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Hello TL. So on all the major gaming sites the article CNN did on gaming addiction really struck up an argument when they went on to consider Marinekingprime - MKP to be a "addicted gamer". They continued to do a follow up article after they got a lot of negative feedback regarding the use of addict attached to MKP. He's a very well accomplished player who got there with hard work, dedication, and being passionate. This same article stirred up some talk about eSports professionals being consider "professional athletes" on the same level of the Olympians.
You can find the original story about Gaming Addiction here - http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/08/tech/gaming.series/korea.html
And the followup article here - http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/05/tech/gaming-gadgets/esport-athletes-gaming-south-korea/index.html
At the end of the article they asked to have the conversation continue on their twitter or facebook, I put in my 2 cents and thought I'd share my opinion, and spark a conversation about the article on Team Liquid. So if you're ready for a wall of text, Open the spoiler below to read my story. It has a lot of my current life of SC2 and how it affects me on a daily basis.
+ Show Spoiler +On the debate of weather or not Starcraft should be considered a "sport" or their players to be "athletes", I have been a heavy set kid my entire life. I've never been a jock, I spent most of my life mindlessly playing video games like World of Warcraft, Counterstrike, Call of Duty, etc. I would mass out games for hours on hours without any benefit from my invested time. With Starcraft 2 I'm on a path to being a Professional as well and have never been so passionate, and dedicated about changing my life for the better. My health has improved drasticly with my improve, and current mind set. I eat healthier, I work out twice a day, I take extra care of my wrists through home remedy and professional training, etc.
I live my life looking up to the current professionals, The best at their craft. I stay up to 3:00 am to watch them play live, I follow all their tournament results, I keep up to everything they do. To try and take away their proper title of Professional eSports Athlete, playing the hardest video game to date, on a world level stage, Seems ridiculous.
I never really understood how someone could watch a football game and know everything about their favourite team. Their names, Their position, their weaknesses, their strengths, their old/new teams, their career stats, etc. After being so dedicated, and passionate about starcraft for the past 2 years of my life, I now know how they feel. I can hear a players name and tell you a list of anything you want to know. It's not because I'm "addicted", I'm passionate.
The difference between someone who is "addicted" and "Professional" is the work ethic. I recently moved back from living in a professional Starcraft 2 house much like the ones in South Korea. It was in Warsaw, Poland and it was a huge wakeup call between being a casual "addicted" player, or a dedicated, passionate "professional" player. I would get in 8-10 hour practice sessions at home on a daily basis, but what I didn't know was how in-efficient it was. I wasted a lot of time just browsing the internet, goofing off, taking breaks, etc. When living in a strict, focus oriented practice environment that has coaches and managers forcing you to stay focused on nothing but practice, It's really hard to keep up. People don't realise the mental strength it takes to continue pursuing a career in such a game. The dedication required to play 12 hours a day, with a coach breathing down your neck, and the pressure of performing well at tournaments is something that an "addicted" gamer just won't have. They play the games because they're fun, and in most cases they don't have much of a social life so getting lost in games is an easy escape from a rough life. Once the stakes are higher, and you have to work harder. You won't have that same level of passion as a "professional" would.
Thanks! Reply on their facebook and twitter, show CNN that Starcraft has a large following and future articles will be a worth while investment for them.
~~LgNkarmy
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Oh oops, Had my reply copy and pasted, forgot add. Fixed!
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I thought the article was mainly a positive expose on esports, and showed the two sides of the coin of videogaming culture in Korea. It was pretty balanced to my eyes at least.
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I'd look it at in terms of the status-quo IMO. You talked about the difficulties playing 12 hours a day with the mental challenges a player has to endure. Yes, I totally agree with that, however if you look at American football or any other sport they are now going through mental and physical exhausting exercises. If you try to argue that sitting down in a chair just moving your wrists for 10 to 12 hours with a coach yelling down your throat to perform better versus a football player having to tackle sprint repeat all day long with the coach(s) screaming down their throat to improve to a non-eSports fan they are going to say the football player has a more of challenge. And maybe this challenge of both physical and mental struggle is what many people deep down believe what justifies a professional Athlete perhaps? Just a thought that was running through my head.
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On August 06 2012 15:39 BWalma wrote:
I'd look it at in terms of the status-quo IMO. You talked about the difficulties playing 12 hours a day with the mental challenges a player has to endure. Yes, I totally agree with that, however if you look at American football or any other sport they are now going through mental and physical exhausting exercises. If you try to argue that sitting down in a chair just moving your wrists for 10 to 12 hours with a coach yelling down your throat to perform better versus a football player having to tackle sprint repeat all day long with the coach(s) screaming down their throat to improve to a non-eSports fan they are going to say the football player has a more of challenge. And maybe this challenge of both physical and mental struggle is what many people deep down believe what justifies a professional Athlete perhaps? Just a thought that was running through my head.
