So in this blog I'll do my best to enlighten some of the less knowledgeable of us from a business perspective as to why teams make the choices they make when it comes to players. To make it easier to see what I'm talking about, I will lump the players into archetypes so you can more easily add new players to them and more easily understand why they end up where they do. * Disclaimer *: No player typically falls 100% under one archetype, but their overall persona does. Meaning while they may not always be one, the majority of the time they are. This also does not mean given time players can not eventually change, some included in this list have in fact done so. Nor is this meant to be a knock on the people, merely a tool to make an example.
For Reference: An archetype (pron.: /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/) is a universally understood symbol, term,[1] statement, or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. Archetypes are often used in myths and storytelling across different cultures.
The Player Archetypes Used
Faces: Example used Incontrol (better example would probably be Sean but he doesn't play)
Heels: Example used Destiny (others would be Major, CombatEX)
Heroes: Example used Fruit Dealer (others would be DRG, Nestea, MVP, Stephano (sometimes))
Anti-Heroes: Example used Idra (others would be Naniwa, MC)
Explanation
Example 1 - Incontrol (Face): You can say what you want about Incontrol's colored past from BW, but as far as SC2 is concerned he's become a face in the scene. He is a Juggernaut of PR, constantly involving himself in anyway possible regardless of in game results. It's hard to hate him because he's tried so very hard to make everyone not have a reason to. His results may not always be stellar but his face has become synonymous with SC2.
The value he brings to a team is obvious, as he involves himself in so many different aspects of the industry that you can't help but know him. Additionally he rarely has a terrible word to say about anyone, or the game he plays.
Players like this attract sponsors as it gives them so much visibility. This in turn makes a team willing to pay this type of player more then their results would lend to. As losing such a player would likely lead to a noticeable decrease in visibility and would not be good for future sponsor contracts.
Should this type of player do well in a tournament it's more bonus then anything.
Example 2 - Destiny (Heel): This type of player is the player a large majority of people just love to hate. Like the Face they don't tend to have results. Generally speaking their eyeballs come from their misdeeds more so then their good traits. This does not mean they have no loyal fans, just that their fans tend to follow them to see what bad thing they do next more so then anything else.
The value a player of this type brings to a team is short term. While they do have eyeballs they are not the type that are typically all that attractive to sponsors. These types of players can be a short term fix to get a new franchise some initial visibility, but from a long term perspective the teams relationship with these players is normally short. As sponsors come on bored and these players do as they do, they tend to get sent packing so that sponsors gained are not lost.
Example 3 - Fruit Dealer (Hero): The hero type of player achieves something that little thought was possible. Back in the BW days you could of said some of the banjwa's were such players. Through sheer ability and will they dominate play. This could easily be said about the down and out story of a guy selling fruit to help his family eat, and his rise to be the first GSL champion despite playing the least visibly powerful of the races at the time.
For a team a player like this is a gold mine so long as their results hold up. These players are not always a recluse, but they are less likely to be in the public eye as much as a Face is. Their focus is on achieving results, and being the elite of players.
What they are though is well mannered and typically humble. They could win the next 3 GSL's and just attribute it to their team and hard work, and say something like 'I'm glad I won, and I hope I can keep winning for my fans'.
The downside to being the hero type for players is that if results begin to diminish their overall value to a team begins to decrease. Their only real hope to continue to bring value to a team is to become a face but that's easier said then done. So if results begin to slip and they are not prepared to make that switch they are likely let go for the next hot up and coming star.
Example 4 - Idra (Anti-Hero):These are the types of players who you love to hate. Much like the Hero they are typically masters of the game and have results to back it up. The difference is despite being an overall heel, they've managed to tap into something most rarely do. That thing they've tapped into is while they are clearly not a good guy, you can't help but cheer them on.
Conversely to the Hero, they are not usually humble. If they beat someone it was because the other player is bad, or because they are great and everyone else is not.
Unlike the Heel the Anti-Hero rarely does anything so bad that they are not attractive to sponsors. They may speak their mind but they are more tempered. They also have results that your average Heel does not have which helps to back up their claims if they call a player 'terrible' or say something is 'stupid'.
The pitfall for the Anti-Hero much like the Hero is as results diminish they need to make a shift to being more of a face. This can be a much more difficult transition as it would be much easier to slip into the role of the Heel then it would be the Face. Very few have successfully made that transition as their skills decline but some have.
