EPTSo i have been keeping at least a lazy eye on the most verbal sides of the starcraft community lately and it seems like some people are making an attempt to stand up for some fundamental problems the game has. It may be great and become greater as a one on one competitive endeavour, but for casual gamers to take part of that gameplay experience themselves will always be very intimidating and potentially bring more anger, bitterness and frustration than it brings satisfaction.
the contrast is teambased games, they may be arguably lacking in comparison, in terms of pure strategical depth, but even the team-dynamics alone, of games like lol/dota or CS make the gameplay experience even in the most competitive setting to be something casual players are more likely to keep coming back to, than to starcraft where its all on them, win or lose.
Suggestions to address these problems that i have seen are mostly about brining esports into the client and making the client / Bnet environment more socially attractive overall as a platform.
Most clearly relating to my idea and inspiring it in that sense was Nazgul:
Skins itself are not a casual feature, and can be applied successfully in a competitive, as well as a casual game.
Presenting features for casual players in a clear and easy to use manner is very important, however you don't need to go so far as to say your focus needs to be on those. Just take care of casual players properly and find the right balance. In order to be a successful esport, there is no need at all to put casuals first. Asking game developers to put casuals first is a step in the wrong direction, asking them to take care of casuals properly is what we need from them.
sourceMy idea:
The idea i had this morning was for Blizzard to quite simply use the tools already in place or promised for the HotS client to actually integrate potentially casual gameplay with very specific tactical and strategic situations from current tournaments that everyone are able to see, hear cast, and relate to. Allow me to brake it down:
So the GSL code S finals just went down. it was a great series. lets assume blizzard picks out one game and one situation as particularly amazing. the link to this VOD is featured in the BNET client,along with a blog post from a blizzar representative. or maybe artosis (in this GSL case), explaining the game up to some predetermined critical sequence in the game.
Along with the blogpost is the replay of the entire game and two badass buttons for "tactical challenge" one for each race/side. taking on the tactical challenge will search for a match though the matchmaking system and put both players in the shoes of MVP or Life. giving them some 15-20 seconds to read the situation and set some hotkeys before the game starts......
the challenge would last a month or a couple of weeks, then a new game and situation would be highlighted - with new rewards available!
winning the challenge (maybe 3-10 times something?) could grant an achievement and a portrait - a custom portrait tied to the challenge-feature with a picture of the player might be nice. Stringing together many of these achievements successfully could ideally grant some unique unit-skins or even points to "purchase" some, allowing a broader selection. too many custom skins in the sc2 melee might convolute gameplay, so maybe skins awarded for SC2DOTA would be better.
Having these achievements and skins bound to this feature in the game only would allow players to decorate their ingame appearance - not only to look cool, but to signify they have been in touch with the SC2 esport happenings - signaling they are someone you can talk to about esports. That can be helpful for the individual player when meeting new players and talking to them, and for the scene in actually integrating a potentially more casual gameplay experience with all the awesome that keeps on happing in the realm of SC2 esports.
Thoughts?
