As I'm sure, most of you know who TotalBiscuit is. For the few that don't, I'll try to explain him as quickly as possible. TB has been creating consistent gaming content on Youtube for over two years now. During the beta of WoW Cataclysm, his popularity went through the roof and became a house hold name in that area. In 2009, he was the winner of the Blizzard Shoutcast Contest, and hence began his career with Starcraft commentating.
Mr. Biscuit has been talked about quite a lot lately. Sadly, most of the talk isn't about his tireless amounts of time and energy put into the job he does, but rather his shortcomings or his defense of his own business.
Last night's comments on ItG and the Twitter.....thing?...between IdrA and TB was the straw that broke the Stalker's back.
Fact: TotalBiscuit is one of the best things to come out of the PC gaming community in years. He has companies clamoring for him to do a first impression video about a new game of theirs. His 20minute-2 hour first impression videos have made Indie video game developers from nobodies into stable, financial businesses that can finally make a living without selling their souls to EA or Ubisoft or any other major publisher. This man alone has sold hundreds of thousands of games by putting the spotlight on games that most of us would never have seen or heard of.
Fact: TB is abysmal at Starcraft 2 game analysis. He knows it himself and says so on every possible occasion. While watching the first series of VODs from his recent invitational tournament, White-Ra was going FFE, TB called it wrong and sprawled big white letters all over the video spouting about how big of a twit he is.
Fact: TB is the best broadcaster in the world of video games. This man is actually trained in the ways of broadcasting and has honed a voice, technique, temperament and professionalism that no one can remotely can touch in the world of English speaking Starcraft. (I'd say the world, but all I speak is English so...I'll try and stop before being arrested by the hyperbole police.)
You may not like his style of silly rants during the early stages of the game where nothing happens. You may not like how excited he gets while something exciting happens. You may think that excitement is forced or fake or anything else in the world.
The points you cannot argue is the man is the best trained, has an exceptionally professional setup and is so ridiculously dedicated to E-Sports and gaming in general. If you see less than an hour and a half of content come out from this man six out of seven days a week, then he's decided to take it easy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moving on to the "IdrA Situation" or, I guess more accurately the "Whoever Is Shitting on TB Now Situation"
IdrA is my favorite player hands down. Watching him stream and seeing his fluid mouse movement, his flawless flying screen from zone to zone, watching his money stay tiny while fighting a maxed army is something magical to behold. I wish he wanted to do it more often because there are few people I can watch stream and just go...."Whoaaa."
You'll notice around TL that the pros don't really post much. You can see they use to. All the names we know from foreign SC2 have post counts from 7000-35000. You just don't see them anymore. I think it's due to TL growing so fast, it's nearly (if not completely) impossible to have a rational discussion here anymore. In society today, people are so quick to grab hold of something they love and shout as loud as they can to the world how much everything else sucks. Stuff like this has no place. So, the Pros have all but abandoned talking in the forums except to announce things and such.
TB has risen to a height where most would still shy away from TL/Reddit/"Insert SC Community Here". Many times he does not, however. The man is that passionate about what he does and the things he loves. He never spouts off about how terrible a player is...how awful that a map is...how wildly terrible another caster is, unless he's provoked.
He built a business for himself, doing a job that he loves, to have entitled idiots take dumps all over him for putting in work days that Alaskan Fishermen would probably be proud of. If Incontrol (beef long since quashed, I know), or IdrA or anyone else takes a stab at the way he supports himself, he'll stand up to them and usually get a lot of flack for it. People will call him a cry baby about it. I call it passion when you can make thoughtful, logical arguments back to people that criticize over something they are ignorant about.
In the long run, TB will only keep getting bigger and bigger as he gives so much and asks for nothing in return except your eyeballs.
In the E-Sports world, I think it's terrific that we have villains. It makes things very interesting before big matches. For IdrA's sake, I hope the guy stays as good as he is. If he falls off the map and doesn't consistently win, his antics are going to hurt him in the long run. Perhaps he's made enough money for it not to matter. I just don't want to see my favorite player fall by the wayside because sponsors not wanting him anymore due to something he might say or do.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long story short. It's been said a billion times and I guess this is a billion and two. If you don't like something or someone, don't watch them. If you love chicken but hate fish, don't run into a seafood restaurant screaming, "CHICKEN IS AMAZING AND FISH SUCKS BALLS!" and then run out. It helps nothing; it does nothing but foster negativity in every direction.
Personally, I'm not much of a fan of Tasteosis as casters. At the risk of being burned at the stake, that's just how I feel. I have my reasons why they aren't my preference and that's fine. It doesn't stop me from watching GSL, but if I really disliked their styles that much, I would stop watching because on every single day of the week, there are at least three different tournaments going on that I can watch and enjoy. I don't need to shout it from the rooftops. I can enjoy everything there is to offer.
Even though TotalBiscuit does not have enough knowledge necessary regarding SC2 analysis, I personally think he is a great caster if not excellent. His voice delivery can make every viewer want to pay attention. Some may not like him, but I sure do and he does a great job in helping making E-Sports grow. In perhaps a year or so, he could just commentate on MLG events. :D
The SC2 scene is turning into some warped hipster scene that compares taste in casters to validate their opinions. "You listen to TB? Yeah he's alright if you like unanalytical mainstream stuff."
TotalBiscuit is an entertainer, and I'd say he does a great job of it. Frankly, I think anyone who hasn't gotten 20k viewers on their first tournament they hosted and streamed shouldn't be attacking him...
you sound really arrogant and pretentious when stating facts (some not really facts).
as for idra, i don't really remember what he said but saying he doesn't like tb's casting isn't doing anything wrong.
as for TB, he has a good voice and good excitement but he says wrong things a lot of the times and casters shouldn't say wrong things. they should say right things. not exactly sure why he likes to cast when he's bad at the game. generally if you invest time into sc2 content you should also get good at it right?
Fact: TB is the best broadcaster in the world of video games. This man is actually trained in the ways of broadcasting and has honed a voice, technique, temperament and professionalism that no one can remotely can touch in the world of English speaking Starcraft. (I'd say the world, but all I speak is English so...I'll try and stop before being arrested by the hyperbole police.)
Blasphemy! It seems you also don't know the progaming scene at all, there has been many great english casters before TB like REDEYE. But by far the BEST overall game by game all around SMACKdown caster is DJWHEAT, he can cast ANYTHING... whatever Game he casts he tries to learn its depths to give insight in whatever way he can.
Replace your 2nd part about tastosis with totalbiscuit and you have the opinion of the vast majority of hardcore sc2ers.
Totalbiscuit is terrible, he admits he is terrible and there's some semblance of humilty there. Otherwise it's not *fact* he is the best broadcaster. The worst of the korean bw commentators are leagues ahead of totalbiscuit. Just because he has ten billion wow followers kinda shows you what kinda people like this guy. You are right in that you don't run around yelling about things you don't like but the opposite is true too.
If something is inherently good, or as good as you claim [ TB BEST CASTER IN THE WORLD ] then people will come to recognize it. If not, it means you're probably wrong and overrating it.
