Heres my thoughts, if i want entertainment then i also want know whats going on in the game and not just "theres a collosus OMG " for that they can either get someone who is very knowledgable e.g. artosis, day9 etc or they can just give me the damn replay so i can see for myself.
Seeing as they cant give me the replay i would like the knowledgable commentator then they can throw in the personality as long as they play the role of the host. Some of the best commentating duos have this set up, Day[9] and Djwheat , Artosis and Tasteless. Thats my thoughts anyhoo .
You don't have to have high game knowledge if you know how to speak fluidly during a cast and don't draw attention to your lack of knowledge. A lack of understanding or knowledge is easily overcome by not attempting to speculate on the game at hand, and instead focus on more color commentary. Analysis is only bad if it's bad analysis. No analysis is worlds above bad analysis.
We already have a 40 page thread hating on that girl,do we really need another one which is clearly heading in the same direction? As for my opinion, you need to at least know wtf is going on, but most importantly, be able to WORD it in an exciting and approachable manner. IF YOU'RE A CASTER. The commentator has to be a freaking wikipedia. Think Tasteless->Artosis.
On February 17 2011 06:49 Baituri wrote: I rather listen to some robot who knows a lot, then someone with an amazing voice who doesn't know what he/she is talking about.
But we are talking about a sport that is trying to get into the mainstream like BW. If people want to be informed, they go on the internet, watch a documentary, or read a book. If they want to be entertained, they turn on the TV. But as for knowledge vs entertainment, I believe more people would want to see a lot of cool explosions and have a good laugh than to analyze the game and develop in-depth opinions about each player. But of course, I would not want to turn on the TV to a football game and not know what is going on.
I don't care how entertaining a caster is if s/he says things that are blatantly incorrect on a regular basis and doesn't bother to correct it. At the same time, I don't care how much a caster knows about the game if he stutters or speaks in a monotone voice or can't crack a joke.
I value a balance between game knowledge and entertainment value, and I think it's absurd to say that one matters more than the other.
the main thing that stuck out in my mind was that she said he is going for a speedling only defense and that he would not have banelings but he needs them. the attack comes and he has banelings. hearing false assumptions like that is probably the worst thing to hear as a viewer. there was also the words "zergling all-in" used which were completely misplaced and innaccurate as there was no zergling all-in.
On February 17 2011 06:58 SkCom wrote: We already have a 40 page thread hating on that girl,do we really need another one which is clearly heading in the same direction? As for my opinion, you need to at least know wtf is going on, but most importantly, be able to WORD it in an exciting and approachable manner. IF YOU'RE A CASTER. The commentator has to be a freaking wikipedia. Think Tasteless->Artosis.
i'm pretty sure people are posting what theyre thinking. what more do you want
Game knowledge is very important. How can you talk about something you know nothing about? Do you have to be the best to be able to talk about it? No, you just have to know what to say.
This gets split up however, into knowing what is going on, and being able to imagine what that could mean. This might be personal preference but in general a casting technique that I feel is incredibly effective is to report what you are seeing (1), and then expanding on the significance of that (2). Upgrades, metagaming, special tricks, hiding places, decision making, micro, unit comps, recent developments, player achievements or styles etc. There is so much you can talk about, and should. Being able to sort of put your own spin to that, make it into a story and alternating it with the play by play, is in my eyes one of the most fundamental things about knowledge with regards to casting. It creates flow, it keeps it dynamic, you don't get forced to say stuff that you know nobody cares about etc.
Other things that would be among what I would designate as fundaments to professional casting are, how you use your voice, synchronising of your energy level with the game, smooth back and forths if you have a co caster.
You can easily skim by on not being the most knowledge or best player as long as you make casting a study and devote yourself to improving those aspects that make you great at it. In the grand scheme of things, it is even infinitely more significant, but that doesn't make knowledge neglible.
