Tara Babcock Casting Practice #1! - Page 9

On August 10 2012 22:23 Jecko wrote:
There are 2 possible paths for women out there:

1. Tara (or anyone with cleavage) isn't part of the scene.
Result: Girls lack competition and therefore the drive to become better and prove themselves. They never have a moment of "sadness" that relates to the issue of Tara existing, but also therefore don't experience the self-improvement that they could go through if they had competition. If I was a girl, it would be a lot more motivating for me to try and prove that I'm better than Tara (the girl that's all boobs and bleach), than if there was no such person to compare myself to.

2. Tara (or anyone with cleavage) is part of the scene:
Result: People realize that women have a place in the community, and that having tits doesn't mean you are worthless or stupid. Instead, it seperates the physical from the mental, by SHOWING that girls come in various shapes/forms. Girls would get a bigger drive to compete, and we'd actually see some skill coming out of them.

Right now, all I see is girls complaining, and not many trying to actually improve in skill and show that they're valid as "gamers." Girls like Tara, and the other streamer girls, are displaying their trek to improvement, and hopefully their personalities and looks as well, just like the guys get to. This "Nina" person should just show us all how much of a better person she is because of her lack of tits, bleach, and attractiveness. I'd love to see how much she claims Tara supposedly missed out on in her life because of her priorities. So far the only quality I see in her is jealousy, which is the worst thing in a woman, and man.

Whoa, hey.

I'm not comparing myself to Tara at all. Tara hasn't "missed out on life", and I never suggested that. Therefore, because everyone feels the need to psycho-analyze my statements, I just though I should clarify a few things. I don't feel threatened or jealous of another StarCraft player who is more attractive than myself. That's ridonkulous to dwell on that sort of thing. There is, however, a double-standard here:

Male gold-league player does commentary: Gets 500 views on blog, maybe a dozen youtube views, and some comments telling him to try harder.

Overly-sexy female gold-league player does commentary: Gets over 9,000 views on blog, tons of comments and attention.

Okay, so far, I have no problem. This is the way the world works. But I don't believe that Tara is stupid. Because she's a model, I don't think she would ever just go on camera wearing "whatever". If you want to make a side-career out of casting, you need a popular stream/channel. To have a popular stream/channel, you need something that appeals to the viewers. That means you need a niche, and Tara's niche is clearly 'being sexy', because it's no secret that most of the gamer community is made of men, and this fact can be exploited.

When I said "You look like a freaking Barbie Doll", it wasn't me saying Tara is ugly. Quite the opposite; I acknowledge that boys are going to find her attractive, and while I have no problem with her being comfortable with her sexuality, I do have a problem with her building a business based on flaunting her sexuality. Again, everything about her look seems to be a calculated get-up to bring in more male viewers. In a game where skills are supposed to bring you respect, I think it would be a travesty if someone flaunting their sexuality made the same kinds of viewer numbers as a respected progamer or professional commentator. And it could happen - sex sells- but if the community wants it, then fine. I'm personally stating that I'm strongly opposed to a "sexy commentary > skillful commentary" and I have a perfectly legitimate right to that opinion.

Tara can deny deny deny that this is her intention, but again, I don't believe she's stupid at all. If she, as a professional model, didn't consider her appearance on camera, that would be unthinkable. I can't imagine her just going "Liek omg, I'm just gonna throw on whateva, then talk about StarCraft on ma computer and I hope it goes okay." without some pre-planning or consideration beforehand. If it sounds like I'm being harsh... well, I am being harsh. But I'm not attacking Tara as a person, and I can only wish her the best in life. I hope that makes sense, but then again, everything I just said is probably going to be taken wildly out of context, but, c'est la vie.

Honestly, thanks for taking the time to reply and to actually make a detailed statement. I feel less like you are just busting out the jealousy now, and more like you have an opinion--and everyone is entitled to theirs!

I sometimes feel bad for exactly what you stated above: I will be more popular than someone who doesn't have the "assets" that I do, for the most part. Then, I remember how much time and effort I put into the way I look, and my career and time I spent, investing in a loyal fan base. Yes, there are people that get things they don't deserve, but that's life. I don't feel like I am one of those, however.

Everyone has something interesting and special about them, some people may have to just pay for marketing and hope it works. Life is not 100% fair, and I am sorry you disagree that my sexuality can be seen just as Day[9]'s laugh, or some other thing that makes people interested in, and love, other eSports personalities.

