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On State of the Game, The Executives, and many other podcasts, listeners are always told how StarCraft 2 is such a great a spectator sport. Then someone is bound to say that many people have stopped playing the game but still enjoy watching. I always found this to be an odd thought since I love playing, but also I feel that the game is incredibly complicated without first-hand knowledge. It always hurt my head to realize that people can follow builds and the flow of the game without having the actual experience of playing.
For myself, I am a player. Lately on ladder, I’ve been paralyzed in TvP by the threat of early pressure. 4Gate, 3 stalker pressure, and the dreaded immortal bust all scare me so bad. So when I got the opportunity to watch  PartinG attempt the immortal busts during MLG Spring Arena #1, I perked up. I wanted to see how to beat it.
BAH was my wingman for the MLG Arena weekend and he does not play. He watched the matches with me and was completely baffled by the immortal bust build. He tried to understand the build but called out the most random builds ever. And as I saw the 3gate robo drop down, I knew what was coming. I happily called out an immortal bust and he looked at me in incomprehension. As I watched Terran shut it down (I believe it was  MarineKing, but I’m not sure), BAH told me that he had never seen that build before and it surprised me. I told him it was pretty common on ladder, even at my level. Later in the tournament, I told BAH about a reaper/hellion build that I had watched Vile's  Illusion try on stream one day. And sure enough, I saw the build later in a crazy TvT (The game turned into a wild base race with a single banshee saving the day. I believe it was Heart vs GanZi?). Again, BAH had never seen the build ever and was entranced by the odd play. He only watches and follows the tournament scene, he doesn’t actually play. And that is completely fine, it just always throws me for a loop.
I think this mix of players and non-players provides great insight to how diverse our scene really is. There is room in the scene for casual fans and for players. Of course playing gives you a better appreciation of how hard it is to pull off the 1/1/1 all-in or to defend a 4gate. But SC2 is not impossible to follow. That being said, I still think every fan should play a few games. Even if it is a 4v4, you’ll get such a better feel for how the game works. It took me months of dedicated practice to finally develop a useful stutter-step. You can really relate to MKP as you see him dance to victory if you play.
To the fans out there who watch but don’t play, more power to you. It will forever boggle my mind how you guys/gals follow the game without playing; it’s amazing that it can be done.
 
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its like physical sports like american football. I bet a majority of spectators only see a single guy(quarterback) trying to get a ball across a field either by throwing or giving it to someone else. They can't see the subtle things the offensive players are doing to adjust to the defense and vice versa and thus not recognizing the extreme depth of the players' intelligence and athleticism. Starcraft is confusing, but it is certainly obvious when someone is winning when they just destroyed through someone's army. We have casters there to explain the subtle details that each player is doing to help those who don't really understand whats going on.
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I watch a lot of sc2 but play it rarely. I've found that just watching streams and youtube VODS has helped my scant play dramatically. Of course, there's nothing like first hand experience playing the game, bit I feel that I've a decent enough comprehension of basic BOs/counters/timings etc. Execution and fluidity, on the other hand, are entirely different things.
But yes, I'm happy enough as a spectator.
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I don't actually know anyone who only watches. Maybe the unexplored is what intrigues them along with the commentators that feed them information that they are unaware of. While the person who plays is just excited that they can incorporate some tactics into their gameplay or glad they don't have to play against some of those professionals who appear as unstoppable monsters lol.
GL with those immortal busts, I'm with you on that one O.o
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I don't really understand how people can be fans of the game when they don't play it. Myself, personally have zero interest in watching real sports simply because I don't play any.
I get my enjoyment from watching professionals play sc because I can study them and improve my own play.
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On April 30 2012 11:38 recklessfire wrote:
its like physical sports like american football. I bet a majority of spectators only see a single guy(quarterback) trying to get a ball across a field either by throwing or giving it to someone else. They can't see the subtle things the offensive players are doing to adjust to the defense and vice versa and thus not recognizing the extreme depth of the players' intelligence and athleticism. Starcraft is confusing, but it is certainly obvious when someone is winning when they just destroyed through someone's army. We have casters there to explain the subtle details that each player is doing to help those who don't really understand whats going on.