Also please consider that just because some indie developers are stable companies now that TB gave them exposure doesn't mean those games are any good. In fact the vast majority of indie games are crap, that's why they remain so unpopular. There are a few gems, sure, but it sure as hell isn't solely because of TB as you seem to make it.
I'd say that Idra's casting has so far been much more interesting than commentary by anyone else. The game should be exciting on its own. I don't need anyone to tell me what anyone can see by just glancing on the screen. I want the commentator to point out and explain things that I would not have picked up on my own because of my lack of knowledge, experience, and understanding. Listening to a caster like TB is really fruitless to me because I could just watch the replay on my own and probably get more out of it.
Which is why I don't watch him, and I don't complain because I don't watch him. If you don't like what he does, then just don't watch it. Each person wants something else, and that's really just the way things work. If you want something akin to the Korean OGN and MBC commentators, then just watch Day9.
Idra is only a good caster for those who actually know stuff about starcraft Masters + or people that are starstruck by the fact hes casting. For someone coming into the game his voice is unbelievably dull and you don't have the foggiest about what hes talking about.
TB on the other hand is the complete opposite when I was new to Sc2 I loved his casting and his enthusiasm. His voice and excitement made me love watching his videos but over time as I've learnt more I see holes in his analysis. Which makes him an amazing caster for those who are trying to get into Sc2, hes what you would call a gateway drug.
At the end I would still much rather listen to TB do a cast than Idra, and in my opinion TB is one of the best solo casters.
However this thread will just turn into a flame war where the haters and lovers spout their opinions quote each other and flaming ensues. Ah well ^^ :D
When Treetop says TotalBiscuit is the best caster in the world of video games he is specifically implying that SC2 is only a part of that world. He's just saying what TB does in other games is not something the casters you have come to love so much in SC2 would be able to do. I think he's probably right about that, although I don't know any non-SC2 casters personally.
The TB hate is really ridiculous. There are tons of respected casters that don't understand the game very well, and as long as they cast in a manner that shows they are aware of this it can still lead to great casting. Especially when paired with someone with more knowledge.
Why the focus on casters in SC2, this is a really fascinating occurrence that I don't think we see elsewhere.
TB is great at what he does, let him do it. IdrA is great at analytical commentary, let him do it. Why waste words arguing back and forth over which random caster you think is better, when the purpose of casting is to showcase the players?
Games should speak for themselves and the focus of casters, players, tournaments, the community, etc, should always be centered on the people playing the games and the games themselves, not who is shouting that a baneling hit a marine or who is pointing out that X build is weak at Y time to Z composition...........
Waving e-penises around over who works harder and who is subjectively a better caster and how X lacks game knowledge doesn't accomplish anything
In my opinion TotalBiscuit is immature. I followed his casting a while back when he was doing other stuff, and he was constantly raging on how people did not appreciate what he was doing, how he is so important for esports and the community. He did not respond well to criticism of any kind, instead resorting to things like "i'd like to see YOU do better". So I stopped supporting him.
His style of casting doesn't resonate with me either, so I do not enjoy watching him cast SC2 at all. That's pretty much it.
On June 16 2011 02:55 Liquid`Nazgul wrote: When Treetop says TotalBiscuit is the best caster in the world of video games he is specifically implying that SC2 is only a part of that world. He's just saying what TB does in other games is not something the casters you have come to love so much in SC2 would be able to do. I think he's probably right about that, although I don't know any non-SC2 casters personally.
The TB hate is really ridiculous. There are tons of respected casters that don't understand the game very well, and as long as they cast in a manner that shows they are aware of this it can still lead to great casting. Especially when paired with someone with more knowledge.
I feel like a suckup whenever I just flat out agree with Nazgul, but he makes a great point as usual.
On June 16 2011 03:08 VIB wrote: I'm a fanboi.
That said, TB's IQ is greater than the IQ of everyone in this thread summed up. So your opinions are irrelevant.
On June 16 2011 03:00 Jinsho wrote: In my opinion TotalBiscuit is immature. I followed his casting a while back when he was doing other stuff, and he was constantly raging on how people did not appreciate what he was doing, how he is so important for esports and the community. He did not respond well to criticism of any kind, instead resorting to things like "i'd like to see YOU do better". So I stopped supporting him.
His style of casting doesn't resonate with me either, so I do not enjoy watching him cast SC2 at all. That's pretty much it.
Excellent! That post, aside from Nazgul's, was probably the best thing in this thread so far. My "facts" people can question and that's fine. But you, you have legitimate, reasonable reasons why you don't care for the guy. That was one of the things I am was trying to get across. Good, logical conversation about things like this are things I wish would happen more often instead of, "This blog is terrible."
I'm a TB fan and proud of it. I love watching the videos he does of other games as well. If I'm on the fence about a game, I'll look to see if TB has done a review on it and see what his impressions were and judge them to what I've learned for myself. TB always does a very thorough review of any video game he uploads.
As for SC2, he's stated many times he does it for pure entertainment and not necessarily for knowledge and I'm glad he's up front about that.
Generally: I have nothing but admiration and respect for TotalBiscuit. His last mailbox video about boycotting games with consumer-harming conditions (Battlefield 3 unique preorder weapons specifically) was very inspiring and set an example for all of us to follow. I started listening to him cast SC2 during the beta because his voice and style intrigued me, but since then I've followed pretty much everything on his channel except for SC2 content. He's become a terrific entertainer, a dedicated community member, and an esports scion.
Starcraft 2: While I no longer watch TB's SC2 videos on youtube, I do really enjoy the opportunity to hear him cast a tournament, and here's why: When I watch SC2, I watch it to be entertained. I love the game. I don't sit down with a pen/paper to dissect every build order and try to get into masters, I sit down with beer and chips, get excited about the drama and crazy shit that happens, and dick around in platinum league when I have time. I feel like there are many thousands of SC2 viewers just like me in that regard, as many people on TL watch more SC2 than they play. TB follows the game well enough and uses his entertaining speech to contribute to what these kinds of fans want to see: a fun and exciting game. This is why TB is awesome. I have a better time watching games with him casting than with Idra because I couldn't care less about whether or not the caster has enough game sense to tell me what's going to happen. I'm going to see it for myself in 2 minutes anyways, so I'd rather have the commentator get excited and take me along for the ride.
Look, Tastosis is awesome. Day9 is freaking gosu in so many ways. But TB? Man, TB is greater than god. It's no shame to say you're less smart than Einstein. It's no shame to say you're not as creative as Leonardo da Vince.
I do love both Tastosis and specially Day9. But you can't compare them to Total Biscuit. He's on another level of awesomeness.
A few vocal minority will always exist about anything doesn't matter how awesome it is. At the end of the day, haters are not nearly as relevant as the supporters.
If you disagree... then.. then... YOUR RUINING ESPORTS!
I love TotalBiscuit, even though I have only been a subscriber for the past couple of months I dont miss a single video from him (apart from the WoW dailies as I don't play WoW), hes an honour to the SC2 community and helps eSports a great deal. Hes a legend.
