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[Author's note: I've written this article after doing some long contemplation on the subject of shoutcasting in StarCraft 2. My aim is not to tear anyone down or make anyone look bad, but rather to create a discussion around the topic of how to improve this particular aspect of SC2 esports production. This is one of the first op/eds I've written in regards to eSports (so please be gentle) and I look forward to considering your feedback. Comments/questions/qwements/swears can be directed towards me on twitter (@sinistarlives) so please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!  ]
INTRO
One of the most ubiquitous components of professional StarCraft 2 matches is the commentary. For better or for worse, shoutcasters bring a key missing piece to what is otherwise a fairly mechanical and emotionless activity (playing Starcraft 2): a human element. While I, as an active player who is familiar with the current metagame, the people involved, and the strategy underlying in-game decisions may be able to sit and enjoy a commentary-free VoD of a high-level StarCraft game between top players (and I might even prefer to do so if I feel negatively about whoever is casting it), people who are unfamiliar with key terms and ideas will feel more comfortable watching (and more inclined to come back) if they have a friendly, familiar voice guiding them through the match.
Many people in the scene have expressed concerns about the 'cult of personality' surrounding particular SC2 shoutcasters and the disparity between their paychecks and those earned by top players, but like it or not, shoutcasters play an important role in building eSports and spreading it to a larger audience. We would not be where we are today without them.
I've recently been feeling that casting has become rather stagnant in terms of the variety of voices and styles that the different commentators bring to the table (perhaps due to the riskiness associated with casters trying new things -- no one wants to be the subject of a negative Reddit post) but I have some ideas for casters, tournament organizers, as well as viewers, about what we can all do to make sure casting keeps getting better. I've outlined a few below, and would love to hear your input and ideas.
How can we improve shoutcasting in SC2?
For casters:
- Commit to constantly improving.
There is a feeling among many that some casters are coasting through too many of their games, apparently secure in their position based on community loyalty (and/or indifference) and the apparent difficult leagues have with replacing their talent. I'll get into this more specifically later, but casters are a renewable resource, and every day we see more and more amateur casters getting into the scene. Sure, right now, few of them are achieving any sort of substantial success (thanks in large part to the softline 'nepotism' prevalent in existing caster/league relationships) but this will inevitably change as eSports grows and demand increases. If you're a Wolf or a Doa you shouldn't feel 100% secure in your position (though I think both of them are doing a great job), you should feel under constant pressure to improve before you are replaced by the new up and comers who are figuring out newer and better casting styles. This is how highly competitiveness industries grow, so get used to it, because we'll be seeing a lot more of it in the coming years.
- Predict, but don't presume.
We see this time and time again and its embarassing for everyone when it happens. The game is starting to heat up, the protoss busts up the ramp towards the Terran bunkers and the caster shouts: "Will he force field?" The protoss doesn't, backs out, and the pressure is held, and there's an awkward laugh from the caster as he tries to rationalize why the game went differently than they anticipated. It could have been a simple mistake (which most casters usually write it off as) or it could have been part of an elaborate strategy to save sentry energy for the next attack wave. Call out clear and obvious mistakes when you see them, but don't assume you know the game better than the players do. It makes players look silly and it makes you look like an ass.
- Respect the players.
As a caster you may feel your job is more important or difficult than professional StarCraft players, but unfortunately this is the eSports industry, not the shoutcasting industry. We're here to see them, and if we happen to like you, well, that's just a bonus. You may have personal feelings about individual players and their behavior in and outside the game, but save it for State of the Game. While a match is going on, the only thing that matters is the game at hand. This is also known as 'professionalism'.
- Don't talk down to the audience.
During downtime it may be tempting to overexplain basic mechanics to 'newer viewers', but a sizable portion of the people watching the GSL or MLG live are already die hard fans who already know about worker splits and build orders. Feel free to talk ABOUT these mechanics (ie: discuss how one player splits compared to the other), but don't condescend and bore us with minutae that we already know. Save that for the people making youtube tutorials and strategy write ups on TL. You don't see NFL commentators explaining how punts work every time a team has to kick it away.
- Stop repeating yourself.
