EPTWhat is key to being a Good Caster - Page 2
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rift
1819 Posts
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nkr
Sweden5451 Posts
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AxionSteel
United States7754 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:13 Liquid`Ret wrote: I have been watching starcraft and starcraft 2 for an extremely long time and I almost feel like the casting is getting worse and worse across the board. There are a few exceptions like Apollo, Rotterdam/MrBitter, but with the other ones you can tell they almost never play the game anymore or never have played to begin with. Starcraft is a beautiful game. There is a very large group of players who have great mechanics and practice a lot, so their builds are very polished and they can all beat each other on any given day. Still some players do better than others, there is a huge mental aspect to the game and slight changes in builds or playstyles that can make all the difference and this is what makes starcraft matches so fun to watch. . Unfortunately, most casters are not very good at all at recognizing patterns or changes in the metagame, or builds. Infact there are so many occasionans where casters who are newbies at the game, judge players and berate them for their mistakes, while they actually don't have a clue what is going on. Of course mistakes are much easier to point out than those little things players change in their play or the mind games that are going on at the top level. But these are the things that make starcraft a brilliant game to watch and follow. I feel like if we had professional casters who actually put the time and effort into delivering the best performance possible, the audience would come much closer to be able to experience starcraft in the same way that progamers experience it. With all the little nuances, mind games, and reasons why someone is doing what they're doing being analyzed and clearly explained. When I listen to a cast and would be unable to see the screen, I would feel like sc2 is a random slugfest with 2 guys just throwing units at each other. Every game feels the same, and one guy wins at the end. This actually makes Starcraft much less appealing to new people or people who are actually looking for depth, not cheap entertainment. Of course this is exaggerated, but it's still sad to me that there is so little actual skill and knowledge amongst casters. I really hope that eventually we can go to a model where there is one person doing play by plays and coloring the cast, and one progamer or ex-progamer (who still keeps up his skill and knowledge of all the recent trends) doing analytical casting. We saw some of this when Grubby was casting with apollo/kalearis and TLO/apollo at assembly (and these guys have barely practiced casting). The current casters are actually not helping Starcraft 2 grow in my opinion, they just live off their initial fame and because of how e-sports works twitter followers and popularity is more important than quality, substance. I believe Starcraft 2 is a good enough game to keep people interested, as long as the skill on the screen is translated and well delivered to the audience. p.s sorry kinda off-topic, but felt like writing my opinion Great post, couldn't agree more. | ||
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m!DniGhT
Germany34 Posts
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nkr
Sweden5451 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:17 m!DniGhT wrote: Khaldor not only has a lot of insight but also a good attitude towards professionalism. As Artosis stated often on SotG he does always have his iPad with him and looking up stuff about players and statistics. But he is also a perfect example of someone who doesn't get the game and berates players for what he thinks is a mistake | ||
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Jojo131
Brazil1631 Posts
On September 03 2012 16:53 Cabinet Sanchez wrote: Giant arms and a smooth head. totes, also wear tight fitting shirts once in a while. I think a lot of people over emphasize the importance of insight and game knowledge (dont get me wrong, its still vital), imo a big thing that's missing from a lot of caster's they're not being genuine, or embracing their character. Husky has come a long way from being my least favorite caster to one of the ones I look forward to listening to every match because although his insight isn't like that of Artosis/Apollo/etc, his character (along with an increasing insight to the game) makes for a perfect mix of an entertaining and informative cast. | ||
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Kamwah
United Kingdom724 Posts
I feel the others make consistent mistakes when casting, try to hype it way too damn much or just have no understanding. | ||
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ilbh
Brazil1606 Posts
djwheat new to sc2? totalbiscuit too? you can dislike their cast, but they are definitely not new to sc2. btw, wolf has great knowledgement too... | ||
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Bojas
Netherlands2397 Posts
- Voice, a smooth radio voice like Gunrun's voice are a joy to listen to. - Appearance, you have to look presentable and must have the neccesary social skills for casting - Humor, jokes obviously make your cast fun - Game knowledge, at least high masters in skill in one race - Chemistry with your co-caster - Knowledge of the scene (very underrated imo) - Someone who always has something to say, but doesn't starts talking about ''oh he's mining minerals now, how interesting'' I think duo's such as Bitterdam compliment each other nicely, where Rotterdam lacks MrBitter compliments him, and vice versa. And the same can be said for Tastosis. | ||
