If any TLer's have been reading my blogs lately, it shows a lot of frustration by losing. And I think I am coming to one of those life changing (sorta) realizations:
I cant play sports competively.
Heres a typical reaction to this statement: wtf? Ur not trying hard enough blablabla.. Iv heard it all. However I have proof.
I was one of those few boys that wasnt good in gym class, but i really didnt mind because I had good grades, and I would still play red ass in recess and it was fun! But I couldn't play as fast as the other guys. Next, iv never had great reaction times in life anyway. Sometimes I say the wrong stuff in a normal situation (like once I was walking with some friends and I saw a cool aquantence and the convo starts like: "Hey, how are u?", my response? "How are you?"... like wtf... where did my "im good u?" part go). When I was little I joined this town soccer league thing and I was crap.
I was like, maybe I havent found my game yet.
Then I joined this really small competitive swimming team league, and i was at it for years. Never got even average.
However, I know I have something barely many people possess:
The ability to talk and teach.
When I was little, I was "accidentally" chosen as the MC for a gr 5 talent show. Also, iv always had like 90's in drama presentations.. or presentations in general that involved a whole lot of teaching and talking.
Example, my forever hated history class: A group 1.25 hour long presentation and my mark? 90. easy-peesy lemon squeez (but i worked a lot on it).
Now what does this have to do with SC?
When I learned about the Pro-SC scene, I was pumped. I was like" FUCK YEAH THIS IS MY GAME!" I already played quite a lot of sc, and after a few weeks I was owning my friend who i could barely defeat. But the past YEAR hasnt been going to well. I believe Iv only won only about 15 games from like.. alot. But i know exactly what to do and what I did wrong after the game. I kept on trying... still hasnt worked out.
And then i started thinking about my gaming life. Iv really never been able to beat a game w.o a walkthrough. Also, I was never a great competitive gamer anyway. How do I know this? The first ever true game (like not those stupid flipping free to play mmorpgs with fucking item malls) was Half Life and Team Fortress Classic. It was gifted to me a few years ago, and I played like a mofo for 2 years, on steam (moslty TFC). I loved it. It was da sht imo. But i never really got very good. Like I was always trying to improve, but I didnt want to become pro (i didnt even know there were actual "pros"). I saw these guys jumping around and doing crazy stuff, and i never really got it. My best Kill:Death % was i think 50-ish%. and that wa sonly for like 2 days... the rest was always like 40 and under.
Looking at this analysis, I think the best way I can contribute to the community would be by becoming a game caster. I already like talking about sc ( i do it everyday with friends), and I think I know just enough to be a caster.
Now obviously im not gonna go to Korea and start casting GOM matches lol right away, but I think I can cast matches at home, and make VODS (but only by myself as my comp is sht).
Now I need your help. I need an exciting replay (DONT TELL ME THE OUTCOME) that I can cast and proove that I can be a good caster. I also need to know who to get in touch with, so if I get TL's approval, my name can spread and I can help with big matches and what not. Iv heard about SC2GG's forums but... I want TL's opinions on my cast.
Maybe this is the break that I need from playing 1v1 sc, cuz seriosuly iv been on TL and thinking about sc just as much as I would w.o this self ban from playing sc.
MAJOR EDIT: I cant create VODS..... t.t..... i was just trying for an hour just now... and I cant create them... my computer is that shitty... well there goes the commentary plan.... Another Edit: Ok i am using RAW now. Here is a thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=94875
enjoy what you enjoy, don't accidentally make a chore out of it! <-- im sure that will be hard to interpret correctly into your own meaning, but thats what ive been trying to follow lately, albeit not well. i expect too much from myself i think.
good luck if you choose to pursue this! i would suggest having a youtube account or a thread on TL to collect all of your work that people can follow easily if you keep them interested. you should just start commentating over recent games from proleague or the SLs in sets, that way you can really show yourself how much information about players/teams you know and are comfortable talking about, not including the games themselves.
To be brutally honest, TL is going to be very critical of whatever you do because such is the nature of competitive people. Unless you can demonstrate unbridled charisma or unsurpassed game knowledge, many will write you off as one of many casters who can be ignored.
Don't let any of this get you down. If you believe speaking is your talent, wield it (though I'd recommend you apply it more conventionally, say, in Marketing or Politics).
Crap I just realized you requested replays. Sorry... the game was quite awesome, though. I guess all I can suggest if you won't cast VODs (you really should, there are plenty of guides on how to do it) is to browse the TL replay database, and check each replay's thread. If people are all going nuts in a replay's thread, you might want to check it out.
