Story Highlights
- Elden Ring has been a treasure trove for content creators, thanks to the modding community.
- Bingo Brawlers has stood out among the popular content formats for its competitive structure.
- We interviewed Captain Domo, the Creator of Bingo Brawlers, over an email Q&A session.
For a long time, the Souls community has been a very dedicated fanbase, but it was only after Elden Ring’s release that the genre was noticed on a mainstream level. This also gave the content creators abundant content to explore, which has since only grown thanks to the modding community. Amidst this popularity, several formats have become common among content creators, like various Randomizers and Bingo.
The Bingo format is very unique and functional thanks to the unparalleled open-world exploration of Elden Ring. Captain Domo turned this setup into a tournament-styled competition, the Bingo Brawlers, with professional Elden Ring players as the participants. As such, we spoke with Dominik, aka Captain Domo, over an email interview to get some of his insights into FromSoftware’s stellar title and its potential for content creators.
Read ahead for the full interview.
You have been on Twitch much longer than YouTube, but you stream on both platforms on different occasions. Which of the two do you prefer streaming on more and why?
Domo: I definitely prefer streaming on Twitch over Youtube. The platform just has a more community feeling to it overall; the YouTube side feels very chaotic to me, streaming-wise.
At the moment, your videos are mostly centered around Elden Ring. Do you think there would ever be a game you would shift to later?
Domo: I have considered trying other games of somewhat the same genre, for example, Monster Hunter, as it has similar combat elements. However, Monster Hunter World is already quite an old game, so I am waiting for the new release of Monster Hunter Wilds that just got announced to really consider a big shift.
Several Soulslike games have been released since Elden Ring came out, such as Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, etc. Do you think any of those titles have the same content creation potential?
Domo: For the most part, no, Soulslikes are great, and some of them can be even amazing (such as Lies of P) but the interest there seems very short term compared to FromSoft who has just a very dedicated fanbase. These Soulslikes are mostly one-offs from what I see from companies, so there really isn’t a dedicated fanbase to back it up.
Elden Ring has been out for almost 2 years. Is there any aspect of the game that you think still needs improvement? And what do you think FromSoftware should focus on for their next game?
Domo: There are some minor things that still bug me, especially with Elden Ring. Former FromSoft games were way more linear, so even if the story is kind of hard to follow along, you still bump into NPCs here and there to remind you of what is going on. The vast world of Elden Ring really makes it hard to keep up with specific questlines or know where to go next. Also, I think some of the larger parts of the lore go amiss by lots of players since the world has so much to offer that you get lost in what exactly is happening. I find, for instance, the introduction cutscene of Radahn to be a perfect way to showcase the story a bit more in the game if they just expanded that to other bosses and maybe even regions. FromSoft does a lot of things right, especially combat. However, sometimes I wish the story was a bit more attainable and digestible.
You have completed Elden Ring countless times with tons of different weapons. So, what is your favorite weapon and build, and is there a specific weapon you want to see getting buffed or nerfed?
Domo: There are honestly so many weapons to choose from that it’s quite difficult. They all have their unique appeal especially depending on the challenge that you are undertaking. Overall, it would probably still have to be the Meteoric Ore Blade that is my favorite. It is the only strength scaling Katana in the game, which has a very powerful charged attack and its weapon art, although partially useless, is fun to use. I am not a big fan of the Serpent Hunter, personally, so if it would be nerfed outside of the Rykard Arena, I would honestly be okay with that.
Since Elden Ring DLC is expected to arrive this year (though it hasn't been confirmed). What would you want to see in this DLC?
Domo: Honestly, the biggest thing I am hoping for is some more story revolving around Godwyn the Golden. I know everyone is looking forward to the Miquella storyline, but to me, Godwyn is fascinating. Out of all the children, Ranni targeted Godwyn to be assassinated, presumably because he was the strongest. And I would like to learn more as to why he was the strongest and what he was like.
There are many great mods for Elden Ring, with a lot of them adding content or a different perspective. Do you believe the modding community is a major reason many people still stream the game?
Domo: The modding community is definitely a huge reason people still stream the game, from seamless co-op to randomizer runs, those are all mods that were brought to the community. Over half the content that I produce is from mods, especially Randomizer and the Convergence mod. Shoutout to thefifthmatt and the Convergence team for their mods. Even my Bingo Brawlers season 2 used 2 different mods to make sure we could provide a unique experience.
Could you tell us when the initial idea of a Bingo Brawlers tournament came to you and what some of the inspirations behind that were?
Domo: The initial idea came after I played casual bingo with my friends on stream. After a couple of really close matches, I sat down with my friend LilAggy and pretty much created the groundwork that was Bingo Brawlers. Aggy made the initial objectives list of bingo, so we kind of came together after I told him about my idea of running a whole league around this format.
After seeing some of the criticism for Bingo Brawlers Season 2's finale being uploaded so late, are you planning on reverting back to Season 1's video format where there was no extra production/editing?
Domo: Most likely, yes. I wanted to try something new, which was trying to keep the excitement and hype going throughout a video by cutting some footage out that seemed potentially boring or anti-climactic. However, that did seem to take away from the full experience of watching a match. It was something experimental, but it was also a misjudgment on my part.
I remember in one of the Bingo Brawlers matches, you said you have always wanted to become a game show host, and hosting these matches gave you that feeling. If Bingo Brawlers becomes successful enough, do you think it could translate well into a LAN event that you can host in front of a live audience?
Domo: Oh 100%. I’ve talked about bingo potentially being its own Esport to be honest. It has great overall potential, and you can move to other games as well; it doesn’t have to be only Elden Ring.
What are some of the changes that fans can expect to see in Bingo Brawlers Season 3?
Domo: Some changes would be upping the production value a bit more. I try to up the production value each season to just give a more refined experience to all the viewers, and make it as close to professional as possible. Another thing will be for season 3 specifically; prepare to see some familiar faces!
Is there anything else you want to share? Something we haven’t touched upon yet.
Domo: I’d like to honestly just thank the Souls community for appreciating the content I produce and for giving Bingo Brawlers a chance. It definitely felt like a very big project in my mind, and I honestly had no idea how everyone would receive it. Thankfully it went well.
Domo started live-streaming Bingo Brawlers around a year ago. It started as a tournament where several of his fellow Elden Ring content creators participated for fun and has now turned into a bigger event where many new and familiar faces join to compete against each other. The tournament finished its second season a few months ago, and fans are now in the wait for a season 3 announcement, which should be coming soon.
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