However I fail to see his logic when it comes to his YouTube presence. In a mailbox (which was a while ago) he said that video game developers should stop putting DRM and protection in their games as it makes the developer look like they treat their customers like thieves. However, TB does not read his YouTube comments and instead leaves it to moderators to pass on messages, basically making TB look like a hypocrite by treating all his customers like trolls, which we aren't.
I think TB is great, however tweeting "well i thats one person i won't be inviting to my next tourney" perplexed me.
Idra doesn't like TB's casting, as Idra is almost universally agreed to be the best analyst out there and thinks people who know zip about the game aren't good casters, he is entitled to that opinion. Not inviting a player to your tourney because they don't like you or your casting is like saying "being a good guy is more important than being good at the game".
If i were a caster and Idra called me the worst caster on the face of the planet, said that i was scum and should die, I would still invite him to my tourneys because he is that good that I'd want him in it. Who cares if he doesn't like me, i'm sure he'll be perfectly fine with taking my money and attempting to smash nerds for my enjoyment which is what SC2 is about.
I don't respect any tourney that values something other than skill, it shouldn't be a popularity contest and it shouldn't be a personality contest... thats what beauty pageants are for, and I think we can safely say that Anna has that market locked up in the SC2 community and rightly so.
anywho, there is a place for everyone in this community and blind hate is stupid, I don't agree with idra's views but I can understand his viewpoint. I also respect that TB is actively trying to get better at the game and to learn more, but as i said above I just don't see how you can have tourney invites that don't include one of the best players in the world just because he doesn't like your casting and have your tourney respected.
TotalBiscuit, because he's so focused on the art of broadcasting, is out of touch with the Starcraft community and what they expect from commentators. He may in the traditional sense be a picture-perfect broadcast personality, but the Starcraft casting community grew organically out of the players and fans themselves.
Whenever TB goes into a rant about how the way he does things is the way things should be done because when you watch [X televised sport] this guy does this and this guy does this, he's technically correct. But hardly anyone cares about that.
On June 16 2011 02:55 Liquid`Nazgul wrote: When Treetop says TotalBiscuit is the best caster in the world of video games he is specifically implying that SC2 is only a part of that world. He's just saying what TB does in other games is not something the casters you have come to love so much in SC2 would be able to do. I think he's probably right about that, although I don't know any non-SC2 casters personally.
The TB hate is really ridiculous. There are tons of respected casters that don't understand the game very well, and as long as they cast in a manner that shows they are aware of this it can still lead to great casting. Especially when paired with someone with more knowledge.
Agree, and it's not like he's sc2-dumb either. I mean, casting for months and months games of the highest level will bring the caster some knowledge. And he even plays the game and stream his playing sessions. Yes, he doesn't deliver high level analysis, he's sometime wrong like every other caster, but he still know the game. That's strange, personally I like Idra casts and I like TB casts too. Both have a different atmosphere, I learn from Idra and I'm entertained by TB. Both are fine and you can like one without hating the other.
On a side note, the TB hate isn't real TB hate, it's just Idra fanboys who hate because idra said they must hate (for the most part). Like idra said "My fans are dumb".
TB is a good caster. His knowledge is no worse than 99% of the other casters out there, and he does his best to work up the crowd to get into the game.
On June 16 2011 03:36 emythrel wrote: I don't respect any tourney that values something other than skill [...] anywho, there is a place for everyone in this community and blind hate is stupid, I don't agree with idra's views but I can understand his viewpoint. I also respect that TB is actively trying to get better at the game and to learn more, but as i said above I just don't see how you can have tourney invites that don't include one of the best players in the world just because he doesn't like your casting and have your tourney respected.
If you really believed on what you're saying. If you really believe you should respect other people's opinion. Shouldn't you respect TB's opinion and his position to leave Idra out?
Your post can be summarized to: - I disagree with blind hate, so here it goes: [blind hates]
I mean, personally I wouldn't leave Idra out myself. And I do understand and respect your opinion about it. But I can also understand and respect TB's opinion. On his point of view, it's understandable. Even if I disagree I won't lose respect for him. I disagree a lot with a lot of people I love. You can be constructive critic.
In the end, they do what they do for the love of the game. I really see no reason why any arguments are necessary. TB does need lot of work regarding his casting in terms of experience.
Its just in vogue among the "leet" kids to hate on TB. All the analytic casters make mistakes constantly but no-one calls them out when they do.
Also, I would rather be entertained by good professional casting than bored to sleep by some analytic 5 minute commentary about stuff I already know about. Furthermore, TB can always improve his game knowledge. Idra will always be boring though, and I dont think he will be able to change that
That being said, I dont think any caster (including idra) are really bad. I do enjoy them all, and having variety is always a good thing.
On June 16 2011 02:55 Liquid`Nazgul wrote: When Treetop says TotalBiscuit is the best caster in the world of video games he is specifically implying that SC2 is only a part of that world. He's just saying what TB does in other games is not something the casters you have come to love so much in SC2 would be able to do. I think he's probably right about that, although I don't know any non-SC2 casters personally.
The TB hate is really ridiculous. There are tons of respected casters that don't understand the game very well, and as long as they cast in a manner that shows they are aware of this it can still lead to great casting. Especially when paired with someone with more knowledge.
On a related note, TB does himself a huge disservice when he engages with the people who openly hate him. It's incredibly useless, and only brings out more haters because they know they can get a response out of him.
There are plenty of other casters that are successful that people hate, yet they don't pay any attention to them and just keep on doing their own thing.
So...this is a argument about peoples opinions, conflicting between Idra and TB, that was started because they don't like each others, which is also an opinion.
This leads to the question, why not enjoy what You enjoy? Why not watch what You want to watch? Instead of moaning and annoying two highly valuable members of the sc2 community.
But in the end, 'tis nothing but an opinion in itself, so inevitablity be ignored by the haters
Idra stated categorically that TB sucks, If he had said I dont like TB's casting, THEN its is ok and then he is just stating his opinion. But saying that TB sucks, is just malicious hate on someone who tried to give him constructive criticism, before anybody disagrees or argues with me, READ EVERYTHING IN THIS, TB's article and then Idra's response, it is quite clear that TB was very respectful where Idra was not.
These 2 are so much smarter than everyone gives them credit for. Sure they don't like each other that much is clear. Something as simple as that one would assume they would just ignore each other and move on, but they are more intelligent than that, they feed into the drama because they know people love that shit and will eat it right up. I'm not saying their remarks back and forth to one another don't have any merit , just that they both realize whats actually going on when they feed into it. It's almost a cross promotion of sorts. They are only giving each other and themselves more attention and in this type of environment that is never a bad thing. Idra has been making remarks like this for a while and its not because he's just a hate filled person, he just realizes that by making fringe statements thousands of people will jump on them and start talking about it like its the most important thing ever.
On June 16 2011 02:54 JackMcCoy wrote: Fact: Green is the best color. Fact: The Rolling Stones are the best band. Fact: This blog is terrible.
