The gaming community in Saskatchewan (Canada) came together to produce a local access television show / tournament. We wrapped up production a few months ago and the first episodes are hitting the air on Access7 (only available in Saskatchewan). We serialized the tournament and supplemental content into 20 episodes. The grand prize was a 50" plasma TV, with runners up winning a variety of internet products and computer parts/accessories.
I took a couple of screen grabs so you guys could check out what we have been working on:
If you are in Saskatchewan and interested in Starcraft, I suggest heading over to SaskGamers.com and posting in the introduction thread.
Feedback is welcome
Edit: Some more details - We had 4 caster teams for the tournament - Production was sanctioned by Blizzard - Players qualified via online qualifiers - 8 players in televised tournament - 'group' like stage eliminates 4 players, leaving 4 players in finals bracket - 20 episodes @ 30 minutes each - No commercial interruptions, only product placement and endorsement - The show airs new episodes every week, Thursday @ 11pm
Edit Edit: I don't own the online rights to the show, but I'm still trying to figure out how we can get it online for people.
On October 03 2012 06:28 MapleFractal wrote: This is awesome! And I thought there was nothing to do out in Saskatchewan Maybe you guys can upload these to youtube and link them on TL.
In any case, good on ya boys. Cheers, Timmys is on me
They still have the roughriders.
Anyways this is great news and it seems that you guys put a lot of effort into this. Congrats.
The show airs new episodes every week, Thursday @ 11pm. The episode re-runs the same week in a different time slot.
@nkr - Heh, didn't notice that. I didn't create that overlay, but I'm guessing that stat is straight from the Prima Strategy guide.
@inoshishi - Unfortunately only parts of Saskatoon have Access. Which sucks doubly since the production had many competitors, casters and crew from Stoon. I will keep trying to get this online.
looks cool! But are you doing this for non-Gamers to get interested? If so, maybe you shouldn't put stats like turning speed on those overviews but instead maybe show videos where you showcase the unit or something. For me as a newbie all these statisitcs would look rather uninteresting. Just a thought
This was an absolute blast to be a part of. It was my first time ever at a live event like this, first time ever on tv, and first time casting with video on me. So many firsts and such a great production grew to make things smooth. Big thanks to everyone involved. Since I don't have access cable I can't wait to hear if we get an opportunity to watch elsewhere.
@RolleMcKnolle - Good point. Those animated 'stats' pages are actually only briefly visible while a voice over is describing the unit in very simple, viewer friendly terms. I think if we do this again we might re-work those windows to include more useful introductory statistics.
@Shicky - You were a Boss, I'll try to get a screen cap of you casting.
With all the cross province support coming in, I can't help but think how awesome it would be to do some kind of SK vs AB vs MB event....(provinces chosen based on proximity only, no offense!). ooooh so fun.
Have you considered contacting any of the Canadian sporting stations about potentially airing this? You could go for the wee-hours market (since lots of SC gamers are up then playing/watching GSL anyways), and try reaching out to the Score maybe?
If I could watch this from Toronto I totally would.
On October 03 2012 07:35 Ben... wrote: I'll totally watch listings for the Access7 for this. It'll be about the only thing I use my TV for other than SNES and Dexter.
On October 03 2012 07:35 Ben... wrote: I'll totally watch listings for the Access7 for this. It'll be about the only thing I use my TV for other than SNES and Dexter.
On October 03 2012 06:30 WhalesFromSpace wrote: Well now Saskatchewan has something more to do than hockey
You could always go to one of our many fine clubbing establishments and possibly get stabbed.
I thought we were talking about Saskatchewan, not Winnipeg
Oh, and Grats!!! Great job!!
Think that reference is towards stabbos... i mean gabbos!
@AVeryConcernedSheep @Crais @TheEmulator www.SaskGamers.com ! We have a tournament every few months, as well as lots of barcrafts and other social Starcraft events. You can usually find any gaming event going on in the province on that site.
@Chill - I think if this happens again it will be advertised a lot more, as well as have larger prizes. It would defiantly be cool to get some really experienced players from across Canada to meet in the middle for a Saskatchewan tournament
@Le BucheRON - I don't work for Access, I was the community producer (the guy in the black whitera shirt). The show was recorded in the Regina studio. Your name doesn't ring a bell- but if you have been around the Starcraft community I use the same handle.
On October 03 2012 08:04 Chill wrote: Wtf why did you advertise this more? Would have been road trip worthy for sure.
It was honestly kind of a trial run in a lot of ways but we are planning a major event (possibly 2) in Saskatchewan in the near future and hoping to draw in people from Manitoba/Alberta.. Should have an announcement in the coming week(s).. would love to get you down as a caster if you're interested :p
Looks cool although haven't seen much. From the screenshots it looks like the lighting could be improved move, particularly with the green screen, since it looks a bit unnatural.
Wow awesome work guys! I hope the Saskatchewan community supports the crap out of this. If I lived there (and had cable), I'd be all over this in a second. Wishing you guys good luck!
