in middle school, I started producing YouTube content using Roblox under the influence of a friend who was a YouTube creator. In the early days of the YouTube channel, we uploaded videos focusing on game content with subtitles added to gameplay videos, but we realized that because game content is greatly influenced by trends, the audience is bound to be limited and dispersed.
We wanted to share the variety of fun we experienced in Roblox with more people, so we changed our content approach to producing animation videos inspired by popular Roblox experiences such as Doors and Bed Wars instead of playing the game directly. As a result, I continued my career as a professional Roblox animator on YouTube.
Q. _ How did you come up with the concept when composing the video?
▲ I get inspired to come up with concepts while experiencing and playing Roblox games. Rather than simply looking at the various characters and stories encountered in Roblox experiences and games, I want to use them to create my own story in animation format.
The biggest differentiator of my video content is that people can encounter elements they used to encounter in experiences and games in a new form of content called animation. Through the stories drawn from my imagination, I can enjoy stories that cannot be found in the Roblox experience and games, and can also increase my sense of immersion in the Roblox experience.
Q. _ In particular, what led you to introduce content using the popular Roblox experiences ‘Doors’ and ‘Bed Wars’?
▲ As ‘Doors’ and ‘Bed Wars’ are popular experiences in Roblox, I first encountered them as a player. As I immersed myself in and enjoyed both experiences, various stories that I wanted to embody came to mind. I thought that I would be able to empathize with many people if I animated the thoughts and emotions I felt, so I created the story in my own style and added the characters’ gestures and dialogue to create the Doors series.
Personally, in the case of Bad Wars, I found it particularly disappointing that there was no official story for the characters. By giving stories to the characters that appear in Bad Wars and varying the abilities they can use, the Bad Wars series was born. For now, we are putting off production of the Bad Wars series to focus on the Doors series, but we hope to meet viewers with a new series soon.
Q. _ I understand that Roblox Studio is actively used to implement animated graphics.
▲ Because Roblox Studio is an official tool provided by Roblox, it is easy to create animations that reflect Roblox’s unique graphics. When using Roblox Studio, there is almost no difference between the scenes seen in experiences and games and the scenes created through animation. Additionally, you can use it to create videos easily and quickly. Compared to other programs, its outstanding real-time rendering performance shortens production time and allows you to create content with relatively easy difficulty.
Q. _ What was the most difficult time when producing animation?
▲ The most difficult moment while producing animation is when you cannot express what you want to express through animation. Whenever this happens, I put a lot of effort into solving it a
Q. _ I am the first Korean to join Roblox Video Stars.
▲ Roblox Video Stars is a program where Roblox provides star creators with high video viewership and viewer participation with benefits and tools to better메이저놀이터 communicate with fans and grow their business . One of the eligibility requirements is that you must be a content creator who produces videos in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, or German. I was selected because I do not use a lot of dialogue in my content and English is my primary language. same. To join Roblox Video Stars, you must meet the difficult minimum criteria of 10 million cumulative video views, 25,000 average views per video, and 100,000 subscribers. In other words, membership is only possible if there is consistent love and interest from viewers, so I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the viewers who made this an honorable event. Q. _ What was your most rewarding moment? ▲ The most rewarding moment as an animator is every moment I complete the animation content I planned and show it to others. I am most proud when viewers leave comments on topics related to the video. Q. _ What has changed the most since you started showing your animations or works on YouTube?
▲ Roblox has a variety of genres of experiences and games, so you can choose and enjoy the experiences and games that suit your taste. I think the charm of Roblox is that friends with similar tastes can come together for a specific experience, and even if they don’t know each other, they can discover commonalities, build consensus, and make friends while playing.
As I work as a Roblox animator, I have developed the habit of analyzing and observing elements of animations and games that I encounter in my daily life. Sometimes I miss the leisurely pace of everyday life, but while making animations, many people recognize me, and seeing the reactions of fans who are impressed by the stories I create gives me the strength to work harder at making animations.
Q. _ What is the unique charm of Roblox and what is the charm of YouTube?
▲ I think Roblox is an attractive immersive platform in that anyone can easily access it and there are various experience spaces so you can choose and enjoy a game that suits your taste. Another advantage is that users can create various experiences and games themselves. This allows users to create experiences and games with richer stories, and animators can create more diverse content. As Roblox is a platform where users not only play together, but also develop and create, it is attractive that you can enjoy it together within the Roblox platform even if you are far away from your friends.
I think the appeal of YouTube is that anyone can easily access it, find and watch content they like, and upload it. Both of my favorite platforms seem to have the advantage of great accessibility in that anyone can enjoy them and anyone can watch them.
Q. _ Please feel free to share your goals or comments for this year.
▲ I want to use this year as my growth momentum. We want to expand the animation genre to tell more diverse stories, and ultimately, we want to reach 2 million subscribers on YouTube.
If you are an animator or creator, you may find yourself chasing only ‘popularity’ without even realizing it, and there will be times when you are at a crossroads whether to choose popularity or follow your own path. If you stick to popular content, you can easily get tired and lose your unique color. If you believe in yourself and follow your own path, one day you will be able to create content that is loved by many people.
accept it as a challenge that I have to overcome.