Tasteless, we know the fourth base on Antiga is hard to take for Zerg. Come up with a new idea. Give me insight I haven't heard 100 times already, from you and others. Khaldor and Apollo deserve special credit for being extra prepared with knowledge relevant to each matchup before the game begins. If you're a caster and you're showing up to do your job without having spent several hours researching the players and strategies you expect to see that day, well, frankly, you're not doing your job correctly.
- Dress for success.
We've seen this pop up from time to time in the past but it bears repeating, especially since nerds as a group have such poor fashion sense. If you're a caster on camera, you are representing eSports and StarCraft 2 to everyone that may happen to be watching. While your average StarCraft fan may not particularly care about the attire of whoever happens to be shoutcasting a given match, some people will. You need to look clean and professional in order to be taken seriously in this world, so put some effort into your appearance. Take some pride in dressing up. Shave your neckbeard and get a haircut. Make sure you get enough sleep before your casts (trust me, we can tell when you were up laddering all night).
At the minimum, get a suit and a nice button up shirt. Ties are a bonus. (Ask the women in your life for help with this if you're still unsure. )
- Don't read the on-screen graphics to us.
If the data on screen is so complicated that it requires 100% of Artosis's brainpower to break it down for us (and even then, sometimes that isn't enough), then the data isn't being represented very well. The point of a graph should be to quickly and conveniently display pertinent information in a concise fashion, not give your casters something to read while they wait for the match to start. In other cases, such as GSL's W/L stats at the bottom of the screen in the middle of the match, you can safely gloss over these. We can read! We understand 5W1L is better than 3W6L. It doesn't need lengthy analysis or a judgement of what is statistically significant. Remember in school when you had to make powerpoint presentations? Don't just read your slides to us.
- Get a thicker skin.
There will always be haters. You can't get your panties in a knot every time some asshole on twitter gives you shit. Consider where they are coming from, and think about what you can do better, but don't dramabomb out every time someone says something that hurts your feelings. Part of being a community shoutcaster means being in the public eye, and if you can't handle that, then you probably should do something else.
For league owners/tournament organizers:
- Expand your casting roster.
It's absurd that Wolf is casting 7 hours straight, alone, because 75% of GOM's casting staff is overseas. He's doing a good job toughing it out, but it makes for terrible television. Rotate casters in and out more frequently during longer events like MLG or Dreamhack. If you only have 2 casters working 10 hour days, how are they ever doing to find the time to improve?
- Give upcoming talent some time in the spotlight.
We've reached the point where we have about a dozen primary shoutcasters carrying the entire industry. While this is all well and good, there will come a time when Day9 and Tastosis are either no longer able or willing to cast every single MLG, et al. If this industry is really going to last, we need to continually introduce new talent to supplement the existing roster. The more people getting into casting, the more competitive it will be, and the more incentive existing casters will have to continually improve. MLG deserves some accolades for giving their less well known casters opportunities to get some feedback and experience on their premium streams. The audience is willing to give new people a chance. MLG's Clutch is a great example of this. (Dat robot!) Don't be afraid!
- Grow a spine and stand behind your casters.
This ties back into my previous point. We've seen in the past that certain shoutcasters have been essentially run out of the industry by the community, because the leagues have felt pressure from public opinion, but at the end of the day the general public doesn't run your league, you do. The fact that most casters are more afraid of anonymous reddit posts than their own bosses is a sad state of affairs and you should take some power back into your hands. Be more aggressive in searching out new casting talent, and when you find someone that looks promising, make sure they get a fair shot at it. No one ever became really good at shoutcasting overnight, it takes time. If it looks like they are under performing, help them get better. Make sure your casters are all communicating and working together, even off camera. If you don't have enough time to do all this or figure out what makes a good shoutcaster, hire someone who does. If you don't, you're going to eat shit when the other leagues beat you to it.
- Experiment with mixing casting styles and arrangements.
We've seen the two-man casting duo become the Gold standard for SC2 shoutcasting because it appears to work so well, perhaps even too well, because no one appears to want to even give any other format a try. Solo casts are obviously much more difficult for the casters and perhaps too taxing on the voice (it took Tasteless 2+ years to get his voice back from his early days at GOM), but what about three casters? What if you had one (ex)pro-player, one analyst, and one hype man? What if each them played a different race so you got the full breadth of experience? Maybe it would work, and maybe it wouldn't, but to paraphrase White-Ra, you have to fail before you can succeed, and variety is the spice of life.