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dOraWa
Korea (South)53 Posts
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TT1
Canada10045 Posts
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bhfberserk
Canada390 Posts
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Dagan159
United States203 Posts
It is obvious that the OP is in the tank for Moletrap. Wolf diddnt set Moletrap to fail. The fact is there is one thing that every caster NEEDS to be successful. That is a good VOICE. It doesnt matter how MANY things someone casts, the thing that will bring in more fans, and ultimately GROW ESPORTS is charisma, support of the players, and the level of enjorment a spectator feels when watching the game. I know Moletrap is dedicated. I know he tries his hardest. Ultimately, if he is not someone a MAJORITY of people want to hear cast, then he should not be casting. There are other roles in ESPORTS that need filling. This is not moletraps role. EDIT: If you love moletrap and hate wolf, how can you lump husky and HD into the same group? | ||
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Dagan159
United States203 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:25 ROOTT1 wrote: all i want is a knowledgeable caster, he could be driest person on the planet for all i care. HIGH LVL ANALYSIS PLZ! TT1. Yes, for you perhaps the most high level analysis possible is preferable, but if you want to grow esports then you are going to have to accept what the republican party has begun to realize: we need to grow the middle class. | ||
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Akhee
Brazil811 Posts
wolf is probably the best player of the casters right now, if you say he doesnt know what hes talking then... you dont dont know what you talking, he has very cool insights and i would consider him just below artosis as analytical caster just to add thats not the first time totalbiscuit helps a progamer, he helped BlinG too | ||
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Bojas
Netherlands2397 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:35 Akhee wrote: you shouldnt criticize too much if you are missing most of the things wolf is probably the best player of the casters right now, What? You might want to back that up.. | ||
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massivez
Belgium653 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:13 Liquid`Ret wrote: I have been watching starcraft and starcraft 2 for an extremely long time and I almost feel like the casting is getting worse and worse across the board. There are a few exceptions like Apollo, Rotterdam/MrBitter, Artosis (although he was much better a year ago) but with the other ones you can tell they almost never play the game anymore or never have played to begin with. Starcraft is a beautiful game. There is a very large group of players who have great mechanics and practice a lot, so their builds are very polished and they can all beat each other on any given day. Still some players do better than others, there is a huge mental aspect to the game and slight changes in builds or playstyles that can make all the difference and this is what makes starcraft matches so fun to watch. . Unfortunately, most casters are not very good at all at recognizing patterns or changes in the metagame, or builds. Infact there are so many occasions where casters who are newbies at the game, judge players and berate them for their mistakes, while they actually don't have a clue what is going on. Of course mistakes are much easier to point out than those little things players change in their play or the mind games that are going on at the top level. But these are the things that make starcraft a brilliant game to watch and follow. I feel like if we had professional casters who actually put the time and effort into delivering the best performance possible, the audience would come much closer to be able to experience starcraft in the same way that progamers experience it. With all the little nuances, mind games, and reasons why someone is doing what they're doing being analyzed and clearly explained. When I listen to a cast and would be unable to see the screen, I would feel like sc2 is a random slugfest with 2 guys just throwing units at each other. Every game feels the same, and one guy wins at the end. This actually makes Starcraft much less appealing to new people or people who are actually looking for depth, not cheap entertainment. Of course this is exaggerated, but it's still sad to me that there is so little actual skill and knowledge amongst casters. I really hope that eventually (sooner the better) we can go to a model where there is one person doing play by plays and coloring the cast, and one progamer or ex-progamer (who still keeps up his skill and knowledge of all the recent trends) doing analytical casting. We saw some of this when Grubby was casting with apollo/kalearis and TLO/apollo at assembly (and these guys have barely practiced casting). The current casters are actually not helping Starcraft 2 grow in my opinion, they just live off their initial fame and because of how e-sports works twitter followers and popularity is more important than quality, substance. I believe Starcraft 2 is a good enough game to keep people interested, as long as the skill on the screen is translated and well delivered to the audience. p.s sorry kinda off-topic, but felt like writing my opinion Excellent post! Well we got Grubby casting the OSL now. This will hopefully motivate other casters to up their knowledge of the game (and play the actual game more, it is their job btw). | ||
