On March 14 2012 00:29 MrBitter wrote: Ok, so here's some details:
First three players:
I will name them as soon as their travel is confirmed. The first three guys are guys I know and have talked to/worked with extensively in the past. First guys are pretty experimental. I want to make sure things are running smoothly with people I know before I start rotating in newer guys.
Players will stay for 3-6 months at a time, depending on things like visas, schedules, etc.
I want to make sure to always have at least one player from EU and NA in the house at a time.
The underlying goal of this project:
I want to provide opportunity to promising players who wouldn't otherwise get it. This means:
a.) players that aren't on teams b.) players who are on smaller teams that can't afford to send them places c.) players who are on good teams, but who don't get much exposure
I can't release 100% of the details yet, but I'll keep you guys updated, I promise.
I hope you're all as excited as I am.
I really feel that one of the best ways to build e-sports is by empowering the players and providing them with more and better opportunities. This is one of the ways that I feel I can help make this happen.
edit:
You can expect to see the first content out of the team around the 2nd week of April.
I have been training for an opportunity like this since Beta. Unfortunately I am freaking terrible so..... Good luck to the chosen 3!! It sounds like a fantastic opportunity.
I will name them as soon as their travel is confirmed. The first three guys are guys I know and have talked to/worked with extensively in the past. First guys are pretty experimental. I want to make sure things are running smoothly with people I know before I start rotating in newer guys.
Players will stay for 3-6 months at a time, depending on things like visas, schedules, etc.
I want to make sure to always have at least one player from EU and NA in the house at a time.
The underlying goal of this project:
I want to provide opportunity to promising players who wouldn't otherwise get it. This means:
a.) players that aren't on teams b.) players who are on smaller teams that can't afford to send them places c.) players who are on good teams, but who don't get much exposure
I can't release 100% of the details yet, but I'll keep you guys updated, I promise.
I hope you're all as excited as I am.
I really feel that one of the best ways to build e-sports is by empowering the players and providing them with more and better opportunities. This is one of the ways that I feel I can help make this happen.
edit:
You can expect to see the first content out of the team around the 2nd week of April.
On March 14 2012 00:29 Tarotis wrote: Where is the house? NA, EU or KR?
This, also, will people be able to apply for the next one?
We'll most likely take the first applications around June.
It's possible that we may reach out to one player prior to that.
What will be your main focus when picking people to join the house? Just good ladder placement and dedication? Or will you take tournament/cup results into account?
So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
Sounds amazing, but I don't understand why only so few will train together. Unless there sin't enough space in the house, it sound expensive to put up such an organization for only 4 guys at a time.
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
On March 14 2012 00:29 MrBitter wrote: Ok, so here's some details:
First three players:
I will name them as soon as their travel is confirmed. The first three guys are guys I know and have talked to/worked with extensively in the past. First guys are pretty experimental. I want to make sure things are running smoothly with people I know before I start rotating in newer guys.
Players will stay for 3-6 months at a time, depending on things like visas, schedules, etc.
I want to make sure to always have at least one player from EU and NA in the house at a time.
The underlying goal of this project:
I want to provide opportunity to promising players who wouldn't otherwise get it. This means:
a.) players that aren't on teams b.) players who are on smaller teams that can't afford to send them places c.) players who are on good teams, but who don't get much exposure
I think I have a gut feeling of who one of them is, he has also been doing quite well recently in ladder and shown great strides in improving his gameplay. I hope my suspicions turn out true since he deserves it a lot, he is quite the wild card though at times. Slumps at times, amazing at others. Good luck to the first three players though.
On March 14 2012 00:49 goswser wrote: So ladder is taken into consideration when choosing players? That's a yucky selection process.
Everything is taken into consideration when choosing players.
If you applied, for example, I would be adding you on Skype and discussing details with you asap to make sure you understood what you were signing up for.
For first 3 player speculation:
Have fun guys, but you won't know who they are. I may even take some heat for the first three. They're guys I see potential in, and guys I can trust to do what needs to be done to get the project off the ground. They're all high master/GM players and have all done well in online events, and have all participated in at least one offline event.
On March 14 2012 00:49 goswser wrote: So ladder is taken into consideration when choosing players? That's a yucky selection process.
There are probably other criteria as well, but it's allowing high-level players (who aren't yet on pro teams) the opportunity to take that final step that's needed. (I doubt bronze-level players are going to be allowed.)
Props to Mr. Bitter for doing this. Really impressive!
On March 14 2012 00:49 goswser wrote: So ladder is taken into consideration when choosing players? That's a yucky selection process.
Everything is taken into consideration when choosing players.
If you applied, for example, I would be adding you on Skype and discussing details with you asap to make sure you understood what you were signing up for.
For first 3 player speculation:
Have fun guys, but you won't know who they are. I may even take some heat for the first three. They're guys I see potential in, and guys I can trust to do what needs to be done to get the project off the ground. They're all high master/GM players and have all done well in online events, and have all participated in at least one offline event.