I actually wanted to talk about casters and their role but I felt that might be another article. I think casters do help, but only up to a certain point. I've never played American football but I bet I'd appreciate the skill a quarterback has way more if I played a few games at the position. I can only listen to John Madden stutter so many times before I ignore him. Or i hear every cliche catchphrase ever and tune it out.
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On April 30 2012 11:58 CPTBadAss wrote:Show nested quote +On April 30 2012 11:38 recklessfire wrote:
its like physical sports like american football. I bet a majority of spectators only see a single guy(quarterback) trying to get a ball across a field either by throwing or giving it to someone else. They can't see the subtle things the offensive players are doing to adjust to the defense and vice versa and thus not recognizing the extreme depth of the players' intelligence and athleticism. Starcraft is confusing, but it is certainly obvious when someone is winning when they just destroyed through someone's army. We have casters there to explain the subtle details that each player is doing to help those who don't really understand whats going on. I actually wanted to talk about casters and their role but I felt that might be another article. I think casters do help, but only up to a certain point. I've never played American football but I bet I'd appreciate the skill a quarterback has way more if I played a few games at the position. I can only listen to John Madden stutter so many times before I ignore him. Or i hear every cliche catchphrase ever and tune it out.
john madden has been retired for like 5 years at least, where have you been
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On April 30 2012 11:58 CPTBadAss wrote:Show nested quote +On April 30 2012 11:38 recklessfire wrote:
its like physical sports like american football. I bet a majority of spectators only see a single guy(quarterback) trying to get a ball across a field either by throwing or giving it to someone else. They can't see the subtle things the offensive players are doing to adjust to the defense and vice versa and thus not recognizing the extreme depth of the players' intelligence and athleticism. Starcraft is confusing, but it is certainly obvious when someone is winning when they just destroyed through someone's army. We have casters there to explain the subtle details that each player is doing to help those who don't really understand whats going on. I actually wanted to talk about casters and their role but I felt that might be another article. I think casters do help, but only up to a certain point. I've never played American football but I bet I'd appreciate the skill a quarterback has way more if I played a few games at the position. I can only listen to John Madden stutter so many times before I ignore him. Or i hear every cliche catchphrase ever and tune it out.
you know, ive been thinking it over and probably at one point almost all the spectators for american football has played football at least once, even if it was flag football during high school gym class or something. Maybe that makes it that much easier to watch pro football for them?
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you dont have to be a fan of a sport to enjoy watching it. take MMA for example. i highly doubt there are more than 5% of the audience who are actually amateur fighters
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Competitive people can watch anything and with enough time they can pick up on subtleties. I'm an avid football/soccer fan and I've played since I was 6 or 7 so when I watch the sport with someone who hasn't played before I have more inside knowledge right away. However, I love watching hockey...the sport is amazingly quick and requires a ton of dexterity/skill to be good at. Just by watching hockey, I've started to pick up on details that I used to miss. I never played the sport but there are always things I can learn just by being an observer.
Football matches aren't exciting to someone who wants to see big numbers on the scoreboard (most of the time at least) but the build up play and positional fluidity creates something that is truly dynamic. Starcraft is the same way...you only need to understand the basics to start. As you see more and more of the game's depth you begin to understand how simple actions trigger much larger events. This is what draws people...not necessarily the sport itself. People with a competitive nature that delve into Starcraft at all tend to be drawn to the depth and skill even if they don't play themselves. I would think that most people would play at some point if it interested them but I guess there are some people who are content to watch and enjoy it without participating.
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On April 30 2012 13:09 Coramoor wrote:Show nested quote +On April 30 2012 11:58 CPTBadAss wrote:On April 30 2012 11:38 recklessfire wrote:
its like physical sports like american football. I bet a majority of spectators only see a single guy(quarterback) trying to get a ball across a field either by throwing or giving it to someone else. They can't see the subtle things the offensive players are doing to adjust to the defense and vice versa and thus not recognizing the extreme depth of the players' intelligence and athleticism. Starcraft is confusing, but it is certainly obvious when someone is winning when they just destroyed through someone's army. We have casters there to explain the subtle details that each player is doing to help those who don't really understand whats going on. I actually wanted to talk about casters and their role but I felt that might be another article. I think casters do help, but only up to a certain point. I've never played American football but I bet I'd appreciate the skill a quarterback has way more if I played a few games at the position. I can only listen to John Madden stutter so many times before I ignore him. Or i hear every cliche catchphrase ever and tune it out. john madden has been retired for like 5 years at least, where have you been
You know, playing StarCraft.