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FXOUnstable
Australia159 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:13 Liquid`Ret wrote: I have been watching starcraft and starcraft 2 for an extremely long time and I almost feel like the casting is getting worse and worse across the board. There are a few exceptions like Apollo, Rotterdam/MrBitter, Artosis (although he was much better a year ago) but with the other ones you can tell they almost never play the game anymore or never have played to begin with. Starcraft is a beautiful game. There is a very large group of players who have great mechanics and practice a lot, so their builds are very polished and they can all beat each other on any given day. Still some players do better than others, there is a huge mental aspect to the game and slight changes in builds or playstyles that can make all the difference and this is what makes starcraft matches so fun to watch. . Unfortunately, most casters are not very good at all at recognizing patterns or changes in the metagame, or builds. Infact there are so many occasions where casters who are newbies at the game, judge players and berate them for their mistakes, while they actually don't have a clue what is going on. Of course mistakes are much easier to point out than those little things players change in their play or the mind games that are going on at the top level. But these are the things that make starcraft a brilliant game to watch and follow. I feel like if we had professional casters who actually put the time and effort into delivering the best performance possible, the audience would come much closer to be able to experience starcraft in the same way that progamers experience it. With all the little nuances, mind games, and reasons why someone is doing what they're doing being analyzed and clearly explained. When I listen to a cast and would be unable to see the screen, I would feel like sc2 is a random slugfest with 2 guys just throwing units at each other. Every game feels the same, and one guy wins at the end. This actually makes Starcraft much less appealing to new people or people who are actually looking for depth, not cheap entertainment. Of course this is exaggerated, but it's still sad to me that there is so little actual skill and knowledge amongst casters. I really hope that eventually (sooner the better) we can go to a model where there is one person doing play by plays and coloring the cast, and one progamer or ex-progamer (who still keeps up his skill and knowledge of all the recent trends) doing analytical casting. We saw some of this when Grubby was casting with apollo/kalearis and TLO/apollo at assembly (and these guys have barely practiced casting). The current casters are actually not helping Starcraft 2 grow in my opinion, they just live off their initial fame and because of how e-sports works twitter followers and popularity is more important than quality, substance. I believe Starcraft 2 is a good enough game to keep people interested, as long as the skill on the screen is translated and well delivered to the audience. p.s sorry kinda off-topic, but felt like writing my opinion While you identified great points on a lot of the issues we currently have. No one I ever hear speaking publicly about how "bad" the casting is, EVER gives ways to fix it. The real issue is, as you stated, that casters need to be playing the game as well, BUT HOW, unless they are fulltime they have real jobs, then they cast, then they have family etc. You always hear people say "high masters still don't know anything" but if a caster is higher than masters, they would be IN the tournament not casting it. Every caster you have stated that you think is good are the full time casters, the ones who cast a few hours a day, and have the ability to practice full time. it simply IS NOT POSSIBLE to have high game knowledge as a caster if you do not play the game a significant amount of time, without being full time in the industry as a caster only (for example I cast FXO events but i also manage a team, do production, IT, manage other staff etc) how is someone who has a regular job, casts and then has to play as well do it? its just not possible. I am of the firm belief that if you are a caster for a main organisation you should be casting and then practicing the remaining hours of your work day minimum. For example you cast 3 hours per day? ok you practice the other 5. Only casters who do that will be up to scratch for the "high game knowledge casters" but at the same time, ANY knowledge that is masters or above, is higher than 97% of the community, so it is also the vocal minority who are always doing the complaining. | ||
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Cabinet Sanchez
Australia1097 Posts
On September 03 2012 17:11 AxionSteel wrote: Funny that you stated Wolf knows nothing of the players/current meta game but then said Tasteless does. Couldn't be more wrong. I couldn't possibly agree more. I'm extremely satisfied with 3 out of 4 current GOM casters. | ||
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Cabinet Sanchez
Australia1097 Posts
Ok Artosis, then Wolf, then Khaldor. | ||
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