On February 17 2011 06:49 Baituri wrote: I rather listen to some robot who knows a lot, then someone with an amazing voice who doesn't know what he/she is talking about.
But we are talking about a sport that is trying to get into the mainstream like BW. If people want to be informed, they go on the internet, watch a documentary, or read a book. If they want to be entertained, they turn on the TV. But as for knowledge vs entertainment, I believe more people would want to see a lot of cool explosions and have a good laugh than to analyze the game and develop in-depth opinions about each player. But of course, I would not want to turn on the TV to a football game and not know what is going on.
Is it a correct aproach, though? Well, thats different for each one of us. I, for one, want the sc2 tournaments coverage to be fuckin' amazing, rather then being appealing for mainstream audience. But i can understand that some people may have different desires.
The thing is, you're either very knowledgeable about the game, or you're a very good entertainer/caster. I don't think she has any of those two. I'm Brazilian, English is my second language, and I think it's very hard to understand what she's saying. Yes, Tasteless is the 'caster', but he's also extremely knowledgeable about the game. Don't get me wrong, I've watched kelly commentating multiple times but I just couldn't take it, just like with Husky.
The only thing that can replace a lack of knowledge is a powerful caster with a good personality... she really isn't going to be that, from what I've saw.
It' simply a matter of opinion as to which is the most important. Some people just want to watch a stream thats fun and gives a fast play-by-play. Other people may seek high level insight into what is going on inside the players heads. etc..
On February 17 2011 06:01 RoyalCheese wrote: I love how so many people compare Starcraft and football/other sport casting. Don't you realize it's totally different? StarCraft is so much more complex and so much faster then most of these things. If you want to compare the casting of StarCraft to anything, you should compare it probably to chess or some other intellectual sport.
I'd put NFL up against SC2 in complexity any day.
QFT, i think a thing or two could be learned from how commentary has developed in sports over the years. There's so much more to commentary then knowledge and prediction, you're crafting a narrative around the events as they unfold.
Joe Buck is probably one of the most celebrated commentators in the history of sports, having done both the world series and the super bowl on many occasions. The man's never played a professional sport in his life but he's incredibly good at his job. At this stage in SC2's development, it will certainly appear that a pro/ex pro would be the most ideal choice based on his/her prolonged exposure to the game relative to a layman, but as time goes by, that natural advantage will begin to diminish and you will see more and more talented commentary coming from the layman side of things.
Just because other casters can say wrong things with absolute confidence doesn't mean you should hate on someone who has a healthy dose of self-doubt. Gameknowledge didnt stop you from hating on HDstarcraft even though he was a fairly high diamond zerg, more then i can say for most other casters. All because he didnt claim things he did not know and didnt doubt the pro's.
Game knowledge is THE most important thing for me. I love Idra commentating, he got game knowledge (obviously) and has an excellent way of explaining things, it sounds very, very professional. Artosis is also great, for the same reasons.
I hate casters that don't know what they are talking about, like making predicting the game and it NEVER turns out that way and it probably never would.
The only exception is TotalBiscuit because that guy is a total baller, british accent goes a long, long way. Plus he's a w40k geek which is always a plus!
On February 17 2011 06:01 RoyalCheese wrote: I love how so many people compare Starcraft and football/other sport casting. Don't you realize it's totally different? StarCraft is so much more complex and so much faster then most of these things. If you want to compare the casting of StarCraft to anything, you should compare it probably to chess or some other intellectual sport.
I'd put NFL up against SC2 in complexity any day.
QFT, i think a thing or two could be learned from how commentary has developed in sports over the years. There's so much more to commentary then knowledge and prediction, you're crafting a narrative around the events as they unfold.
Joe Buck is probably one of the most celebrated commentators in the history of sports, having done both the world series and the super bowl on many occasions. The man's never played a professional sport in his life but he's incredibly good at his job. At this stage in SC2's development, it will certainly appear that a pro/ex pro would be the most ideal choice based on his/her prolonged exposure to the game relative to a layman, but as time goes by, that natural advantage will begin to diminish and you will see more and more talented commentary coming from the layman side of things.
