EPTI've been in tune with this forum for many months now and finally decided to share my thoughts on gaming with any who care to listen.
I'm not new to gaming, but new to starcraft without a doubt. I'll share a little about myself.
My name is Tyler and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I'm 17 years of age and completing my final year of school before heading off to university. (I suppose the equivalent of an American College?) For about 7-8 years, I've been playing computer games, the past 5 or so online. My journey started with a copy of Red Alert and Total Annihilation. Eventually, I was introduced to counter-strike and spent a large portion of my time playing on public servers until the age of about 13 when i was enlightened through my first clan. As I've grown, I've played CS:S semi-seriously, but not competitively.
Eventually, i started playing Call of Duty 1, where I immediately took to competition and worked my way up to the higher level. I played for many years, always aiming for the top throughout the Call of Duty series (games 1, 2 and now 4 [Modern Warfare]) until only recently. I've played in teams with the potential to play at top level, however my clans have -one way or another, collapsed under the pressure before getting to the top level. After many fallen teams due to inactive members, hardware issues and clan drop-outs, I've been left unsatisfied, and now play very scarcely for a line-up more interested in playing C&C3 than the game we'd all practiced to step up with.
So thats my basic history in the e-sport scenario in short. I consider myself fairly well known within the Australian CoD community and very game/online savvy.
Now to the point of what I'd like to share.
I've recently been very humbled.
FPS has always been my medium. It was the first type of game I started to play competitively and It's been my driving force and desire in e-sports. Many of my friends from school and what-not have always challenged me to RTS games which I only played socially. I seemed to come out on top in most of those games after a small introduction to the basic mechanics of the game due to my general game sense. I've played WC3, DoW, RA etc... and most of the RTS games I played seemed rather unfulfilling. Granted my friends aren't experts at the games. However, skill wise, I have never considered the RTS genre to come anywhere near the skill required for FPS games.
Let me explain: I've always looked at RTS games as just that. Strategy. Rock will always beat scissors as X unit can beat Y unit. It's always been 'use this build' and attack. I've always seen the genre to be the same every time. You build the same buildings, pump the same units and encounter the same sort of setup from your opponent. Monotonous... and simply non-engaging.
FPS on the other hand, is all action. You need to learn a large skill set. You need to learn to aim differently with every game and the general feel of each weapon can make an enormous difference. The biggest divider between RTS and FPS is simply the ad-lib feeling of an FPS. Enemies can pop out anywhere at anytime, and that's all it takes for you to go down. You need to use explosive movements with your arm/wrist to great accuracy, or quickly fall and watch from the sidelines. There are quick tricks you need to master with your movement and general mechanics (left hand on keyboard) while at the same time, trying to outsmart your opponent or wrong foot them to get the upper hand. You need to know every nook and cranny of every map and you need to know what you're capable of; when to attack, and when to pull out. Ultimately, the FPS just requires more GENERAL skill than the RTS.
These have been my thoughts for many years now (and are the basis of why I've vowed never to touch MMO's)however i have recently been humbled via revelation.
Every single strand of me that pulsed with the thrill of an intense frag and laughed at the gamers of other genres has been broken and reformed. I've been playing starcraft.
It started around the GSI when i watched the matches and listen to Tasteless' commentary. The information he was spitting up and the sheer awe he had for the pro gamers astounded me. When he referred to starcraft as the hardest game in the world to master, it raised both of my eyebrows. I watched on, listening to strategies and watching them conquer or fall. 10 years old, starcraft was to me, a new game. I delved into my old CD wallet, where i had a brood war disk from years ago that my friends had tried to play me at (Back in the days where we'd sit with 3 tanks, two bunkers and a couple of turrets for most of the game until we had a battle cruiser or two) - yeah, n00bcaek.
During the GSI i came to TL (thanks to Tasteless again) and learned huge amounts about starcraft. After the GSI, i started playing SC with a competitive mindset. I was INSTANTLY crushed. Every game seemed to shatter me and immediately, i knew there was more to this game. I've learned (but not anywhere near become efficient at) the art that is starcraft. The multi task, micro, macro, Build orders, hard counters, soft counters, mind games and innumerable variables that destroy you in endless different ways every game.
As a newcomer to the game, i never expected to instantly win. But to be completely shut down as I have been was a humbling experience. After a record of about 20-67 i started playing on ICCUP. I've learned to play Protoss and currently fluctuate between D and D+. Despite all the talk of 'protoss being easy' and 'TvP being a nightmare' i've found the PvT matchup the hardest without a doubt. I guess at the moment, i put it down to my 'greenhorn' standing on the game at the moment, having only been playing for a few months.
I guess the main focus I'm expressing here, is that starcraft is (in my opinion) currently THE hardest game to get a good handle on, but thats why i love it so.
This is just a basic FPS gamers perspective on SC.
There was heaps of other things i had ready to add in, but i figure the post is already long enough.
Simply food for thought,
spydR