For viewers:
- Give feedback, but don't be an asshole about it.
The community is pretty polarized when it comes to this, and I can't think of a good reason why. Most people are either in love with a given caster and feel he can do no wrong, or they hate him and are actively trying to get them fired. Stop it. Neither of these are good for the scene or the profession. What you need to do is think critically and give well thought out feedback. It's hard to communicate complicated ideas in 140 characters, but try. Send them an email if you have a lot to say or write a blog post to help your ideas get some traction.
- Be open to new approaches.
The general consensus seems to be that if it were possible, the community would prefer it if Tastosis casted every single competitive StarCraft 2 match that is played. Obviously, this is impossible for practical reason, but it's also bad for the scene. Most people casting today have a style which is very clearly trying to imitate either an Artosis or Tasteless style of shoutcasting, because this model has been proven to work. Wouldn't you like to see some innovation? Wouldn't that be exciting if someone came along and started shoutcasting in a style that we haven't seen as much of (Pomf et Thud from Iron Squid comes to mind)? Wouldn't it make Nick and Dan's casts that much more meaningful, if every other caster out there wasn't just trying to bite their styles?
OUTRO
As I mentioned, my intent with writing this article is not to call anyone out or start any witchhunts. In my opinion, we are very lucky to have such talented and dedicated community members working to build esports. However, I don't feel I'm alone in feeling that some improvements can be made by everyone involved (casters, tourney orgs, and viewers alike) to make sure we're not rehashing the same old thing over and over. I want to help eSports continue to grow and get better, unfortunately I'm terrible at public speaking or else I'd try to get into casting myself, so I decided to write this article instead. 
Thank you for reading all this, and please let me know what you think, or if you have any other ideas about how to improve casting in the industry. Please try to be respectful.
GLHF,
- Sinistar
EDIT: Upvote this on reddit so more people can see, if you feel so inclined.
 
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5/5.
I definitely think the casting scene is a bit stagnant, and it'd be nice to see some new faces. Unfortunately, being a very good caster takes a lot of experience, but to get a lot of experience you need to be a good caster. And now that we have our dozen or so accepted casters that you mentioned, that cycle can make it tough for a rookie to break into the scene.
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Almost your entire piece is based off incorrect assumptions and false pretenses. The biggest one that most people miss:
There is ALWAYS more casual viewers compared to the hardcore ones, your entire piece assumes the opposite.
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On June 13 2012 03:58 ClysmiC wrote:
5/5.
I definitely think the casting scene is a bit stagnant, and it'd be nice to see some new faces. Unfortunately, being a very good caster takes a lot of experience, but to get a lot of experience you need to be a good caster. And now that we have our dozen or so accepted casters that you mentioned, that cycle can make it tough for a rookie to break into the scene.
I wish more of these new casters would get a chance. There are far too many people casting big events that don't deserve it. They aren't pro players or never have been. They don't cast full-time. They probably don't even play the game very often or watch replays. Yet they keep showing up to events because they already have the connections 
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On June 13 2012 04:00 Diamond wrote:
Almost your entire piece is based off incorrect assumptions and false pretenses. The biggest one that most people miss:
There is ALWAYS more casual viewers compared to the hardcore ones, your entire piece assumes the opposite.
That's an interesting idea. Do you have any source to some actual data on this?
Even if you are correct, I don't feel that invalidates my entire article. You may feel babying the audience is the best way to keep them watching, but I still think there may be a better way to introduce casual viewers to StarCraft 2 than by rehashing basic mechanics in the middle of a GSL final. Hopefully this is something we can discover with more discussion, but if you feel differently, I am sorry to have offended you. ;(
My personal experience path with StarCraft 2 went something like this: played/watch BW casually -> played SC2 semi-competively -> watched Day9/Husky/etc videos to learn to get better -> become exposed to 'professional players' via those youtube VoDs -> discovered tournaments those pro players compete in -> actively watch MLG/GSL/etc.