What are the Rolling Stones?
I follow TotalBiscuit on twitter, and considering a lot of the hate he gets(now), I think he handles himself pretty well. :/ I absolutely LOVE his casting, because it makes me feel like I'm watching a real sport(not saying e-sports isn't a real sport, but I mean more like outside sport) and it gets me so pumped. Although his knowledge is lacking, I'm sure if paired with the right person, it would be fantastic. Either way, I think he's doing a fine job, BM or not. It entertains me more than anything.
So... it was a good read on your opion about TB. I don't agree with it in full but for the most part I agree on how TB is a great caster overall in many different games.
If it is true that TB said no to IdrA for a tournament invite then good on TB for showing some people you can't be accepted into tournies just by pure skill while your attitude during and outside of the tournament is utter trash.
This blog has a lot of great responses though. Did the people who are bashing you for your opinion in an editorial not understand what an editorial is?
the people who dont like TB do not understand what a caster is. they prefer analytical casterss, which is fine, but that is more of a colour commentator roll.
TB is an excellent 'caster'. he may suck at SC, and can provide hardly any DEEP analytical information about the game, but that is irrelevant to being a broadcaster.
You take all of the SC2 casters and put them on a different game, and TB would be one of the few that shine, because he is a broadcaster.
Learn the difference before saying TB is a bad caster
Meh I guess he is fine for the casual gamers, but I just don't see his appeal in spouting random nothingness while other casters attempt to explain and analyze the game. His professionalism can't really be doubted and neither can his success, but the only reason he receives hate around these parts is that he is ridiculously casual and has never ever been "good" at a game. This is fine for some broadcasters but the traditionally "elitist" community of SC2 is less accepting.
This is really starting to sound like something the WWE would do to promote dreamhack.
"Totalbiscuit you stole my wimmenz and you tewk mah jerrrrrb But this Sunday at Dreamhack I'm going to teach you that its not okay to mess with I to the DRA This Sunday i'll take you down in a NO HOLDS BARRED STEEL CAGE MATCH OOOOOH YEEEEEEAHHHH"
I adore TB! Every time he says "ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for violence and bloodshed!" or similar, I get the biggest dopiest grin on my face.
BTW OP, I agree with your facts. TB has the training, the history, the voice--but not enough game knowledge
TB replying to his critics isn't a sign of his unending love for e-sports but an indicator of his unending stupidity and unprofessionalism.
The reason many pros, casters, and other important community members have stopped posting isn't because of how toxic the community has gotten but because it's incredibly difficult to post on a forum and not reply to ones critics, which is an important trait of the professional.
The exception is someone like Husky who gets just as much if not more hate then TB, and yet you never see him wrapped up in such controversies because of the simple reason that he never responds to his critics. He still posts on TL regularly but for most people the temptation of replying to detractors is just too strong.
TB either needs to flat out quit posting on forums or stop replying to his critics. No matter how well TB defends himself he still ends up looking like a gigantic moron simply because he replied to such idiotic drivel in the first place. Meanwhile, all the other people who simply don't post win all their arguments by default. You can't lose if you don't play.
I don't care about how well TB conducts himself on air, how he conducts himself off air is just as important.
Presenting opinions as facts is a pretty bad idea for a blog but whatever.
I think if TB didn't want the attention he wouldn't respond to any haters. It's fine if he does, but people often praise his professionalism, and when it comes to things like haters he's far from it and seems to be quite petty. Not inviting Idra because of something like that is pretty silly, he's well known for that image and TB should hardly be surprised. But I guess he couldn't just ignore it, even though inviting him would likely boost the number of viewers and ad revenues.
I don't like his casting but that's not the problem here, I think. He can keep casting and I can keep watching his non-Starcraft stuff.
EDIT: AzTec said it pretty well, and I agree completely.
On June 15 2011 22:45 TuElite wrote: Good riddance and while you're at it please make sure to refrain from applying to league such as IPL in the future, we don't want you there neither. Stay in your own thread ans cast your own tournament/games, everybody wins, somewhat.
I'm sorry, but you don't matter and pretending otherwise is your biggest mistake. You can take this "we" shit and shove it up your ass too, oh no, pretentious eSports "fan" doesn't like my casting, as if that is going to affect the hiring decisions of the people who are actually important in keeping the scene going. Plenty of you need to get this into your heads, the people in charge do not give a shit about your dumb opinions and so they shouldn't. They have their metrics, they have actual information, they know who is good for them and who isn't and they will make decisions based on that, not on people whose method of arguing seems to boil down to "u mad?" more often than not.
And just to make sure you know how the industry actually works. We don't "apply" to events, they come to us. If that doesn't speak volumes to you then that sounds like a personal problem.
Bring on the "you're arrogant" comments that seem to come along every time I tell people how things actually work. If that's the price of being right then so be it. You and people like you are cunts, you are poison within the community and it's a good job that you don't have any influence, otherwise you might do some actual damage to it.
Please, slobber all over IdrA's cock because he's so awesome for being honest and speaking the truth and then flame anyone else who does the same you self-righteous, worthless hypocrite.
To me all this is a giant popularity/wang fest between new and old school or mine vs yours and double standards abound. 1 fault of one caster is not called out for another. It's like sports fan and their teams. Or console fanboys. They aren't arguments worth getting into.
Maybe it's a habit drawn out from WoW where if you protested/whined/petitioned/lobbied enough you could get your way / sway people. Or I guess that's just the internet in general.
And I do agree a lot of haters have 0 idea about casting. I recognize a trend, with these people, that player skill = casting skill. It doesn't even matter who. I even saw someone said they'd love to see WhiteRa or MC cast a game (1 barely speaks English, and other even less so). It completely boggles my mind.
On June 16 2011 02:41 Ack1027 wrote: The OP is a joke.
Replace your 2nd part about tastosis with totalbiscuit and you have the opinion of the vast majority of hardcore sc2ers.
Totalbiscuit is terrible, he admits he is terrible and there's some semblance of humilty there. Otherwise it's not *fact* he is the best broadcaster. The worst of the korean bw commentators are leagues ahead of totalbiscuit. Just because he has ten billion wow followers kinda shows you what kinda people like this guy. You are right in that you don't run around yelling about things you don't like but the opposite is true too.
If something is inherently good, or as good as you claim [ TB BEST CASTER IN THE WORLD ] then people will come to recognize it. If not, it means you're probably wrong and overrating it.
Also please consider that just because some indie developers are stable companies now that TB gave them exposure doesn't mean those games are any good. In fact the vast majority of indie games are crap, that's why they remain so unpopular. There are a few gems, sure, but it sure as hell isn't solely because of TB as you seem to make it.
Please stop speaking for me. Thanks.
If the SCI was any indicator, plenty of people like him.
And I think the point of this blog is call out all the caster bashing. Half of the people in this thread are getting frothed in the mouth at that 1 line.
If you don't like the casting. Move along. No one cares. People will vote with their feet.
On June 16 2011 05:00 Chill wrote: Fact: I love TotalBiscuit the caster and hate TotalBiscuit the poster.
