If you're going to make a video and you're going to focus on tvt, then it's going to be purely the game itself you focus on. Nowadays we all know the game alone isn't everything. The community, the dramas, the interviews, etc. are what really makes the game an esport.
In order to make a really good video that will encapsulate the soul of sc2 and the competitive scene surrounding it, you will have to build up the video from a beginner level to a more all-round level later on (could be a 5 min video).
First, you need to show early game, how it fucking starts. This is what you see every game, so in order to a have a fixpoint for a newbie, do that. Next, you show mining minerals, getting your first supplydepot/ov/pylon explaining the food principle and also how they can look at resources in the top right. With the minerals and food you have, you show different opportunities for mineral usage. Barracks, commandcenter, marines, scvs, orbital, etc. Don't have to explain every option, probably just marine/cc). On that you add the gas income. With that you explain how the game has different tech patterns, sort of like adding electricity or oil to real life. This opens up a load of better and stronger options (unless you're terran, MARINE OP!!!!). Show them a factory building a tank and a starport building a battlecruiser. People can relate to those two units. Next aspect of the game you add could be the opponent aspect. Show them your opponents base somehow (be spectator or something). Show them how the other terran is doing similar things. Then how do we win? Superior macro, micro and decisions (could explain macro as economics maintenance, micro as moving units in a good strategic way, and decisions as choosing the correct gameplan whenever you see something new). Next clip could then be how tanks are shooting other tanks. Battlecruisers roasting marines. Whatever. Then end everything with a gg telling them this is how you 'formally' end the game in the pro scene. Next up you can show event showings, like the dreamhack finals scene (might add some (sound) clips of the cheering crowd and the casters excitement. That way you also show the role of the commentator.) Show teamhouses, players practicing, being interviewed, walking like a boss on stage (naniwa), etc. Show them the human, real life aspect of the game. In the end you also need to show the other two races somehow. Could be through a formal showreel of all units where they stand on line and you just quickly scroll by them or somthing.
Remember to keep specific strategy discussion and such out of it. Nobody will really understand it and wont really care if they've never heard about the game. Don't show them 1-1-1 (unless you want to show them rax, factory and starport to indicate the tech from gas).
To close it all off, you could show them 'so many banelings, marine micro, stalker blink micro, whatever. People will understand what they see (maybe not the gamewinning/losing aspect, but at least the micro and quick speed needed to do so). In the meantime you could have a small part of the screen showing a keyboard view of a pro player (doesn't really have to be synced).
I find this very difficult with my parents. For them, there are some gaming nerds who play that game. Which is of course inferior to "real" sports! They consider games like Starcraft very complicated, yet uninteresting. That you see men shot other men does not help either. They haven't the slightest interest that I explain some Starcraft things to them.
On December 30 2011 21:41 TyrantPotato wrote: i tried it once but i didnt have the words.
so i played a game of chess with them with some new rules.
the rules were you can move any piece at any time. (within their legal moves of course) there were no turns. if you wanted to you could move two pieces with two hands but had to follow their "movement limitations"
once i explained the rules and we started i just quickly ninja'd my two horses with both hands across the board stole about 10 pieces before shortly checkmating them in about 10 seconds.
they just sat there going WTF i didnt even get a chance to move..
i basically said imagine that only for 20+ minutes straight and both players are moving their pieces at that speed.
- Explain to them what starcraft 2 is, maybe put it into perspective just how big it is in Korea as well - Explain to them each race - Show them a really big game, fantastic game. Something in front of a live crowd, maybe something from blizzcon.
If you want parents to understand you need to relate SC2 to something they know. Chess has already been mentioned here. I would try and relate every concept in SC2 that you describe in terms of the game to Chess, so.
- Each player starts at the same basic position (CC and workers) like chess except there are 3 possible sets of pieces. - SC2 and Chess both have openings. These are your starting moves and help you develop an opening strategic position. - In SC2 your opponents Base (CC's especially) is like the King in Chess. The objective is to capture it/ destroy it. - Instead of starting with all your military pieces at once like in Chess, you only start with a few pawns and a king (Workers and CC). You get your military pieces by collecting resources. - You use the map just like a Chess board to gain Position Advantage on your opponent. - Because you don't start with all your pieces Position Advantage isn't the only factor of the game (unlike in chess). - Other factors are Economy (how many pieces you get), Tech (how advanced of pieces you get, like queen vs knight), and Micro (execution, how well you use your pieces - why SC2 is like a sport)
You can continue on from here.