On April 30 2012 14:21 recklessfire wrote:Show nested quote +On April 30 2012 11:58 CPTBadAss wrote:On April 30 2012 11:38 recklessfire wrote:
its like physical sports like american football. I bet a majority of spectators only see a single guy(quarterback) trying to get a ball across a field either by throwing or giving it to someone else. They can't see the subtle things the offensive players are doing to adjust to the defense and vice versa and thus not recognizing the extreme depth of the players' intelligence and athleticism. Starcraft is confusing, but it is certainly obvious when someone is winning when they just destroyed through someone's army. We have casters there to explain the subtle details that each player is doing to help those who don't really understand whats going on. I actually wanted to talk about casters and their role but I felt that might be another article. I think casters do help, but only up to a certain point. I've never played American football but I bet I'd appreciate the skill a quarterback has way more if I played a few games at the position. I can only listen to John Madden stutter so many times before I ignore him. Or i hear every cliche catchphrase ever and tune it out. you know, ive been thinking it over and probably at one point almost all the spectators for american football has played football at least once, even if it was flag football during high school gym class or something. Maybe that makes it that much easier to watch pro football for them?
Yeah, I personally appreciate the skill that goes into football way more because I did play some flag football in school.
On April 30 2012 15:33 BlackGosu wrote:
you dont have to be a fan of a sport to enjoy watching it. take MMA for example. i highly doubt there are more than 5% of the audience who are actually amateur fighters
I'm just saying that it's easier to understand SC2 if you're a player. Just my own opinion. And with MMA, I think everyone can relate to getting punched/kicked...it's bound to have happened once in your life 
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On April 30 2012 15:33 BlackGosu wrote:
you dont have to be a fan of a sport to enjoy watching it. take MMA for example. i highly doubt there are more than 5% of the audience who are actually amateur fighters
But punching someone in the face is something we all understand. Fighting games are easier to follow than starcraft 2, the life bar make sure of that.
This issue comes up every time who don't play SC2 watch it. The hardest thing to understand for them in an all-in, in my opinion. Only with really deep game knowlage can you tell that an all-in is coming. But American Football has similar issues, with some people being able to call the play before the ball is snapped and others who figure out what was going on after the tackle. People just need to learn how to explain that to their buddy who does not play in 2-3 sentences or less. Don't use units or the word economy. Also, saying "he is going 'all-in', like poker" helps.
Immortal bust: "He is cutting corners and going to try to kick in the terrans door before he is ready for a full fight. But he is spending so much on this that he cannot recover if it fails."
Baneling bust: "He is cutting corners and going to try to kick in the terrans door before he is ready for a full fight. He is going to get these little bombs to blow up the bunkers. But they cost a lot and he won't be able to come back if he fails."
And so on.
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For me, I lost significant interest watching professional Starcraft 2 matches and tournaments after I stopped playing. For me, I was motivated to watch because I could probably apply what I saw to how I played in future SC2 matches and it was a great supplement to my SC2 experience.
However, once I stopped playing, the thought "I should rather be playing than watching a video game" kept drilling into the mind to the point that I hardly pay attention to the SC2 scene anymore.
Someone brought up that for sports like Football, Soccer, Baseball, etc., most viewers hardly play these sports, but I think this statement is irrelevant for SC2 and e-sports in general, as of right now at least. E-sports isn't at the status of these professional physical sports where the latter has become a dominant cultural, traditional, and social aspect of lives of many. Also, video games still have a negative social stigma depending on what you play and how long you play, unlike sports. It's even more negative for those who watch video games as a sport.
Instead, we're a minority among most gaming communities where the statement "I'd rather be playing a video game than watching it" is something that a true hardcore gamer would be proud to say. Unfortunately, I'd have to agree with the statement as well.
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EPT