I'd be interested to know how many other people followed this similar path; if its a majority, then most people (like me) already know most of the important things you need to know about Starcraft in order to watch, so spending any amount of time rehashing the basics is basically dead air. Should we pander to 'new viewers' during major tournaments to make sure they stick around, or focus on the die hard fans who are the ones who are actually shelling out money for the HD passes to make sure they get the best bang for their buck? You could probably make a case for both sides, but that's essentially what I hope to be discussing here.
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On June 13 2012 04:04 Backpack wrote:Show nested quote +On June 13 2012 03:58 ClysmiC wrote:
5/5.
I definitely think the casting scene is a bit stagnant, and it'd be nice to see some new faces. Unfortunately, being a very good caster takes a lot of experience, but to get a lot of experience you need to be a good caster. And now that we have our dozen or so accepted casters that you mentioned, that cycle can make it tough for a rookie to break into the scene. I wish more of these new casters would get a chance. There are far too many people casting big events that don't deserve it. They aren't pro players or never have been. They don't cast full-time. They probably don't even play the game very often or watch replays. Yet they keep showing up to events because they already have the connections
That's the idea I was getting at when I mentioned 'nepotism'. I have a suspicion that there are some really talented community casters out there who are finding it impossible to break into the mainstream casting roster because our existing casters are so entrenched in the system and this worries me greatly. ;( Again, I have no designs on getting anyone fired or replaced, but then again, I don't want the scene to get held back because any call for reform gets labeled as a 'witch hunt' and isn't taken seriously.
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On June 13 2012 04:05 SinistarLives wrote:Show nested quote +On June 13 2012 04:00 Diamond wrote:
Almost your entire piece is based off incorrect assumptions and false pretenses. The biggest one that most people miss:
There is ALWAYS more casual viewers compared to the hardcore ones, your entire piece assumes the opposite. That's an interesting idea. Do you have any source to some actual data on this? Even if you are correct, I don't feel that invalidates my entire article. You may feel babying the audience is the best way to keep them watching, but I still think there may be a better way to introduce casual viewers to StarCraft 2 than by rehashing basic mechanics in the middle of a GSL final. Hopefully this is something we can discover with more discussion, but if you feel differently, I am sorry to have offended you. ;( My personal experience path with StarCraft 2 went something like this: played/watch BW casually -> played SC2 semi-competively -> watched Day9/Husky/etc videos to learn to get better -> become exposed to 'professional players' via those youtube VoDs -> discovered tournaments those pro players compete in -> actively watch MLG/GSL/etc. I'd be interested to know how many other people followed this similar path; if its a majority, then most people (like me) already know most of the important things you need to know about Starcraft in order to watch, so spending any amount of time rehashing the basics is basically dead air. Should we pander to 'new viewers' during major tournaments to make sure they stick around, or focus on the die hard fans who are the ones who are actually shelling out money for the HD passes to make sure they get the best bang for their buck? You could probably make a case for both sides, but that's essentially what I hope to be discussing here.
Yes the millions of people that have visited my channel who don't know who any korean players are, what game this even is ("What game is this?" is one of the most common questions), who the casters are, or anything else. This is true in every sport ever as well.
The only difference with traditional sports is that they have 100's of years of history. So most people may not know what a 4-3 Defense is in American Football, but they know the basics (d00d with the ball is important). Also the sports have clear goals that are very apparent (basketball nets, endzones, etc) so they don't need the basics explained, because people can use the little bit of knowledge they have and the visual indicators to put the rest together.
Starcraft has none of these things, it has a non-existent history from a competitive standpoint until just now, is not a part of regular culture, and is very unclear on what is happening (whats those blue crystal things? what about those flying crabs? who wins? how?).
Also new sports do the babying thing as well, look at MMA (the sport). At the start of every UFC broadcast they go over the rules and ways to win. Why? Because even though fighting it very basic it's not visually clear on how judging works, or what is or is not allowed. Joe Rogan frequently explains the most basic things of MMA like the different guards, basic submission names, very basic shit. At times when they need to get in deep analysis they do, and that's the style I sort of feel like Starcraft has.
