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Totalbiscuit on IdrA's casting - Page 6

Forum Index > SC2 General
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kidleader
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Korea (South)233 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-13 07:37:45
May 13 2011 07:34 GMT
#101
He's doing this to get attention and he's totally wrong. Anyone with a voicebox and a microphone can do play-by-play (although some are better than others, Chill and Wheat for example). That's why there are shit loads of casters. Good analysis on the other hand is a rare gift, something only Artosis, Idra and beta-phase Day9 have, and that makes Idra the very definition of a 'good caster', whether he puts on typical commentator intonation like TB or not. The ideal is someone who can do both, i.e. Artosis, but I'll take Idra over Totalbiscuit any day of the week.

PS. Starcraft is a hardcore game. Everyone wants analysis.
Tokyo Seoul London New York \\ SlayerS, KT
Hambone636
Profile Joined October 2010
United States62 Posts
May 13 2011 07:34 GMT
#102
TotalBiscuit is terrible, IdrA is pretty good.
Everyone that plays the game should enjoy IdrA more; he explains in depth plots and describes the current metagame. TotalBiscuit on the other hand just tells me what I can already see, worthless knowledge.
TotalBiscuit just has a skewed perspective of e-sports casting

User was warned for this post
Tonight is like the weekend of today
Glurkenspurk
Profile Joined November 2010
United States1915 Posts
May 13 2011 07:34 GMT
#103
It's actually kinda silly that he takes this viewpoint from how anti "dumb casual" he was in WoW.
I would still just kinda prefer him to stick to WoW. He's entertaining there.
dogabutila
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States1437 Posts
May 13 2011 07:34 GMT
#104
The thing is, a good show needs both a play by play "caster" and a color commentator. You see it all the time in TV. NBA, NHL, NFL, Nwhateverleague/association/game/thing.

They compliment each other. Saying that only people giving the play by play is a caster is wrong. Idra isnt a bad caster, he is a different type of caster. Having said that, the color is more important of the two. The play by play brings the hype, but the color tells you WHY you should be hyped, and WHY the issue matters.
Baller Fanclub || CheAse Fanclub || Scarlett Fanclub || LJD FIGHTING!
chocopan
Profile Joined April 2010
Japan986 Posts
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#105
TB gave his opinion, no big deal, no great drama, people have opinions, sometimes, they express them. TB wasn't criticizing idra per se as I read him, either. He was saying idra has skill set X and (in his opinion) good casters need something from skill set Y.

For myself, I very much value idras insight into the strategic level of the game. I think alone he would just be giving analysis (which is something different), but with the right co-commentator/synergy I think he could be/is a very effective caster simpliciter.

2c.
Dance those ultras
CountBarq
Profile Joined February 2011
United States45 Posts
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#106
TB, i really like you. You're fun to watch even when you are sucking it up on the ladder.

I haven't heard idra commentate, but what ever happened to different strokes for different folks?

THough it'd be great if IDra did post-game analysist.

Then finally there'd be a combination ( Idra +(ex) DJWheat) that manages to be better than Cricket.
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true
Samhax
Profile Joined August 2010
1054 Posts
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#107
I partially agree with TB, he is right when he says Idra should not tell the game is over, when the players are still playing the game. It's kinda anticlimatic. BUT i love idra's casting because he give some really good insight in term of strategy and the different paths a player could take to win the game. There is only one who have a smiliar value when casting, it's Artosis. And seriously i prefer a billion times casters like Idra or Artosis than someone who has a good energy and enthusiasm but don't have a clue about the strategies.

I think casters like Idra are good for the game but i don't think we gonna see more because you have to be really good at the game to cast like Idra do.

Casters that are really good at analyse the game are Artosis, Idra and Gretorp.
Bloodash
Profile Joined April 2010
Netherlands1384 Posts
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#108
TB + Idra as caster combo... hell yeah
It's like the anti archon

too bad Idra can't comment on TB as he's banned :p
I'll bite this hand that feeds me, and take it for my own!
Turing
Profile Joined April 2010
United States211 Posts
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#109
I don't think Total Biscuit is in any position to comment on anyone else's casting. He's the only caster that I have to mute when watching IPL.
ItsMeDomLee
Profile Joined November 2010
Canada2732 Posts
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#110
On May 13 2011 16:31 jalstar wrote:
I don't think you can compare e-sports to traditional sports in terms of casting, and I really wish TB and others would stop doing it. In every sport out there, it's just as easy to score points when you're down by 20 as when the game's tied. In SC, leads build on leads and incredibly subtle things can change the flow of the game. Good commentary, like Idra, points out those subtleties and gives the viewer insight into the complexities of the game.

I also don't think there's any room for play-by-play. In traditional sports PBP adds something, whether it's the speed and type of pitches in baseball or formations in football. In chess or SC2 you're just re-stating things that are incredibly obvious to the viewer if you do PBP, so you need people who can analyze the game or you quickly run out of meaningful things to talk about.

Just my 2 cents.


AGREED.

Play by play should be kept to a minimum. Why? Cause that's the observer's job. It's not like you're watching the entire map and need to be told what to do. The person doing the 'play by play' is your observer in the match who tells you visually what's going on whether it's highlighting the harvester difference or highlighting different things on the production tab like research or expansions etc. You don't need the play by play guy to talk for more than 30% of the cast unless they're actually funny (something most casters aren't in the slightest). So when you have someone like TB or Husky who feel that it is necessary to talk for every single second of the cast at a rate of 300 words per minute I just get pissed/annoyed and mute them.
Thoramas
Profile Joined April 2010
Singapore152 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-13 07:38:33
May 13 2011 07:36 GMT
#111
People in this thread seriously need to take a chill pill and re-read the context.

