EPT1. The book
and
2. The interview
The First part is the "I" Portion, in Which I must tell how i got the information, and what I felt.
The second part is the "Search" Portion, In Which I used info that i searched.
The last portion is the Bibliography.
I did my research paper on Starcraft: Brood War's HistOry. It is my I-Search Paper (a research report), and I used mostly sources from Teamliquid and Liquipedia, Chobopeon's book (Awesome, Check it out HERE!)
My mom doesn't Really support me playing StarCraft, but w/e.
edit unTLPDized
Its mainly cause I can't stop in the middle of games.
When I First heard about the I-Search project, I was surprised and a bit worried. I immediately chose StarCraft: Brood War’s HistOry, but I narrowed it down Into a topic with more information. My mom says I play too much StarCraft, so I was worried about her denying my topic. After I told her I did not need to play the game to research, she approved. That did not include me stopping to play StarCraft during my free time, Which I did.
I have Always been interested in the HistOry of StarCraft pro-gaming. I know snippets of it from watching people play the game and playing it myself, but most is made of information I thought I knew very little about. It turned out I knew a bit for than I had thought, but this was by the 11th research journal, and I didn’t WanT to change topics.
I also learned about many players I had thought were bad had Actually been very good in the past. Interviewing chobopeon (author of The StarCraft Bible) was probably the highlight of my I-search experience so far. As I started to write the rough draft, I had more to write about for each section than I had believed.
I learned about the HistOry of the game I Love, as learning about the HistOry of anything you Love is valuable. I learned how to prioritize and organize researches. I also reaffirmed my favorite game is StarCraft.
StarCraft is a real-time strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is popular is South Korea, where it has professional gaming (pro-gaming) scene. The pro-gaming scene of StarCraft began in 2001, and continues to be played very competitively. StarCraft was released in 1998, and the expansion StarCraft: Brood War was released later the same year. In July of 2010, StarCraft II, Wings of Liberty was released. It has millions of players world-wide, but it has not broken the popularity of StarCraft: Brood War in South Korea. StarCraft is a game taken to heart by its players.
In StarCraft: Brood War, there are 3 races, Terran (Human-like), Protoss (Technologically advanced aliens), and Zerg (Insect-like aliens). Terran units are mostly RaNgeD, and do a moderate amount of damage. The goal of the game is to defeat your opponent by either destroying all their buildings or having them “gg” out, Which means “good game” The top players of this race are SlayerS_`BoxeR`, [Red]NaDa, iloveoov, and By.Flash. Protoss units are expensive, but deal a large amount of damage. The top players of this race are Grrr…., GARIMOTO, Bisu[Shield], and Stork[gm]. Zerg is a race with many cost inefficient units. The top players are [NC]..YellOw, JulyZerg, sAviOr[gm], and n.Die_Jaedong.
The pro-gaming scene is run by KeSPA (Korean e-Sports Association), and is shown on TV by OnGameNet and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). There are teams where each player is on, such as SK Telecom T1, KT Rolster, and Woongjin Stars. These teams play in a tournament style setting and the top four teams compete for the title of the season. Every team plays every team twice. There are also 2 individual leagues, the OSL and the MSL. The winner receives a prestigious title. Winning 3 OSL titles earns you the Golden Mouse, Which Only 4 people have earned. The MSL is the less prestigious league, but winning it is still an achievement.
The First top player in the Korean pro-gaming scene is not a Korean. He is Guillaume “Grrr….” Patry. He is nicknamed the Green Eyed Warrior because of his Green eyes. He is the Only foreigner (someone WhO is not Korean) to win a title. Grrr…. did not practice much in South Korea, as he fell to the nightlife there. He “Only” practiced 3 hours a day, compared to the 10+ hours put in by the Korean players. Korean players like SlayerS_`BoxeR` and [NC]..YellOw.
Lim Yo Hwan (SlayerS_`BoxeR`), more commonly known as just BoxeR, is the most celebrated player, and he began the large “boom” in the pro-gaming scene. In BoxeR’s First 2 years, no player could match him. He dominated everyone he played with incredible unit Control. According to riptide, he has been around for seven out of the ten years (when the article was written). He was originally part of the team Ideal Space, Which is now Hwaseung OZ. As military service is mandatory in Korea, BoxeR went to the military. Here, he helped created Air Force ACE, the pro-gaming team of the military. After his military enrollment, he returned to South Korean Telecom T1. Here, he started coaching more than playing. He coached By.Fantasy and the other Terrans on the team. In 2010, SlayerS_`BoxeR` began to play StarCraft 2.