Let's just put it this way: You take you parent to a basketball game and a Starcraft II tournament (assuming they know nothing about either), which one will they figure out faster? Of course basketball, they can see the baskets with the hoop, see the ball, and all of a sudden 2 and 2 is 4. They won't be able to do that with SC2.
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On June 13 2012 04:29 Diamond wrote:Show nested quote +On June 13 2012 04:05 SinistarLives wrote:On June 13 2012 04:00 Diamond wrote:
Almost your entire piece is based off incorrect assumptions and false pretenses. The biggest one that most people miss:
There is ALWAYS more casual viewers compared to the hardcore ones, your entire piece assumes the opposite. That's an interesting idea. Do you have any source to some actual data on this? Even if you are correct, I don't feel that invalidates my entire article. You may feel babying the audience is the best way to keep them watching, but I still think there may be a better way to introduce casual viewers to StarCraft 2 than by rehashing basic mechanics in the middle of a GSL final. Hopefully this is something we can discover with more discussion, but if you feel differently, I am sorry to have offended you. ;( My personal experience path with StarCraft 2 went something like this: played/watch BW casually -> played SC2 semi-competively -> watched Day9/Husky/etc videos to learn to get better -> become exposed to 'professional players' via those youtube VoDs -> discovered tournaments those pro players compete in -> actively watch MLG/GSL/etc. I'd be interested to know how many other people followed this similar path; if its a majority, then most people (like me) already know most of the important things you need to know about Starcraft in order to watch, so spending any amount of time rehashing the basics is basically dead air. Should we pander to 'new viewers' during major tournaments to make sure they stick around, or focus on the die hard fans who are the ones who are actually shelling out money for the HD passes to make sure they get the best bang for their buck? You could probably make a case for both sides, but that's essentially what I hope to be discussing here. Yes the millions of people that have visited my channel who don't know who any korean players are, what game this even is ("What game is this?" is one of the most common questions), who the casters are, or anything else. This is true in every sport ever as well. The only difference with traditional sports is that they have 100's of years of history. So most people may not know what a 4-3 Defense is in American Football, but they know the basics (d00d with the ball is important). Also the sports have clear goals that are very apparent (basketball nets, endzones, etc) so they don't need the basics explained, because people can use the little bit of knowledge they have and the visual indicators to put the rest together. Starcraft has none of these things, it has a non-existent history from a competitive standpoint until just now, is not a part of regular culture, and is very unclear on what is happening (whats those blue crystal things? what about those flying crabs? who wins? how?). Also new sports do the babying thing as well, look at MMA (the sport). At the start of every UFC broadcast they go over the rules and ways to win. Why? Because even though fighting it very basic it's not visually clear on how judging works, or what is or is not allowed. Joe Rogan frequently explains the most basic things of MMA like the different guards, basic submission names, very basic shit. At times when they need to get in deep analysis they do, and that's the style I sort of feel like Starcraft has. Let's just put it this way: You take you parent to a basketball game and a Starcraft II tournament (assuming they know nothing about either), which one will they figure out faster? Of course basketball, they can see the baskets with the hoop, see the ball, and all of a sudden 2 and 2 is 4. They won't be able to do that with SC2.
Okay, I can agree with all that, but my main point or idea is: Is getting new people on board the job of the commentators, or someone else? Just because MMA (or even Football) does things a certain way doesn't mean it is the best. If the most common question you receive is 'what game is this', does that mean every 5 minutes you should be saying 'for those of you just tuning in, we're playing StarCraft 2' or should you just make sure there is a prominent SC2 logo on the screen at all times? Yes, new people will always want to know 'what this is' before they can decide whether or not its for them, but not everyone who gets an answer to that question will say 'oh okay, I'm going to get involved now' no matter how many times you tell them.
