I've been reading a few posts about Gordon Hayward over the past 2 hours. Man I'm really digging this guy. He's got his head on right and just seems like such a good guy. He's incredibly passionate about his career (Professional Basketball) and still has other hobbies he loves to get involved with. So basically after getting mad respect for this dude I read this article http://pastebin.com/KVVi4LMb. This is the pastebin version so the regular article doesn't get traffic. Anyways it just lit a fire in me. How someone could be so ignorant and not research what they are writing about. He just pissed off probably one of the most passionate communities out there with one small article.
I've been thinking a lot about how the topic of people ignorant of the scene keep coming up. Starcraft 2 isn't mainstream at all and a large percentage of people cannot comprehend that a video game can be this big of a competition. If you try to explain the scene to most people they probably won't listen closely and will immediately judge you and this idea of ESPORTS.
So I came up with an idea. I tried searching around and I didn't really find anything so direct as this. Why doesn't someone make a video that really shows what professional Starcraft is like. I know there are a lot of videos out there that can do the job. Day9's daily 100, a lot of the Star Nation trailers are pretty good, interviews of people. But I feel like that would take too long. You'd have to quickly grab the attention of the person you are trying to share ESPORTS with and then keep it long enough to show them all this content. I'm talking about a good 6-10 minute video that can really show off what this community, the tournaments, the players, and the history of the game is like.
This video would be perfect to show girlfriends, parents, friends, etc. Anyone who asks "what is Starcraft?" or "ESPORTS?" It is often hard to really explain what ESPORTS really is. I feel like if there was just a single video that could capture it all then it would really help people share this game, community, and ESPORTS in general. It wouldn't really need to explain the game into detail, but just show how large it is and how and why many people love it.
Unfortunately I have no talent in making videos otherwise I wouldn't write about it and would probably just make one myself. But I wanted to get this idea out there to see if anyone was already making one or if anyone else thinks it would be cool to have a "go to" video to show someone when they ask what starcraft or ESPORTS is.
I would actually LOVE this. But I, like you, have no video editing talent. It's also probably really difficult to fit everything you need to know in one short video without also making it overwhelming. It would be a really delicate balance between cramming too much info in and leaving out too much important stuff. I really hope someone can take up this challenge though.
generally I just show any generic opening to any starleague final if people are interested. like so:
people generally may go "wtf? them krazy koreans" but it shows that a) major corporate sponsorship happens for these events b) major crowds show up (and have common sporting event apparel, including the clapper things) c) the crowds are actually enthusiastic and cheer; not just there milling around d) high production value e) them krazy koreans
if a person is totally uninterested in esports, there isn't really a need to try to "prove" the esports scene or make them understand. Just show anything with a large crowd and enthusiasm and sure, they may think it's weird, but it loses the stigma of "oh it's just a bunch of nerds huddling around a PC".
then you and the person move on with your life, and you enjoy ESPORTS for yourself.
Wow! I didn't realize how awesome the proleague entrances were! That is incredible. I hope SC2 gets to that point some day.
I love both those videos, but I think I'm thinking of something a little beyond that. Those both show how big the audience is, but they don't really show why the game is incredible or anything about the scene. I understand if people don't want to appreciate it they don't have to, but a lot of times I don't think people are given the choice. They are either slammed with too much information or not enough about it when people explain to them. The closest I've really seen to what I'm talking about is the Star Nation trailers. They show the crowd, they show the excitement, and they have incredible interviews. The only thing I would change would be to expand outside one event and show the scene and some history along with it.