Gaming - News
Dr Disrespect's Journey Has Been Anything But Simple
By SARAH SZABO AND GABRAN GRAY
Character Origins
Dr Disrespect’s first appearance dates back to 2010, when Guy Beahm came up with the character while playing “Halo 2.” His original plan was to simply start recording his own gameplay, but when he recorded his voice over, he used a villainous voice that he had messed around with on Xbox Live — and Dr Disrespect was born.
Visualization
The next step in bringing the character to life was putting together the costume, which Beahm said he didn’t have any expectations for, but he knew that “there had to be a look to him. And he had to have a mustache.” He found the mustache, mullet, and sunglasses in one trip and began putting the basic personality of the character together with his friends later that night.
Proving Himself
Beahm started making a name for himself in the online streaming scene in 2010 on the prominent gaming website G4TV.com. His early streams featured a darker tone as he took gaming dead serious, and while not everyone was a fan of his style, he signed a contract with Machinima in 2011 that allowed him to distribute his videos on a much bigger platform.
Call of Duty
In 2011, Beahm's extensive experience with multiplayer games led to a professional opportunity as a community manager for a “Call of Duty” developer, Sledgehammer Games. Beahm would be promoted to level design and abandon streaming for five years before returning to the Dr Disrespect character after working out a deal with the streaming platform Boom.tv.
Rise to Prominence
Dr Disrespect came back in a big way in 2016, gaining fans by streaming the battle royale style game “H1Z1: King of the Kill” and, later, “PUBG.” The combination of the unique battle royale games with a charismatic, over-the-top character made for a classic case of “right place, right time,” and would lead to him winning the Trending Gamer award at the Game Awards.