I'm still of the position that you should talk up to your audience, not down to them -- if someone is confused by basic terminology, they can always look it up (or more likely, ask the person who is actively trying to expose them to esports -- friend, child, boyfriend, whoever). The idea that we need to dumb things down to appeal to everybody is not something I believe is necessarily best. Why not make things the way we think they should be, and see who shows up? Is your main idea that 'StarCraft 2 is too hard for people to understand unless we baby them'? I'm not so sure. I figured it out easily enough, and I'm a dummy! Give people some more credit. There may also be alternative ways to present these basic concepts to the audience in the middle of a broadcast, and I'm not suggesting we ignore 'new veiwers' entirely, but we're not going to discover those ways unless we try. This is a post about improving shoutcasting, and that's my goal for the discussion. If you think that shoutcasting is fine as it is, then cool, but I disagree, and I think a lot of people feel that way. I appreciate your feedback in either case, Diamond, but it will take more than 'Joe Rogan does it this way' to convince me. Again, I don't claim to have all the answers, but that's why I made this post, and I'm interested to see what everyone else thinks.
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I have to disagree with your point about "talking down to the audience"
While I don't think that casters should CONSTANTLY be referring to the obvious, there are a lot of people out there that do watch Starcraft that don't play the game.
I had a similar mindset as you until I actually started doing casting and getting feedback that told me that my explanations of the basics was very appreciated.
It's a delicate balance and casters have to strive constantly to please both parts of their audience.
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On June 13 2012 04:52 Vindicare605 wrote:
I have to disagree with your point about "talking down to the audience"
While I don't think that casters should CONSTANTLY be referring to the obvious, there are a lot of people out there that do watch Starcraft that don't play the game.
I had a similar mindset as you until I actually started doing casting and getting feedback that told me that my explanations of the basics was very appreciated.
It's a delicate balance and casters have to strive constantly to please both parts of their audience.
Interesting. What if there existed a definitive guide to StarCraft 2 esports for the initiated that everyone was forced to read before they could watch a StarCraft 2 match which familiarized themselves with basic terms? Would you feel good that more time could be spent in your casts discussing the particulars of the game at hand, or would you feel less confident about being able to offer useful material? What if every time you mentioned a 'key term', a definition popped up on screen (ala GomTV win/rates) so the people who didn't know could quickly brush up, and those of us who don't need a lecture on it could continue following your analysis? What if for every person who wrote you and said 'thanks for explaining worker splits', another person turned you off and watched a Day9 or an Artosis instead without saying anything?
w/r/t your last point: I'm not sure any shoutcasters today are actually maintaining that 'balance'. I think many are deliberately dumbing down their casts in case someone happens to be watching for the first time, at the expense of the high level analysis and useful commentary. What are some ways this can be done better? Let's think outside the box people!
EDIT: I'm also very interested in these 'watch the game but do not play' people. For basically every sport this is the majority, I think, so empowering them is usually a good thing, but my main point is that there are different ways to do this outside of what we are seeing now. If you disagree, feel free to chime in.
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On June 13 2012 04:56 SinistarLives wrote:Show nested quote +On June 13 2012 04:52 Vindicare605 wrote:
I have to disagree with your point about "talking down to the audience"
While I don't think that casters should CONSTANTLY be referring to the obvious, there are a lot of people out there that do watch Starcraft that don't play the game.
I had a similar mindset as you until I actually started doing casting and getting feedback that told me that my explanations of the basics was very appreciated.
It's a delicate balance and casters have to strive constantly to please both parts of their audience. Interesting. What if there existed a definitive guide to StarCraft 2 esports for the initiated that everyone was forced to read before they could watch a StarCraft 2 match which familiarized themselves with basic term?. Would you feel good that more time could be spent in your casts discussing the particulars of the game at hand, or would you feel less confident about being able to offer useful material? What if every time you mentioned a 'key term', a definition popped up on screen (ala GomTV win/rates) so the people who didn't know could quickly brush up, and those of us who don't need a lecture on it could continue following your analysis?
As someone that already is very familiar with the game I wouldn't have a problem with that.
On the other hand though you are essentially making the game from a spectator's perspective less accessible for someone just starting up. At where we are with e-sports right now I don't think we can afford to do that.
We want e-sports to grow, we WANT to bring in viewers of Starcraft that don't play. Those viewers are the future.
In general I think if you had to pick between catering to the casual observer and the hardcore one, I think it's best if we cater to the casual observer for now. Hardcore observers like you or I will still watch and listen to the commentary despite the fact its repeating some aspects that might be obvious.