During the time that BoxeR was playing, a top zerg challenged him many times, Only to be defeated. This was Hong JIN Ho, The sTorM Zerg, [NC]..YellOw. YellOw did not believe that studying was important. First saw StarCraft in a PC room, and “walked down that different road in Life” (pubbanana) towards becoming a pro-gamer. After becoming a pro-gamer, he began moving to any pro-gaming team that would house him. He participated in 3 Starleagues, achieving a round of 8, a round of 4, and a second place, achievements that many older players do not achieve. Throughout his career, YellOw lost to BoxeR many times, Which has earned him the nickname of “King of Second Place”. In One series, he lost to the same move 3 times in a row.
After BoxeR’s reign, New players began to crop up and challenge them. These players were [Red]NaDa, iloveoov, and JulyZerg. They all innovated and played with a style in Which they make more units, and win (macro-management). Lee yoOn Yeol “[Red]NaDa” was the First to do so. NaDa is the most decorated player of all time, having won 6 Starleagues, ranging from 2003 to 2009. No other player has matched or beaten this achievement to date. His nickname is Genius Terran. He is also currently playing StarCraft 2, for the team Old Generation Starcrafters (oGs).
The player to continue the macro-management style was Choi Yun Sung “iloveoov”. He burst onto the scene, winning 4 Starleagues in 3 years. He was so good at macro-managing that he became known as Cheater Terran because he had so many units. iloveoov found StarCraft when he was in 9th grade. His grades dropped because of it, but he became very good. He enrolled in the military after high school. After he finished, he joined BoxeR in his New team. BoxeR began to coach him. He became One the strongest player of his time, defeating NaDa and BoxeR many times over. He had 2 great rivalries, One with JulyZerg and One with Reach. His style of play was easily countered by JulyZerg, WhO attacked him fast and hard. Reach was an all around hard to play opponent, so he had trouble. iloveoov changed how Terrans played against other Terrans and Protosses.
The First great Zerg was iloveoov’s rival, Park Sung JoOn “JulyZerg”. He was One of the larger pro-gamers. He defeated iloveoov with a very aggressive style of play, revolving around a New Ash World]Discovery, mutalisk stacking. In The StarCraft Bible, Patrick Howell O’Neill explains that Mutalisk stacking “allows entire groups of the Flying unit to be controlled with such precision that it is as if they are of One body.” (44)
The True great Zerg was to come, and he was Ma Jae yoOn “sAviOr”. He was incredibly good, earning himself nicknames such as The Destroyer, because he defeated almost everyone, and The Maestro, for playing with such skill. He was at the apex of the StarCraft world for the years 2005-2007, with a SMall resurgence in 2009. He had won games with macro-management versus iloveoov, the Terran known for macro-management. Near the End of his reign, he had lost final that was thought easily his, versus the Rookie Bisu[Shield]. This was not a fluke Victory; it was a Sound 3-0 defeat. Afterwards, he had entered a large slump (bad streak), and was even demoted to the B-team for a while. Eventually he returned in 2009, getting to the Round of 8. In 2010, he and a handful of players were banned from the pro-gaming scene for fixing matches. sAviOr is considered by many to be the last great player, as no player after him has come close to his level of dominance.
This leads us to the current top players: Bisu[Shield], By.Flash, and n.Die_Jaedong. Kim Taek Yong “Bisu[Shield]” had defeated sAviOr with a New build, dubbed the “Bisu Build”, named after him. He is not very consistent, but when he is at his peak, he can dominate all but Flash and Jaedong. His Protoss vs. Zerg is especially strong, boasting around an 85% win-rate.
Lee Jae Dong “n.Die_Jaedong” is One of top 2 players, along with Lee Young Ho “By.Flash”. Both of them have won Golden Mice, and have faced each other countless times in the finals. Jaedong is the strongest Zerg vs. Zerg player, while Flash is considered the best all around player. Both have win-rates of over 60% in all match-ups.
StarCraft is a game the players take to heart. It is a highly competitive game with a strong HistOry of players. It is a game that is very simple in retrospect, but is very difficult to MasTer.
Works Cited
HonestTea. "Only Until Midnight." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 5 Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=61851>.
Hot_Bid. "Revolutionary Magic." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 11 Sept. 2007. Web. 04 Mar. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=56672>.
O'Neill, Patrick H. The StarCraft Bible: Second Edition. 2nd ed. CreateSpace, 2010. Print.
Roger _____ (censor). "Would You Do a E-mail Interview with Me for a Project?" Message to Patrick H. 11 Feb. 2011. E-mail.
Plexa. "I Loved Victory (Part One)." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 17 Mar. 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=67171>.
Plexa. "I Loved Victory (Part Two)." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 27 Mar. 2008. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=67579>.
Plexa. "To Bolt Is to BoxeR." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 26 Aug. 2008. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=77594>.
Pubbanana. "The sTorM Zerg." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 26 Oct. 2007. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=61444>.
Riptide. "Return of the King." Team Liquid - StarCraft 2 and Brood War PrO Gaming News. 21 Nov. 2008. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. <http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=82648>.