TB is not saying A>B or B>A.

He's saying A is different from B and A+B (read: 2 people working together) = profit.
willeesmalls
Profile Joined March 2010
United States477 Posts
May 13 2011 07:37 GMT
#112
I say bring Husky to cast then. He'll tell you exactly what the scouting worker is doing, but miss key errors, important timings, and just about everything else that's important in deciding the victor of a game.

The model here has to be tasteless and Artosis. Nobody does it better than those two.
Aberu
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States968 Posts
May 13 2011 07:38 GMT
#113
I think this was just TB trying to get back at EG. He had that problem with iNcontroL a while ago, and flew off the handle generating bad press for himself over and over. He's doing it again. I like TotalBiscuit, but I'm starting to dislike him with crap like this and where it brings his reputation.
srsly
MercuryViper
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada26 Posts
May 13 2011 07:38 GMT
#114
I think TB has a fairly valid point. IdrA's current popularity as a caster partly stems from his status as the most popular foreigner in SC2*. That isn't to say his analysis isn't excellent, because quite obviously it is. As a Colour Commentator however, he lacks experience to be considered really excellent. He isn't an entertainer really at all. His appeal is largely to the hardcore fanbase - which we can presume is largely the audience of the NASL anyways so in that case it works excellently.

Personally I really like listening to him, because of the knowledge I gain from his insight. However, TB has a point in that he would have very little draw to a more casual viewer who just wants to be purely entertained by watching the games he's casting rather then viewing them as both entertainment and a personal gaming improvement tool.
zhurai
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States5660 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-13 07:39:03
May 13 2011 07:38 GMT
#115
apparently to TB.... casting is srs business ;o...

jokes aside...

I don't like play-by-play casting. I understand the game well enough to see that they are making scvs and fighting. Thanks. although I can see how the "casuals" like the play-by-play rather than the analytical.

Sorry to disagree, but Idra's "style" doesn't bother me.

(Then again I didn't really like TB much anyways, but w/e)
Twitter: @zhurai | Site: http://zhurai.com
Deleted User 123474
Profile Joined November 2010
292 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-05-13 07:42:57
May 13 2011 07:39 GMT
#116
I think what people are responding to are the statements that TB makes: "The climax of a game should be the GG" and various other points extolling the importance of the so-called "play-by-play commentators", or "casters".

I for one think that for any commentator to be a part of a casting team, they must demonstrate knowledge of the game in order not to look like a numbskull. This knowledge is not demonstrated by pretending an intense competitive game is being played when it's 10 ultralisks to a 20 food colossus ball, and not an intense desperation game.

The play-by-play commentating should be very low on the totem pole, in relation to any analysis.

An aside: I listen to Husky on occasion because of the high quality games he picks but my hand is always glued to the volume scroll...it's not worth it to hear some of the things going on at the cost of listening to how Husky is "not sure what X is doing here".

Edit: the statements I quoted above from TB are direct evidence that he values play-by-play casting more than the analysis, contrary to what people are saying about him valuing each as complementary and equal.
eviltomahawk
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States11135 Posts
May 13 2011 07:39 GMT
#117
On May 13 2011 16:36 Thoramas wrote:
People in this thread seriously need to take a chill pill and re-read the context.

TB is not saying A>B or B<A.

He's saying A is different from B and A+B (read: 2 people working together) = profit.

EXACTLY.

The original title and post were quite sensationalist in their content.

Idra represents one extreme side of the casting spectrum. TB represents the other extreme side. Alone, their casting is questionable for completely different reasons and weaknesses. Together, those weaknesses can cancel out for great success.
ㅇㅅㅌㅅ
520
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States2822 Posts
May 13 2011 07:39 GMT
#118
It is absolutely obvious that anyone here would choose IdrA over TotalBiscuit any day of the week as far as commentary they would like hearing is concerned. TotalBiscuit even goes over this in his very post, saying that people who care about getting better at the game and are interested in hearing the in-depth commentary care for the color commentator, and casuals who are either just garnering interest or don't know what they're watching care for the play-by-play commentator.

The entire post is about the synergy between the two kinds of commentators, something that he mentions IPL is lacking in particular. To be fair, there are many of you here who are saying "IdrA is better than TotalBiscuit every day of the week etc. etc." have also complained in the early stages about NASL's commentary being lackluster and unhyped. It's easy to compare the two extremes to each other, and when you do, you'll lean farther towards the side that most fits your current status as a player, as mentioned in the statement above this one.
Writer
Homun
Profile Joined June 2010
Germany21 Posts
May 13 2011 07:39 GMT
#119
I don't see a problem with anything TB wrote there. Perhaps it needs to be simplified, so all the people taking offense realize just what exactly he said. Let me paraphrase it like this:

"The perfect cast need People filling role A and B. Idra is exceptional at A, but should not be mistaken with B, since he is not too good at B. Someone else needs to fill role B."

Personally I do not like TotalBiscuit trying his hand on A either. He is more of the B guy (and aknowledges that over and over again).

Let him be for stating the obvious..
Headshot
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States1656 Posts
May 13 2011 07:40 GMT
#120
TotalBiscuit's pure play-by-play style is extremely unappealing. He's in no position to comment on anyone else's commentary.

User was warned for this post
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