I think your being a bit hard on yourself, with 13 hours days it's quite amazing you only missed 2 drops/battle. This isn't your fault, but a bad organization by the event. Just as some people only appreciate the play of Nestea and MVP, they also have unreasonably high expectations for casters... compared to most other games your casting is top level. I also think it would alienate a lot of (potential) viewers if the tournament would only have analytical casters.
I think two streams with casters having breaks would be the better choice. In the end i can only really watch one stream at a time anyway.

I totally agree on your point about the reactions on the list of attending players. I wouldn't like all the Korean code S players being shipped to every international event... it would kill international e-sports. I like the storyline of 'unknown' underdogs making a run in a tournament. I like the Korea vs the World storylines. I loved the line-up at dreamhack... All the players were pretty decent, unlike some of the players we got to watch during the open bracket of MLG providence. Dreamhack is a european tournament and one of the only tournaments we get to see our european talent. I love it!

I loved the couch during the finals. All the analyses was pretty neat. I don't think it's a problem to have 4 people on the couch, but each person needs to have a specific role... and it's not necessary to have all of them speak during each break. Similar to to talent shows on tv, they often have a 4 man jury, but only show 3 of them for each contestant.
Although the analyses was great, i missed a voice that put the games or situations into a historical perspective. Someone that knows how a players achievement relates to past events. Someone who know how a player usually copes with the stress of losing a game, being on the verge of elimination or being stressed by actually being one game away from winning a match. I think you could actually be the guy for that role.
Than again, i fully support your ambition to be the finals host/MC. I think that suits you perfectly. (Although I didn't have a problem with the host they used now, except for the Quake winner interview, which was kinda awkward.)

The power crane shots made by the swedish tv (Top 3 power crane control in the world!) were obviously better than the normal stream. I've been in an audiance once for a tv show which was far more deserted, but they have a lot of skill and experience in making it look like it's packed... this is something that can be improved upon.

Finally, the one thing that actually annoyed me (and has in a lot of previous tournements) is the award ceremony. Who ever thinks it's OK to have seated casters announce the prizes is an idiot, it just doesn't work. I believe, if you were the host the show, the award ceremony would be a lot more exciting and less awkward! I think ESWC had by far the best award ceremony this year for an international event. What they did isn't rocket science... i should be copy/pasted onto each event!

NeoDragon

United States15 Posts

November 28 2011 19:34 GMT

#103

Honestly I am not the biggest fan of Totalbiscut but after reading this I respect the guy a lot more. He admits that he does not know as much as the full time casters and I appreciate that he knows it and is not afraid to admit it. Great write up and because of this read I will be sure to watch more of your cast's. Keep up the good work!

Ph4ZeD

United Kingdom753 Posts

November 28 2011 19:36 GMT

#104

I watched a lot of Dreamhack Winter, and you were fantastic in it. Stop being so tough on yourself, Starcraft 2 is a huge game and theres space for lots of different casters with different styles. You can never please everyone and the best thing to do is post your articles/thoughts, and just ignore/dont look at the comments. Be true to yourself, not every internet douchebag.

Noxie

United States2227 Posts

November 28 2011 19:48 GMT

#105

You're doing fine bud.

dnld12

United States324 Posts

November 28 2011 19:54 GMT

#106

Keep it going TB keep it going. Good to see a Scholar out there.

Lucko

United States48 Posts

November 28 2011 19:54 GMT

#107

Couldnt agree more on the story part it makes the games so much more interesting then just code s in every tournament.

Tanuki

Russian Federation51 Posts

November 28 2011 19:54 GMT

#108

Keep up the gr8 work. You have improved and gained a certain synergy with dApollo over the last few months, which really shows in your casting. Just, yeah, keep focusing on your camera movement. It's become better but, as you point out, it must improve further.
Also, it is always nice to have a particular cynical European among the all-american top casters =)

P.S. You HAVE TO, imho, be on a couch, if you are not casting. Just try to keep it shorter than you did at DHW11.