The thing about Day[9]'s enthusiasm is that it is a personality trait, not a premeditated theater performance. The thing that makes him really shine though is that he has years of experience playing StarCraft: BroodWar, and because of this, his delivery is so natural and delightful that it's fun to watch. Simply put, people not only tune into Day[9]'s show because of his fun personality but because of his insight.

Also, I'm sorry my first post was so bitchy. I was in a really bad mood that day. :\

I don't think you should apologize for being bitchy...The only problem I have with it is that it makes the female sc community look really bad, like we can't produce anyone better than a gold leaguer, and even at gold league, we have to ask for a tremendous amount of help. Just look at the past casters since BW. I feel like the main casters from BW tried to act like they knew what they were talking about, but the truth is they didn't even know the initial supply caps of each race...

I just wish that we were better represented. I remember in BW, the majority of the non koreans would say that there was no way they could ever beat a korean. Even if it was like the koreans first day to ever play BW, they would say that there is no way that they could beat the korean, because it's like they're "genetically" better than everyone else. Then guys would just say that there was no way that a girl could ever beat a guy. I remember a guy invited me to a lan party, just so I could serve drinks and snacks. He told me not to play, because the other guys would probably rather leave than see me play.

Xhiwi

49 Posts

August 11 2012 22:17 GMT

#163

On August 12 2012 06:40 Nymphaceae wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +

You are totally right!

Another thing: There's this girl from Britain, who's in GM. But nobody really cares about her, just because she doesn't show her boobs. But Tara Babcock just need to post her first casting video and everyone loves her and she gets so much attention. Thats kind of unfair.
To another girl sponsors are saying: "If we should sponsor you, be a bit like Tara. Dress like her for example".
Something like this makes me sick.

Nymphaceae

United States350 Posts

August 11 2012 22:43 GMT

#164

On August 12 2012 07:17 Xhiwi wrote:

Show nested quote +

I don't really think there's anything wrong with the way she dresses. I just wish that she could give high level commentary. I'm not going to name names, but there was an ICCUP admin who didn't know the basics of BW. She would be picked to cast all the time, but she didn't know the supply cap, or about timing attacks, or when to build basic structures like the first pylon/depot (The first spawning pool is kind of complex, so I won't hold that one against her).

Xhiwi

49 Posts

August 11 2012 22:46 GMT

#165

+ Show Spoiler +

[QUOTE]On August 12 2012 07:43 Nymphaceae wrote:

I don't really think there's anything wrong with the way she dresses. I just wish that she could give high level commentary. I'm not going to name names, but there was an ICCUP admin who didn't know the basics of BW. She would be picked to cast all the time, but she didn't know the supply cap, or about timing attacks, or when to build basic structures like the first pylon/depot (The first spawning pool is kind of complex, so I won't hold that one against her). [/QUOT

E]
I don't think she's dressing wrong neither, but I just wanted to say, that it annoys me, that she's getting a lot more attention from the sc community than a really good female gamer.

Nymphaceae

United States350 Posts

August 11 2012 23:05 GMT

#166

[QUOTE]On August 12 2012 07:46 Xhiwi wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +

On August 12 2012 07:43 Nymphaceae wrote:

I don't really think there's anything wrong with the way she dresses. I just wish that she could give high level commentary. I'm not going to name names, but there was an ICCUP admin who didn't know the basics of BW. She would be picked to cast all the time, but she didn't know the supply cap, or about timing attacks, or when to build basic structures like the first pylon/depot (The first spawning pool is kind of complex, so I won't hold that one against her). [/QUOT

E]
I don't think she's dressing wrong neither, but I just wanted to say, that it annoys me, that she's getting a lot more attention from the sc community than a really good female gamer.
Not going to name names, but there are guys who got the same attention as her for their personality. I really hope she gets to GM soon, and can provide some high level meta advice. The majority of SC2 will follow you if you can get to GM, while you entertain the viewers. There are GM guys who have hardly any viewers too...

