On April 20 2010 01:46 theramstoss wrote:
Every male has to serve, so how would anyone be "advertised" into serving? Other than a very few number of people who volunteer, but those people want a career out of it?

I kinda think he doesn't understand the whole concept of "mandatory service."

Prof. Protoss

Germany744 Posts

April 19 2010 16:53 GMT

#42

Shit I shot in my own foot.
Sorry, that was stupid, I didn't think before writing.

It still affects how young korean males think about the military though. Military acts are not a game. That's my point. Killing stuff with blood everywhere in starcraft is fun, in real life it's one of the ethically most problematic questions in life.

Musoeun

United States4324 Posts

April 19 2010 16:53 GMT

#43

On April 20 2010 00:43 thedeadhaji wrote:
iirc korean military has a soccer squad as well (I remember someone saying this when Ace was first formed,)

idk about soccer but I know the army has a volleyball team. They're relatively much better than Airforce ACE (possibly because military fitness levels are useful for physical athletics) but still not contenders.

HeartOfTofu

United States308 Posts

April 19 2010 16:54 GMT

#44

The general perception is that you go to the army, get through boot camp, and proceed to screw around smokin drinking and playing cards for the remainder of your mandatory time there. Now replace playing cards with playing Starcraft and see what kind of difference it actually makes. I think you're really reading too much into it. ACE isn't some propaganda machine. It's just a reflection of how Koreans see their military. Nobody really takes it seriously or for the matter, really cares...

MuffinDude

United States3837 Posts

April 19 2010 16:54 GMT

#45

On April 20 2010 01:53 Prof. Protoss wrote:
Shit I shot in my own foot.
Sorry, that was stupid, I didn't think before writing.

It still affects how young korean males think about the military though. Military acts are not a game. That's my point. Killing stuff with blood everywhere in starcraft is fun, in real life it's one of the ethically most problematic questions in life.

You know, very few progamers actually apply for ace. This just shows that most of them knows that military is not a game. Only the most passionate ones who wishes to continue playing sc actually apply for ace.

gogogadgetflow

United States2583 Posts

April 19 2010 16:54 GMT

#46

The fact that there is mandatory service in SK totally ruins your point...

However even if they didn't I would have to disagree with you. We have advertisements aimed at young people to join all branches of the military in the US (and i find it hard to believe you have none in Germany), and representatives visit most public high schools. The military offers many opportunities for many different people and if you have misgivings then don't join, simple as that.

MuffinDude

United States3837 Posts

April 19 2010 16:59 GMT

#47

On April 20 2010 01:54 gogogadgetflow wrote:
The fact that there is mandatory service in SK totally ruins your point...

However even if they didn't I would have to disagree with you. We have advertisements aimed at young people to join all branches of the military in the US (and i find it hard to believe you have none in Germany), and representatives visit most public high schools. The military offers many opportunities for many different people and if you have misgivings then don't join, simple as that.

I remember reading an article where one person entered the army to get glory like many people do in movies, only to find out that there is no real glory in the army. He makes friends only to have them blown up in a bomb attack the next day and most of them die unacknowledged.

Acies

Australia196 Posts

April 19 2010 17:29 GMT

#48

On April 20 2010 01:54 MuffinDude wrote:

Show nested quote +

The paticularly passionate ones are the only players who have a future in esport anyway. Also some number are able to dodge conscription through means such as enrollment in university.

Zhou

United States832 Posts

April 19 2010 17:35 GMT

#49

I think its a bit over reacted. ACE was created for the reasons people have already stated, and like most other sports in our world, its a recreational thing.

Leath

Canada1724 Posts

April 19 2010 18:05 GMT

#50

I scratch your back and you scratch mine.

Military duty is mandatory, so letting those pro gamers keep up with their work/passion is kind of a gift.

Sure, they are promoting the military but I don't see anything wrong with that. You learn a lot of useful skills when you join, and although they might be under a heavy threat, they are not at war. Therefore, I see no problem with them advertising, it is a good advertisement, and if I had a kid I sure would hope he joins the military. =)

Laerties

United States361 Posts

April 19 2010 18:18 GMT

#51

It's awesome that sc is so significant that the government uses as a tool to ensure public support of the military. A win in my eyes.

Gamjadori

Japan131 Posts

April 19 2010 18:25 GMT

#52

As someone who has lived in Korea, and currently has two close friends doing their military service right now, trust me when I say you're making way way bigger deal out of this than any Korean ever has.

Adding on the Starcraft team was pretty natural, as the military already has teams for pretty much any other sport in order for players to be able continue playing their game while they serve. That's simple because serving for 2 years without playing would ruin their career. To coupe with the problem they created a bunch of teams for different sports. Starcraft is as much a sport as any in Korea so why'd it be strange to have a Starcraft team?

Also, on a less serious note; How is losing all the time considered good advertisement?

RyanS

United States620 Posts

April 19 2010 18:26 GMT

#53

On April 19 2010 23:29 Prof. Protoss wrote:
But still - how great would it have been if Boxer said sth like "I know I have to do my duty but I don't want to play broodwar for merchandising the military"

Not great at all, then the most popular player in all of esports would not be seen/heard from in 2 full years? How is that a good thing at all?

Aim Here

Scotland672 Posts

April 19 2010 18:31 GMT

#54

On April 20 2010 03:26 RyanS wrote:

Show nested quote +

Not great at all, then the most popular player in all of esports would not be seen/heard from in 2 full years? How is that a good thing at all?

Well Muhammad Ali did something like that at the peak of his career (though he was resisting the draft for a specific and particularly unpopular war) and a lot of people would agree that that was a good thing to do.

Excalibur_Z

United States12243 Posts

April 19 2010 18:45 GMT

#55

I think this is a pretty sweet troll, so props to you. It's much easier to draw a correlation between the military and realistic FPS than the military and sci-fi RTS. Also Boxer started ACE as a way to support Starcraft during his mandatory service. The entire premise of the OP is false so we can only conclude that this is a troll.

bmml

United Kingdom962 Posts

April 19 2010 19:08 GMT

#56

Doesn't Germany have a similar national service for all 18 year olds?

cgrinker

United States3824 Posts

April 19 2010 19:14 GMT

#57

Yeah conscription dude

cHicKeLoR

Germany559 Posts

April 19 2010 19:17 GMT

#58

It is mandatory for Koreans to join the army... well if they can. In Germany you can go to the military or work for civilian/community service for the time.

Anyway, since it is mandatory I don't understand how it affects the youth in joining the army... they have to anyway...

Schnake

Germany2819 Posts

April 19 2010 19:20 GMT

#59

I think you don't have a valid point. The military does not use the sc progamers to advertise to the public because the military service is mandatory and consequently needs no advertising. It is more like the opposite, the military enables the progamers to continue their gaming career within the ACE team so the players don't have to go on a hiatus.

Remember, you don't have to play for the ACE team if you don't want to.