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![[image loading]](http://www.rawk.com/media/images/uploaded/inline/you-know-what-really-grinds-my-gears.1252073255.inline.full.jpg)
This blog started off as some thoughts initiated by this blog:
Ever had the urge to just lose it on TL?
What grinds my gears right now, and possibly yours too:
1. The development of SC2 as an eSport
2. SC2 complaint threads
ESPORTS
I remember reading a similar sentiment from someone somewhere on this forum, but is any one else getting the sense that SC2 is just developing too unnaturally? I'm not just talking about all the nuclear Blizzard/Gretech/KeSPA mindshit, but the way in which SC2 was thrown at us as an ESPORTS. It's too much, too fast, too abrasive, and all going in an uncertain direction.
Let's talk about how SC:BW developed in a basic economics framework. It began with millions of players enjoying some nice and fresh RTS action; some players then decided to start playing to a new level of competition. Players wanted to know who was the best, small local tourneys started up here and there in little PC-bangs, and people enjoyed themselves and received short but happy seconds of fame. Eventually PC-bangs started to get together and organize larger tournaments with larger prize pools, and the competition became more serious in light of the monetary incentives. People began to watch and spectate, supporters became fans, and businesses and future sponsors began to take notice. Fastforward to recent times, and we got people all over the world following a video game everyday and paying money for related products, services and merchandise. In essence, as the demand for SC/video games entertainment gradually grew, so too did the supply of sponsors, game quality, and organization.
So what's SCII like today? We got this huge ass tournament with a huge ass prize pool, half a million casters, a dozen new tournaments every week, and all with terrible terrible organization and solidity relative to what it should have. All in less than a month after release. People, businesses, and sponsors are jumping all over this shit and I feel like I'm being flooded with way too much stuff. I feel like the incoming supply is too much, and of too low standards, for what the demand is asking for right now. It's as if people are treating the game like a fatass cash cow to be milked dry instead of respecting and loving the game for what it is. Certain casters are looking for their shot at fame, glory and corporate sponsorship benefits, most sponsors are looking for ads and products to be pasted onto people's faces, and broadcasters are charging extra to viewers so they can watch a game that still needs some puberty to mature up, all on sketchy and weak infrastructure that's simply not delivering right now.
Not only is the SCII system itself unstable right now, the instability and uncertainty brought by the sudden impact of SCII has affected the most stable eSport of today. Broodwar and the current eSports status quo certainly face an uncertain future with the arrival of SCII. With all the legal bickering, corporate conflicts, and SCII's own uncertainty as a viable eSport, I just hope it doesn't all come crashing down and take us back into the Dark Ages of progaming.
SC2 IMBA
As for the SC2 imba complaint threads, the thing that annoys me is that they all seem to stem from the same inability to conceive of or understand events and circumstances that are taking place outside of one's own personal bubble; it's basically selfishness (usually unintended) in thought.
The worst complaint threads won't consider what other players' experiences are on a specific issue; people will take what they've personally seen as fact, and rant on and on about some "issue" that ends up being terribly trivial or completely non-existent. While some of the "better" complaint threads may take others' experiences into account, they usually lack consideration for the chronology of the "issue" (i.e. how long this problem has been around and whether or not this is simply another short-lived trend) and then go on to procure overly-pessimistic opinions that end up negatively affecting others' views of the game.
These threads are especially sad if somewhat reputable figures begin complaining without seeing the bigger picture, it hurts the general opinion of the game and people won't come back to realize the mistake, the issue is simply forgotten after a short period of time and all that's left is a bitter aftertaste. What these bursts of complaints end up achieving is turning people away from the game, reducing the legitimacy of complaints against issues that are actually serious and worrying, and just plain wasting time and effort.
I'm not saying that I'm absolutely correct and that even highly skilled players are inconsiderate dumbasses who can't see the forest for the tree, it's just that the vast majority of people will get caught up in the moment way too easily and forget about the consequences of the future and the lessons of the past. Think outside the "box", people.
