why is SC prime age so young compared to

zimz

United States510 Posts

January 01 2010 15:24 GMT

sports like basketball? basketball requires quick reactions and extreme fitness also yet basketball players prime is considered around late twenties. but in SC late twenties is considered mechanics and reactions to be declined and to old and "way past-prime"?

Trezeguet

United States2656 Posts

January 01 2010 15:26 GMT

In basketball you have to be a grown man to bump and bang, but in sc you need to be as quick as possible with fine motor actions which max out at age 21 (citation needed)

zimz

United States510 Posts

January 01 2010 15:27 GMT

do you guys thnk kobe motor actions would be to slow for SC?

Faranth

933 Posts

January 01 2010 15:32 GMT

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Nightmarjoo

United States3360 Posts

January 01 2010 15:33 GMT

Mostly I think it comes down to mandatory military service at a certain age in the countries where there is progaming (Korea/China).

lavion

Singapore286 Posts

January 01 2010 15:35 GMT

basketball is a contact sport

starcraft is only contact sport when flash plays you

why compare the two

EvoChamber

France2505 Posts

January 01 2010 15:35 GMT

How about only school-aged people have the free time and inclination to spend thousands of hours mastering a computer game?

zimz

United States510 Posts

January 01 2010 15:37 GMT

On January 02 2010 00:32 Faranth wrote:
.... they are completely different things.

Though both do involve hand-eye coordination, SC is almost wholly focused on the hand and the brain, whereas basketball is a full body sport. Kobe would be just as fail as anyone at video games without experience - it doesn't help that he can shoot a 3-pointer or make an amazing interception on instinct when he needs extreme dexterity with a specific set of fine muscles.

well of course he doesn't have SC gaming experience, i'm talking pure physical ability for SC

IPS.ZeRo

Germany1142 Posts

January 01 2010 15:38 GMT

I think it is less about reactions getting worse and more about life catching on with girlfriends, military service and other things.
I think players like boxer and savior who went on tv shows experienced the world of parties with movie stars and things like that and lost the focus for starcraft. Also other players that get old but didn't achieve anything will get extremely frustrated and worried about their future which might also hinder their ability to play.

Kerotan

England2109 Posts

January 01 2010 15:49 GMT

#10

I think part of the problem with Starcraft and the whole age thing is, people set the bar so low, because no people really have tried to go further, until boxer in ACE, military service was a killer, your life as a progamer was over.
Just look at people like White-Ra, he is older than Boxer, and doesn't play full time, just think of what that could mean to Korean players that are 25 or so, I think its more of a case, that over 20, playing Starcraft becomes harder, but theoretically, not impossible to stay competitive with the 17 year olds.

Faranth

933 Posts

January 01 2010 15:56 GMT

#11

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NiGoL

1868 Posts

January 01 2010 16:01 GMT

#12

that was a terrible question

nayumi

Australia6499 Posts

January 01 2010 16:46 GMT

#13

The difference is: in other sports, you can both be a champ on the field as well as on bed. But in SC, once you get yourself a girl friend, you're gonna slump hard *cough*stork*cough*

IdrA

United States11541 Posts

January 01 2010 16:47 GMT

#14

because its run by koreans

banana

Netherlands1189 Posts

January 01 2010 16:54 GMT

#15

Almost every pro needs a few years of training before actually making it on the proscene, and naturally the people with that kind of time on their hands are teenagers. Taking into consideration you are usually able to learn faster in that period, than let's say mid 20's when picking a game up, you get players to prime around their 18-20's

imo age is irrelevant, as long as you have the time and dedication for it, you'll be able to make it

I_Love_Bacon

United States5765 Posts

January 01 2010 17:04 GMT

#16

If somebody starts playing SC at a really early age and keeps playing, of course they'll excel at it. Pro-SC players are similar to prodigies in a sense that at a young age they start to dedicate themselves to it. A 14 year old piano genius playing dificult compositions is similar. It's not that at an older age they can't, but the ones who start earlier and are so familiar with the game will simply be better.

SoMuchBetter

Australia10606 Posts

January 01 2010 17:04 GMT

#17

compulsory military service plus the older players realising that they can't play forever and need to find other avenues to support themselves eventually
and what idra said

dasanivan

United States532 Posts

January 01 2010 17:06 GMT

#18

then again there are other full body sports like gymnastics and figure skating where gold medalists are around Flash's age. guess it just depends on what body parts are most important for the game and when they develop.

reincremate

China2216 Posts

January 01 2010 17:18 GMT

#19

I think the explanation for the young prime SC age is most likely a combination of some of the ones listed (military conscription, development and deterioration of fine motor skills, RL) rather than just one reason.

Zozma

United States1626 Posts

January 01 2010 17:25 GMT

#20

Actually, I think it's because the pro teams want kids because it's easier to get them to work 14-hour days with bad conditions.

And then they get weaker when they get older because they just kinda burn out after all of that work.

JohannesH

Finland1364 Posts

January 01 2010 17:50 GMT

#21

Its not like players get that much worse physically that they start falling off from the new players... More to do with the training routine of Koreans I would guess.

It sure reduces the chances to hit bigger audiences when the top players are constantly changing and so many of them are uncharismatic children.

IceCube

Croatia1403 Posts

January 01 2010 17:52 GMT

#22

becouse when your younger you have less obligations...and more free time to play and you don't look weird when your 15 and in front of screen while with 30 you do...

