I have been thinking about our scene for the past few days; specifically, the future of our scene has been occupying my thoughts. We were given an incomplete game, with the intention of turning it into something great; something like it's predecessor. From a spectator's point of view, we seem to be striving to make it into something great without just acknowledging and enjoying it's greatness for what it is, and just letting it be and grow. Our mindset is backwards. Our approaches are convoluted. I am not particularly worried about it though.
As things stand right now the foreign scene will not last. ESF will not last. Three day death marches will only hold top-player interest as long as they have to attend them. When money isn't as scarce there isn't any real reason to go to them. They will be left to the local talent and spare B and C teamers.
We can't be bothered to make a proper hype video for a tournament but can find the money to rent a 60 foot tv billboard. We can't find the time to put out proper videos of our players daily lives and edit them properly and use the easiest format for them and we certainly can't do any of those regularly. When we do we put it behind a pay wall, or require you to sign in to facebook, like it, post it, retweet it seven times, fill out a survey, spin around three times, and then if you still want to, can view the content. Oops the server is over-filled with requests, try again later. Oddly, Kespa has managed to do it from the get go.
They have more experience though. They've been doing this forever. Didn't we watch them do it forever? How did we watch and then resort to "okay I'm gonna get on twitter, and I'm gonna say something and hashtag #gettinghyped. What I need you to do is retweet it, and then make something similar, and from there. we're gonna get people excited. And if we can get it trending, we've made it." How? How do you look at a model that worked for so long that you wished you could be a bigger part of and more involved with and then when you get the chance do anything but follow that working model?
Maybe people just aren't interested in your player content. It's the community's fault. Why is it the community's fault that you don't follow what works?
I'm not worried though. The weak will fall. If we stay open enough and try to be involved enough our Kespa overlords will stay involved with the foreign scene. We will either develop a league worth a damn or we won't. Either way I'll be able to watch the game I love and play.
I guess it's just kind of an emo night.