Hey guys, I wrote this blog over at my team site, but I thought the message was important enough to share with everyone, so please enjoy!
First off, let me say that this is not going to be a typical interview style article about iNcontroL. This is the story of Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson as I experienced it starting from the SC2 beta. This means that, although he was a huge community figure during the SCBW days, and no doubt that influenced what happened after the SC2 beta went live, I won't be covering that as I have no experience with it. Sadly, I did not follow SC during the BW period.
The first exposure I had to iNcontroL was an interview he did with Husky (who at the time was THE place to go if you wanted to watch SC2). I was impressed with his personality and also that he was a powerlifter. In the interview he mentioned he could bench press 700 lbs at one point. Now, lots of people love to give iNcontroL shit about being fat or whatever, but if you can lift 700 lbs off the ground you are in PHENOMENAL shape, regardless of how much like a twink you do or don't look. It struck me that he was a role model for gamers, with a great personality and I became an instant fan.
"I'm the kind of guy who's going to sneak into your bedroom at night and make you feel dirty"
But what makes iNcontroL truly special is that he is not only a role model for gamers generally, but he is also a role model for those who want to become Professional Gamers. Unlike many today who just turn on a stream and expect to get hundreds of views just for having a stream live, iNcontroL actively marketed himself. At one point, there was a HUGE opportunity to build a fan base because there weren't hundreds of Pros, Semi-Pros, and aspiring competitive and casual gamers all competing for market share of a viewer base. With the time that others spend crying about how no one watches their stream, iNcontroL did the following:
Went to MLGs and placed very well in the early days when the competition wasn't quite so strong
Participated in beta interviews (i.e. with Husky) and events (i.e. The HDH Invitational)
Got a spot on State of the Game, the largest SC2 podcast show in the West
Casted for a period with NASL, which at the time seemed to be a very promising league
Looked for opportunities to do interviews and Q&As at events (I almost always see him on stage at the various big tournaments, whether it's Homestory Cup, MLG, etc.)
Video commercials representing EG's sponsors
Video walkthroughs of the EG teamhouse
and much more I'm forgetting, I'm sure.
After joining vVv Gaming was the first time I got a twitter account. I have to say that iNcontroL is the only professional gamer outside of vVv that I keep on my private "these people's tweets are important enough to read daily" list. In my time following iNcontroL, he has been a model for how to interact with your fans, sharing his passions on a daily basis:
He's never been afraid to share about his fiance, Anna Prosser, who has also made an impressive impact on the SC2 scene as (in my opinion) the classiest interviewer at IPL events
When he got his dog, Barristan, I was there to see him tweet pictures for all his fans
Whenever he streams, he not only tells his fans that he just went live, but he tries to let people know his schedule ahead of time so that they can plan to tune in
Whenever a league, sponsor, or team event of relevance occurs, he's there not just retweeting, but actually tweeting about these things himself
His twitter conversations about lifting during MLGs with MLGAdam share his love of fitness and lifting
His love of cinema (or at least his appreciation of it as a tool to alleviate boredom during long flights) has been a big topic lately, given all the international travel he has been doing
His interest in Warhammer 40k
This is awesome. By sharing his passions and interests iNcontroL is able to make personal connections with his fans, and by doing so build a fan base that is engaged on a daily basis. This not only makes sure that his fan base keeps growing, but also that the fans he has stay around. As a result, he's been able to achieve over 40,000 followers on twitter, almost 9,000,000 stream views (with 21,000 people following his stream and thousands of people tuning in every time he goes live), he's a household name in the SC2 scene, and everything he does positively effects eSports in some way. Even if you don't care about fans, followers, or eSports, and just care about making money playing a game, I'm sure the stream revenue alone (not counting salary he gets from EG) is enough to interest you. This is what success looks like, and this is what it takes to get there.
Not only does iNcontroL share his passions with us, but also his personality. I think this is great, because the only way people will truly get to know and like you is if you let your personality shine through. As much as a few vocal antagonists hate it, iNcontroL's cocky, respectful, confident, and classy attitude make it easy for the average person to relate to him.
iNcontroL on stage at MLG Dallas, showing his personality yet again.
