Contest: Be the best video commentator on my replays out of all the entrants, as decided by me. (ZvT, ZvP, ZvZ)
What I'm looking for:
- Advice. Just commenting on how the match goes is nothing. This is to improve my play and plug holes in my game. - Entertainment. It's gotta be fun to watch, or it's pointless. - Knowledge. If you don't know what you're talking about or you're just saying common knowledge, why listen to you over someone else? - Good replay choice. I've uploaded several replays for each race, some are good and some are meh. Choosing the right replay is part of the test.
2) Choose a replay from the race of your choice (you can enter for all three races separately)
3) Record yourself talking while the replay is going. Choose the right things to look at, what to say, and when to say it.
4) Upload to Youtube a video of one of my replays with your audio commentary. (I may request you to send me a copy of the video file, but that is not necessary for the contest)
5) Submit your entry to the contest by PMing me or applying in the thread!
Questions:
How long do I have to do this?
Until Halloween! Oct. 31st is the cutoff date. I want to get this done before any new patches hit, ya know.
Can I win for multiple races?
Yes sir or madam. Just put in an entry and you're qualified to win.
How will you pay me?
Paypal or via mailed check, whichever is most convenient for you. I'm flexible.
How do I know you'll pay me?
You don't! You'll just have to trust me.
To ease your fears, here's some info about me:
My name is Evan Downing and I currently am working for MLG; I do freelance writing things for them on the side and cover Super Smash Brothers Brawl for their events. Feel free to say hello to me in D.C. or Dallas. I'll be looking like the guy on the right of this picture:
My handle is Overswarm, and I've played both Halo and Super Smash Brothers competitively. Searching my name in Youtube should lead you to some videos of me playing either, or perhaps some tutorial videos.
Please note this contest is not in any way shape or form endorsed by MLG; this is a straight up Overswarm thing.
Go for it, on Youtube or here. Just be civil and remember that anyone doing this could get good at this with the right support.
I'm (a big name) / not good at Starcraft 2 / I'm 12 years old and what is this, am I eligible for your contest?
Hell yeah, go for it. I don't care if you're Day9 or a korean with broken english. Everyone has an equal shot. Even the worst SC2 players might have some knowledge behind them. If you do a good job, you do a good job.
Can I enter with a friend?
Sure, if you want to do the "two commentator" thing. Just know your prize will be split.
NOTE If a race does not get at least FIVE entries before the 31st, that contest is null and void. I don't mind handing out money for silly things like this, but I'm not giving someone prize money if they only had one person to compete with. Get your friends to do some too if no one else is doing your race.
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Look at each and every replay of mine, pick out their favorites, then record them with their own commentary. The goal here would be to point out improvements, flaws in my build, errors in my opponent's play that I took advantage of, and other things that aren't entirely obvious that I should be paying attention to. Maybe my worker count is too low? Maybe I would have died if my opponent had attacked because I powered drones too early?
Upload the Commentary videos to Youtube and post their submissions in the forum thread and/or PM me. After I got enough entires and it's been enough time (I'd want at least 5 entries before ending it), I'd go through those commentary videos and pick a winner, then send them $33 bucks.
I think if you're going to do this, you should upload one of each matchup and have everyone compete on the same replay.
This way you can effectively judge the validity and usefulness of the comments on the same criteria.... if you let people pick different replays, its not an even playing field.
I think that you should have a separate competition for each matchup, ZvT, ZvP, and ZvZ and send $33.33 to the winner of each. Some people for example, may play P and therefore be able to give you helpful insights into the ZvP matchup, but sound like a blubbering fool in the ZvZ matchup.
I would say, just ask someone with knowledge (The guys from gosucoaching, day9, etc.) and ask 1 of them to do it for you. You are only getting comments on 3 replays, but you know they are high quality ones.
If everyone can pick from the same replay pool, and the picks are non-exclusive, then it is an even playing field.
I play Z in Diamond league and I have a slightly better ratio than the OP (I'm 69-59 right now I believe) so I'd be willing to take a shot at this. Up your reps and I'm on it. Oh yeah I could really use $33 right now too lol
It's a cool idea, and while I play Z there's no way I'm going to start trying to commentate and improve someone's game while there are so many holes in my own.