On the other hand, because I am so used to commentary catering to the casual player, when i DO hear commentary on something I'm not familiar with it makes me appreciate it all the more. This is one of the reasons I personally love dApollo's casting so much. He routinely will give me information that I never knew before, yet his casting with TotalBiscuit who has some of the best play by play in the business makes the two of them a casting duo that can cater effectively to both the casual and hardcore observer.
THAT is the delicate balance I'm talking about.
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Also for what it's worth on a personal note, when I first found professional Starcraft Brood War matches on GOM TV, despite playing BW for 8 years at that point, I did not know what micro, macro, apm, and all that stuff were. Luckily for me in BW, Tasteless was very good at explaining these things all the time. I was totally lost but Tasteless keeping it basic helped me understand and come to love competitive Starcraft. Without that, I don' know that I would have continued to watch it, as it would have been all just chaos to me.
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On June 13 2012 05:04 Diamond wrote:
Also for what it's worth on a personal note, when I first found professional Starcraft Brood War matches on GOM TV, despite playing BW for 8 years at that point, I did not know what micro, macro, apm, and all that stuff were. Luckily for me in BW, Tasteless was very good at explaining these things all the time. I was totally lost but Tasteless keeping it basic helped me understand and come to love competitive Starcraft. Without that, I don' know that I would have continued to watch it, as it would have been all just chaos to me.
Can you think of any alternative ways that you could have been exposed to these terms and made aware of them (in screen text drops, external guides, etc), or does Tasteless need to read from the StarCraft dictionary at the beginning of each cast to make sure everyone watching is on the same page?
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I agree with quite a few of the points you made in your post. As an up and coming caster I wanted to talk a bit about the whole "Give upcoming talent some time in the spotlight" It is very difficult to break into the major tourney casting scene just like it is difficult to become a top tier player.
I've been casting since 2010 longer than some people casting major events but shorter than others. I have the passion and knowledge to do very well at major events but often times it is all about who you know. As of late there have been a lot more oppurtunities, IPL5 Qualifiers, Playhem events, but what about more love from NASL or MLG with getting more casters? Instead of recycling all the same casters in every single tournament why not spread the love around have a handful of up and coming casters and a handful of well known established casters. MLG did a good job of this with their beta stream, a couple of them (Tumba & Robin) even got to cast on the main stream/stage. Why is this not a regular thing?? I know a lot of people that would do very well casting Open brackets in particular for events because of their knowledge of up and coming players.
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On June 13 2012 05:03 Vindicare605 wrote:Show nested quote +On June 13 2012 04:56 SinistarLives wrote:On June 13 2012 04:52 Vindicare605 wrote:
I have to disagree with your point about "talking down to the audience"
While I don't think that casters should CONSTANTLY be referring to the obvious, there are a lot of people out there that do watch Starcraft that don't play the game.
I had a similar mindset as you until I actually started doing casting and getting feedback that told me that my explanations of the basics was very appreciated.
It's a delicate balance and casters have to strive constantly to please both parts of their audience. Interesting. What if there existed a definitive guide to StarCraft 2 esports for the initiated that everyone was forced to read before they could watch a StarCraft 2 match which familiarized themselves with basic term?. Would you feel good that more time could be spent in your casts discussing the particulars of the game at hand, or would you feel less confident about being able to offer useful material? What if every time you mentioned a 'key term', a definition popped up on screen (ala GomTV win/rates) so the people who didn't know could quickly brush up, and those of us who don't need a lecture on it could continue following your analysis? As someone that already is very familiar with the game I wouldn't have a problem with that. On the other hand though you are essentially making the game from a spectator's perspective less accessible for someone just starting up. At where we are with e-sports right now I don't think we can afford to do that. We want e-sports to grow, we WANT to bring in viewers of Starcraft that don't play. Those viewers are the future. In general I think if you had to pick between catering to the casual observer and the hardcore one, I think it's best if we cater to the casual observer for now. Hardcore observers like you or I will still watch and listen to the commentary despite the fact its repeating some aspects that might be obvious. On the other hand, because I am so used to commentary catering to the casual player, when i DO hear commentary on something I'm not familiar with it makes me appreciate it all the more. This is one of the reasons I personally love dApollo's casting so much. He routinely will give me information that I never knew before, yet his casting with TotalBiscuit who has some of the best play by play in the business makes the two of them a casting duo that can cater effectively to both the casual and hardcore observer. THAT is the delicate balance I'm talking about.
