EPTMany people have said that 2011 was the biggest year for eSports and the starcraft II community development. In the past 365 days the community has rapidly expanded: new pro-teams have formed, more big money tournaments, more foreign tournaments, more foreigners competing toe to toe with Koreans, new casters, new players, new fans, and so much more. What does this mean for the gamer who is on the verge of becoming a pro, or even the average, casual gamer? Most parents and friends, like mine, will say that gaming is still a waste of time. They will say it isn't worth pursuing because it is difficult to break into the scene, and even more difficult to make money at it. I will never be a pro-gamer like Huk, Boxer, or Leenock, but why should a casual gamer be frowned upon for wanting to improve? So what if you never reach grandmaster; if you enjoy the simple act of playing ladder games, it shouldn't matter.
We are told from a very young age to do what you want, no matter what. It is ingrained in the Western society and drilled into us from parents, peers, and teachers. If you are truly passionate about something, whether it is gaming, football, music, drama, or even basket weaving, you will find a way to incorporate that into your life. If you want.
So what if your parents do not approve? Screw them. So what if your friends tease you for being a gamer? Just get new friends! That is the advice I have received on several occasions. Life is never so black and white as that. Like many others I hold my parent's approval in extremely high regard. Though my friends do not understand the gaming community, they are nice, fun people. I will not simply abandon my friends because they do not understand the gamer aspect of me. Not to mention that many gamers are notorious for being socially awkward and shy. Sometimes making friends is not as simple running down to the 7/11 and picking up some new ones. I strongly suggest that you do not look for new friends at the 7/11 because those guys are usually homeless, crazy, or about to rob the place (or some combination of the three).
Often times friends do not understand how awesome gaming is because they have not tried it. I would suggest that you invite a friend to play a game or two with you (maybe not sc2 because it's fairly complex), try Halo, CoD, WoW, etc. One of my best friends never understood why I spent so much time playing games, until he started playing Halo online. Now he is introducing me to new and amazing games. Not everyone will be as open-minded as Matt, but it's worth a try. Gaming can be a little too much awesome for some people to handle, so try and be respectful and don't force it on them.
When I was in high school a lot of my close friends teased me when they found out that I was a closet gamer. Especially in high school, people do not understand that it can be hurtful when they tease you about something you love. Sometimes this can be fixed by a simple "hey, that's not cool". Too bad most guys don't speak up, because they do not want to portray themselves as an oversensitive pussy who can't take a joke (not that this is how it would be perceived). Which brings me to my next point; sometimes your friends are just being playful when they tease you for being a geek/nerd/dork.
As a direct result of my friend's comments, I hid a prominent part of who I was from my peers. This ruined a lot of high school because I did not feel comfortable telling my friends that I loved video games. I was even less comfortable with finding new friends, my high school was very clique oriented. I cannot emphasize how important it is to be yourself, regardless of what others think (I know, cheesy, but true). It took a long time for me to build up my self-confidence to a point where I was comfortable with making new friends.
I spent years trying to hide who I was, until I made a discovery about some of my high school friends. I realized that many of my friends were not being playful when they teased me about beign a gamer. They had no desire to try any video games (not even Mario Kart). It is narrow-minded people like this who helped me draw a line between being understanding, and understanding that I needed a few new friends.
It took me a very long time to gain some real perspective on what a true friend is. Defining what a friend should be is something I will work on for the rest of my life, but I'm happy with what I have so far. A true friend will be supportive and understanding of your passions regardless of whether theirs line up with yours. It is always nice to have friends who enjoy the same things as you (especially in gaming), so you can discuss it; this is why the gaming community exists (this does not include trolls, ignore them to the best of your ability). I will definitely be expanding on this more in the future, so keep an eye out.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the parentals. Keep in mind that my parents are no longer as big of an influence on what I do, because I don't live with them anymore. Despite this, I still crave my parent's approval, especially my father's. I'm sure a therapist would have a field day with that one, but I digress. There is no universal solution for parents who do not approve of gaming. For me, pretending that I was not a gamer worked really well. I do not suggest it, it sucks growing up like that. Parents tend to be pretty relentless in their ways, mostly because they have more life experience than we do. One of the major influenced on why parents do not approve of gaming as a legitimate pastime/profession is because they did not have a community like ours when they grew up. There is nothing that has ever existed before now that is comparable to the eSports community, because of the technological advances the world has made even in the past 20 years. A good way of approaching this kind of parent is by gradually warming them up to the idea of gaming is by bragging about it. I suggest using things like:
- $100 000 tournaments.
- People like Desrow who stream for a living (before he got picked up by Legion).
- Casters like JP McDaniel who started in World of Warcraft and is now a major figure in the community for State of the Game and shoutcasting.
- djWheat who supports his family with casting and streaming (show a picture of how adorable miniwheat is, it'll probably win mom over).
- Players who are paid to travel around the world and see countries like Sweden, USA, and South Korea.
- Players like Huk and Idra who are given the opportunity to learn about the Eastern culture by training in South Korea. Not to mention developing international relations through partnering teams like Evil Geniuses and SlayerS.
- Anna Prosser, a casual gamer who is the in house manager at the EG Lair. Her charismatic personality and passion found her a place doing interviews and hosting IPL.
- Who can forget Day9 who is respected by Forbes as one of the top 30 under 30 entertainers? He also makes a living (mostly) because of his exuberant personality.
These are just a few examples of how awesome the gaming community is and why your parents should love it. I'd also suggest trying "I enjoy gaming and I hope you will support me in my endeavours". Just remember that inside every gamer is more awesome than the average person. Don't be afraid to celebrate it, even if some people can't handle how awesome you are.
Gaming is slowly but surely becoming more mainstream and it is only going up from here. I am so thankful to have been part of the eSports and gaming community for 2011. I am beyond excited to see what 2012 has in store.
Thanks for reading,
Zenobia <3
PS Don't forget to comment. Try and keep your criticism constructive.
