EPTI'd like to cover some main points first, and then I will just fire off some bullets of random things I noticed during the course of the event.
I started my day on 4 hours of sleep, taking the train 50 minutes from Boston to downtown Providence. The convention center was then a brisk 5 minute walk away. Of course I arrived at 8:00am hoping to beat the rush for main stage seats. Little did I know that the main stage matches started at 11:30...................
Anyways...
Capacity
This event was PACKED! Pretty much every aisle at the event was a traffic jam and it became extremely time consuming when moving from Point A to Point B. Luckily there is plenty to take in when walking around (For some reason, us nerds pull chicks. I saw a lot more gorgeous girls than I that I would, booth babes not included).
In terms of size, SC2 is absolutely huge. Half of the convention center was taken up by SC2 fans. I know Sundance has said the seating issue and other capacity issues will be addressed in 2012, but I really don't know how he will go about doing that short of splitting SC2 off into a separate venue. The game is just too big for MLG now.
With SC2 taking up half of the convention center, it was sad to see the LoL/CoD & Halo seating being half full (despite LoL having a surprisingly loud crowd relative to its size). Also, due to the team fields shrinking during the CoD & Halo tournies, half of their playing areas are opened up for free play when not in use. This is a good chunk of the arena that could be used for seating but is instead being used by teams of pre-teens shooting the shit playing Xbox. I definitely thought that could be improved.
SC2 at MLG really is a sight to behold. I was a good 50 yards from the main stage and the featured station was almost impossible to approach. I would also appreciate it if MLG put aisles between every SC2 row in their general staging area as fans are unable to watch players in the middle rows, having to stand 5-6 rows deep to watch the few players on the outside.
MLG also must be making a decent amount of money with all the merchandise they sell, on top of the $25 a head for a ticket.
NFL Syndrome
This NFL syndrome I am referencing is the recent trend where football fans have been staying home and watching games instead of buying tickets due to the viewing experience being improved at home (due to fantasy, cheap beers, no drunk fights, etc.)
The other day I made a post asking for advice while attending MLG. Someone referenced not wasting time sitting in the main stage seating as it essentially duplicates the stream experience. Now I know an internet stream is not the same as real life, but his advice did resonate with me. I only sat for a few matches and quickly walked around the convention floor, taking in Halo, CoD, and the sponsor booths. I am glad I did this as I really enjoyed myself and saw a lot of new things which I wouldn't have had I sat in my seat all day (which a lot of people do since they're obviously in high demand).
This got me to thinking that the MLG is going to have to stay ahead of the curve and keep thinking of ways to make attending MLG worth it, unlike the NFL. Obviously, I think this point is a little ahead of its time but the advice I received earlier got me to thinking. Sundance has a lot up his sleeve, such as the playing stations, FFA's, free stuff (moar plz), and the POV screens for SC2 (amazing addition IMO). Otherwise, I felt tempted to go home and watch all the games I was missing on the stream, including Tastosis who were not on the main stage until 5pm I think.
CoD, LoL & Halo
Having played CS 1.6 for a long time, I have a pretty strong disdain for console shooters. Having said that I was pretty impressed with the CoD and Halo tournies. I know they are crap FPS's and don't deserve to be played competitively, but we can talk about that later. The thing that caught my attention about these 2 games was the level of emotion with which the players played. Constantly, throughout the day you would hear a "LETS GO" from the CoD area or a "HELL YEAH" from the Halo section.
It was wildly entertaining watching the players' emotion take over (sometimes for the worse, see below).These games felt more personal and personable compared to the SC2 1v1 competitions (made even more tame due to South Korean culture). The worst thing we see in SC2 is Idra saying someone is bad in an interview and giving him the cold shoulder. In Halo I saw numerous people stand up, MID-GAME, and tell the other team to suck it. It was pretty intense, and while not appropriate for children obviously, I thought it added something.
While many of us may not like these games, it does bring in a different demographic (the macho college frat guy), and the more demographics the merrier.
I also believe that people will need to start accepting the fact that LoL is not going anywhere. I'm not sure what kind of stream numbers they're getting so far this tournament but it seems like LoL fans are both loyal and loud. I am extremely intrigued to see how DotA2 does against LoL, especially after seeing Riot throw even more support, aka $$$, behind the game. I just don't know how Valve can match that, and how players can walk away from that kind of prize money.
Random Musings
-Torch was in attendance. Caught him watching the general staging area with some smoking hot blonde in heels with a camera. I see you Torch!
-Incontrol is absolutely huge! I always knew he was big but for some reason, I assumed he was short. Well I'm a good 6'3", 210 lbs. and I walked behind him for a bit and he was at least as tall as me and twice as wide.
-While on the topic on Incontrol, it must take a lot of mental fortitude to sign autographs all day, especially after playing poorly. On one hand, if people don't want to sign (not saying he didn't) they shouldn't put themselves out there, but people are like rabid dogs when it comes to signing autographs. I saw multiple people ask players for autographs immediately after a loss, barely giving the player time to breath. That's in poor taste IMO.
-Anna, Inc's GF, is absolutely stunning. She is gorgeous in person, and has a magnetic aura about her when she's walking around. It could be her beautiful smile or the leopard print leggings she was wearing today
(I jest, I jest...)-We need more feature stations. At this rate, half of the SC2 games played should be played on feature stations.
-Fresh haircut Jinro!
-Halo teams have coaches?!?!?!
-Console gamers have ridiculous ID's...
-Cool booths and cooler booth babes o.O
-Nestea and PainUser are both really tall.
-I introduced a group of 6 men (in their 50's, were at a convention on the above floor) to MLG and the games involved. They wanted to know what was going on, what games were being played, and for what gaming systems. I assumed it was for their kids' but they told me they were all going to go on the MLG website right when they got home!!
-On that note, I can't even count how many times I heard someone explaining to a friend or acquaintance the nuances and rules of Starcraft. Truly great to see if we want SC2 to continue to grow.
-One weird thing I witnessed while observing Halo: There was this one player on the Halo Reach team "Relapse" that took the game way too seriously, and was frequently standing up midgame yelling "You fucking suck!", "Are you even playing?", "You guys blow" to the other team. Now it's one thing if the other team is good but they were getting wrecked. Here is a mid twenty year old man (on a team of same-aged guys) shit-talking a team of teenagers in a blowout. It was both a disturbing and humorous sight, plus the fact that there were multiple parents watching the match. I definitely sympathized with the teenage team of upstarts who were getting shit on by a team of 23 year olds in professional jerseys.
Anyways, sorry for the long blog! I'll add more if I think of it but I'm off to play some ladder after my motivational day.
P.S. Yes, crowd noise was subpar, although it definitely picked up when Boxer was on the main stage.