This pretty much sums up my feelings exactly.
Agreed.
TotalBiscuit is a great caster and does a lot more for E-Sports than most (or rather: more than almost all) other casters out there. He is the best thing that happened to E-Sports in quite a while and no matter how much you disagree with his casting style, you cannot disagree with his contributions to E-Sports.
Now he just needs a thicker hide to not get so annoyed by the haters and start to just not reply to them, otherwise he'll soon be ahead of IdrA in terms of mod history :p
On June 15 2011 22:45 TuElite wrote: Good riddance and while you're at it please make sure to refrain from applying to league such as IPL in the future, we don't want you there neither. Stay in your own thread ans cast your own tournament/games, everybody wins, somewhat.
I'm sorry, but you don't matter and pretending otherwise is your biggest mistake. You can take this "we" shit and shove it up your ass too, oh no, pretentious eSports "fan" doesn't like my casting, as if that is going to affect the hiring decisions of the people who are actually important in keeping the scene going. Plenty of you need to get this into your heads, the people in charge do not give a shit about your dumb opinions and so they shouldn't. They have their metrics, they have actual information, they know who is good for them and who isn't and they will make decisions based on that, not on people whose method of arguing seems to boil down to "u mad?" more often than not.
And just to make sure you know how the industry actually works. We don't "apply" to events, they come to us. If that doesn't speak volumes to you then that sounds like a personal problem.
Bring on the "you're arrogant" comments that seem to come along every time I tell people how things actually work. If that's the price of being right then so be it. You and people like you are cunts, you are poison within the community and it's a good job that you don't have any influence, otherwise you might do some actual damage to it.
Please, slobber all over IdrA's cock because he's so awesome for being honest and speaking the truth and then flame anyone else who does the same you self-righteous, worthless hypocrite.
How is it even mathematically possible to not love this guy?
Holy shit, TB knows how to flame.
For me TB is neither the best or worst caster, though he is close to the top. I would probably put him right below Tastosis, djwheat, and day 9. The thing is though, it terms of broadcast professionalism, all of those guys have a TON they could learn from TB, and I would really love to hear a team cast with TB and one of those guys.
On June 15 2011 22:45 TuElite wrote: Good riddance and while you're at it please make sure to refrain from applying to league such as IPL in the future, we don't want you there neither. Stay in your own thread ans cast your own tournament/games, everybody wins, somewhat.
I'm sorry, but you don't matter and pretending otherwise is your biggest mistake. You can take this "we" shit and shove it up your ass too, oh no, pretentious eSports "fan" doesn't like my casting, as if that is going to affect the hiring decisions of the people who are actually important in keeping the scene going. Plenty of you need to get this into your heads, the people in charge do not give a shit about your dumb opinions and so they shouldn't. They have their metrics, they have actual information, they know who is good for them and who isn't and they will make decisions based on that, not on people whose method of arguing seems to boil down to "u mad?" more often than not.
And just to make sure you know how the industry actually works. We don't "apply" to events, they come to us. If that doesn't speak volumes to you then that sounds like a personal problem.
Bring on the "you're arrogant" comments that seem to come along every time I tell people how things actually work. If that's the price of being right then so be it. You and people like you are cunts, you are poison within the community and it's a good job that you don't have any influence, otherwise you might do some actual damage to it.
Please, slobber all over IdrA's cock because he's so awesome for being honest and speaking the truth and then flame anyone else who does the same you self-righteous, worthless hypocrite.
How is it even mathematically possible to not love this guy?
I'll admit that TB sometimes makes me cringe when responds to his haters (generally, I agree with Chill's assessment of TB's forum self vs casting self), but that was a pretty awesome flame.
I would argue that TB could learn from Idra in how not to respond to haters, say "fuck the haters" and keep doing what he does. Obviously, the way Idra acts isn't always ideal, but he's one of the few other prominent characters in the esports scene who seems to draw as much controversy as TB (which is why I used him as an example). In the future, I hope he manages to stay calmer, enjoy his fans (me being one of them), and ignore the haters.
TB definitely let it fly, but in a way he's right. People need to start voting with their feet (or mouse in our case) instead of posting toxic comments about things they really don't know the inner workings of. Idra is definitely leading an army of trolls and clowns these days...... maybe TB should go on a Charlie-Sheen-esque rant about it?
More seriously though.... TB isn't Day9.... he's not Artosis..... he's TB, and he's got a great voice and is able to highlight SC2 action in a really fun way. Not everyone wants super in depth analysis... some folks love high action and hyped voices, some like play-by-plays and others like to learn... and some like a mix of all of the above. Different strokes for different folks I suppose, but TB clearly has talent at what he does.
My problem is very fucking simple. Starcraft is a STRATEGY game with many intricacies based on the strategy. TB is such a low-level player of the game he hardly can be thrown into literally the HIGHEST LEVEL tournaments the foreign scene has to offer and that be branded as acceptable because 'Oh well noobs need it'. It's a fucking strategy game tournament with hundreds of thousands on the line, we don't need casting from a guy who is awful, just awful at the game.
The funny thing to me is, he's not even the DJWheat style who goes along with things and asks questions, he is the SOLO caster. The whole thing. A Silver or Gold or whatever shit level he's at player, commentating to us on the best players in the world. How can he possibly give any strategy insight into the minds of players 1000 times better than him? And yes we DO want that because again it's a STRATEGY GAME.
We're at a point where people are paying subscriptions to watch Starcraft, a guy who PAYS to watch Starcraft getting TotalBiscuit aurally abusing their ears with his endless torrent of bullshit. There's no excuse for this level of casting at the highest level of Starcraft and frankly it's insulting to anyone who paid money for it ie. the NASL.
TB can be a really entertaining caster despite his lack of strategic knowledge. Paired with the right partner, like TLO at Dreamhack, I think he can be every bit as entertaining as Tastosis and DayJWheat who I think most people point to as the best duos in the SC2 scene. It is, however, unfortunate that he takes this position and acts like a troll stirring up possibly the stupidest drama in a scene that is already full of really fucking stupid drama. Stop that shit.
Chill said it best. Except I also dislike his IRC comments. Also posts to reddit.
sidenote: on strategic analysis of games, I don't really care if it's omitted but I do care if it's included and incorrect. I'll gladly listen to a pure play-by-play cast, but I will mute anyone spouting nonsense.
On June 16 2011 05:00 Chill wrote: Fact: I love TotalBiscuit the caster and hate TotalBiscuit the poster.
its nice when you dont have to use own words. thank you.
The amount of hate he gates is ridiculous, but I can't help but feel that most of it is due to the fact that he responds and tries to argue with the haters. it just doesnt work.
If you talk to people who are knowledgeable about business and aren't as narrowly focused on the hardcore community as TL, they pretty much all say that Husky/TB/Day[9] are amazing for SC2 and casters like gretorp/incontrol/idra don't appeal to them as much.
Not saying the casters who almost purely focus on analysis are bad, just that the TL community really needs to understand the value of people like TB, Husky, etc, if they want SC2 to grow more.