That $100 may be better served by using it at gosucoaching as someone all ready mentioned. Lot of top tier (read: e-famous) players there with a lot more knowledge and skill than the average TL'er
On September 08 2010 01:41 TheFlyingZerg wrote: I think if you're going to do this, you should upload one of each matchup and have everyone compete on the same replay.
This way you can effectively judge the validity and usefulness of the comments on the same criteria.... if you let people pick different replays, its not an even playing field.
Part of the reasoning for this is that I'm basically paying someone to do this, but $100 for 3 replays would be ridiculous... but $100 for like, 30 or 40 or 50? That's kind of a deal!
Plus, a good player will be able to pick replays that are worth something. I'll try to give a brief synopsis of each with a "I win / I lose" at the end so players don't have to watch ALL of them.
I know that there are much better players out there that do this, but me improving myself is about half of this. I also want to grow the community; it'd be awesome if big names or big commentators like Day9 did some of these, but they'd be competing with everyone else!
I agree with the idea of having separate competitions for each race matchup.I'll do separate ones for each with like $35 prizes for each.
Do you guys think people should be able to enter multiple times? This is obviously better for me, I'm unsure if you feel this would be unfair.
i think this is pretty brilliant. Even if there's only 1 winner he gets the benefit of every submission. If he limits it to only 3 replays/matchups then he wouldnt get the variety of commentaries and comments. 100$ for a bunch of people giving you comments etc. isn't too bad. of course the coaching thing might be better but this sounds more fun :D. And plus, im sure a crappy player who lurks forums 24/7 could provide better analysis than the top players. I wouldnt really say analysis but rather getting your points across. If you've ever played a sport or coached a sport, you can say all the right things and be precise and deep and analytical but if you cant get the person to understand, its pointless. Hey if 100 bucks doesnt mean much to you then by all means do it :D
2) I need to get the replays! I have some, but would need a collection. Not sure how many I'd want. Maybe 5 of each matchup so there is variety?
3) How do I send the money? Is there a "best" way? I've only used Paypal for ebay, I guess I could make a "business account" for this or something if that's how it works. Haven't researched much into it. Does anyone know if there would be issues sending the money overseas?
if you're willing to spend 100$ on something like this, why not consider the gosu guide or w/e it's called. it's 100$ and apparently will be updated with new strats etc. all the time.
On September 08 2010 04:00 Pibacc wrote: if you're willing to spend 100$ on something like this, why not consider the gosu guide or w/e it's called. it's 100$ and apparently will be updated with new strats etc. all the time.
I don't know exactly what the Gosu guide is, but this is waaaaaaay more fun. Plus, other people can see my games, see commentary on them, then improve themselves!
And people that have always wanted to do commentary get to do it and maybe make a name for themselves. There could be another day9 out there... but for improving your game!
Just spending $100 on some gosu guide or whatever doesn't sound like much fun. Yeah, I'd improve, but it wouldn't be nearly as neat. If this works out I might do it more than once anyway ^_^
I might do the gosu guide if I one day have more time and/or care more and/or know what it actually is, but this project is as interesting as the concept of improving itself ^_^
Someone said earlier that there should only be one replay of each matchup. I don't agree with that, because with about 5 videos you get to see his common mistakes, and not only the mistakes he does in that particular replay you picked. Why not commentate all five in one video? Would probably make it easier for you to win.
On September 08 2010 04:23 frazz wrote: Someone said earlier that there should only be one replay of each matchup. I don't agree with that, because with about 5 videos you get to see his common mistakes, and not only the mistakes he does in that particular replay you picked. Why not commentate all five in one video? Would probably make it easier for you to win.
I don't know if having one video with all of them together would be the best plan; I definitely will be doing three separate contests now.
On September 08 2010 03:52 Overswarm wrote: The only things holding me back at the moment are
1) I'm at work. Can't start this at work
2) I need to get the replays! I have some, but would need a collection. Not sure how many I'd want. Maybe 5 of each matchup so there is variety?
