EPTA New Hope
The future for sc2 and LOTV looks the brightest that it's ever looked in my eyes, Blizzard seems to be learning and adapting - better late than never, that's for sure. More than that they seem to be more open to feedback than they've ever been and more active and in touch with the community and players - The truth is Blizzard loves sc2, I remember thinking at a point that sc2 was Blizzard's ugly child the one that didn't make them any money and evil monsters I thought they maybe : abandoned it. I don't think I was ever that blunt about it publicly but my frustration has shown in other ways over time, never with any bad intentions, of course all I've ever wanted was the success of the game that I love the most and likely the one that I will always love the most (and yes, I did play lots of broodwar). This week I learned that when I felt that way I was wrong about a few things - The people who are behind this game and this company are amazing, and I am really happy I got to meet them in person. I've trully been inspired and I say all this because if you ever had a worry about Blizzard stopping to care about sc2 whenever it's finished selling: they won't. In fact - they fucking love SC2, and they aren't very evil at all. My intention isn't to sound like a spokesman for Blizzard, nor have I been brainwashed - it is strong opinions and criticism that is bringing forth positive change and I take great pride in being myself and being blunt with my opinions however polarizing or bad for PR they may be - It's just that today I have nothing negative to say, today I am proud to be a StarCraft player/personality and a Blizzard fanboy, it's like if you never met your dad and your mom told you he was an alcoholic and a terrible person but then you hang out with him and found out he stopped drinking got his shit together and still loves you (not sure who the mom would be in this analogy) but you get the point, I believe 'Blizzard' loves SC2 and as long as there's more open communication with the community and through community leaders and content producers (which we know they intend to do moving forward) I can't imagine LOTV not being a success.
The Phantom Menace
Ok so I wasn't planning on the Starwars thing, I actually had to google a bit to figure out the names, but I named this bit the phantom menace because most people seem to think it's bad and I always thought it had plenty of good parts. At this point in time, I am thinking - moving forward I will stop trying to be a 'sc2 pro'. Many will say that I was never great at it anyway and they're probably right, As much as I have had my alright moments, I have never been consistently good enough to compete at the top level, and that's ok. My favorite moments as a pro-gamer were always the ones that didn't belong to me but I felt a part of, that some of the best players in the world, people who I'm a fan of - thought enough of my strategy and advice to use it in the highest profile matches of their lives was the most humbling (and on the other end, the least humbling) experience ever.I'm proud of that, very much so. I've always been arrogant when I talk about sc2, I feel like I really get the game - but that's not enough to be a pro at the highest level, and that level of competition as much as I would much enjoy it isn't where the greater bulk of my heart lies. I love StarCraft 2 because it's a Real Time Strategy game, the best one made to date in my opinion. It's the strategy, the out-thinking, the mind games and the originality that 'turns me on' for lack of a better word. I love StarCraft because there will never be 2 games that are the same and it's the decisions you make in a unique situation every time that can change the game into your favor, it has an impossible skill cap not only mechanically, but with the thousands of decisions that we make every single game.
It's always kind of bothered me that whenever anyone says they're retiring or leaving people make it into a negative - Sometimes it feels like people think sc2 players and personalities have a big copyright tatoo owned by sc2 forums and that's always rubbed me off the wrong way - I only mention this because this isn't me bullshitting and being apologetic so that I don't' get hate on my way out, I don't really care for people who do that - what I do care about is people knowing that I honestly believe that LOTV has a great future ahead of itself. I am not apologizing for leaving, nor am I really leaving the scene. I plan on continuing to grow my team's brand across all games and we plan to continue to support sc2 - ROOT's a team born in sc2 and I owe my life to this game, I don't see us ever pulling out as long as we exist or WarCraft 4 comes out in a bunch of years. In terms of sc2 - As I write this I intend to maintain GM level but I will put no pressure on myself to perform past that, I will likely still stream sc2 often (although I don't know how often). I am open to suggestions if anyone would like to see anything in particular from me, I was considering doing a bit more educational and fun content on my stream, as long as I am confident in my ability to understand sc2, I'll be happy to do that sort of thing, I think it's something I would enjoy.
I also really like Overwatch, I haven't had that much fun in a long time, and because of that I might give it a competitive shot, it's likely to go wrong and I may be underestimating shooter's mechanical cap, but as long as I'm having fun playing it, I will likely be playing it a lot.
It's no secret I also enjoy HearthStone, mostly the deck building bit fascinates me, it's the game I go to to relax and have a good time, unlikely i'll ever be competitive at it, but 'never say never'
I love Dota and Invoker as well, so I'm sure i'll do bits of that here and there.
Before some people get the dedgaem paranoia going, I don't intend to be a personality in all or really any of these games, nor am I trying my luck in different scenes - my current plan is to have a good time playing games because... well that's just what I feel like doing.
Most likely, like I said i'll give Overwatch a competitive shot and if that goes well and I have less time for other games, well that's just what will happen.
The Force Awakens
Last but not least, none of this is final, I am a human being and if I decide tomorrow that my hands ARE good enough to keep up and I want to continue to try to be a sc2 pro, I will. That may be why so many people don't announce 'retirements' because deep down we know we're going to want to come back at some point in some way or another, on that same note - welcome back people who left, there's a bunch of debate around that and the cash grab type thing, who gives a shit: give people the benefit of the doubt, if they want to come back welcome them with open arms, no one should have to put their head down in shame because they want to play LOTV.
Again, I don't plan on 'leaving' the scene, I am excited for the future of sc2 and I trully believe it's headed the right way, It may seem idiotic to slow down when LOTV is in our doorstep, but I think I have to be honest with myself, I am 29 and the mechanical cap isn't something I see myself matching in sc2, I see this transition as an opening for me to try something different - especially now that I am confident the game is headed in a good direction. I'll continue to try to maintain a relatively high level of play, help develop players and 'coach' at the house if I feel up to the task, if there's any suggestions on what you'd like to see from me pertaining sc2 personal stream content, please lmk.
PS: anyone left wondering why the last bit was called The Force Awakens - I do not know and I am too tired to try to justify the title.
k good night, CatZ