On June 16 2011 07:15 infinity2k9 wrote: My problem is very fucking simple. Starcraft is a STRATEGY game with many intricacies based on the strategy. TB is such a low-level player of the game he hardly can be thrown into literally the HIGHEST LEVEL tournaments the foreign scene has to offer and that be branded as acceptable because 'Oh well noobs need it'. It's a fucking strategy game tournament with hundreds of thousands on the line, we don't need casting from a guy who is awful, just awful at the game.
The funny thing to me is, he's not even the DJWheat style who goes along with things and asks questions, he is the SOLO caster. The whole thing. A Silver or Gold or whatever shit level he's at player, commentating to us on the best players in the world. How can he possibly give any strategy insight into the minds of players 1000 times better than him? And yes we DO want that because again it's a STRATEGY GAME.
We're at a point where people are paying subscriptions to watch Starcraft, a guy who PAYS to watch Starcraft getting TotalBiscuit aurally abusing their ears with his endless torrent of bullshit. There's no excuse for this level of casting at the highest level of Starcraft and frankly it's insulting to anyone who paid money for it ie. the NASL.
I'm not sure about this, since TB almost never try to make any analysis, just pure play-by-play, and well, there are other casters.Sure, you paid for something and you don't like it, but for some reason, with TB people start insulting him since we are on the land of trolls, the internet, and TB for some reason reply them, making everything worse.
And i don't understand how people can't enjoy some non-overanalitycal SC2 casts sometimes, you know, after a long day of work, when you just want to watch something without trying to copy your new BO from X player.
On June 16 2011 02:31 shindigs wrote: The SC2 scene is turning into some warped hipster scene that compares taste in casters to validate their opinions. "You listen to TB? Yeah he's alright if you like unanalytical mainstream stuff."
Get a clue and focus on the players/games.
Oh the irony.
"Your writing a blog on TB? Yea that's alright if your some warped hipster"
Something that I never understood was why people didn't simply ignore people they didn't like, enjoy, or agree with. If I don't like a certain player's casting or style, I'm not going to broadcast it to the entire world that I don't like them. It's only going to come out if someone asks me or if an appropriate situation arises. Plastering "I HATE TOTALBISCUIT" everywhere isn't an appropriate situation.
I really don't get how TB can say that IdrA is a "bronze league caster". Apart from confusing an 8 pylon with a 9 pylon, (it was 8 in BW) IdrA delivers pretty much perfect play-by-play and analysis without relying on a co-caster.
I think what Total is trying to say is that voice matters, and while I agree, and I'd put Day9, Artosis, and Tasteless above IdrA in casting ability, I think that the ability to call a game correctly is far more important.
That's only because you're invested in the game; in terms of bringing outsiders to be interested in SC2, I'd say enthusiasm and voice are much more important than simple dry commentary. Different circumstances require different things.
Fact: Preseting your opinion as a fact does not make it an actual fact. I watch starcraft to get away from the common jocky commentators of football and horseracing.
Don't let every commentator in different sports be the same.
I really don't get how TB can say that IdrA is a "bronze league caster". Apart from confusing an 8 pylon with a 9 pylon, (it was 8 in BW) IdrA delivers pretty much perfect play-by-play and analysis without relying on a co-caster.
I think what Total is trying to say is that voice matters, and while I agree, and I'd put Day9, Artosis, and Tasteless above IdrA in casting ability, I think that the ability to call a game correctly is far more important.
I think when people listen to idra, they're listening with another intent than with TB. While that's obvious, there is seriously no level of excitement or interest in the game, but rather the bare bones of the game. When idra talks, he preemptively says what's going to happen before it even does and in most cases, he's right. This gives him even more time to talk why that happen and what should have been done.
How many casters can do that and from idra's equal or similar experience?
I really don't get how TB can say that IdrA is a "bronze league caster". Apart from confusing an 8 pylon with a 9 pylon, (it was 8 in BW) IdrA delivers pretty much perfect play-by-play and analysis without relying on a co-caster.
I think what Total is trying to say is that voice matters, and while I agree, and I'd put Day9, Artosis, and Tasteless above IdrA in casting ability, I think that the ability to call a game correctly is far more important.
It's pure analysis, there is no play-by-play at all. It lacks any energy in that cast, all it has is IdrAs monotone voice lulling you to sleep with his (still very precise and excellent) analysis.
A perfect cast needs both energy and analysis, TB provides purely the first part, IdrA purely the second. Which part you prefer and which part you cannot live without is a personal preference, but of course it's always best if both exist. I can do without analysis as long as there is a lot of energy, others can do without energy as long as there is analysis...
While I think both Idra and TB shouldn't be having this fight, I have to say TB is handling this much worse than Idra. I know Idra always trash talks people, but that doesn't excuse him for this.
Both of these guys say the other is a bad caster (at least that's what I took from this), but how can you determine if they're bad? They're both considered to be good casters, but it's based entirely on preference. Their style of casting is completely different. They both have their pros and cons for the viewer, it all comes down to what you want.
The problem I have with TB is how he responds to the people who don't like him, compared to how Idra deals with it. Idra has had haters for years, but rarely, if ever, does he feel the need to defend himself. He knows he's good, and that's enough for him.
TB feels the need to come on the forums and pick out the very few posts people make attacking him and insult that poster relentlessly. Why? You ignore the 50 posts of people complimenting you, and respond to the 2 people who don't like you. Why ignore your fans for someone who doesn't like you? You're not going to persuade someone to change their opinion on you by swearing at them and calling them stupid, you're just hurting your own image. I don't understand this at all...
I really don't get how TB can say that IdrA is a "bronze league caster". Apart from confusing an 8 pylon with a 9 pylon, (it was 8 in BW) IdrA delivers pretty much perfect play-by-play and analysis without relying on a co-caster.
I think what Total is trying to say is that voice matters, and while I agree, and I'd put Day9, Artosis, and Tasteless above IdrA in casting ability, I think that the ability to call a game correctly is far more important.
It's pure analysis, there is no play-by-play at all. It lacks any energy in that cast, all it has is IdrAs monotone voice lulling you to sleep with his (still very precise and excellent) analysis.
A perfect cast needs both energy and analysis, TB provides purely the first part, IdrA purely the second. Which part you prefer and which part you cannot live without is a personal preference, but of course it's always best if both exist. I can do without analysis as long as there is a lot of energy, others can do without energy as long as there is analysis...
You can't really call that a cast though. It was intended to be a pure analytical replay review. Not saying that his casting is very exciting, but it has a little more energy when he does the EG Master's Cup.
Nice writeup and I agree with pretty much all of it since he has done great work on many games. Before he got into SC2 I watched him on youtube doing WoW videos and I don't even play WoW but yet I watched just because the personality he brought into the videos. He's great at what he does and more power to the guy, if he had all day to just dedicate to learning SC strategy etc I'm sure more would be into him. But as is I'm happy with the content he delivers and his casting is excellent and exiting. I'm glad we have TB around and I hope he sticks with SC2 even though people talk so much trash, hes a great member of the community.
