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Why do I play this game?

Blogs > micronesia
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micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24698 Posts
Last Edited: 2007-05-27 08:30:40
May 27 2007 08:26 GMT
#1
This is a question that many a player has grappled with for billions of years. Why play StarCraft? Why game competitively? I am going to briefly address this issue (specifically for Broodwars) from my perspective.

Like many people, when I started playing StarCraft, it was a fun (for me new) type of game which was not immediately accessible, but playable within a few hours of practice, at least in campaign mode. It was easy to find footage of good players, or friends who could show you what the game looks like at higher levels. For many, including myself, this was a driving force in developing a desire to get better. Even at low levels, this game was fun to multiplayer, but with the promise of more to come as I improved, I was hooked.

The abundance of resources for getting better is also impressive. There are (or were) several communities with active strategists and in depth strategy guides with nearly ever facet of every matchup covered down to the most grueling details. If there was some issue you couldn't find in the guide, you could always just search through the archives of old posts on teamliquid as well as other forums. If by some chance your question was still not answered, you created a thread and asked about it. It was also easy to find people to go over replays with you, and help you figure out what your main problems were if you couldn't tell yourself.

There have also been several ladders over the years, with a level of competition that has reached nearly into the pro-gaming scene itself. And of course, there's Korea.

I was amazed at the cultural phenomenon StarCraft has become in South Korea. Watching videos and Korean television of players performing some of the pimpest plays you could imagine in front of huge audiences of adoring fans is quite an experience, as most of us here surely know. For me, this was another driving force in my attempts to get better at StarCraft.

Up until this point, it's all been peachy, right? Surely StarCraft is the second coming of Jesus and an embodiment of all that is good. So why do I claim there are some drawbacks to competative StarCraft? Well by the time I achieved what most of us would consider D+/C- play, I found the majority of my matches (both on ladders and off) were not much fun. They were rewarding at times, and occasionally very exciting, but certainly not relaxing.

Why do I play a game? For entertainment, sometimes relaxation, and ways to participate with other people in fun activities; occasionally even just to pass the time. Is StarCraft doing this for me now? I played a few games today against other people in my clan, and what I discovered was that my matches were tiring without being terribly exciting, made me angry when I made mistakes, and were not in the least bit relaxing. I seem to need to relax from StarCraft rather than via StarCraft.

Of course, I don't always need to play "1:1 Luna" or "1v1 C3 I Make", since there's the choice to play against noobs, play ums, or help other people. This seems to be the path that the majority of gamers have taken over the years. Honestly, what percentage of active gamers today play in competitive games on a daily basis? I often feel like I'm in the minority when I claim that my primary reason for playing StarCraft is to play competitively at a high level.

The more I play competitive games, the less happy and relaxed I feel, yet the more I tend to play as a result. The healthy response to being tired or annoyed with a game is to take a break or play it in a different way while you recuperate a bit, yet the tendency I (and probably other competitive gamers) find is to play more in the way that is making us pissed off. I'm going to try backing off any style of addictive game playing that seems to be upsetting me or just generally isn't fun. Perhaps many of us need to make a conscious effort to avoid spiraling out of control.

*****
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
kaski
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
Canada6 Posts
May 27 2007 09:11 GMT
#2
I didn't read it all, but i know its a awesome blog entry anyway. :D
emporer, we know you will be back...
AcrossFiveJulys
Profile Blog Joined September 2005
United States3612 Posts
May 27 2007 09:24 GMT
#3
I agree with you that once you get obsessed with getting better and playing competatively in leagues/ladders, it loses alot of the fun. Personally, the most fun I ever had playing games was bo5 1v1 with friends, public 2v2's with a friend messing around with funny strategies, or even a good old fashioned 3v3 bgh.

Then again, the vast majority of us never did and never will reach pro level, but still try to get very good at the game. Developing alot of skill and realizing how much you have improved is alot of the fun of the game IMO.

So basically, having long-term fun playing bw seems to amount to having both a competative side to playing and a fun side of playing. If all you play for is fun, it gets boring eventually, at least for me.
red.venom
Profile Joined October 2002
United States4651 Posts
Last Edited: 2007-05-27 09:32:12
May 27 2007 09:29 GMT
#4
It's just the casual outlook vs more serious gaming. If you play seriously but not enough to own people in tournaments or really feel like you are able to compete with some of the best, then you are bound to find diminishing returns in what you are putting into and getting out of the game.

This is why the very top level players keep playing for a long time, while the level beneath them is always changing. Because people just get bored and give up.

The only other reason to play is for the friendship and fun times really. Just keep it casual. I managed to keep my interest up in BW long after I had given up trying to be really good at it just by playing RvR against people around my level. BW is very stressful if you are trying to be good, and it takes a lot of time too. Unfortunately many of the really good players will downplay how much time they put into it so they dont look like nerds, but most of them at some point have been 8 hours a day type gamers(Or have just played really consistantly for many years), so just remember that.

Feel free to play team games, FFA, UMS or whatever is more fun. Don't feel bad goofing around in 1:1 matches even if people think you are being a dick who isnt taking shit super seriously.
Broom
Broken.Mind
Profile Joined December 2005
United States364 Posts
July 13 2007 09:54 GMT
#5
dude you have put into words what i have been feeling :O
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