All of those values great to have, but in my humble opinion, game knowledge is by far the best quality you can possess.
I value casters who have played competitively; who have been there and done it. e.g. Day9 compared to Husky, and etc. Artosis is the highest pinnacle of SC knowledge. He really knows his game. Even though you will find bias in every caster he tries to keep it professional.
+1 props for the old-school BW competitors. Mainly because that game was much harder to play compared to what Sc2 is now. While APM is still important, its less valuable in Sc2 (because of automation) than it was in BW.
On September 05 2012 00:18 Kasaraki wrote: This thread was actually made to bash Wolf and otherwise serve as a platform for the OP's biased opinions, right? :/
These threads are silly because noone will ever agree, and people either passionately love or hate a specific caster. Truth is that there are a million small things that make casters different, not just huge overarching general ideas such as insight or charisma, at least so it seems to me. I think if you talk about casters, there's only one thing to say, although it may seem like a lazy idiom to some: "There's no accounting for taste." I find that this is largely true when it comes to which casters people like, and which players people root for.
Issues can only be found if a majority of people dislike a specific caster I think, but that's only really the case with Moletrap and perhaps a large amount of lesser known casters who are lesser known for a reason.
Saying that the majority of people dislike Moletrap is at best a completely made up number yanked from thine own ass.
Ability to be engaging during downtime Ability to make matches feel important Good self-image, grooming and branding Endurance and preperation for long events Unique insight and game sense Authentic pesonality Tonal control and inflection during key moments
On September 05 2012 01:11 PauseBreak wrote: I voted for "Other"
All of those values great to have, but in my humble opinion, game knowledge is by far the best quality you can possess.
I value casters who have played competitively; who have been there and done it. e.g. Day9 compared to Husky, and etc. Artosis is the highest pinnacle of SC knowledge. He really knows his game. Even though you will find bias in every caster he tries to keep it professional.
+1 props for the old-school BW competitors. Mainly because that game was much harder to play compared to what Sc2 is now. While APM is still important, its less valuable in Sc2 (because of automation) than it was in BW.
Dono bout that, look at Nestea right now, he is struggling to keep up because of his bad mechanics.
Dono bout that, look at Nestea right now, he is struggling to keep up because of his bad mechanics.
I wouldn't say that mechanics are automated per say, but in BW you weren't able to rally workers to minerals/gas and have them start working. You could lead an scv to minerals but couldn't make him mine. =\
On September 05 2012 00:18 Kasaraki wrote: This thread was actually made to bash Wolf and otherwise serve as a platform for the OP's biased opinions, right? :/
These threads are silly because noone will ever agree, and people either passionately love or hate a specific caster. Truth is that there are a million small things that make casters different, not just huge overarching general ideas such as insight or charisma, at least so it seems to me. I think if you talk about casters, there's only one thing to say, although it may seem like a lazy idiom to some: "There's no accounting for taste." I find that this is largely true when it comes to which casters people like, and which players people root for.
Issues can only be found if a majority of people dislike a specific caster I think, but that's only really the case with Moletrap and perhaps a large amount of lesser known casters who are lesser known for a reason.
Saying that the majority of people dislike Moletrap is at best a completely made up number yanked from thine own ass.
On September 05 2012 00:18 Kasaraki wrote: This thread was actually made to bash Wolf and otherwise serve as a platform for the OP's biased opinions, right? :/
These threads are silly because noone will ever agree, and people either passionately love or hate a specific caster. Truth is that there are a million small things that make casters different, not just huge overarching general ideas such as insight or charisma, at least so it seems to me. I think if you talk about casters, there's only one thing to say, although it may seem like a lazy idiom to some: "There's no accounting for taste." I find that this is largely true when it comes to which casters people like, and which players people root for.
Issues can only be found if a majority of people dislike a specific caster I think, but that's only really the case with Moletrap and perhaps a large amount of lesser known casters who are lesser known for a reason.
Saying that the majority of people dislike Moletrap is at best a completely made up number yanked from thine own ass.