On June 18 2011 02:09 Xaga wrote: While I think both Idra and TB shouldn't be having this fight, I have to say TB is handling this much worse than Idra. I know Idra always trash talks people, but that doesn't excuse him for this.
Both of these guys say the other is a bad caster (at least that's what I took from this), but how can you determine if they're bad? They're both considered to be good casters, but it's based entirely on preference. Their style of casting is completely different. They both have their pros and cons for the viewer, it all comes down to what you want.
The problem I have with TB is how he responds to the people who don't like him, compared to how Idra deals with it. Idra has had haters for years, but rarely, if ever, does he feel the need to defend himself. He knows he's good, and that's enough for him.
TB feels the need to come on the forums and pick out the very few posts people make attacking him and insult that poster relentlessly. Why? You ignore the 50 posts of people complimenting you, and respond to the 2 people who don't like you. Why ignore your fans for someone who doesn't like you? You're not going to persuade someone to change their opinion on you by swearing at them and calling them stupid, you're just hurting your own image. I don't understand this at all...
Huh? How many times has Idra gotten banned again? They both respond to haters more than they should, just Idra does passive aggression and TB does plain aggression.
Although I find it all to be kind of silly, I think some rivalries are ultimately good for the SC2 community, and so long as it doesn't go too far, this is one of them. As destructive as they sound sometimes, rivalries between prominent personalities in the SC2 community add drama, generate a lot of interest and increase the emotional investment viewers have in the sport. Idra is far and away the most widely known and inflammatory player of SC2 in North America. Some people love him, some people hate him, but we all have feelings about him one way or another, and that's part of why we watch.
The entire industry built up around professional wrestling is about creating iconic characters that the audience will feel an emotional attachment toward, then pitting them against one another. In wrestling there are heroic figures, their are villains, and there are oddballs, all of which are fabricated purely for our entertainment. The more the audience responds to a wrestler, regardless of whether that response is positive or negative, the more successful they are since success and failure are measured by the size and passion of the audience, since that's the source of revenue.
I don't know how much of this feud is legitimate or fabricated, but just like rivalries between pro wrestlers, the rivalry between Idra and TotalBiscuit (or Idra and a long list of others) makes for a larger and more passionate audience, which is also the source of revenue for everyone involved in Starcraft II professionally.
The pitfall we have to avoid in esports is the possibility that the drama surrounding the competition overshadows the competition itself, which could lead to the same sort of fabricated performance and fake competition that is pro wrestling.
At the other end of the spectrum there is pure competition without any sort of emotional connection between the participants and their audience. This is what you have when you watch two people you've never heard of play, and you have no emotional investment in the outcome. Although there are purists who might think this is the perfect expression of competition, it's very bad for the potential success of a sport that depends on the size and passion of its audience for revenue. A feeling of empathy with competitors and an emotional investment in their success or failure is what makes a lot of people watch.
The trouble we're also running in to here is that some of the personalities involved in Starcraft II have tremendous influence over the opinions of their fans. If Idra says he hates someone, a horde of fanboys descend upon to that issue and spew out their own opinions with even greater vehemence and vitriol. People who might otherwise have failed to notice Idra's rival even exists suddenly have passionate feelings about them or what they stand for. To an extent, exercising that influence is fine. It's natural. It's also to be expected given the age of most SC2 fans, but there's a point where that influence can become very harmful if it's exercised carelessly.
To illustrate that point; on one of the Day[9] dailies, I remember seeing a player in the lower leagues flame Day9 in the game of his that was shown on a funday monday. Sean, being the awesome guy that he is, laughed it off and then went to great lengths to tell his fans that the guy is perfectly entitled to his opinion and then to explicitly encourage them to be friendly and polite to this guy if they ever met him on the ladder. If he hadn't done that, I don't doubt there could have been a tremendous backlash against some poor kid. His popularity gives Day9 that sort of influence.
Their popularity give Idra and TotalBiscuit the same sort of influence, but so long as they're only picking on other people who can take it, like one another, let the fans be fans and follow the drama like it actually matters, which it doesn't... but it's good for espoorts!
On June 29 2011 08:29 Draxtier wrote: Although I find it all to be kind of silly, I think some rivalries are ultimately good for the SC2 community, and so long as it doesn't go too far, this is one of them. As destructive as they sound sometimes, rivalries between prominent personalities in the SC2 community add drama, generate a lot of interest and increase the emotional investment viewers have in the sport. Idra is far and away the most widely known and inflammatory player of SC2 in North America. Some people love him, some people hate him, but we all have feelings about him one way or another, and that's part of why we watch.
The entire industry built up around professional wrestling is about creating iconic characters that the audience will feel an emotional attachment toward, then pitting them against one another. In wrestling there are heroic figures, their are villains, and there are oddballs, all of which are fabricated purely for our entertainment. The more the audience responds to a wrestler, regardless of whether that response is positive or negative, the more successful they are since success and failure are measured by the size and passion of the audience, since that's the source of revenue.
I don't know how much of this feud is legitimate or fabricated, but just like rivalries between pro wrestlers, the rivalry between Idra and TotalBiscuit (or Idra and a long list of others) makes for a larger and more passionate audience, which is also the source of revenue for everyone involved in Starcraft II professionally.
The pitfall we have to avoid in esports is the possibility that the drama surrounding the competition overshadows the competition itself, which could lead to the same sort of fabricated performance and fake competition that is pro wrestling.
At the other end of the spectrum there is pure competition without any sort of emotional connection between the participants and their audience. This is what you have when you watch two people you've never heard of play, and you have no emotional investment in the outcome. Although there are purists who might think this is the perfect expression of competition, it's very bad for the potential success of a sport that depends on the size and passion of its audience for revenue. A feeling of empathy with competitors and an emotional investment in their success or failure is what makes a lot of people watch.
The trouble we're also running in to here is that some of the personalities involved in Starcraft II have tremendous influence over the opinions of their fans. If Idra says he hates someone, a horde of fanboys descend upon to that issue and spew out their own opinions with even greater vehemence and vitriol. People who might otherwise have failed to notice Idra's rival even exists suddenly have passionate feelings about them or what they stand for. To an extent, exercising that influence is fine. It's natural. It's also to be expected given the age of most SC2 fans, but there's a point where that influence can become very harmful if it's exercised carelessly.
To illustrate that point; on one of the Day[9] dailies, I remember seeing a player in the lower leagues flame Day9 in the game of his that was shown on a funday monday. Sean, being the awesome guy that he is, laughed it off and then went to great lengths to tell his fans that the guy is perfectly entitled to his opinion and then to explicitly encourage them to be friendly and polite to this guy if they ever met him on the ladder. If he hadn't done that, I don't doubt there could have been a tremendous backlash against some poor kid. His popularity gives Day9 that sort of influence.
Their popularity give Idra and TotalBiscuit the same sort of influence, but so long as they're only picking on other people who can take it, like one another, let the fans be fans and follow the drama like it actually matters, which it doesn't... but it's good for espoorts!