3) How do I send the money? Is there a "best" way? I've only used Paypal for ebay, I guess I could make a "business account" for this or something if that's how it works. Haven't researched much into it. Does anyone know if there would be issues sending the money overseas?
3) If the winner has a paypal account you send the money through paypal to his/her paypal account. You don't need a business account for that.
On September 08 2010 01:45 DTown wrote: I think that you should have a separate competition for each matchup, ZvT, ZvP, and ZvZ and send $33.33 to the winner of each. Some people for example, may play P and therefore be able to give you helpful insights into the ZvP matchup, but sound like a blubbering fool in the ZvZ matchup.
I think this is a really good idea. I also think it might be worthwhile to have the community judge the replays and have a voting system for the best advice. It might make the results more "objective" because more people will be deciding which advice is the best.
Overall, I like this idea a lot, I hope you allow us all to see the commentaries so we can all learn a little bit too!
-what would be a good way to send the money? Paypal is standard. -would there be an equivalent prize that would be better than straight up cash? For me? No. A new mouse perhaps, but that'd be slightly more expensive. -how many entries should I require before I could end it? At least 3 for each matchup -how long a period should I let the contest run for, considering patches and the like? However long it takes for the number of requested entries to be entered. -how many replays should I let users choose from? One for each matchup. -do you think I should choose myself, or have votes from liquipedia? You are the one learning. Why give money to someone others think is good, but who doesn't help you at all? -how effective do you think this would be in fixing the holes in my game? Pointing out the holes is very different than fixing them, but it's a start. -do you think the fact that I'm a Z player would limit the amount of help I could get? It won't be a tangible amount.
HAHA *tips cap to overswarm*, You sir are a genius.
This is actually an amazing contest and a great way to help out some casters looking for a way to widen their fanbase. I'm always amazed by how creative people can be with their contests on TL.net I guess I should stop being surprised now lol.
On September 08 2010 12:45 groms wrote: HAHA *tips cap to overswarm*, You sir are a genius.
This is actually an amazing contest and a great way to help out some casters looking for a way to widen their fanbase. I'm always amazed by how creative people can be with their contests on TL.net I guess I should stop being surprised now lol.
This is one of the reasons I'm really looking forward to it!
I'm saving replays as I play now, might be a few days to get good ones though.
My upload is very slow, can I enter with an audio-only commentary that you can then listen to while watching the replay yourself? I honestly think this is a better way to learn too.
On September 29 2010 23:09 yomi wrote: My upload is very slow, can I enter with an audio-only commentary that you can then listen to while watching the replay yourself? I honestly think this is a better way to learn too.
I would prefer this not be the case. Part of the contest is what you look at during the replay and why.
So far it isn't looking like this is too popular; if you're planning on entering, post in the thread! I've got 4 people telling me they're planning on entering via PMs and one completed one so far, I'd like to see more.
On October 07 2010 23:31 Overswarm wrote: So far it isn't looking like this is too popular; if you're planning on entering, post in the thread! I've got 4 people telling me they're planning on entering via PMs and one completed one so far, I'd like to see more.
So few? Wow I wish my computer would stop dicking out on me...whenever I record something it sounds like a dying agent from the matrix. otherwise I'd totally enter this so hard, I've been wanting to try my hand at commentating, ever since xhydrax inspired me :c
Edit: wont you be able to learn something from someone explaining PvZ and TvZ as well, since they will be able to explain what in your play people react to, and their mind state.
"So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself."
On October 11 2010 00:36 frozen_water92 wrote: May I ask just how many participants are there currently in each of the 3 match ups? Just out of curiousity.
Lots have said they're interested, but only one has completed his video. I'm putting them in the main post as they go up.
Fraps for video recording and Audacity for capturing audio. For editing its up to whatever you have. I make do with Windows Movie Maker, but some people use Sony Vegas and other more expensive programs
EPT![[image loading]](http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs158.snc3/18560_583194846200_50909229_34020618_5979851_n.jpg)