I'm not american so i can't really comment on american football, but i find it hard to believe that its as complex in as fast pace as starcraft. Don't get me wrong, i don't disagree that one does have to be progamer to be good caster. But i think one should still know a lot about the game he casts, about the scene, community, history and so on.
"As another example, take the cynnical brit Total Biscuit. He may not always be the most knowledgeable, but his enthusiasm is contagious (at least it for a lot of people). " Love how it was worded. But as you said yeah most people aren't looking for tip top game knowledge. When I watch a cast of a tournament game or such I want to be entertained, not be in some class.
Lack of game knowledge detracts from insightful game analysis. With that said, Kelly does have a lot of determination and will likely catch up in her general game knowledge... It's tough to say really. Of course you want to give a nice person like Kelly a chance to cast some games but at the same time the organisers of GOM should understand that it could take away from the experience for the viewers if you have a caster who makes errors or who doesn't understand some fundamental SC2 principles.
On February 17 2011 06:01 RoyalCheese wrote: I love how so many people compare Starcraft and football/other sport casting. Don't you realize it's totally different? StarCraft is so much more complex and so much faster then most of these things. If you want to compare the casting of StarCraft to anything, you should compare it probably to chess or some other intellectual sport.
I'd put NFL up against SC2 in complexity any day.
QFT, i think a thing or two could be learned from how commentary has developed in sports over the years. There's so much more to commentary then knowledge and prediction, you're crafting a narrative around the events as they unfold.
Joe Buck is probably one of the most celebrated commentators in the history of sports, having done both the world series and the super bowl on many occasions. The man's never played a professional sport in his life but he's incredibly good at his job. At this stage in SC2's development, it will certainly appear that a pro/ex pro would be the most ideal choice based on his/her prolonged exposure to the game relative to a layman, but as time goes by, that natural advantage will begin to diminish and you will see more and more talented commentary coming from the layman side of things.
I'm not american so i can't really comment on american football, but i find it hard to believe that its as complex in as fast pace as starcraft. Don't get me wrong, i don't disagree that one does have to be progamer to be good caster. But i think one should still know a lot about the game he casts, about the scene, community, history and so on.
American football is not as fast-paced as SC (because you have 40 sec. waits in between plays) but it's easily as complex if not more so. Correct play calling and execution involves a lot of strategy and huge playbooks, which is why football teams rely on such large coaching staffs.
On February 17 2011 06:01 RoyalCheese wrote: I love how so many people compare Starcraft and football/other sport casting. Don't you realize it's totally different? StarCraft is so much more complex and so much faster then most of these things. If you want to compare the casting of StarCraft to anything, you should compare it probably to chess or some other intellectual sport.
I'd put NFL up against SC2 in complexity any day.
QFT, i think a thing or two could be learned from how commentary has developed in sports over the years. There's so much more to commentary then knowledge and prediction, you're crafting a narrative around the events as they unfold.
Joe Buck is probably one of the most celebrated commentators in the history of sports, having done both the world series and the super bowl on many occasions. The man's never played a professional sport in his life but he's incredibly good at his job. At this stage in SC2's development, it will certainly appear that a pro/ex pro would be the most ideal choice based on his/her prolonged exposure to the game relative to a layman, but as time goes by, that natural advantage will begin to diminish and you will see more and more talented commentary coming from the layman side of things.
I'm not american so i can't really comment on american football, but i find it hard to believe that its as complex in as fast pace as starcraft. Don't get me wrong, i don't disagree that one does have to be progamer to be good caster. But i think one should still know a lot about the game he casts, about the scene, community, history and so on.
American football is not as fast-paced as SC (because you have 40 sec. waits in between plays) but it's easily as complex if not more so. Correct play calling and execution involves a lot of strategy and huge playbooks, which is why football teams rely on such large coaching staffs.