Summation
While in this blog I've very generally lumped players into categories, I think overall it can help to make people think about why players are with a team one day, then gone the next. Or conversely how a player you figured would be gone, stays with a team for ages.
There is some exceptions where players with little overall value stay on teams. This however, is more related to relationships they build within a team and a teams ability to fund them past them having any value to the team, and as such should not be considered 'normal'.
Player Archetypes Good For Teams: Face, Hero, Anti-Hero with results Player Archetypes Bad For Teams: Heel, Hero/Anti-Hero with no results
Hopefully this helps to give people insight to why some players flourish while others fall flat on their face in regards to teams.
On March 16 2013 02:01 Nerski wrote: So in this blog I'll do my best to enlighten some of the less knowledgeable of us from a business perspective as to why teams make the choices they make when it comes to players. To make it easier to see what I'm talking about, I will lump the players into archetypes so you can more easily add new players to them and more easily understand why they end up where they do. * Disclaimer *: No player typically falls 100% under one archetype, but their overall persona does. Meaning while they may not always be one, the majority of the time they are. This also does not mean given time players can not eventually change, some included in this list have in fact done so. Nor is this meant to be a knock on the people, merely a tool to make an example.
For Reference: An archetype (pron.: /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/) is a universally understood symbol, term,[1] statement, or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. Archetypes are often used in myths and storytelling across different cultures.
The Player Archetypes Used
Faces: Example used Incontrol (better example would probably be Sean but he doesn't play)
Heels: Example used Destiny (others would be Major, CombatEX)
Heroes: Example used Fruit Dealer (others would be DRG, Nestea, MVP, Stephano (sometimes))
Anti-Heroes: Example used Idra (others would be Naniwa, MC)
Explanation
Example 1 - Incontrol (Face): You can say what you want about Incontrol's colored past from BW, but as far as SC2 is concerned he's become a face in the scene. He is a Juggernaut of PR, constantly involving himself in anyway possible regardless of in game results. It's hard to hate him because he's tried so very hard to make everyone not have a reason to. His results may not always be stellar but his face has become synonymous with SC2.
The value he brings to a team is obvious, as he involves himself in so many different aspects of the industry that you can't help but know him. Additionally he rarely has a terrible word to say about anyone, or the game he plays.
Players like this attract sponsors as it gives them so much visibility. This in turn makes a team willing to pay this type of player more then their results would lend to. As losing such a player would likely lead to a noticeable decrease in visibility and would not be good for future sponsor contracts.
Should this type of player do well in a tournament it's more bonus then anything.
Example 2 - Destiny (Heel): This type of player is the player a large majority of people just love to hate. Like the Face they don't tend to have results. Generally speaking their eyeballs come from their misdeeds more so then their good traits. This does not mean they have no loyal fans, just that their fans tend to follow them to see what bad thing they do next more so then anything else.
The value a player of this type brings to a team is short term. While they do have eyeballs they are not the type that are typically all that attractive to sponsors. These types of players can be a short term fix to get a new franchise some initial visibility, but from a long term perspective the teams relationship with these players is normally short. As sponsors come on bored and these players do as they do, they tend to get sent packing so that sponsors gained are not lost.
Example 3 - Fruit Dealer (Hero): The hero type of player achieves something that little thought was possible. Back in the BW days you could of said some of the banjwa's were such players. Through sheer ability and will they dominate play. This could easily be said about the down and out story of a guy selling fruit to help his family eat, and his rise to be the first GSL champion despite playing the least visibly powerful of the races at the time.
For a team a player like this is a gold mine so long as their results hold up. These players are not always a recluse, but they are less likely to be in the public eye as much as a Face is. Their focus is on achieving results, and being the elite of players.
What they are though is well mannered and typically humble. They could win the next 3 GSL's and just attribute it to their team and hard work, and say something like 'I'm glad I won, and I hope I can keep winning for my fans'.
The downside to being the hero type for players is that if results begin to diminish their overall value to a team begins to decrease. Their only real hope to continue to bring value to a team is to become a face but that's easier said then done. So if results begin to slip and they are not prepared to make that switch they are likely let go for the next hot up and coming star.