My money is on ActionJesus, Poopfeast420 and Bitbybit On a more serious note: I think somebody from the german scene is possible. Like iRa or Rine. Maybe Olajuwon or Akkis? I am definetely stoked!
On March 14 2012 00:49 goswser wrote: So ladder is taken into consideration when choosing players? That's a yucky selection process.
Everything is taken into consideration when choosing players.
If you applied, for example, I would be adding you on Skype and discussing details with you asap to make sure you understood what you were signing up for.
For first 3 player speculation:
Have fun guys, but you won't know who they are. I may even take some heat for the first three. They're guys I see potential in, and guys I can trust to do what needs to be done to get the project off the ground. They're all high master/GM players and have all done well in online events, and have all participated in at least one offline event.
My money is on ActionJesus, Poopfeast420 and Bitbybit
This is amazing. MrBitter stepping up to the plate and proving just how much he cares about the community. As an aspiring professional gamer myself, that finds it incredibly hard to find a team or sponsor, I can sympathise with just how smart this initiative actually is.
On March 14 2012 01:55 Skuller wrote: Is there going to be a lot of content coming from the house? Or is this just a training environment?
There will be professional replay analysis 5 nights per week as the players develop and analyze their gameplay.
There will also be other stuff that I can't reveal just yet.
What I can say is that one of the initiatives of the project is to create exposure for the players. This means making as many opportunities for the community to see their faces as possible.
On March 14 2012 02:08 OrD_SC2 wrote: This sounds awesome. I hope we see more companies doing things like this. What ways can we help support the house and make sure it can continue?
As Razer is the primary sponsor, buying their equipment, and telling them how much you like the project is a good first step.
Beyond that, tune in to the nightly content when it begins (roughly mid-April), and support the players in whatever ways you guys can.
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
You're so awesome for setting this up MrBitter, and of course to Razer for helping out with this. I'd just like to ask a question, if you don't feel necessary to go into such depth then no worries.
Where is the Razer Academy located? I'm assuming in the states somewhere (since you said living with you) - but for me this is an important detail!
Oh Germany as well, excuse me.
Follow-up Question: Would being part of another "Academy" disallow you for being apart of this project MrBitter? For example, At the end of MLG Columbus (March 25th) Complexity is going to have a new tournament to draft new players into their Academy.
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
You're so awesome for setting this up MrBitter, and of course to Razer for helping out with this. I'd just like to ask a question, if you don't feel necessary to go into such depth then no worries.
Where is the Razer Academy located? I'm assuming in the states somewhere (since you said living with you) - but for me this is an important detail!
Bitter lives in germany, so it might also be there - but it also could be in the US. who knows! bitter knows :/
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
You're so awesome for setting this up MrBitter, and of course to Razer for helping out with this. I'd just like to ask a question, if you don't feel necessary to go into such depth then no worries.
Where is the Razer Academy located? I'm assuming in the states somewhere (since you said living with you) - but for me this is an important detail!
I'll be able to reveal all the details of the location by early next week.
In the mean time, don't freak out or get too worked up over anything. We won't be inviting new people from the community to live with us until June at the earliest. The first three players have already been selected, and will be announced when their travel is confirmed.
If, for some reason, any of the first three guys runs into some problem (ie: visas, cold feet, whatever) we will take people from the community for that purpose. If that happens, I'll announce it.
I'm super excited about the project, but really, this is just an announcement of an announcement. I wish I could say more, and I promise to reveal everything as soon as I can.
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
More chance of that success story happening if you have more players tho. I hope the players will have to work hard in the house like you say, and will be kicked out if they don't.
Hope its in Germany Man things like this motivate me to practice much more Too bad I still got school. I read the names RINE and iRa here and I think I'm not even far away from their skill level, would make me really happy if it was really one of them! Good luck to those 3 players and thanks Razer and MrBitter. Razer is such an awesome company, they support like every 2nd progaming team and their gear is awesome stuff. Hope they will keep investing into esports, pretty sure it will pay off after some time if not now.
On March 14 2012 00:37 goswser wrote: So applications are just kind of open to interpretation? Make a youtube video or something I guess? Why only 3-4 players in the house, isn't that a bit too few for it to be successful?
We're not trying to start a Korean house.
We're providing support to players that wouldn't otherwise have it.
If EG is a pro team, I'm trying to create a "farm team" of sorts. A place where players can come and develop before moving on to bigger and better things.
A success story for me is "Billy comes to the house, works hard for three months, and is then picked up by a pro team".
Practice will mostly happen on ladder, through online cups, and through what connections I have with other pros.
This is not a vacation.
This will be a sweat shop. Players will be expected to work.