I'm actually reminded of a quote when I think about this aspect of iNcontroL: "It's better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you aren't". iNcontroL lives that, and I think it's necessary for professional gamers to embrace that idea. You are who you are, and you should be proud of that. Too many people hide parts of themselves because they feel embarrassed or that people wouldn't care or whatever the reason. But this is so critical, it's why vVvSonTran should never be ashamed of his love for magical ponies that shoot rainbows, and why me and vVvBabyToss should never stop ragging on him and gagging every time he posts a pony picture. It's just a fundamental part of who we all are.
iNcontroL on The Losers Bracket
So to wrap it all up, iNcontroL, through his passion and dedication to eSports has led an exemplary life with regards to how players wanting to become Professional Gamers should pursue that dream. I could go on and on about great things he has done for eSports through his passion and humility (appearing on The Loser's Bracket or taking the time to write blogs about lesser known players people should check out http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=341623 ). If you wanted to know the reason why it's not enough to just turn on a stream and hope people come, his success is that reason. In closing, I want to leave everyone with another quote:
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."
Although iNcontroL has planted many trees in this thing we call eSports, I really hope he does get to enjoy their shade, but more importantly, I hope that the next generation of pro gamers doesn't just take things for granted and can also leave their mark. We can all make eSports great, and now we have a perfect path laid out showing us how to do that. Thanks iNcontroL!
i remember when he left ToT) cause he was too bad compared to these guys, so he never got to play in any CW or tournaments for them... i can't belive after 3 years, Incontrol is actually a progamer... life is crazy...
On July 20 2012 00:30 XenOsky- wrote: i remember when he left ToT) cause he was too bad compared to these guys, so he never got to play in any CW or tournaments for them... i can't belive after 3 years, Incontrol is actually a progamer... life is crazy...
And that attitude is the reason your dodging a banhammer on teamliquid after 700 posts, and incontrol is extremely successful, with a beautiful fiance and a good career in ALL aspects of e-sports.
I believe a GG no re is in order, good sir. Try not to be so negative and rude
On July 20 2012 00:30 XenOsky- wrote: i remember when he left ToT) cause he was too bad compared to these guys, so he never got to play in any CW or tournaments for them... i can't belive after 3 years, Incontrol is actually a progamer... life is crazy...
And that attitude is the reason your dodging a banhammer on teamliquid after 700 posts, and incontrol is extremely successful, with a beautiful fiance and a good career in ALL aspects of e-sports.
I believe a GG no re is in order, good sir. Try not to be so negative and rude
Persistence and optimism are powerful things.
I highly respect him for his personality and contribution to e-sports, but saying he's extremely successful in the field of progaming is just not very close to the truth, it seems like you're speaking from an emotional point of view (fanboy perspective if you will), in reality this does not work because only exposure of the team can pay their programing bills.
I guess this is also largely due to my initial and perhaps other people's misunderstanding of progaming in general and the case of, for example, machine and incontrol. Meaning that a professional player does not have to win a tournament every once in a while to stay worthwhile for the team. Most likely because it's all a team effort and individual personality thing and if none of the members were getting any significant results for longer periods of times or would stand out from the crowd with their personality, they would have a problem. This is something EG definitely does not suffer from, Idra alone has the perfect bad boy image which helps the team a lot.
The fact is, incontrol has had very good results in scbw and sc2, just because he hasnt recently, means nothing. He's even more involved in other things atm and not his actual progaming career.
Call me a fanboy all you will, he's had good results before and will do again, he's even said himself he's taken a step back to focus on all the other things he's doing within esports.
Hence the "successful in all aspects" comment.
Even if he retired from actual playing as of now, you wouldnt write off his WCG and MLG finishes when you read / wrote / spoke of him would you?
He's a successful personality, caster, podcast host, coach of EG (right?) and many other things
On July 20 2012 01:33 Capped wrote: The fact is, incontrol has had very good results in scbw and sc2, just because he hasnt recently, means nothing. He's even more involved in other things atm and not his actual progaming career.
Call me a fanboy all you will, he's had good results before and will do again, he's even said himself he's taken a step back to focus on all the other things he's doing within esports.
Hence the "successful in all aspects" comment.
I think your use of "very good results" and "recently" is highly subjective to your own interpretation and lacking a good dose of realism since these are two achievements I can come up with: WCG 2007 USA Champion and Top 16 MLG Raleigh, DC, Dallas.
There's no doubt that he was an amazing SC BW player. And of course outside of being a programer, such as casting, managing and coaching: he's an absolute beast.