Chill

Calgary25981 Posts

January 01 2010 17:56 GMT

#23

Because SC isn't a sport haha

~ (sorry hwanni)

Piy

Scotland3152 Posts

January 01 2010 18:02 GMT

#24

In Korea its a combination of military service and the fact that a large number of the new pros are very young. They then burn out and either retire or go for their miltary service.

MorroW

Sweden3522 Posts

January 01 2010 18:09 GMT

#25

i guess u reach ur physical peak at late 20th while ur brain reaction peaks earlier

i dont actually believe in the peak of ur age is so early when it comes to sc i just think ppl stop taking the game so serious later and they wear their body down with their lifestyle of a progamer that they have to cut down on the practice

yhnmk

Canada630 Posts

January 01 2010 18:10 GMT

#26

primes low because you practice 14 hours a day for no reason and burn out mentally. Thats the only reason.

StorrZerg

United States13919 Posts

January 01 2010 18:15 GMT

#27

On January 02 2010 02:56 Chill wrote:
Because SC isn't a sport haha

~ (sorry hwanni)

soon will be!

Lovin

Denmark812 Posts

January 01 2010 18:18 GMT

#28

Actually.. I think it has A LOT to do with the motivation required to stay focused for 12-14 hours of practice per day. Motivation like that, is not only rare, but for more than 15 years it is... You'd need to be insane, or you certainly would become it.

On January 02 2010 03:10 yhnmk wrote:
primes low because you practice 14 hours a day for no reason and burn out mentally. Thats the only reason.

This, basically.

Adeeler

United Kingdom764 Posts

January 01 2010 18:42 GMT

#29

I think the only important thing is simply the TIME to PRACTICE. The younger you are the inherent less responsibilities you have unless your rich and don't need to work, look after kids, relationships etc etc. When your young its pretty much go to school and play games when you get home. With tonnes of holidays etc so you can get good faster and maintain the hours of playing over years but as you grow up, girls, work, etc become more and more time consuming.

wishbones

Canada2600 Posts

January 01 2010 18:49 GMT

#30

its a korean thing, they seem to think ppl cant mash keyboards at 21, but look at all the older progamers. they do well. Lol its just a sc fetish koreans have, think that ppl to old are not prime. i hate this topic, but what ever! roar! growl! meow! woof! bark! Stork! hmmm. Happy new year!! lol random first post of the day i might add. <3

gilligan

Sweden36 Posts

January 01 2010 18:55 GMT

#31

in Go and chess alot of kids reach a very high level even before puberty.

hyst.eric.al

United States2332 Posts

January 01 2010 19:21 GMT

#32

most sports are physical, its as simple as that. physical strength develops as you age until a certain point, but that point is much older than that of mental quickness and dexterity needed for starcraft.

NonY

8751 Posts

January 01 2010 19:29 GMT

#33

imo the prime ages aren't different, but we can only guess since professional bw players don't train in a way that's optimal for a long career. they start young, train way too hard and burn out.

you can see reaction time, hand dexterity, mental sharpness from 40+ year old people if you look in the right places, like pianists, martial artists, chess players, etc. all the skills needed to be a top bw player can be maintained late in life. it's just a matter of training in a way that does not accumulate fatigue in any way, so there is never any crash and burn

Motiva

United States1774 Posts

January 01 2010 19:33 GMT

#34

It is mainly the korean culture in my opinion. The difference in the physical skills required is pretty minimal. The biggest difference is when you get older you don't wanna play a damn video game like a slave for minimal rewards. You wanna go out and meet women, party, and ofc the mandatory military.

RHoudini

Belgium3627 Posts

January 01 2010 19:50 GMT

#35

On January 02 2010 03:55 gilligan wrote:
in Go and chess alot of kids reach a very high level even before puberty.

In chess the best age is considered between 30 and 35.
Players typically improve by 100 to 200 ELO points between age of 18 and 30.

Zoler

Sweden6339 Posts

January 01 2010 19:53 GMT

#36

On January 02 2010 02:56 Chill wrote:
Because SC isn't a sport haha

~ (sorry hwanni)

Everyone knows that. SC is an E-sport.

Illusion.

United States348 Posts

January 01 2010 19:57 GMT

#37

dumb op

2 different things brosky

Corvi

Germany1406 Posts

January 01 2010 19:57 GMT

#38

look at boxing. most of the world champions were/are older than 30, maybe even 35. shouldnt their physical as well as there mental fitness (reactions, dodging, fast decision making ...) be inferior? please explain that to me.

Zoler

Sweden6339 Posts

January 01 2010 21:21 GMT

#39

On January 02 2010 04:57 Corvi wrote:
look at boxing. most of the world champions were/are older than 30, maybe even 35. shouldnt their physical as well as there mental fitness (reactions, dodging, fast decision making ...) be inferior? please explain that to me.

Experience

Corvi

Germany1406 Posts

January 01 2010 21:55 GMT

#40

and experience isn't that important in starcraft?

i guess so, which is kinda sad, because it should be a game of strategy after all and not just mechanics. at least thats my opinion.

Trezeguet

United States2656 Posts

January 01 2010 21:57 GMT

#41

On January 02 2010 00:27 zimz wrote:
do you guys thnk kobe motor actions would be to slow for SC?

yeah i do

KristianJS

2107 Posts

January 01 2010 22:02 GMT

#42

On January 02 2010 01:47 IdrA wrote:
because its run by koreans

Hahaha, this might be partially true to be honest.