DougDoug
{{Short description|American internet personality (born 1991)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Distinguish|Doug E. Doug}}
{{Infobox YouTube personality
| name = DougDoug
| image = DougDoug Thanos (4x5 cropped).jpg
| alt = A photo of Wreden wearing a swimsuit and Waluigi hat
| caption = Wreden in 2019
| birth_name = Douglas Scott Wreden
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|1|18}}
| nationality =
| education = University of California, Berkeley
| occupation = {{hlist|YouTuber|Twitch streamer|caster|producer}}
| relatives = Davey Wreden (brother)
| website = {{Official|https://www.dougdoug.com/}}
| channel_handle = DougDoug
| years_active = 2015–present
| subscribers = 2.94 million
| views = 688 million
| stats_ref_group = ‡
| silver_year = 2019
| silver_button = yes
| gold_year = 2020
| gold_button = yes
| associated_acts = {{flatlist|
}}
| module = {{Infobox Twitch streamer
|subbox = yes
| years_active = 2018–present
| channel_name = DougDoug
| genre = Gaming
| followers = 1.1 million
}}
| stats_update = May 27, 2025
| signature = DougDoug sig.svg
}}
Douglas Scott Wreden (born January 18, 1991), known professionally as DougDoug (formerly Gloudas), is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and former Hearthstone caster and producer. He makes gaming videos that revolve around him doing various gaming challenges, often involving the use of artificial intelligence, modifications to games, and giving his viewers on Twitch heavy control of the game or stream.{{Cite book |last=Sher |first=Stephen Tsung-Han |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Expanding_Livestream_Experience_and_Inte/2ohb0AEACAAJ?hl=en |title=Expanding Livestream Experience and Interaction Design Through Examining the Videogame Speedrunning Subculture |date=2023 |publisher=Indiana University |isbn=979-8-3796-9594-1 |language=en}} In 2023, he won the "League of Their Own" award at The Streamer Awards, and in 2024, he was nominated for the "Best Software and Game Development" award.
Biography
File:Davey Wreden, GDCA 2016 (cropped).jpg.|upright=0.6]]
Douglas Scott Wreden{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=Mollie |date=June 1, 2023 |title=Twitch plays Dungeons and Dragons game set in a Walmart |url=https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/stream-chat-controlled |access-date=May 2, 2025 |work=WarGamer}} was born on January 18, 1991.{{cite tweet |number=1218692318632370176 |user=DougDougFood |title=29 years ago today I erupted from my mother's vagina |first=Doug |last=Wreden |date=January 18, 2020}} He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in computer science. He resided in the state of Washington until he moved to Los Angeles, California in September 2023.{{cite web |title=DougDoug FAQ |url=https://www.dougdoug.com/faq |website=DougDoug.com |access-date=July 24, 2022 |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725220628/https://www.dougdoug.com/faq |url-status=live }}{{Cite tweet|number=1703832001995026727|user=DougDougFood|title=I've officially moved to Los Angeles!}} He is the brother of Davey Wreden, the designer of The Stanley Parable and director of The Beginner's Guide.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REnFIJhVA-g |title=I played The Stanley Parable with the game's creator |date=May 11, 2022 |author=DougDoug |access-date=July 29, 2022 |archive-date=July 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729172559/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REnFIJhVA-g |website=YouTube |url-status=live }}
Career
=Esports=
Wreden worked for Electronic Arts as a programmer before leaving to work on the Hearthstone Championship Tour, which was organized by ESL, under the online alias Gloudas. After ESL stopped producing the Championship Tour in 2017, he helped design the Hearthstone Trinity Series for ESL; he later described his role:{{cite web |last=Leslie |first=Callum |title=Meet the man behind your favorite Hearthstone events |work=Dot Esports |url=https://dotesports.com/hearthstone/news/hearthstone-history-esl-gloudas-30618 |date=July 3, 2018 |access-date=July 24, 2022 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629135935/https://dotesports.com/hearthstone/news/hearthstone-history-esl-gloudas-30618 |url-status=live }}
{{-|left}}
{{blockquote|Right around [when ESL stopped producing the Championship Tour], ESL was in talks with Twitch to partner on an original Hearthstone team league, and since I had been helping lead ESL's Hearthstone team through 2016, I was approached internally to help design what this new team league would be. I definitely will not claim to be the sole creator of Trinity Series, as there were a number of super talented folks who helped iterate on the format and concept, but through a lot of discussion we landed on our core concept: eight teams of three players, with a Last Hero Standing nine-deck format, and team listen-ins throughout the matches.|Wreden, 2018}}
After the Trinity Series design was finalized, Wreden produced the tournament and described his role as helping "coordinate all the show's elements on a high level". According to Wreden, the tournament's first season was positively received, and a second one was released.