Son of Gnome

United States777 Posts

November 28 2011 19:54 GMT

#109

is it bad that i read the whole thing in ur voice lol, great blog!

Stancel

Singapore15360 Posts

November 28 2011 19:57 GMT

#110

On November 29 2011 02:45 TotalBiscuit wrote:

Show nested quote +

I think Tastosis got less breaks, particularly in the first day where they completely skipped their lunchbreak due to the Goody match. We did spend a lot of our breaks signing, which can be a problem. I love doing it but sometimes it's best to take the Day9 approach and do all signing at a designated session.

When a friend told me about how long Goody's games were during DHW, I immediately thought of your Goody Median Time comment during DHS.

I'd love to see you blog about MLG next.

TensaiSakuragi

Croatia224 Posts

November 28 2011 19:58 GMT

#111

Good Job TB but I have to contradict one of your points: You DID belong to the eSports Sofa!

ceaRshaf

Romania4926 Posts

November 28 2011 19:58 GMT

#112

Awesome post TB. It's no problem to say what you felt bad about DH.

On future post please use more paragraphs please to make reading easier.

I agree a lot on the music, it sets an awesome mood and gets rhythm to the crowd.

Steel

Japan2283 Posts

November 28 2011 19:58 GMT

#113

Great blog.

I really do hope they implement the couch in other tournament for the very reason you mentionned.

Nimic

Norway1360 Posts

November 28 2011 19:59 GMT

#114

I have to admit, I was thinking the exact same thing as TB says here about the couch. He just didn't look altogether comfortable there, and anyone would feel tactically inadequate next to the guys he were with. He's the ultimate shoutcaster; he's not supposed to be very analytical.

I quite liked the idea of the couch, though. Even how it was implemented was pretty good, though as TB says maybe the numbers should be slightly lower.

All in all, a very good event. Truly magnificent stream quality and amount of content for something I didn't even pay for. If Dreamhack start adding more content for some sort of Premium stream, I am very likely to buy it.

Good job, TB! You're not always my favourite caster, but I always like you with Apollo. Was great to watch.

bobhund

Sweden364 Posts

November 28 2011 20:04 GMT

#115

Nice working with you this weekend, you are a true professional.

Kraww

Sweden10 Posts

November 28 2011 20:05 GMT

#116

You was great at that couch Total Biscuit! Don't belittle yourself by saying you had nothing to do there.

Great blog!

Mowr

Sweden791 Posts

November 28 2011 20:05 GMT

#117

Great points TB! I cearry don't think there is much more to add.

And I hope you get to enjoy some rest here in my home town. You probably chose the worst time to visit in the end of november (very wet, cold and dark) but if there is anything I could help you with, don't hesitate to drop me a note.

Cheers!

Deleted User 124618

1142 Posts

November 28 2011 20:06 GMT

#118

Excellent write-up.

I have to admit, I didn't watch as many your games as I would have liked. But the ones I watched you cast, I liked.

lightrise

United States1355 Posts

November 28 2011 20:09 GMT

#119

I totally agree. Write-ups like these are super. They are both useful for us to see the struggles of being a caster and some look at the behind-the-scenes from the event as well as some useful info for the event planners. They really need to start thinking about which games are their major games and begin to cater toward making that experience much better for their viewers and not trying to make the best viewing experience for the less watched games. It seems very inverted to do it this way. It was like how halo reach was when sc2 started to come on. They didn't understand their flagship game was sc2 not halo.

ceaRshaf

Romania4926 Posts

November 28 2011 20:10 GMT

#120

On November 29 2011 02:54 TotalBiscuit wrote:

Show nested quote +

And this just goes to show there is no pleasing some people.

Stop replying to every stupid post. I think you are hurting yourself by interacting too much with fans. Enjoy the break and do what you do best and hope that the majority of people will like it. As it is now, they do. Be happy!