Byeong Geon Lee, who goes by the pen name Lee Malnyeon, is a popular Korean webcomic artist and game streamer. Notable works of his include “Lee Malnyeon Series” [이말년 시리즈], “Lee Malnyeon’s Baseball Dump” [이말년의 야구배설], and “Lee Malnyeon’s Journey to the West” [이말년의 서유기]. Although his comics are mostly, well, comedic, they address a wide range of topics, covering political, economical, societal, and cultural issues of the time.

With over 60,000 followers and 1,700 average viewers on his personal stream, Lee is also a keen consumer and creator of subculture and online memes. He makes regular appearances to a variety of mainstream TV and radio shows, serving as a conduit between new and traditional media.

Who comes to mind when you think about top Heroes of the Storm streamers? Perhaps chu8, mewnfarez, Grubby, and LiquidCris will be on your list. Yet there’s another non-English streamer who consistently tops the Heroes section on Twitch: Byeong Geon “Lee Malnyeon” Lee, commonly referred to as ChimChackMan, the name of his streaming persona.

Lee is a man of a thousand faces, from his humble beginnings at DC Inside (a tamer Korean version of 4chan), to one of the most recognized webcomic artists of the age, to massively popular Twitch streamer. Recently, he’s been hailed as the leader of the Restaurance movement by Korean communities. Inven met Lee to hear his insights into Heroes, streaming, and Heroes streaming.

I’ve taken to calling you by your streamer ID more than your pen name nowadays. Care to introduce yourself to our readers?

Hello, I’m ChimChackMan, a Twitch streamer.

You said in an interview last year that you didn’t want to learn new games. How did you get into Heroes?

I participated in the Heroes open beta launch party at Inven. There was an event where new players and CrazyMoving were playing together. That’s basically how I got started. I didn’t know anything about Heroes at the time because I didn’t have a beta key. All I knew was that apparently there were some negative sentiments about the game.

People at Inven who knew that I played Hearthstone recommended Heroes to me because the two games share familiar faces, such as Thrall, Malfurion, and Jaina. I’ve been playing little by little ever since, and here I am now.

Many Korean netizens mocked Heroes for its notoriously long queues, pejoratively calling it a “high-end restaurant.” Did that deter you from getting into the game?

Contrary to what many think, I didn’t stream much Heroes during its "dark ages". I wasn't able to play and talk at the same time because I was inexperienced and thus overwhelmed. Viewers hated the long moments of silence, and therefore hated it when I streamed Heroes. It wasn’t that Heroes was a bad game; it was bad for the viewing experience.

More importantly, during then, I had no one to play Heroes with. So my play time also dwindled. Nowadays, there’s a ton of people to play with, hence more Heroes streams.

I’ve heard that your viewer count got slashed in half during your early Heroes streams. Did it concern you as a streamer?

I didn’t care too much about viewer counts because streaming was a side job for me. Being a webcomic artist was my primary job. Streaming was just me hanging out and having fun - the donations I get while messing about are what turn it into a "job". So I wanted to stream games I enjoyed playing, even if that meant less viewers. I understand I’m an outlier. Full-time streamers are sensitive to ratings.

You’ve emphasized the importance of the “fun factor” in streaming. What do you think is the fun factor when streaming Heroes?

First, about the game. From the draft system to everything else, Heroes used to be "unfinished", so to speak. Unfortunately, the game went on in for a while that incomplete state, leaving a negative impression on people. Of course, no game is truly "finished", but I think Heroes is moving in the right direction with new hero additions and balance patches, not to mention faster queue times with the increased player base. I think Heroes itself is plenty fun now.

In terms of the fun factor in streaming, let me compare Heroes with Hearthstone. The two games differ in that streamers play Hearthstone by themselves for the most part, whereas people can play Heroes with other streamers. Due to the single player nature of the game, Hearthstone streamers crave broadcasting their games together. That’s why LoL got suddenly so popular among Hearthstone streamers at one point.

Now that crowd has been moving into Heroes, probably because of the Nexus Challenge event. Being a team-based game, Overwatch can also serve a similar purpose, but it has a higher barrier to entry, so... All in all, I think one of the best things about Heroes is that it offers a team-based experience with a welcoming learning curve.

In terms of viewer interaction, what are some challenges you face with streaming Heroes compared to Hearthstone?

To be honest, I just play Heroes like I’m off stream [laughs]. It’s no wonder viewership numbers dropped. It’s something I’m still working on, and I’m just slacking off at this point. Still, I’d like to stream what I want, so I apologize to my viewers, that I’ll play Hearthstone next time.

Many other Heroes streamers can simultaneously play the game and interact with viewers, but I'm not at that level yet. My multi-tasking and mechanical skills are lacking. That’s why I try to play Heroes with other streamers - that way there’s less dead air.

As the Leader of the Restuarance, you’ve been actively "bugging" other streamers to play Heroes. Is that something you’re likely to continue doing in the future?

I recently changed my way of thinking - I will stop "forcing" Heroes on other people. People receiving my offer are put in an uncomfortable position. When I ask them to play Heroes with me, viewers chime in and make the situation awkward. Refusing to might reflect badly on them, while agreeing to might screw up streaming plans they might have had. To be honest, I had known this for some time now, but forced Heroes on them anyway out of boredom.

Now I should probably stop. I used to nag people to play Heroes because there wasn’t a whole lot happening in Hearthstone and HS streamers were playing other games anyway. With the release of the new expansion, though, streamers and viewers are returning to Hearthstone.

Is there a rule you live by when you stream?

Although I often contradict myself, I try my best not to get mad on stream. It’s okay to get mad as a stream persona when everyone knows I’m doing it, but getting mad for real makes it unpleasant for the viewers. People watch streams for fun. Getting mad defeats that purpose because my negative emotions then bleed out towards the viewers. I’m still a person with feelings, so it’s easier said than done, of course, but I try.

When you think about it, most of the people I play with didn’t choose be on the stream; they just happened to play the same game at the same time. Every player has good days and bad days, but the moment viewers see a mistake like a sloppy positioning, they mercilessly criticize and ridicule the person just because he or she happened to appear on my stream. It’s the same with Hearthstone too, where a simple misplay from my opponent warrants a barrage of criticism and name-calling. It's not cool.

I don't want to encourage viewers to do that by starting my own tirade. That’s why I cover my opponent’s name in Hearthstone. Viewers may love recognizing a name or names from our last game, but if you’re at the receiving end of on-stream bashing, your feelings get hurt.

With your efforts over the months and the recent Nexus Challenge event, more and more Korean players are starting to play Heroes. What other things does the game need to really take off?

Every game has a learning curve. Compared to LoL, Heroes' design lets inexperienced players have more impact on the game. Teammates will often rage when you’re just starting out, partly because it's harder for a better player to single-handedly carry a worse player. I've seen too many people who turn away from Heroes because teammates criticized them too much.

Seasoned players should be more accepting of newbies. Due to the nature of MOBAs, we’re supposed to play as a team. I hope we can all learn to treat each other with respect. Being mean to others doesn’t do you any favors. Some people hastily judge Heroes based on a few negative experiences and quit the genre entirely.

I admit team-based games tend to incite rage easily. I’ve been there, especially after suffering three defeats in a row just because I got matched with a particular player. But I think we should be extra considerate to each other when things look gloomy.

Any last words to fans and viewers?

Thank you for watching my stream. There are so many good streams out there, so please don’t be disappointed if I’m not playing Heroes all the time. If it’s one of the days when I’m not streaming Heroes, why not just go spend time with your family and loved ones? [laughs]