You also mentioned football. When talking about the SC2 community I would compare it to American Football.
- Both Football and SC2 have fantasy leagues. - Both have teams, players, sponsors, and salary's. - Both have a dedicated and Social community. I would show them pictures of BarCrafts and such. (Football people will understand SC2 a lot better if they can see a group of guys in a bar drinking and watching it).
A final important thing to understand for someone who has never played SC2 is that Pro's like Huk and Idra are better then you or me will ever be, in the same way that a NFL player is better at football then they will ever be. They need to understand that Pro's aren't just a dude who plays video games a lot, but is a combination of 8+ hours a day of training as well as intellect and natural talent. That Us, who follow TL and play SC2, are just the beer league of SC2, we are just the Tag football equivalent of the NFL. We suck. And because we suck and Pro's are so mind bogglingly good, it's interesting to watch. That's why I watch a tournament, to see play I will never be able to do.
On December 30 2011 22:04 Iselian wrote: Guys, this has all been fantastic. Please keep it coming! I need to rest for a bit, but I'll be back later to read all the comments.
Again, thank you for all of this! Keep it coming, in every flavor and description! No wrong answers!
My father actually likes me playing starcraft. What i did was i told him everything about the proscene and all the cool stuff and blabla. Watching sc is something totally different tho and he doesn't like to watch it although he likes sc in general. I dont think you can expect your parents to watch it, but u can expect them to understand the whole thing around sc and that it isn't just an ordinary game.
The previous generation didn't have the opportunity to see how big and serious games has inputted into society. Don't push your luck, it'll be very hard to convince.
This just means in the future (Our current generation) we'll understand and thus even make games a very very serious thing even next to sports
Heh, I played Brood War with my dad for several years, and he plays SC2 as well. I've shown him quite a bit about esports in both SC1 and SC2 and although he's not into it on his own, if there's something really big going on, I'll tell him about it, and sometimes he'll watch. He's 55, so I'm quite sure you don't need super young parents to get them to understand esports.
Focusing on TvT only is a mistake in my opinion. Part of the beauty of starcraft is that the races are not the same.
When I describe the game to my friends, like most people I use the chess analogy with constant moves, but you also have to balance advancing your economy, tech, and army. When it comes to the races, I explain to my friends that it is basically, Aliens vs Predators vs Marines.
Zerg: Aliens, the ultimate in biological evolution, acid spit, bone scythes, chitanous plating, etc. Protoss: Predators, the ultimate in technological evolution, psi blades/storm, plasma shields, etc. Terran: The Grizzled Space Marines.
I've tried to explain it to my father, who is fairly open-minded, and he just says: "you can't convince me otherwise that video games are a complete waste of time and are ridiculous". That's it, I guess.
"it's like chess with laser beams" "oh, it's also a national sport in asian countries"
talking about the nuances of the game is the worst thing you can do
occassionally some people will be impressed by the idea of APM, but you don't need to explain why, just explain that the best players click 300+ times a minute
Don't bother, it's generally a waste of time. I've tried to convince my parents for years, showed them endless videos, gave them endless reasonings, they still don't get it. Just play it because you enjoy it.
1. Dont make your introduction based on 1 game, its boooooring. Even if the game itself is great people need to understand sc2 to get its beauty. 2. Explain things that make sc2 games so complicated. Start off with resource system and mining, show how different races have unique ways of boosting mining. Once it is done show how rushes prevent you from getting too greedy. Show how a rush punishes a greedy player and how the same rush fails against someone who gets just enough forces to defend it while being ahead in eco. Show how 2 armies of exact costs can result in totally different outcomes: ie countering. Show how the same army can counter 1 composition and lose heavily vs the other one. Show parts of the game where a player scouts his opponens and goes for a perfect counter. Show parts of the game where good harrasing allows a player with weaker army to deal some damage and buy time to mass and eco up. Show the importance of micro (kiting, banshee control, simultaneous drops and attacks). Show how terrain influences combat (show how force fields shine to cut the opponent army). Show the importance of mobility and map control (is one is tricky though).
On December 30 2011 22:52 Zanno wrote: "it's like chess with laser beams" "oh, it's also a national sport in asian countries"
talking about the nuances of the game is the worst thing you can do
occassionally some people will be impressed by the idea of APM, but you don't need to explain why, just explain that the best players click 300+ times a minute
You forgot the best reason: some of the best players earn more than $100 000 a year.
EPT
