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Absolutely great post, I love reading about and event from somebody involved in it. Dreamhack was a great event and you had a big part in making it such a cool experience.
I will never understand though what are the organizers thinking when they pick these absolutely horrific hosts. "We have 6 extremely well know figures in this community, let's call this random guy that has no clue about anything and have him piss off the crowd." It boggles my mind... I loved it when you started making fun of CoD, you kinda saved the situation, though you only reinforced the idea that he was completely out of place. The next 2 or 3 times he came out again I had to mute the stream sadly 
Also, that idea of a parallel stream of the couch discussion during the matches is pure gold, somebody should definitely do it in the future.
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What is it with Sean and malicious chairs anyway, he seems to have the worst luck in that regard.
Made me laugh so hard when I read it.
Good blog and keep up the good work. You totally deserve the cheers you get!
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Great blog post.
While you don't have much to offer as an analyst, your live audience management(HYPE) is easily the best out there right now, while some other casters in that event(I won't name who) are probably just as bad at it as you are at SC2. I hope they learned a lot from you, and vice versa, I hope you learned about the game from them.
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Philadelphia, PA10406 Posts
Great work throughout the tournament, I don't think I told you that in person, but I should've.
Your set-up on the floor was pretty awkward, tons of publicity, but hard to sit through for a lot of time. Those bleachers were also incredibly hard to sit on, maybe DH can invest in some cushions that make it easier to stay longer. Extremely well done at the finals ceremony, you saved it 100%.
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Great post TB. I think you did an amazing job at DH and I expect to see you at future tournaments.
Keep it up!
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You and dApollo did a great job at DH especially considering your location and the minor technical issues you had to work around. The first two days were the best time I've had watching a major esports tourney since djWheat and Sirscoots covered Devastation 2009, which was really entertaining. Just so much going on and so many games and groups to keep up to date with, which Apollo was doing really well, by checking liquipedia 
Great work!
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Well said, but this: " I often say that sportscasters would not be able to survive doing what we do and after this weekend I can safely say that I'm right."
Really? Why do people insist on belittling what others do? Did this point really add so much to your argument about the incredibly long hours casting?
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you sir have a sharp mind. I especially liked the last chapter.
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On November 29 2011 03:46 marktronic wrote:
Well said, but this: " I often say that sportscasters would not be able to survive doing what we do and after this weekend I can safely say that I'm right."
Really? Why do people insist on belittling what others do? Did this point really add so much to your argument about the incredibly long hours casting?
Of all the things, you found that offensive?
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Nice post and a good summary of a great tournament. Thanks TotalBiscuit, Apollo, Mr Bitter, Day[9], Artosis and Tasteless for the dedication and hard work. I enjoyed it a lot.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, great read.
Undoubtedly the skill on display was phenomenal but tell me, was that final good because the players were Korean or because of the story of those players?
I only quoted a small part of your argument here, but I feel like you're turning what should be a matter of personal opinion into an argument here. People watch Sc2 for very different reasons. Some are primarily interested in the game itself and the amount of skill involved while others (like you) watch for the excitement, the drama and the players. One way of enjoying Sc2 isn't superior to the other, so the opinion that a tournament needs a lot of code S players to be great isn't right or wrong, it's just a matter of personal preference. Me, I loved Dreamhack more than any other Sc2 tournament so far because of the Hero vs Puma story, but I usually don't invest myself that heavily into a player (Hero) if I'm not in love with their play and skill. And yes, having more Koreans usually makes a tournament more interesting for me.
There are times when I think it can be perceived that I'm ignoring Apollo's points, more often than not it's simply because his explanation is so thorough and accurate that I have no followup, though I'm starting to get better with being able to extrapolate his analysis with either a reinterpretation which is less technical for the more casual fans, a joke or an original theory of my own. Game knowledge building is still a slow process that is requiring a lot of work but I'm not really making the stupid mistakes I used to, at least not that I've noticed or that anyone seems able to point out specifically. Practice is still required and plenty of that will continue to happen with various engagements booked for the both of us. I think laddering more is helping, I used to hate playing but since I switched to Zerg I'm enjoying the game again and it also gives me an appreciation of the various macro mechanics and how important various things are which I didn't really have before.