Seriously, as a caster myself that's the only advice I can give. Just do the best you can, study up on the game, play it as best you can so you can least know what it's like to be in a similar situation so you can relate to the game/players better.
People will nitpick and complain and all you can do is ignore the one liners that say "you suck" but cherish the criticisms that say "I didn't like it and this is why." You will always have people that will pat you on the back and make you feel good but those are not the ones that will push you to be better and force you to step outside your comfort zone to become a better caster.
To be brutally honest, TL is going to be very critical of whatever you do because such is the nature of competitive people. Unless you can demonstrate unbridled charisma or unsurpassed game knowledge, many will write you off as one of many casters who can be ignored.
Don't let any of this get you down. If you believe speaking is your talent, wield it (though I'd recommend you apply it more conventionally, say, in Marketing or Politics).
Crap I just realized you requested replays. Sorry... the game was quite awesome, though. I guess all I can suggest if you won't cast VODs (you really should, there are plenty of guides on how to do it) is to browse the TL replay database, and check each replay's thread. If people are all going nuts in a replay's thread, you might want to check it out.
Be prepared for negative reception on your first commentary. Commentary is a touchy subject on TL anyway because of the whole SC2GG drama and being encouraging towards new casters isn't something this community's particularly good at.
good! commentators on this site get a lottttt of criticism, but keep in mind that this is a critical part of the learning process. there will always be people who just want to put you down, but whatever - i think it's very admirable that you are thinking of ways to contribute. good luck!
I wish you good luck, man. Try not to put up barriers. All of this "I can't" "This is impossible" "I'm just not good enough" stuff doesn't help you succeed. Instead of thinking why you can't do something, you need to brainstorm solutions. That's what a winning attitude is. There's cutting your losses, and there's giving up before you've tried. Please give yourself a chance in this endeavor.
MAJOR EDIT: I cant create VODS..... t.t..... i was just trying for an hour just now... and I cant create them... my computer is that shitty... well there goes the commentary plan...
All you need is audacity or some audio recording program. Even if you can't mux the commentary yourself, you can at least give a countdown so that people can sync the game themselves. What kind of program are you using? I use a PC that's like 8 years old and it can mux videos fine.
On June 06 2009 13:14 Chef wrote: I wish you good luck, man. Try not to put up barriers. All of this "I can't" "This is impossible" "I'm just not good enough" stuff doesn't help you succeed. Instead of thinking why you can't do something, you need to brainstorm solutions. That's what a winning attitude is. There's cutting your losses, and there's giving up before you've tried. Please give yourself a chance in this endeavor.
MAJOR EDIT: I cant create VODS..... t.t..... i was just trying for an hour just now... and I cant create them... my computer is that shitty... well there goes the commentary plan...
All you need is audacity or some audio recording program. Even if you can't mux the commentary yourself, you can at least give a countdown so that people can sync the game themselves. What kind of program are you using? I use a PC that's like 8 years old and it can mux videos fine.
wats muxing? and is audacity free? i cant afford anything new right now
On June 06 2009 13:14 Chef wrote: I wish you good luck, man. Try not to put up barriers. All of this "I can't" "This is impossible" "I'm just not good enough" stuff doesn't help you succeed. Instead of thinking why you can't do something, you need to brainstorm solutions. That's what a winning attitude is. There's cutting your losses, and there's giving up before you've tried. Please give yourself a chance in this endeavor.
MAJOR EDIT: I cant create VODS..... t.t..... i was just trying for an hour just now... and I cant create them... my computer is that shitty... well there goes the commentary plan...
All you need is audacity or some audio recording program. Even if you can't mux the commentary yourself, you can at least give a countdown so that people can sync the game themselves. What kind of program are you using? I use a PC that's like 8 years old and it can mux videos fine.
wats muxing? and is audacity free? i cant afford anything new right now
Casting is a lot harder than it seems. In my opinion, most casters out there are crap. They either don't have the voice (good sounding voice, charisma, energy) or don't have the knowledge...or worse, can't carry on and keep the flow going as a commentator should be able to.
The only two out there that I think really capture all that well are Plexa and Artosis...and neither regularly cast. They're the only ones who, when they cast, I'm actually hearing shit I didn't already know.
Well, there are the Korean casters too, but I can only understand like 20% of what they're saying.
Oh yeah I remember looking at this and not replying. Because it was hella long and I realized I couldn't play Starcraft after about 2 games and was content to watch pros and play TF2.
EPT
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