Why did the comments section have to go to hell so fast? Just bask in the glory of a really good tribute blog and one of the best personalities in SC2.
On July 20 2012 02:11 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: Why did the comments section have to go to hell so fast? Just bask in the glory of a really good tribute blog and one of the best personalities in SC2.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
It's not really surprising how the comments section turned out. Any time you mention iNcontroL the haters and fans come out to battle each other.
On July 20 2012 02:11 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: Why did the comments section have to go to hell so fast? Just bask in the glory of a really good tribute blog and one of the best personalities in SC2.
The thing is, some people tend to feel offended when their favorite SC2 player is criticized in any way. We're not talking about deities here and it's not forbidden to speak about a player's performance as long as it's not deliberate flaming or anything like that. This protective and emotional tendency of fans is not bad, because it helps up lift the spirit of pro gamers. However, the opinions that actually help them to improve as a pro gamer are filled with realism and criticism. These opinions are vital too.
Nothing went to hell here, unless you're a fan who can't take criticism and choose to see a sentence about "incontrol not getting good results for longer periods" as blasphemy instead of reality. The choice is yours: how you wish to see it.
I really like incontrol not just for his pro play and streaming, but for all the projects he gets involved with that grow esports and his involvement in the community. Seems like a nice guy.
Just wanted to drop my 2cents that isn't all fightie with the fans and haters. Nifty tribute blog and I remember that husky/inc interview from way back at the start!
I apologise if i came off as some sort of overzealous fanboy, i feel my points were valid and not overexaggerated at all, and the others were unreasonable, as if he was somebody with absolutely nothing to his name. Which is untrue
As much as i like inc, we know he's not been doing well in sc2 for a while now, but he has had results in the past, he has been successful as i said. And he's involved in mucho mucho in sc2 right now, not just playing.
I am not at "war" with anyone, i thought i was discussing something sensibly, i apologise and will refrain from posting anymore, it seems im not wanted XD
On July 20 2012 04:14 Capped wrote: I apologise if i came off as some sort of overzealous fanboy, i feel my points were valid and not overexaggerated at all, and the others were unreasonable, as if he was somebody with absolutely nothing to his name. Which is untrue
As much as i like inc, we know he's not been doing well in sc2 for a while now, but he has had results in the past, he has been successful as i said. And he's involved in mucho mucho in sc2 right now, not just playing.
I am not at "war" with anyone, i thought i was discussing something sensibly, i apologise and will refrain from posting anymore, it seems im not wanted XD
EDIT: Typo
You're fine, if I didn't want you here I'd ban you
On July 20 2012 04:14 Capped wrote: I apologise if i came off as some sort of overzealous fanboy, i feel my points were valid and not overexaggerated at all, and the others were unreasonable, as if he was somebody with absolutely nothing to his name. Which is untrue
As much as i like inc, we know he's not been doing well in sc2 for a while now, but he has had results in the past, he has been successful as i said. And he's involved in mucho mucho in sc2 right now, not just playing.
I am not at "war" with anyone, i thought i was discussing something sensibly, i apologise and will refrain from posting anymore, it seems im not wanted XD
EDIT: Typo
Don't apologize dude, you're the best fan incontrol could wish for. Nothing wrong with that.
iNcontroL is one of the most unique pro-gamers in the world. I remember when I first saw one of his interviews back in the BW days, I thought "lololol who the heck is this fat guy?" But as I listened to his interview, I was amazed at how articulately and elegantly he spoke. Seemed like a very genuine and likable guy.
On July 20 2012 00:30 XenOsky- wrote: i remember when he left ToT) cause he was too bad compared to these guys, so he never got to play in any CW or tournaments for them... i can't belive after 3 years, Incontrol is actually a progamer... life is crazy...
And that attitude is the reason your dodging a banhammer on teamliquid after 700 posts, and incontrol is extremely successful, with a beautiful fiance and a good career in ALL aspects of e-sports.
I believe a GG no re is in order, good sir. Try not to be so negative and rude
Persistence and optimism are powerful things.
lol wtf? i never meant to be rude or negative, all i said is that i remember when he was an average (by average i mean not top, but still really good) player in the foreign escene... thats why i belive its impressive that he is living as a progamer now...
EPT
everything you write is 100% correct and he's just plain awesome, a role model for sure.