This is probably the best post regarding the subject, and also the best way to look at the whole controversy/rivalry (whatever you want to call it) thing between Totalbiscuit and Idra or rather at any dispute of this sort.
I think the topic of TB has been covered extensively here, so I'll just give a quick suggestion:
If you want to see the epitome of English eSports casting, look back into some old Counter-Strike 1.5-1.6 CPLs and large LANs. Few casters today (other than Tastosis) come close. I was opposed to watching other people play matches (essentially, opposed to following eSports) until I witnessed the brilliant casting that lasted over 5 years in the CS scene.
I'm sure djwheat can give you guys some insight into that. GotFrag coverage was legendary.
Dont see how you can expect TB to know everything about SC it takes alot of time to get really good at the game and he just doesnt have the free time with all the content he posts daily.
Draxtier's well-written post is a nice summary of why rivalries can actually good, but:
The amount of hate specifically directed towards TotalBiscuit on this forum and elsewhere is ridiculous.This doesn't even factor in the recent issue with IdrA. TB seems to be getting flak at every opportunity for no apparent reason, and I don't see this happening with other casters or commentators. There are others with a unique style, others that are as outspoken as he is, but he's in a unique situation where loads of people will start bashing him.
Why? He's an excellent caster, regardless of whether you like his style or not. I happen to enjoy his work, others may not and that's ok, but why all the hate? I don't get it. As far as I know, he hasn't done anything that made him deserve this kind of special negative attention, as he's done a lot of great commentation over the time he's been active for / in SC2. He isn't only passionate aboout gaming, but he's also trained in what he's doing and good at it as well. This is a rare combination that few other casters can offer. Like him or not, you have to admit that.
Long story short, if you don't like him, ignore him, but respect what he does. He hasn't deserved this special treatment of bashing exclusively directed towards him.
On July 15 2011 15:30 Shockk wrote: Draxtier's well-written post is a nice summary of why rivalries can actually good, but:
The amount of hate specifically directed towards TotalBiscuit on this forum and elsewhere is ridiculous.This doesn't even factor in the recent issue with IdrA. TB seems to be getting flak at every opportunity for no apparent reason, and I don't see this happening with other casters or commentators. There are others with a unique style, others that are as outspoken as he is, but he's in a unique situation where loads of people will start bashing him.
Why? He's an excellent caster, regardless of whether you like his style or not. I happen to enjoy his work, others may not and that's ok, but why all the hate? I don't get it. As far as I know, he hasn't done anything that made him deserve this kind of special negative attention, as he's done a lot of great commentation over the time he's been active for / in SC2. He isn't only passionate aboout gaming, but he's also trained in what he's doing and good at it as well. This is a rare combination that few other casters can offer. Like him or not, you have to admit that.
Long story short, if you don't like him, ignore him, but respect what he does. He hasn't deserved this special treatment of bashing exclusively directed towards him.
<sarcasm> But he is hurting ESPORTS! </sarcasm>
Anyways, i agree, he seems to recieve a lot of undeserved hate. Yes, he doesn't know as much about the game as Day9 and Yes, he is not Tastosis, but he is still a caster that introduces a lot of people to the SC2 scene. If you don't like him, ignore him. If he casts your favourite players in a tournament... well, mute him or just endure it.
TB might recieve more hate than other pure play-by-play casters because he's casting in a lot more of the big tournaments and is a lot more active in the scene - which IMHO is great, though a lot of the analysis-purists would rather have him disappear completely. TB tries to learn and he is really improving, but SC2 is just a sidejob, he doesn't have the time to practice until he is grandmasters.
He is still contributing as much as he can to the scene, like the tournament he held with the revenue from his stream or pointing people to the more advanced casters like Day[9] (He even says "if you want to donate me, don't, donate to Day9"... how many others do that?)
Just because he is not the right caster for YOU doesn't mean he has no right to be a caster at all.
If you want to flame any caster, flame me, because i'm neither entertaining _nor_ do i have game knowledge and i still dared to cast games (and maybe i'd get more than 5 subscribers )
i like tb but you're going to state "facts", make sure they're "facts". I ****** hate people who try to use literal description words to make a point, only to be wrong. (my head blew up, literally)
I really don't get how TB can say that IdrA is a "bronze league caster". Apart from confusing an 8 pylon with a 9 pylon, (it was 8 in BW) IdrA delivers pretty much perfect play-by-play and analysis without relying on a co-caster.
I think what Total is trying to say is that voice matters, and while I agree, and I'd put Day9, Artosis, and Tasteless above IdrA in casting ability, I think that the ability to call a game correctly is far more important.
I think when people listen to idra, they're listening with another intent than with TB. While that's obvious, there is seriously no level of excitement or interest in the game, but rather the bare bones of the game. When idra talks, he preemptively says what's going to happen before it even does and in most cases, he's right. This gives him even more time to talk why that happen and what should have been done.
How many casters can do that and from idra's equal or similar experience?
I think it's personal preference. TB's coming at it from a very TB-style angle- it's not so much about analysis and game knowledge as it is having a good sounding voice and excitement/hype, whereas IdrA is coming at it the way Idra comes at everything- from a knowledge based, fuck-all-else perspective. Personally I like the IdrA style better because many people have the TB-like quality of being able to shout about things, but few people know the game as well as IdrA does, so what he brings into a cast is unique, which is his unique game knowledge. In that sense, I would say TB is wrong that he's a "bronze league caster", he would be if TB's style is all that mattered in casting, but it doesn't, and IdrA makes for a great analytical caster and caster in general even though he doesn't have an awesome accent or the willingness to shout into his mike whenever units attack each other.
edit- that being said, what annoys me about Totalbiscuit isn't his casting. I've admitted I don't like that, and it's not a problem for me. I'm not going around bitching about it or yelling on forums about how shit he is. His style isn't the kind of casting I'm looking for, and that's fine. The problem I have with him is that he insists on jumping on twitter or whatever forum/thread insulted him latest and getting into a pissing match with whoever called him out. Anyone who is as widely viewed as Totalbiscuit is going to have haters, but many people who are as popular as him have learned to ignore the haters- Day9, for example, says that he never posts or even views forums anymore cause it's not really worth his time. However, TB insists on running his mouth on twitter or TL and yelling at/arguing with whoever insulted him latest. Some people may say ignore that too, but it's been enough non-TB related threads that that's not really feasible. TB haters should shut up, I agree, but TB should stop responding to haters as well. I get the whole forum-interaction thing, but interacting with fans and arguing with trolls and haters are two separate things.
I like him as a youtube caster, not a professional SC2 caster however.
I love his humor and I love the fact that he popularizes unpopular(Lolwut) games with his WTF is series. And it works, because I have first had experiences with his "magic"
Becaues of him I knew Magicka, and I absolutely love it.
OP: Almost every community has their own shoutcasters which are very good (CS, CoD, WoW, Quake, etc). I am not sure how you can say any single one is the best. I am assuming you are from the WoW community.
EPT
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