Started only two months ago on 14th May, Did You Know Gaming has been met with a tumultuous response that doesn’t look like subsiding any time soon. With nearly 25,000 Facebook fans, over 5,000 followers on Twitter and a rather odd parody account, Jordan Garland sat down and talked with Shane Gill of Did You Know Gaming? about all things trivia.
Jordan Garland: How did DYKG come about?
Shane Gill: The original idea came from two places. There’s a few pretty big Facebook trivia groups, and I always thought the amount of followers they had was amazing. Some even have hundreds of thousands. Those were part of the inspiration. The second part was where the gaming came into it, and that was via a thread on a gaming forum called neogaf. Everyone was linking to little known facts and theories that were all really interesting.
J: Why do you think you’ve been so successful in such a short amount of time?
S: I know a few people who have started gaming trivia sites or groups, but I don’t think they’ve done it quite right. Having all the information on a single image keeps everything together and makes sure the site name is carried along with the information. Even if someone just hotlinks an image rather than linking to the site, everyone will still see the site name. I think that’s partly why. I also have a few friends who helped spread it around at the beginning.
J: Where did you first get all of your trivia from?
S:A few places. The first wave of images were based on things I’d found myself, and were from various places. A few staples were trivia threads on forums, Easter egg websites, even browsing YouTube for videos with bits of information in them. I’m not doing much of that any more though. The majority of the sites content (videos not included) is based on user submissions.
J: What is it about the nature of trivia, especially nostalgia, that gets people so giddy with excitement?
S: I think everyone gets enjoyment out of learning, especially when it’s a subject you love. When you combine that with something from your past it can be very emotive. I think the nostalgia factor might be why the Pokemon posts do so well. Flashing back to something you may have overlooked.
J: What’s your favourite piece of trivia?
S: Probably the Star Fox universe amputee theory. It’s always a shocker when you first start thinking about it.
J: Could you elaborate?
S: I’m actually going to elaborate on this in a video in the next week or so, so all will be revealed then.
J: It must be strange having so many people waiting for each new bit of trivia with such anticipation, nearly 20,000 Facebook fans in just under 8 weeks is very impressive. Did you ever anticipate this sort of response?
S: Honestly no. I thought it would get a few thousand likes, but I never thought that it would develop into what it is now.
J: What’s on the horizon for DYKG?
G: Lots of video content. We’ll also be opening a wiki where each pieces on the site has a page dedicated to it, but going into a bit more detail, displaying alternate theories and evidence. It will also be the place where other languages will be displayed for our fans whose first language isn’t English.
If you feel the need to whet your trivia appetitive, visit Did You Know Gaming’s website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube account.