It's great that you're laddering more, there's really no way around becoming a decent player if you want to have a good understanding of the game. I feel like you work together really well with Apollo. If I can make one suggestion, you still speak in absolutes too much. What I mean by that is that you say things like 'it's roaches vs stalkers, that's never a good situation for Protoss'. I guess your reasoning behind it is that you keep to straightforward analysis rather than getting into the territory of more subtle analysis that you have less confidence in, but the problem is things are rarely that clear-cut in Sc2. Roaches vs stalkers can both be terrible and great for Protoss depending on the situation. Anyway, it's a small thing and maybe this comes across as nitpicking more than anything.
Keep up the good work.
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TB about your casting:
It's gotten noticebly better; you're not making those dumb mistakes and hicups as you did half a year ago as well as your analysis is better and more accurate. Put it bluntly: you're no longer doing and saying things that a top level caster should not (things that are enough to make a viewer turn off the stream). Are you below the level of Day9, Tastosis, etc? Yes, but by how much is not important, you're very high enough that the commentary is great to listen.
Honestly, just keep improving: ironing out the few remaining caster mistakes, getting a lot more game knowledge and improving you personality. I am not shure you (or anyone) could get to Tastosis level without full dedication, but it's possible to get very high, very close.
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On November 29 2011 03:00 TotalBiscuit wrote: I would suggest every tournament take a serious look at a compressor in their production setup.
Absolutely! So many otherwise well-produced tournaments fall short in the sound department, although in general quality is getting better as SC2 grows.
I'm no sound engineer, but AFAIK there's good software out there (some of it free) to do stuff like mixing, equalization, compression, and de-essing in real time. It's a shame tournament organizers still don't spend more time/money on this part of the production, when it could enhance the viewer experience significantly.
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Huge respect for you TotalBiscuit, what you said was completely right.
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Thanks for the great blog post, TB.
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dApollo is the reason I wake up in the morning.
GOD is he Handsome
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"But it's not professional/it's cheesy!" some may cry, "how dare you compare our treasured eSport to wrestling!". Guys, you watch a game with giant tanks, fat floating space octopus and the machines from War of the Worlds, you're already occupying an entire universe of cheesy nonsense, embrace it.
In its most simplest stripped down form I suppose so however I do not watch Starcraft for those reasons. You see I actually play the game and I watch for strategy, decision making, the insane tactics that takes numerous amounts of practice to pull off. The graphics are just pieces on the board. These are the things that need to be emphasized to people. The last thing I want to see is my sport turned into a Nickelodeon kids show, or look anything like The CGS and finally fake, cheesy, trailer trash wrestling.
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I love the Photoshop cover. Too good and nice write-up.
Being on the couch is fine. Stop analyzing it too much! Just bring the laughter and your voice. You did a much better job than anyone else getting the crowd riled up than Day[9] and the other boys. That is a feat onto itself.
In other words, bring the boom.
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"Guys, you watch a game with giant tanks, fat floating space octopus and the machines from War of the Worlds, you're already occupying an entire universe of cheesy nonsense, embrace it." - TotalBiscuit keepin' it real
Don't worry TB, I'm sure your concerns will be addressed by the DH crew by the next event. Considering how kick-ass their events are, I'm sure they consider anything less than the best, a failure.
Thanks for the blog entry and thanks for the great work this past weekend. You, Tastosis, Day, Mr. Bitter, and especially dAppolo did a bang-up job.
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It doens't matter if you are not the best analyst among the casters, it doens't matter if you don't have the smartest thing to say between the games in the couch, you still belong there beacuse of ypur wonderfull personality. You maybee don't add so musch of knowledge as Day9, dApollo and the others did but you sure added joy and laughter to it. Don't undervalue your self in that regard that you don't belong there because you do! The entertaining value is rising A LOT when you are around. Just wanted to let you know that! <3
Really great job at Dreamhack! Keep it up!
And thank you for an awesome blog input.
<3<3
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EPT