HypertonicHydroponic

437 Posts

August 12 2012 08:04 GMT

#167

Tara, I didn't think you did too badly on your cast, and I think you are going about things in a good way, like reviewing and making notes. One thing I think you should be mindful of is your laugh -- it's too, for lack of a better word, cute. And I think it conveys the nervousness you said you felt. I realize that this was your first attempt and you will have lots of things you will change as you work on this, but if that is your "real" laugh, you might want to practice a performance laugh that is less giggly. I don't know why, it is probably just me, but I could forgive all of the umm's, fillers, stumbling over terminology -- but the laugh just didn't sell it for me. It made me want to say, "nope, not gonna make it", which is horrible because I was cheering for you to do well, and in generally thought it was rather good for a first attempt. I know we can't all be Day9, but you should look to his laugh for inspiration. It is hearty; it is guttural; it makes you want to laugh too (most of the time XD). It makes you think that at least *he* really thinks the thing he's laughing at is funny.

Anyway, you seem quite prepared for a variety of comments, so hopefully this strangely nit-picky one does take you too much by surprise. But I think if you were to do that cast over with a female version of a Day9 laugh, I would say you could easily make it with practice.

Jecko

United States40 Posts

August 13 2012 03:54 GMT

#168

GM??? Wtf is wrong with you people? You expect her to be in the top 200 players of a region before she can cast??? Have more than... 3 girls even done this? Most of the casters are not even masters!! And a lot of them are gold (Total Biscuit, DJ Wheat, Husky, etc.). The fact that someone like Tara not only plays games, but is actually better at SC2 than most girls is amazing enough, and it only encourages more female gamers to join and find out why it's such a good game.

MysteryMeat1

United States3291 Posts

August 13 2012 07:00 GMT

#169

I also think u should get someone to cast with u. It's a lot easier to have a dialogue with someone else. Since you have the personality you should try to get someone with more game knowledge. They just need to have some more game knowledge. In the recent tsl4 cast with husky and day9 husky gave play by play and day9 gave actual analysis. Created a much stronger dynamic between them. As a masters player u kind of just state the obvious which gets boring

Anyway gl Seattle fighting

MysteryMeat1

United States3291 Posts

August 13 2012 08:53 GMT

#170

So I actually ended up watching your cast and I felt that you spoiled the ending a little bit throughout the intro. Saying stuff that stephano made it to the round of 4 kind of foreshadowed that he was going to win anyway. Also you should get a stream overlay to block out the timer on the replay. When that roach/ling/baneling attack came there was no point in wondering if the game would end because i could see that there was still another 15 minutes to go. Your play by plays need work, and your kind of emotionless. Husky is screaming his brains out during major engagements and you were like "stephano is overpowering keen" and then blank stare as we watched it happen. Also add the ingame timer as an option for the cast. This way you can point out common timings for different races such as 16 min broodlords and stuff for pvz.

1. clear replay timer: HUGE SPOILER
2. Work on Play by play: even if you lack the analytical skills due to knowledge gap you will at least be interesting.
3. add in game timer
4. more emotion in ur speaking.

TaraBabcock

United States391 Posts

August 13 2012 13:27 GMT

#171

On August 13 2012 17:53 MysteryMeat1 wrote:
So I actually ended up watching your cast and I felt that you spoiled the ending a little bit throughout the intro. Saying stuff that stephano made it to the round of 4 kind of foreshadowed that he was going to win anyway. Also you should get a stream overlay to block out the timer on the replay. When that roach/ling/baneling attack came there was no point in wondering if the game would end because i could see that there was still another 15 minutes to go. Your play by plays need work, and your kind of emotionless. Husky is screaming his brains out during major engagements and you were like "stephano is overpowering keen" and then blank stare as we watched it happen. Also add the ingame timer as an option for the cast. This way you can point out common timings for different races such as 16 min broodlords and stuff for pvz.

1. clear replay timer: HUGE SPOILER
2. Work on Play by play: even if you lack the analytical skills due to knowledge gap you will at least be interesting.
3. add in game timer
4. more emotion in ur speaking.

I really liked this advice because:

1. Never thought about spoiling in the beginning. I thought of it as "everyone knows this is an old game, and I am only using it to see if I can talk enough about a game," but that is a logical fallacy since I won't have the results of a tournament to talk about while casting one live, so the real-life experience on that is mute. Great point!

2. Knew I should have hid the replay timer, but I never really thought of WHY. Now it makes perfect sense! Blondes are so stupid! I though, "Oh, it's just because it looks like a replay, which is unprofessional!"