{{stack|{{external media|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp87Y3nSJIU Wreden's "So you think you can cast?" application]}}}}
Towards the end of the second Trinity Series season, Reynad{{snd}}a colleague{{snd}}convinced Wreden to join esports organization Tempo Storm; he later said he agreed with Reynad's emphasis on creativity and wanted a "change of pace" from ESL. In March 2018, he entered Hearthstone{{'s}} "So you think you can cast?" competition, which searched for new Hearthstone casters. His audition was retweeted by Hearthstone director Ben Brode; Tim Clark, writing for PC Gamer, said that he was the "clear winner" and not selecting him would be a "{{not a typo|huuuuuu|uuuuuge}} misplay".{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Tim |title=Blizzard has to hire this guy as the next Hearthstone caster |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-has-to-hire-this-guy-as-the-next-hearthstone-caster/ |access-date=July 24, 2022 |work=PC Gamer |date=March 14, 2018 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629214853/https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-has-to-hire-this-guy-as-the-next-hearthstone-caster/ |url-status=live }}
=Streaming=
{{external media|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CXcKeced3w Can you drive across GTA 5 if Twitch Chat controls your Mods?]}}
Wreden transitioned to being a Twitch streamer and YouTuber under the name DougDoug, streaming first on March 9, 2019.{{Cite web |title=DougDoug - Stream Mar 09, 2019 - Stats on viewers, followers, subscribers; VOD and clips |url=https://twitchtracker.com/dougdoug/streams/33116821312 |access-date=June 25, 2024 |website=TwitchTracker |language=en}} He gained media attention in October 2020 after streaming Grand Theft Auto 5 on Twitch, where he allowed his viewers to input commands in the Twitch chat that affected the game.{{cite news |last1=Hernandez |first1=Patricia |title=GTA 5 fan tries surviving while under siege from god-powered Twitch chat |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/16/21520041/gta-v-grand-theft-auto-5-twitch-plays-dougdoug-rockstar-games |access-date=July 24, 2022 |work=Polygon |date=October 16, 2020 |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808012524/https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/16/21520041/gta-v-grand-theft-auto-5-twitch-plays-dougdoug-rockstar-games |url-status=live }} In January 2022, he garnered more media attention after streaming and completing a Super Mario Odyssey "HUD Challenge" speedrun, wherein compounding heads-up displays (HUDs) appeared on his screen after every five minutes. Although he completed the challenge, he was unable to complete it in under one hour, 11 minutes, and 21 seconds, his personal non-"HUD Challenge" best.{{cite news |last1=Colbert |first1=Isaiah |title=Mario Odyssey Speedrunner Completes Absurd, Nearly Unplayable 'HUD Challenge' |url=https://kotaku.com/super-mario-odyssey-speedrun-hud-challenge-dougdoug-str-1848412859 |access-date=July 24, 2022 |work=Kotaku |date=January 24, 2022 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726190326/https://kotaku.com/super-mario-odyssey-speedrun-hud-challenge-dougdoug-str-1848412859 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Cryer |first1=Hirun |title=This Super Mario Odyssey speedrun hides the game between a dozen different HUDs |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/this-super-mario-odyssey-speedrun-hides-the-game-between-a-dozen-different-huds/ |access-date=July 24, 2022 |work=GamesRadar+ |date=January 25, 2022 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629214856/https://www.gamesradar.com/this-super-mario-odyssey-speedrun-hides-the-game-between-a-dozen-different-huds/ |url-status=live }}
== Philanthropy ==
{{see also|Rosa (sea otter)|Monterey Bay Aquarium}}
Wreden has hosted annual charity livestreams to raise money for the Monterey Bay Aquarium since the 20th birthday of a sea otter at the aquarium named Rosa. The amount raised increased yearly, reaching over $14,000 in 2021, $100,000 in 2022, and over $300,000 for Rosa's 24th birthday in 2023.{{cite news |title=Extraordinary birthday shell-ebrations for Rosa the sea otter |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/stories/dougdoug-celebrate-rosa-sea-otter-birthday |access-date=August 26, 2024 |work=Monterey Bay Aquarium}}{{cite web |last1=Rehn |first1=Torstein |title=YouTuber raises $100,000 for Monterey Bay Aquarium |url=https://www.ksbw.com/article/youtuber-raises-dollar100000-for-monterey-bay-aquarium-in-honor-of-sea-otters-birthday/41534395 |website=KSBW |access-date=August 11, 2024 |language=en |date=October 5, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Bea |title=Rosa, Monterey Bay Aquarium sea otter and social media star, dies |url=https://blooloop.com/animals/news/rosa-otter-dies-monterey-bay-aquarium/ |access-date=August 26, 2024 |work=Blooloop |date=June 7, 2024}} Rosa died in June 2024. Wreden held his 2024 fundraiser stream in remembrance of Rosa, which raised over $620,000 for the Monterey Bay Aquarium.{{cite news |last1=Tovar |first1=Ricardo |title=Monterey Bay Aquarium's first birthday without beloved sea otter |url=https://www.ksbw.com/article/monterey-bay-aquarium-birthday-sea-otter-rosa/61988031 |access-date=August 28, 2024 |work=KSBW |date=August 27, 2024 |language=en}} As of 2024, Wreden and his community have raised over $1,000,000 for the Monterey Bay Aquarium.{{Cite web |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/sea-otter-awareness-week |access-date=September 6, 2024 |website=Monterey Bay Aquarium |title=Sea Otter Awareness Week}}
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist}}
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