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totally agree with your first paragraph, the huge prize pools of the GSL plus this almost-forced adoption of sc2 as esports really reminds me of government subsidy programs that attempt to boost or lower demand artificially. On the other hand, BW appears to be much less interventionist, and like you said seems to have grown far more organically, reaching its current form in a pretty efficient manner.
i ono man i ono. There's bound to be some f'd up externalities lurking around in the sc2 model, but who knows what they are if they even exist.
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Man, blizz doesn't put effort into something and people flame them for "not being active in developing esports"
Then they take a more active hand in trying to boost it and "too much too fast, not growing organically"
Sorry to be a little harsh, but it seems that blizz can do nothing right in the eyes of people anymore.
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I agree about the statements you made, it's like trying to teach a kid how to run before he can walk.
P.S. You should do these weekly, loved reading it!
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You have to understand that the environment SC2 is being released in is completely different to anything BW (or SC vanilla) ever faced back in the day.
Eventually PC-bangs started to get together and organize larger tournaments with larger prize pools, and the competition became more serious in light of the monetary incentives.
This is the key right here. Before SC, the word e-sports didn't even exist. The concept of e-sports didn't even really exist. You can become rich and famous by playing video games? Haha yeah right, who would buy into a ridiculous idea like that?
It was only when organisations started putting up large prize pools for tournaments that people started to realise that there was actually serious money (or at least some money) to be made. This was a huge fundamental shift in the way gamers viewed themselves and the game, and it's probably one of the most if not THE most important moment in the history of e-sports, not just BW or even the RTS genre. Yes, it was a gradual process leading up to this point, but BW had to develop from the grassroots because e-sports didn't even EXIST in the pre-BW world.
Obviously SC2 was never going to follow the same path, because e-sports is already a recognised and accepted concept (at least in Korea and within gaming subcultures). We already know that you can achieve (at least some) fame and fortune by playing video games. When little Timmy (or little Taeyong) sat down to play BW back in the day, it was nothing more than a fun way to pass time and play with his friends. The thought that he could possibly achieve fame or fortune by playing the game competitively would never have entered his head. But the little Timmy of 2010 is different. When he sits down to play SC2, his impression of the game and what is possible to achieve if he gets "good" has already been influenced by years of watching BW on TV, or he has at least heard stories of the legendary Terran Emperor who became a huge idol through playing the game. Playing the game competitively for money is not merely an impossible dream, it's a reality that all (well, most) new players to SC2 are very well aware of.
In essence, BW put in most of the groundwork, and now SC2 is a direct beneficiary of that. The game CAN'T develop in the same way that BW did, even if Blizzard wanted it to, because there is already an expectation that it will be played as an e-sport. This expectation never existed with BW. Did you really think Blizzard was gonna release SC2, then just sit back and say "okay guys, have fun with it, we'll see how things develop in a few years"? Of course not, that would fly in the face of everything BW has achieved, which is creating an environment in which professional gaming with big tournaments and large prize pools are not only wanted, but expected. Blizzard wants the game to be taken seriously as an e-sport, and the most logical move to further this end is to throw a lot of money at it, so that the competition will become more serious, as the OP said. This is exactly what Blizzard has done by organising the GSL.
I agree that there is a lot of hype at the moment, and everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon whether it be by holding tournaments, trying to break into the casting scene or trying to make it as a player. But this is to be expected. The game was eagerly anticipated for several years, and it's only been released for a month. Eventually, the hype will die down, the influx of new players will reduce from a flood to a (steady) stream, the quality will improve and we will (hopefully) be left with a stable and professional e-sports framework within which the game can further develop.
On another note, I agree with OP's comments about the imbalance whining.
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Your comments about imbalance should be stickied in SC2 general, and everyone should have to read them before creating a new thread.
I agree more with FuRong than the OP about SC2 becoming an Esport.
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EPT