It's a bed, food, a gym membership, and lots and lots of hard work. (As well as some other opportunities that I'll talk more about as soon as I'm allowed to talk about it)
More chance of that success story happening if you have more players tho. I hope the players will have to work hard in the house like you say, and will be kicked out if they don't.
GL with the project!
We'll operate on a two strike system.
Players will be expected to work a certain amount, and conduct themselves in a certain way. They will get one warning. After that, it's a bus ticket home. (or to the nearest coast where they'll have to figure out their own travel home)
Understood, the first 3 were hand-drafted and picked by Captain Bitter. June at the earliest is a bit away so I won't go into hysterics, yet.
Follow-up Question: Would being part of another "Academy" disallow you for being apart of this project MrBitter? For example, some time after MLG Columbus (March 25th) Complexity is going to have a tournament to draft new players into their Academy.
Either way I can't stress enough how amazing this is. GL with the project MrBitter.
Don't want to post a massive wall of text, in-case MrBitter doesn't approve, but there is a huge chunk of information in the Reddit thread relating to this subject!
MrBitter, RotterDam, SeltzerPlease, and TobiWanKenobi apparently apart of this! This is huge.
On March 14 2012 02:52 Slardar wrote: Don't want to post a massive wall of text, in-case MrBitter doesn't approve, but there is a huge chunk of information in the Reddit thread relating to this subject!
MrBitter, RotterDam, SeltzerPlease, and TobiWanKenobi apparently apart of this! This is huge.
On March 14 2012 02:52 Slardar wrote: Don't want to post a massive wall of text, in-case MrBitter doesn't approve, but there is a huge chunk of information in the Reddit thread relating to this subject!
MrBitter, RotterDam, SeltzerPlease, and TobiWanKenobi apparently apart of this! This is huge.
u forgot to mention athene!!!
omg this will be epic stuff
why is athene involved? He's some wow troll who doesn't even play SC2, just makes troll wow videos and plays poker.
On March 14 2012 02:52 Slardar wrote: Don't want to post a massive wall of text, in-case MrBitter doesn't approve, but there is a huge chunk of information in the Reddit thread relating to this subject!
MrBitter, RotterDam, SeltzerPlease, and TobiWanKenobi apparently apart of this! This is huge.
u forgot to mention athene!!!
omg this will be epic stuff
why is athene involved? He's some wow troll who doesn't even play SC2, just makes troll wow videos and plays poker.
I've a question MrBitter. Are players from South East Asia available? As you said, teamless, dedicated and believes he can achieve and succeed in being a progamer. I hope you'd release more information soon, so people can get ready and be prepared. Most importantly is, are SEA players eligible! thanks
On March 14 2012 02:52 Slardar wrote: Don't want to post a massive wall of text, in-case MrBitter doesn't approve, but there is a huge chunk of information in the Reddit thread relating to this subject!
MrBitter, RotterDam, SeltzerPlease, and TobiWanKenobi apparently apart of this! This is huge.
u forgot to mention athene!!!
omg this will be epic stuff
why is athene involved? He's some wow troll who doesn't even play SC2, just makes troll wow videos and plays poker.
Athene may (or may not) be involved in the Razer Academy project.
But he's not at all involved in anything that I'm working on.
None of the people being discussed have anything to do with this, in fact. It's Razer supported, and the aim is to develop and promote aspiring professional players. That's all there is to it.
On March 14 2012 04:08 jaeyoong92 wrote: I've a question MrBitter. Are players from South East Asia available? As you said, teamless, dedicated and believes he can achieve and succeed in being a progamer. I hope you'd release more information soon, so people can get ready and be prepared. Most importantly is, are SEA players eligible! thanks
Sounds great, can't wait for more info, you're the man Bitter, less than 12 months ago you were saying you didn't even consider yourself a caster per-say and now you're headlining great initiatives like this, good stuff.
Jesus Mr.Bitter you do not have a clue how long i have been waiting for a well known named person to come up with something like this....i am so stoked right now
I think what Mr. Bitter and Razer are doing is absolutely phenomenal. It gives players the chance they wouldn't otherwise get. Razer Fighting! Mr. Bitter Fighting!
I think this is awesome and as MrBitter has said I think most people's question will be answered later. I agree with everyone though that we need to support this as much as possible and support Razer for helping make this possible.
So I see that razer has hired the NASL camera guy....
But seriously this is fantastic! Can't wait to see some unknown players finally getting in the spot light. Now since this is through razer I am assuming that this is like the CSN training camp and everything will be streamed? I would also dig the whole Reign thing where there was a dedicated camera to the room that people are training in, I sometimes enjoyed watching that.
This looks great for sure. I'm a bit worried this will be too focused on newer players and not have enough content for people a bit higher up in the leagues. Still a great initiative and I'm happy razer is putting more effort into e-sports!
EPT
PICK UTHERMAL(or curse now) for the next rotation, he always dreamed of a traiings house but never got the change!!!! 
Man things like this motivate me to practice much more 