I think there are two other big factors as well, that sports are fairly ingrained into our culture already as a positive epic thing while gaming is just considered bad, and that people feel that being good at sports make you a better person in other aspects, while (mainly because they aren't part of the scene) they don't feel the same way about esports.
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That was a great write-up on CNN. Made me tear up when they told MarineKing's family history :<
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I really like what you say here and agree with it Karmy! Gaming was something of an escape for me also before I started working towards achieving specific goals in Starcraft and this motivation has since improved my quality of life tenfold.
@BWalma I don't really agree with the idea of the mental struggle in physical sports such as football being similar to the mental strain of playing starcraft 2 professionally. There will be pressure to perform, and there will be pain. But the actualy execution of plays and physical feats very rarely takes much mental input. I think the main strain is simply keeping your body focused on doing what you have to do. (just from my experience of competitive sport and martial arts)
After a full day of training in Starcraft 2 though you're mind will literally be exhausted and yet still buzzing with thoughts. All day you are forced to play at an incredible amount of focus and it is thoroughly exhausting to do this in such a dynamic playing field as Starcraft. You have to remember so many builds and counters and maneuvers that are good vs certain things or things to watch out for but at the same time you need to constantly innovate and look for openings and try to play instinctively. So what I'm trying to say is the mental exhaustion of a full day of Starcraft 2 is something somewhat more intensive than that of football training.
That being said there are most certainly similarities between the two and Starcraft is missing the physical element which is a key part of all of the most popular sports that western cultures aspire to. However darts, bowling, archery etc. are all very similar to Starcraft in that they don't posses the "exhaustion" level of physical activity, and yet still involve finely developed motor skills. These are all coming to be recognised as sports (televised also) and so I think Starcraft should find it's name alongside theirs.
I think that there is a cultural hump here where people don't really understand how respectable something is until they are exposed time and again to the amount of effort and skill involved in the competition. Most people don't really know what it's like to be a professional Tennis, Football or Soccer player. And yet we are constantly exposed through the media and various coverage to passionate commentary and stories of players unending training to reach a professional level. As this becomes more and more common we feel like we know how hard it is and hence begin to respect it.
The issue is that eSports is on a computer and so a lot of people over even 25 will have very little clue about gaming or online culture and as such will never enjoy eSports. Hence there won't be as much mainstream coverage or exposure as we might like and many young people who would love eSports simply aren't exposed to it. As the years go on and the older generation is steadily replaced by young people raised on technology we will see a much larger % of people able to understand and grasp the concepts of competitive gaming.
So essentially eSports growth will always be limited until the kids of today grow up. In the meanwhile we will grow at a steady pace and see some fantastic competition. But we won't be on TV or "mainstream" for at least another 20 years.
As for the argument about addiction versus profession I absolutely agree with Karmy's analaysis that it comes down to the passion and dedication. To an older person who has no understanding of interaction with a computer they can't discern the difference unless the personally know the person involved. As such I'm sure Karmy's family have probably noticed the happiness, direction and motivation in his life just as mine have with my involvement with starcraft 2. So whilst those completely apart from progaming may harbour resentment at what they view as addiction, those who really matter will usually be able to see the difference.
Thoroughly enjoyed your blog mate 
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I thought the article was very good, I don't think the subject of it was gaming addiction or esports. The article was about marineKing and his personal story, most people don't seem to get that though
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I think that its good for esports that non esports media is talking about it. Gaming addiction is a real deal. The difference is that with WoW gaming addiction, its a guy playing for 15 hours and not talking to anyone in the real world, or doing anything. Where as what the guys who train in sc 2 do are trying to win the biggest tournaments around. I don't see the difference between MVP training and Phelps training. I honestly think teams, like EG, Liquids, LG-IM, Slayers ect ect ect should actually make videos and show there players training, show how they do it. ESPN does it, why can't we see what the training process is for Idra, and then show the difference between addiction.
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Good Job Karmy, I am Karmy's mother and I know he is most definitely not addicted, it is his passion. I am so proud of his accomplishments and for standing up for what he believe's in. His dedication to Starcraft 2 is amazing. Keep up the good work and always fight for what you believe in.
Love your very proud Mother (I hope I didn't embarrassed you).
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On August 07 2012 05:43 janiceelaineraynard1 wrote:
Good Job Karmy, I am Karmy's mother and I know he is most definitely not addicted, it is his passion. I am so proud of his accomplishments and for standing up for what he believe's in. His dedication to Starcraft 2 is amazing. Keep up the good work and always fight for what you believe in.
Love your very proud Mother (I hope I didn't embarrassed you).
<3 I didn't know you knew how to make an account! =P
Thanks for the support mom, Love you too.
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CNN tried to kill ESPORTS, but MarineKing was too OP for them.
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EPT