Okay, I'll concede this point because I'm worried that people are too heavily focusing tearing down this one point I made and it's poisoning all the others.
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On June 13 2012 05:08 TheRealNanMan wrote:
I agree with quite a few of the points you made in your post. As an up and coming caster I wanted to talk a bit about the whole "Give upcoming talent some time in the spotlight" It is very difficult to break into the major tourney casting scene just like it is difficult to become a top tier player.
I've been casting since 2010 longer than some people casting major events but shorter than others. I have the passion and knowledge to do very well at major events but often times it is all about who you know. As of late there have been a lot more oppurtunities, IPL5 Qualifiers, Playhem events, but what about more love from NASL or MLG with getting more casters? Instead of recycling all the same casters in every single tournament why not spread the love around have a handful of up and coming casters and a handful of well known established casters. MLG did a good job of this with their beta stream, a couple of them (Tumba & Robin) even got to cast on the main stream/stage. Why is this not a regular thing?? I know a lot of people that would do very well casting Open brackets in particular for events because of their knowledge of up and coming players.
I totally agree with this. Do you think its a case of too many chiefs and not enough indians? What is the finite number of active casters the industry can comfortably sustain (now and going forward)? How can this 'tiered' system be improved and shifted towards a more meritocratic method?
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The problem is a little more complicated than that.
Caster's have their own fanbases right now. Having Tasteless and Artosis cast your tournament will draw viewers in that otherwise wouldn't bother watching your tournament just because they are the ones casting it.
MLG does a great job of balancing it, although for Anaheim they invited virtually EVERY well known caster to the same place all at once.
I think as the tournaments start to gain additional notoriety they can start having relatively unknown casters cast more consistently for them because the tournament's fanbase will be so large at that point that they won't need to rely on the caster's fanbases for viewership
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More variety in casting is definitely something I want. The rookie casters who have had their chances in the spotlight so far have been very bland and its very obvious that they're trying to emulate Tastosis and Day9.
New personalities for the scene would be great.
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I really enjoyed your blog and I do agree with some points. Like how some fans just spend all their free time trying to get someone fired.
Also my experience into getting into watching SC2 games was just like you said in another post. I started with the HDH invitational and the day9 tournament that was going on at the start. I found that them telling me what the builds where called and what the current meta game was like at the moment was very helpful. But I can see your point about when they cast at a MLG or such and not just games on their channel.
I'd think the majority of people at these tournaments would already know about all these sayings and such. Most games I watch though are from VoD's on youtube beside MLG and live streams. So I still like it when they talk about how the meta games being going during a MLG cast.
Guess people are into different casters. I've being enjoying all the casters I've ran into so far. But others feel differently so improvements could be made.
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I want to bold, underline, and make big the part where you related to "Hey, casters, it's not your job to criticize."
I also want to add, I think it's really important as a general caster tip to try to remember and keep yourself in the frame of mind that what YOU see is not necessarily what the person saw. You have god vision, they don't. There's a lot of "OH HE SHOULDN'T BE PUSHING fajsasdlfsjdklfkbuttshitttt" but if you look from the players perspective and realize "o hey he has no idea about those colossi, and actually if there were no colossi this would be a great idea" you could sound a lot more accurate, insightful, AND make both yourself and the player not look like shit, especially when that's obviously what's happened. And then if you still feel the need to be judgemental you can go on and on about how the player should have scouted better, and elaborate to how a lot of players still scout terribly, and i can continue to be sad at you for being too judgemental.
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EDIT:
and it would help for fans to remember when something is obviously being done because the event told the casters to. for example, some mlgs get shit for not having the most high-level commentary (i'm not talking about having the wrong casters that don't know shit clearly), or for "directing the casting too much at stuff everybody knows", when clearly it's just to target a lower common denominator, or try to bring in new people.
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EPT