Back on subject, I think there should be a minimum caster skill level enforced. There is simply no reason to listen to people who don't understand the game they are casting. With the popularity of Starcraft 2, I'm sure there would be no end of master level players interested in getting a shot at casting. Also, if they are masters level, you know they are committed, dedicated folks who understand how to learn and apply themselves; in short, even if they had no experience, given a chance I believe they would learn how to cast very aptly.
I am a humble diamond player and even to me, it is painfully obvious that some casters don't know, or don't know that they don't know, this game intimately enough to be voices of the community at large. My personal favourite casters are Day9 and Artosis, listening to them I am aware that they understand this game to a very deep and subtle level, through their ability to dissect builds, extrapolate on tactics, techniques and theory and through their situational awareness. It is a pleasure to listen to them both as a viewer (as it's entertaining) and as a player (because I actually learn things from how they approach the game). Unfortunately there are some casters that I mute, because they provide nothing but a distraction.
I believe this problem can be corrected by the companies and businesses that hire casters by taking some risks and trying out some new casters. They need to understand that casters play an important role within this community, as they are often the first impression for new viewers and players and also have the opportunity to disseminate valuable information to more experienced players. It may take some effort, but there is so much talent out there it would seem to be an effort that is guaranteed to pay-off. Also, having a solid caster is a huge asset for these companies, as a solid caster builds a fan-base and provides their company with regular viewership. A caster with little knowledge may be able to fake their way through a few games, but exposed for long enough to the community it is impossible to hide who know this game and who doesn't and ultimately, a bad caster will drive away viewership.
I watch to learn about sc2, let the game and players entertain me.
Game knowledge and insight is what does it for me. That's why Artosis holds a place in my heart.
I can agree with Wolf to some extent. He seemed much like doa in the sense that they wouldn't work together well, always jabs or inside comments about stuff. I won't blame either of them, but the community definitely was too harsh on Moletrap.
It seems to me charisma is what is most valued by people hiring castors though. Its evident a lot of the castors aren't exceptional with in-depth game knowledge, and analysis. If you aren't annoying, sound and look half decent, and know enough to not sound like a newb you can pretty much get by.
a good caster knows whats relevant and whats not. too many times you hear a caster rambling about something completely unimportant during the game. when a caster is on a ramble about a (completely) hypothetical meta-game thought process when a player is about to win or lose based on a slew of different factors. dont hyperfocus on the psychological decision of a minute factor that occurred two minutes ago into a game when there are more relevant factors and more key linch pins dictating the flow of the game.
also, this may be more of a personal pet peeve. but i CANNOT stand when casters rely on certain filler words that they will constantly use in their casting. Every time Catspajamas says "At the moment", "So much damage" and "So", god kills a kitten. PLEASE LEARN TO ALTER YOUR SENTENCE STRUCTURES AND CORNERSTONE WORDS
I'd like to display a very good example that most of /r/starcraft had the chance to see and that is the italian caster Vasacast from last weekend's WCS Europe.
This cast displays that a caster can use nothing but his voice and passion for what's actually going on in the game and in turn make the viewer excited while barely understanding a thing he says.
Most important is knowledge of the game. Tons and tons of time even pro casters - those you listed talk nonsense and call wrong things and read game badly. This to me is absolutely unacceptable and it actually makes me not watch starcraft even though i love the game (i end up with mute sounds and mp3s most of time). So far only casting that has been good is the one on HSC side stream where pros who dont play cast. Other than that not much.
I can see this style of casting be appealing for bronzies/non players but for someone who actually has slight clue about the game is current casting unacceptable.
Also sometimes Idra/Demulsim/Nony/ other pros stream their casting on PRO events wich is quite cool.
Edit: what do i mean by this is as day9 said he/casters cant cast with 100% analysis and game insight as nobody would watch it. They have to keep saying random stuff and not actually give reasons why something is happening because nobody would understand it maybe the 2%.
For me, it's all about charisma and insight. I want the caster to know what he's talking about and I want him to get into the game. It helps the viewer get more into it when the caster gets excited or shows crazy emotion,
EPT
