Sorry that I'm late to the party, but I've been wanting to get some of this off of my chest for awhile.

I don't get the animosity between games, and I don't think I ever will. I don't understand why there hasn't been a massive crackdown on the LoL-bashing the same way there was on the BW/SC2 bashing, I don't get why the high-profile community members that encourage an us-vs-them mentality aren't immediately shunned, I can't comprehend why there hasn't been a PSA by the admins that the insularity doesn't hurt one game, it hurts all of them. (As an aside: does it not occur to anyone that players could move both ways if they were maybe a little more welcoming?)

What hurts is that so many people just eat it up. It's incredibly disappointing that so many of the people who have been claiming to be in it for "the growth of esports" are so bitter when one that's not Starcraft goes big -- not just big, but HUGE. LoL isn't some random fluke; it'a their hard work paying off! They succeeded! I would be surprised if the next world finals didn't manage to push 2 million viewers! None of this would be possible without much of the groundwork laid by Starcraft (both BW and SC2), Dota, and everything else that came before. The streaming services, the truly international scene, the games themselves... seriously, LoL got a lot of help, as did SC2, as did Dota2. It's foolish to think there's not going to be a place for the same people in whatever comes next (whether that be LoL or something else entirely) -- esports is only going to grow.

Maybe I've just been on the internets for so long that it has finally gotten to me, but I just find it depressing rather than angering or provoking. Why can't we just love all the esports?

wussleeQ

United States3130 Posts

October 24 2012 22:20 GMT

#3149

SCBW and SC2 had crackdowns because TL supports both games. LoL isn't officially supported

LaNague

Germany9118 Posts

October 24 2012 22:20 GMT

#3150

game bashing is only strongly enforced in the respective game forums, just like you cant go into a fanclub and throw some insults.

and honestly, its not that bad in the sc2 forum, its more ignorance than real hatred bashing, i can only feel pity

also, bashing broodwar is different since its how the whole site started and since BW is awesome, it can only be a trollpost anyways :p

olabaz

United States298 Posts

October 24 2012 22:21 GMT

#3151

Is NA down or is it just me?

Cr4zyH0r5e

Peru1308 Posts

October 24 2012 22:31 GMT

#3152

^ "We are currently working to correct an issue that may be causing some players to disconnect from the PvP.net platform."

aRyuujin

United States5049 Posts

October 24 2012 22:35 GMT

#3153

On October 25 2012 07:31 Cr4zyH0r5e wrote:
^ "We are currently working to correct an issue that may be causing some players to disconnect from the PvP.net platform."

same thing is happening to me

Arekan

United States248 Posts

October 24 2012 22:35 GMT

#3154

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2717846

Looks like we'll be getting the patch tomorrow. Can't wait to get my hands on some of the Halloween skins, assuming they're released with the patch.

Louuster

Canada2869 Posts

October 24 2012 22:37 GMT

#3155

On October 25 2012 07:31 Cr4zyH0r5e wrote:
^ "We are currently working to correct an issue that may be causing some players to disconnect from the PvP.net platform."

I was on the receiving end of those disconnects a few times today and was starting to wonder it was somethwing on my end even though i knew it wasnt my internet

BlueSpace

Germany2182 Posts

October 24 2012 22:47 GMT

#3156

On October 25 2012 06:37 Dandel Ion wrote:

Show nested quote +

What if...
Nunu IS NONY

But which part of Nunu? The Yeti or the little guy on top... Does the Yeti even have a name? O.O

Arekan

United States248 Posts

October 24 2012 22:50 GMT

#3157

Nunu is the kid riding on the yeti, whose name is Willump.

Sufficiency

Canada23833 Posts

October 24 2012 22:51 GMT

#3158

Holy. Is the entire TSM streaming Smite because LoL is down? They are probably going to bring thousands of players to play Smite,

AUGcodon

Canada536 Posts

October 24 2012 22:51 GMT

#3159

Huh, Froggen is a pretty big solo queue rager. never woulda have guessed.

Seuss

United States10536 Posts

October 24 2012 22:52 GMT

#3160

On October 25 2012 07:06 Node wrote:
Sorry that I'm late to the party, but I've been wanting to get some of this off of my chest for awhile.

I don't get the animosity between games, and I don't think I ever will. I don't understand why there hasn't been a massive crackdown on the LoL-bashing the same way there was on the BW/SC2 bashing, I don't get why the high-profile community members that encourage an us-vs-them mentality aren't immediately shunned, I can't comprehend why there hasn't been a PSA by the admins that the insularity doesn't hurt one game, it hurts all of them. (As an aside: does it not occur to anyone that players could move both ways if they were maybe a little more welcoming?)

What hurts is that so many people just eat it up. It's incredibly disappointing that so many of the people who have been claiming to be in it for "the growth of esports" are so bitter when one that's not Starcraft goes big -- not just big, but HUGE. LoL isn't some random fluke; it'a their hard work paying off! They succeeded! I would be surprised if the next world finals didn't manage to push 2 million viewers! None of this would be possible without much of the groundwork laid by Starcraft (both BW and SC2), Dota, and everything else that came before. The streaming services, the truly international scene, the games themselves... seriously, LoL got a lot of help, as did SC2, as did Dota2. It's foolish to think there's not going to be a place for the same people in whatever comes next (whether that be LoL or something else entirely) -- esports is only going to grow.

Maybe I've just been on the internets for so long that it has finally gotten to me, but I just find it depressing rather than angering or provoking. Why can't we just love all the esports?

There are a number of elements at play.

First and foremost, there are a lot of young teens involved. They happen to be going through a fairly tumultuous period of hormonal changes as well as conceptual ones. It's at this age that Manichaean views begin to crash heads with reality as the world turns out to be more complicated than the rosy, innocent bubble of youth. Video games and the internet are often an escape from or an outlet for these stresses, and fighting polarized battles (e.g. popularity contests between consoles/video games) is familiar and comforting.

Second, many people have a personal and/or monetary investment in these games. Much of what fueled the console wars was the fact that most kids couldn't afford more than one console. Similarly, games like StarCraft, LoL, and DotA require substantial time investments if you want to move up the ladder; you can't spread yourself between the three if you wish to do well. For that reason quantitative measures of a game's popularity can threaten the value of one's investment, leading many to feel attacked when their game appears to be "losing".

Third, there is measure of exclusion between these games. As much as people like to paint a vision of an idyllic world where eSports can all live in harmony, these games are competing against each other for players, viewers, and professionals. One game doing well as an eSport is a great boon for future eSports as it will grow the market, but it's not clear that market as it stands is healthy enough to support multiple eSports at once. Many players fear that one game will bully out the others, similar to how WoW largely bullied out other MMOs (with a few exceptions).

All of this adds up to a lot of animosity between the games. It's not all rational, but neither is it all irrational. It's just the human condition as applied to competitive gaming.