Thanks! Going to practice screaming my brains out now!

TaraBabcock

United States391 Posts

August 13 2012 13:28 GMT

#172

On August 13 2012 12:54 Jecko wrote:
GM??? Wtf is wrong with you people? You expect her to be in the top 200 players of a region before she can cast??? Have more than... 3 girls even done this? Most of the casters are not even masters!! And a lot of them are gold (Total Biscuit, DJ Wheat, Husky, etc.). The fact that someone like Tara not only plays games, but is actually better at SC2 than most girls is amazing enough, and it only encourages more female gamers to join and find out why it's such a good game.

I love this man so much! ^^^^^^

TaraBabcock

United States391 Posts

August 13 2012 13:29 GMT

#173

On August 12 2012 17:04 HypertonicHydroponic wrote:
Tara, I didn't think you did too badly on your cast, and I think you are going about things in a good way, like reviewing and making notes. One thing I think you should be mindful of is your laugh -- it's too, for lack of a better word, cute. And I think it conveys the nervousness you said you felt. I realize that this was your first attempt and you will have lots of things you will change as you work on this, but if that is your "real" laugh, you might want to practice a performance laugh that is less giggly. I don't know why, it is probably just me, but I could forgive all of the umm's, fillers, stumbling over terminology -- but the laugh just didn't sell it for me. It made me want to say, "nope, not gonna make it", which is horrible because I was cheering for you to do well, and in generally thought it was rather good for a first attempt. I know we can't all be Day9, but you should look to his laugh for inspiration. It is hearty; it is guttural; it makes you want to laugh too (most of the time XD). It makes you think that at least *he* really thinks the thing he's laughing at is funny.

Anyway, you seem quite prepared for a variety of comments, so hopefully this strangely nit-picky one does take you too much by surprise. But I think if you were to do that cast over with a female version of a Day9 laugh, I would say you could easily make it with practice.

Haha, nah, opinions always help! Even the nit-picky personal preference ones! It's silly, because I have been told both perspectives about my laugh. Some say it is cute and a plus, others say its sounds ditzy and fake!

A girl version of the Day[9] laugh? I don't want to make ball all around the world shrivel...!

HypertonicHydroponic

437 Posts

August 13 2012 15:25 GMT

#174

On August 13 2012 22:29 TaraBabcock wrote:

Show nested quote +

I don't know, I think Day9 creates a lot of nohomo (or otherwise!) nerd boners anyway... combine that with the real boners your "the girls" make and you probably have a winner. XD XD XD

corpuscle

United States1967 Posts

August 13 2012 15:28 GMT

#175

djWHEAT is diamond and Husky is either diamond or masters (I'm pretty sure he's masters)

not that it discredits your point which is entirely valid, I just wanted to correct that.

Nymphaceae

United States350 Posts

August 13 2012 17:48 GMT

#176

I don't feel like writing something long, but I believe if you focused on your skills as much as you focused on your looks, you would be easily GM. Some people have a strong drive for 1 day, some for 1 week, and some for 1 month. Some people's drive is like quicksand, in which they stop eating, drinking, and sleeping, just to try to get that slight edge. They end up never reaching the top, but always believe the top is close.

When I saw you taking the notes on yourself, I was curious if you took notes about the game. People spend 100-1000s of games just practicing 5 roach rush,7 roach rush, 6 pool, but why don't you see them winning tournaments if they have the "ultimate zerg rush." I would highly recommend you to read the strategy forums, because there is so much there, that you can flood just one match up with more than enough GM knowledge to get people to watch your vids for more than just your looks.

I wish you the best of luck with SC2 and casting. Please don't embarrass us. I don't think there's ever been a good female caster.

P.S. I did like your comment about psychology and failing.

Apollo_Shards

1210 Posts

August 13 2012 23:03 GMT

#177

edit: Sorry for the very harshly wordered post (that you can see which was quoted right below me) and I didn't mean to be such an asshole about it. I think a better way of saying what I would like to say is, "Hey, it's ok if you dress like that, and it's your choice, and I will not judge you for it. However, not being honest (in my opinion) about why you dress that way strikes me as a cheap way out of a valid discussion about what is appropriate for casters or people in this profession to wear"

It is much easier to say you dress that way because you are more comfortable (which you could very well be), and that you don't care what other people think, instead of saying "Yea well sex sells, and exposing my breasts gets me a lot of views". (again, that is just my opinion).

