2 years ago, a guy made his name on Black Desert Online Inven. He is a professional water gatherer, an ecologist, a man who dived into the river with heavy armor, and most importantly, a man always fighting to make Black Desert a better place. He is none other than PoppinSoul, aka the Waterboy.

He loved water so much. He lectured on the importance of water to hundreds of people. But one day, he disappeared. And when he came back, he was not just a professional water gatherer anymore. He evolved into a social welfare expert. He had finally become a member of the “Black Desert Online Welfare Organization” (a group probably consisting of him alone), a social welfare facility designed to promote the general welfare of the citizens of Black Desert.

PoppinSoul recently released a documentary film featuring the ecosystem of Kamasylvia, titled “Animals of Kamasylvia”, attracting many fans from not only Korea but also from around the globe.

We were curious. Why did he start gathering water and what is the message he wants to deliver to the world? Where could this guy be? Is he in the river? Is he in the ocean? Maybe he is in Kamasylvia. Luckily, our reporters at BDO Inven were able to reach him and got a chance to float on the pond in Heidel and have a talk with him.

Q. Would you like to introduce yourself to us?

Good morning. This is PoppinSoul, aka the Waterboy who wanders around nature in search of fresh water. I provide fresh water to you.

I started gathering water because combat was not truly fun for me. I traveled to different places, marvelling at all the beauty, and gathered water. I believe, that if I keep doing this, I might one day find out that I am nothing but a small being who dwells in nature, even though it’s just a game.

Q. We have a question. As a Warrior, why are you always wearing Bern Armor?

There is no big reason as to why I started playing the Warrior. I just thought the sword and shield looked cool. Why the Bern Armor, if you ask, is because it’s shiny. I never really liked the other Warrior Costumes, but I think the Goyen Costume has a brilliant design.

Q. Everyone thought you retired, but you made a surprise comeback with the “Horse Campaign” video.

I was really busy with my real life. I had to deal with too many things and didn’t have enough time to play games.

I worked as an intern at a company, and took a programming class. I did not major in programming and I started taking a programming class by chance. I had to put more time and effort into than programming major students do, so I couldn’t really play BDO. Also, I didn’t have time to think of a new video.

I thought everyone might just forget about me when I stopped making the Waterboy series. I was too busy with my real life. But then one day, I wanted to make funny videos again. Making video clips is my favorite hobby, and all the comments really cheer me up.

Q. A lot of people rejoiced at your return. How did you feel back then?

I couldn’t think of any words other than “Thank you.” Although I’ve been gone for a long time, a lot of people still remembered me and revisited my old videos. It was one of the best days of my life. I want to thank everyone again for cheering for me.

I started making the Waterboy series because I wanted everyone to know that chasing “efficiency” is not everything. Looking for things like “this life skill is the most efficient” or “that life skill is not good at all” is not the only way to enjoy BDO. Sometimes you need to relax and gather water or travel around the world of BDO to appreciate its beauty. That is also a way to enjoy this game.

I’m trying to say that your AP/DP and Silver are not everything in BDO. At first I wanted everyone to know that, but now, I just could never be more happy since everyone has enjoyed my videos.

Q. Your obsession with water was pretty impressive. Is your real profession related to water too?

It’s not related to my job in real life or to my major, but I do enjoy playing in water. I’m actually from a junior swim club.

And I’m not obsessed with water. Before I started the Waterboy series, I started traveling around and gathered water to see if there would be any differences in the water bottles collected from different places. I started in Demi River and traveled all the way to Treant Village, only to find out there are only two kinds of water: River Water and Sea Water.

While traveling around, I found out that exploring different places is actually really fun. The water gathering was a secondary goal of the journey, and exploration became my primary goal. That is how I started filming the Waterboy series. I guess you can see more things if you gather enough water.

Q. What is your favorite type of water?

I like raw water. A Bottle of River Water and a Bottle of Sea Water have the potential to become both Distilled Water and Purified Water.

Q. How was the Terrmian Water Park? After all, it is a “Water” Park. Isn’t it, “Water” boy?

I rushed to the Terrmian Water Park as soon as it was updated. I tried different things and I liked it, but there is definitely room for improvement. To be honest, there is no one in the Water park anymore. There were only NPCs dancing. It looked awkward so I danced with them.

People went to the Water park when it first came out to see how it looks, but no one actually goes there anymore, except for people like me, once they are done with quests. I think it would be much better if there were mini games that multiple players could play together, like beach volleyball or a water balloon fight. The Water park looks really great and I hope there will be more features available.

Q. You first created funny clip videos but started creating social campaigns.

I actually have a story to tell about the horse parking campaign. One of my guild member’s two-seat horse was in front of an NPC I had to talk to, so I had to ride on that horse even though I didn’t want to. Also, it doesn’t look neat.

After I made the horse parking campaign, a lot of people asked me to make one for ship parking. I agreed on the idea that ships overlapping is kind of inconvenient. So I decided to make campaigns on the little things everyone can relate to, and deliver a good message in a fun way.

A lot of people liked the mondegreens I used in the ship parking campaign. Someone asked me how I found the song. I was walking down a street one day and heard Bae by Marcus & Martinus. 
(*translator’s note - the korean word for ‘ship’ sounds quite similar to ‘bae’.) I knew at that moment this was the song. I came back home and listened the song again, and more ideas came to my head.

Q. The videos you made recently are also amazing. It seems like the quality of the videos has improved greatly. Have you been studying video production?