Example 4 - Idra (Anti-Hero):These are the types of players who you love to hate. Much like the Hero they are typically masters of the game and have results to back it up. The difference is despite being an overall heel, they've managed to tap into something most rarely do. That thing they've tapped into is while they are clearly not a good guy, you can't help but cheer them on.
Conversely to the Hero, they are not usually humble. If they beat someone it was because the other player is bad, or because they are great and everyone else is not.
Unlike the Heel the Anti-Hero rarely does anything so bad that they are not attractive to sponsors. They may speak their mind but they are more tempered. They also have results that your average Heel does not have which helps to back up their claims if they call a player 'terrible' or say something is 'stupid'.
The pitfall for the Anti-Hero much like the Hero is as results diminish they need to make a shift to being more of a face. This can be a much more difficult transition as it would be much easier to slip into the role of the Heel then it would be the Face. Very few have successfully made that transition as their skills decline but some have.
Summation
While in this blog I've very generally lumped players into categories, I think overall it can help to make people think about why players are with a team one day, then gone the next. Or conversely how a player you figured would be gone, stays with a team for ages.
There is some exceptions where players with little overall value stay on teams. This however, is more related to relationships they build within a team and a teams ability to fund them past them having any value to the team, and as such should not be considered 'normal'.
Player Archetypes Good For Teams: Face, Hero, Anti-Hero with results Player Archetypes Bad For Teams: Heel, Hero/Anti-Hero with no results
Hopefully this helps to give people insight to why some players flourish while others fall flat on their face in regards to teams.
Formatted for you :D Interesting perspective. Fixed some spelling too~
How can FD be a hero? Yes, he was a great player, but AFK, he was bad in the team environment and had an alcohol addiction that prevented him from playing. I'm not disagreeing with your final assumptions though about what is good for a team and bad for a team, I very much agree that Heels are never good for teams. Heels are released from teams all the time, in SC2 it has been Orb and Destiny, in LoL IWillDominate and NintendudeX have been released, DotA has its share too, and real sports I think we all know some Heels that don't produce. Nice blog dude.
Fruitdealer was a hero because zerg was so weak in Open Season 1, but somehow he managed to win (only 1 other zerg in ro16, only 5 others in ro32); kinda like the representative of a whole race
Which gave rise to videos like this -
After that he fell off for sure and became more of a disappointment/relic
Thanks Torte, truth be told I did one read through probably should have done another .
How can FD be a hero? Yes, he was a great player, but AFK, he was bad in the team environment and had an alcohol addiction that prevented him from playing. I'm not disagreeing with your final assumptions though about what is good for a team and bad for a team, I very much agree that Heels are never good for teams. Heels are released from teams all the time, in SC2 it has been Orb and Destiny, in LoL IWillDominate and NintendudeX have been released, DotA has its share too, and real sports I think we all know some Heels that don't produce. Nice blog dude.
Well regardless of behind the scenes issues that FD may have had, he's a good example of the rhyme and reason of what makes someone appear to be a Hero archetype. At least in the public's eye, as far as I'm aware nothing negative really started to come out until he started to slump dramatically.
It's good to keep in mind if anything I'm over generalizing here to give people a way to look objectively at players and why teams do the things with them that they do. This blog was spawned by the numerous outcrys of outrage I've seen when X player doesn't get signed or gets dropped and a lot of people seem clueless as to why it makes perfect sense.
On March 16 2013 03:46 docvoc wrote: How can FD be a hero? Yes, he was a great player, but AFK, he was bad in the team environment
jubil covered Fruitdealer pretty well. His success came out of the turmoil when the scv/marine all-in, 2 rax, and 4 gate were very common in the pro scene. The man defied all expectations giving hope to all the whining zerggies at the time.
Stephano's initial rise to fame was probably the second best "hero" story. He walked into a terran-dominated scene and took out all the big names with INFESTORS. Anyone paying attention to Destiny (summer victory against Bomber) or MrBitter knew it had great potential, but we can thank Stephano's IPL win for bringing infestors into the spotlight.
Anti-hero is definitely the best word for players like Idra and Naniwa. During TSL2, Idra was "the villain", the unstoppable juggernaut who easily qualified for the tournament by destroying A- Koreans. He destroyed Octzerg with firebats, for heaven's sake! He brimmed with unwavering confidence during online videos, which is why Nony's victory was such a huge upset. Idra's definitely changed (and for the better), but I definitely miss the effect he had...
EPT
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