I really hope you are able to improve your casting and I really wish you the best.
Again I am very sorry about what I said earlier and you shouldn't let people who say stuff like that make you want to quit. There are a lot of people out there who want you to succeed. Dont give up!

As for that post (and others that I made), I asked for a self imposed ban because that really isnt acceptable to say to someone who is genuinely trying to improve. Good luck in the future!

Carson

Canada820 Posts

August 13 2012 23:06 GMT

#178

On August 14 2012 08:03 Apollo_Shards wrote:

Show nested quote +

On August 09 2012 20:46 TaraBabcock wrote:
Thanks for the help, guys! Of course I do not plan to stick with solo-casting, and I realize that it is much harder, and not something someone who is purely entertaining and not heavily analytically should do. The solo practice is good, though, because I do not feel like I need the practice interacting with another person fluidly (IMO perfecting that comes with working with them often anyway) so I might as well practice the hard way for the most part. Alone! I would love to cast with others and practice and stuff, though. I am always welcome to cast the local SC2 tournament here at Gameclucks where players like Kawaiirice and other GM/M serious players compete, and I am excited to dual cast there when I feel I will not bomb it.

As for my looks, I don't care what anyone thinks. I am not going to change myself away from the way I like to be just because someone may find me less offensive or take me "seriously". If I am not so damn good that the skill is dripping from my words and you cannot help but see my passion and "worth" as a person in eSports, I might as well not even do it! I'm also a glamour model full-time. This is what we look like. Get over it. Why would I change myself so it pleases others? That is just actually doing what you are accusing me of already: changing just so people like me, or accept me.

As far as other girls coming in and "pretending" to be gamers... well a tiny bit of digging on me in particular and you'll see that is moronic to even say in regards to me. I have been gaming my whole life. I've talked about it in interviews my whole career, covered eSports and gaming events, I write gaming articles, and I own so much gaming "paraphernalia" that any real gamer would be in heaven. I may be new to eSports, but my love for gaming, persistent throughout my life is no secret.

Other than that, I agree, I need to let the passion out more, I need to be more comfortable with getting excited and, above all, I need more knowledge or the game and have the backing of a higher personal ranking in order to look serious about the game and community. I plan to keep working on it! I know you guys will see improvement soon!

Thanks for the feedback!

That is a very good question. Spending tons of money on makeup that must take ages to put on every morning, along with expensive and potentially risky surgery on your breasts and lips would be so stupid! Because hey, why would you change yourself to please others?

Reading this thread suddenly all the "failing with girls" and "forever alone" blogs make sense.

Apollo_Shards

1210 Posts

August 13 2012 23:18 GMT

#179

-deleted for being repetitive-

TaraBabcock

United States391 Posts

August 14 2012 02:10 GMT

#180

On August 14 2012 02:48 Nymphaceae wrote:
I don't feel like writing something long, but I believe if you focused on your skills as much as you focused on your looks, you would be easily GM. Some people have a strong drive for 1 day, some for 1 week, and some for 1 month. Some people's drive is like quicksand, in which they stop eating, drinking, and sleeping, just to try to get that slight edge. They end up never reaching the top, but always believe the top is close.

When I saw you taking the notes on yourself, I was curious if you took notes about the game. People spend 100-1000s of games just practicing 5 roach rush,7 roach rush, 6 pool, but why don't you see them winning tournaments if they have the "ultimate zerg rush." I would highly recommend you to read the strategy forums, because there is so much there, that you can flood just one match up with more than enough GM knowledge to get people to watch your vids for more than just your looks.

I wish you the best of luck with SC2 and casting. Please don't embarrass us. I don't think there's ever been a good female caster.

P.S. I did like your comment about psychology and failing.

Aww, I find this post absolutely adorable.

I will definitely try my best, and hopefully I won't disappoint!

I agree with your comment about exploiting and practicing "cheese", haha! I've never understood why people do this just to get to PLat-Masters and hit a dead end. These same people come to my stream while I am playing economically, scouting, trying to practice viable builds and go, "I can teach you how to be Plat by next week, just PROXY RAX!" Then, they get angry when I respond, "Well, I actually wanna get good at this game and create good habits!"

That is another topic, entirely!

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