I’m self-taught. I used to use images for my videos, but now I mostly use video clips. I went to this place in Alti Nova that looks like a chocolate factory, which immediately reminded me of the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I wanted to use the songs from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I had to use video clips instead of images to make the whole video go along with the music. That is how Episode 9: the Chocolate Factory was born.

I studied different video making programs since then and now I’m comfortable with them. I’m not a professional, but a lot of video making programs these days are easy to use. When I want to make a certain scene, I can simply google my question and I can find a video guide or a guide post related to my question. I think everyone can learn how to make videos.

Episode 9: Waterboy and the Chocolate Factory

Q. We really enjoyed Animals of Kamasylvia. Do you play BDO often?

Yes. BDO is my favorite MMORPG and I play it a lot. I traveled around Kamasylvia when Kamasylvia Part 2 came out and it gave me a lot of ideas for my new video. I thought it was a beautiful place. It’s actually my second favorite region in BDO next to Valencia. I tried to move to Grana because I really liked the beautiful city, but it was too much work for me.

Valencia is my favorite region because it best suits the game’s title, Black Desert. I was also really impressed by all the details they put in Valencia, like the buildings and the castle.

Kamasylvia is also unforgettable. My favorite spot is Atanis Pond. There was a singing elf next to the pond and I really liked the song. I stayed there for a while and listened to the song. It’s in the video too.

Q. It seems like you are not obsessed with water anymore. What happened?

To be honest, water gathering is not a good inspiration for new videos anymore. After all, there are only two kinds of water in BDO, River Water and Sea Water. Also, I’ve visited nearly every place in BDO. I guess I started focusing on the “adventure” part rather than the “gathering” part.

Q. Where do you get your inspiration? People are asking if PoppinSoul is on a special pill that makes him a genius.

That is the question I get the most. People ask me what kind of substance I’m taking. Some people even say “whisper me. I’ll pay double for whatever you are taking.” Well I do take this small pill made of oriental herbs that smells nice, because my mother wants me to…

The ideas for new videos just pop up in my head occasionally. There’s no fixed pattern, so I write them down whenever they come.

Q. We’ve seen the name “Santo Manzi Human Resource” in the ending credit of your videos a lot but we don’t see that name anymore.

Santo Manzi Human Resource stopped working with me a while ago because I don’t visit Velia that often anymore. I signed a partnership with Kzarka Industry, the most famous Industry in BDO. Kzarka Industry will sponsor me with Kzarka aura and some silver coins for killing Kzarka.

Q. Do you work with someone else? We often hear more than one voice in your videos.

The Waterboy is one and only. At first I had trouble voice acting for different characters, especially female characters.

I thought about asking a friend of mine who is an actor, but eventually I figured out how to take care of that myself. I used a thinner voice and distorted it a bit, and a completely different voice came out. All the voices used in my videos are my voice. It’s a bit embarrassing.

Q. Did you do the English narration yourself too?

For “Animals of Kamasylvia”, I wanted it to look like a documentary film in English so I used English. Also, I wanted overseas players to enjoy my video.

I found out many BDO players around the globe are interested in my videos, especially the Chocolate Factory video and the Ship Campaign video. I think it’s because BDO is a global game. Some people commented that they want English subtitles or an English version of the video, so I’m going to take that into consideration from now on. BDO is a global game, and the players must go global also.

Q. So are we going to see more PoppinSoul from now on?

I have a list of ideas for my new video so yes you will. I actually want to make a series. I can do that if the viewers like it. I will keep on making BDO clips and also will try to make a series.

I’m still deciding on what my next video is going to be, but it’s going to feature a special incident where my personal assistant LockingSoul the Ninja is also there with me. I’ll give you more details. It’s going to be about a gun.

Q. As a BDO player, what is your favorite in-game feature these days?

I’m trying Rift of the Barbarian these days and I like it. I especially like the fact that cooperation, not each player’s AP/DP, is the key to victory. BDO lacks cooperative missions and now we have Rift of the Barbarian.

It really feels like everyone is playing as a team when 10 players are holding Muskets and placing barricades together. The players try to stay in position and defend the tower from waves of monsters together, and each player has a role. There are still some bugs and room for improvement, but they can be fixed later on.

It would be much better if the wave patterns randomly changed. It can get pretty boring when the same monsters appear on same stage every time I play. Making the pattern of monsters or geographical features random will add more fun to the game.

※ The interview was held on Wed, July 12th. There might be some changes applied to Rift of the Barbarian after the above date.

Q. What upcoming update are you anticipating the most?

There are two updates that I’m waiting for. First, the 2nd Awakening. Like I said in the beginning of the interview, I like the combination of Swords and Shields. I wish the Sword and Shield can shine again through the 2nd Awakening.

Second, as a person who loves traveling, a new region. I’m looking forward to the airship and I believe a new area far away from the mainland will come out. Along with the new area, I want more kinds of water, like dirty water maybe, to be added.

Q. Thank you for your time. Would you like to say anything to your fans who have been waiting for you and who are looking forward to seeing more of your videos?

I want to thank everyone who enjoys my videos and loves the Waterboy. Making BDO videos is one of the things I enjoy in my life. I will repay your support with more fun videos.

You play BDO to relieve the stress you get from reality, and I want my videos to be part of your BDO experience. Please look forward to more Waterboy videos, and remember to drink water everyday. I love you, BDO players, and thank you again!

Q. Last question. What is water to you?

Water is life.

Animals of Kamasylvia