If you guys find a way to get rights to put it online, let us know so those of us a little father away can support you.
On October 03 2012 08:04 Chill wrote: Wtf why did you advertise this more? Would have been road trip worthy for sure.
It was honestly kind of a trial run in a lot of ways but we are planning a major event (possibly 2) in Saskatchewan in the near future and hoping to draw in people from Manitoba/Alberta.. Should have an announcement in the coming week(s).. would love to get you down as a caster if you're interested :p
Err my god maybe I could cast with the legendary chill one day?!?!
Great post Rambus, I'm glad that Saskatchewan is finally getting some much deserved exposure. Everything from the site to the monthly tournaments it all runs smoothly and is always a great time. So big thanks to everyone from Saskatchewan who organizes stuff like this and makes it so enjoyable. Cheers!
This was a fun event to cast, even though my efforts were Public TV quality. XD
Remember for SC2 lans they happen in Regina and are hosted by Saskgamers.com For Barcrafts Saskatoon has large ones(https://www.facebook.com/groups/363608830334029/), Regina sometimes has small ones.
On October 03 2012 11:35 Jmanthedragonguy wrote: lol alot more saskatchewanian players here than i expected, including myself. Im not sure what access 7 is, it on satellite?
No, they have their own cable network. It's fairly big in Regina and some surrounding communities.
On October 03 2012 11:24 MYiGrape wrote: Great post Rambus, I'm glad that Saskatchewan is finally getting some much deserved exposure. Everything from the site to the monthly tournaments it all runs smoothly and is always a great time. So big thanks to everyone from Saskatchewan who organizes stuff like this and makes it so enjoyable. Cheers!
On October 03 2012 08:22 alexstraz wrote: WOW this is amazing! I live in Calgary, Alberta and we are SERIOUSLY lacking esports content, maybe something like this needs to happen!
You guys have Canada Cup lol. Thats the biggest event in Canada
On October 03 2012 12:32 Capnstank wrote: Caught this last week. Gotta say the whole thing was really well put together. Going to have to try and catch it every week from here out.
On October 03 2012 08:22 alexstraz wrote: WOW this is amazing! I live in Calgary, Alberta and we are SERIOUSLY lacking esports content, maybe something like this needs to happen!
You guys have Canada Cup lol. Thats the biggest event in Canada
aww yiss. i got $5 to anyone with access 7 who can provide me with recordings of some matches from this. can't wait to see more sc2 action here in saskatchewan
I got to play in this tournament although i didn't do that great, it was a blast! The prizes were outstanding and Access Com. was just so awesome. I hope to see other communities doing something like this.
This looks awesome. I really like the splash pages with the unit information, including what it's strong / weak against. Sprinkle player profiles with Unit profiles. Awesome
Looks like you guys put a lot of work and effort into this program. Hopefully this isn't a one time thing and more people put this kind of effort into Canadian Esports. Please let us know if and when this program gets put on the internet.
On October 03 2012 07:35 Ben... wrote: I'll totally watch listings for the Access7 for this. It'll be about the only thing I use my TV for other than SNES and Dexter.
On October 03 2012 06:30 WhalesFromSpace wrote: Well now Saskatchewan has something more to do than hockey
You could always go to one of our many fine clubbing establishments and possibly get stabbed.
I thought we were talking about Saskatchewan, not Winnipeg
I will admit, I smiled after reading that. Any joke at Manitoba's expense is a good joke. Though I would argue you would be less likely to get stabbed there and more likely to self-harm out of boredom instead.
I'll check out all this stuff for Saskgamers and whatnot I have more free time than expected this term at school.
@oMgPonies - We have really killer player 'bio' pages, where the player looks holographic and rotates, will try to get a screen grab of that for you
@fistpunch - I know right from the get-go we were planning on doing a second season. No work has been started on it yet, but from the comments I see here it would have to be more open, have internet distribution as an option and correctly identify that zealots as 2 supply.
@Ben - Would be great to have you around the community
This is awesome, I am from Saskatchewan and my mother actually used to work for access . Unfortunately I do not have Access or even cable atm but it's nice to see that Sask has a passionate SC2 community.
On October 03 2012 07:35 Ben... wrote: I'll totally watch listings for the Access7 for this. It'll be about the only thing I use my TV for other than SNES and Dexter.
On October 03 2012 06:30 WhalesFromSpace wrote: Well now Saskatchewan has something more to do than hockey
You could always go to one of our many fine clubbing establishments and possibly get stabbed.
I thought we were talking about Saskatchewan, not Winnipeg
Oh, and Grats!!! Great job!!
Think that reference is towards stabbos... i mean gabbos!
No one's been stabbed outside of there... recently... or if so it hasn't been publicly announced lol XD. You wanna get stabbed go to the jolly roger on 5th ave past midnight.
On October 03 2012 07:35 Ben... wrote: I'll totally watch listings for the Access7 for this. It'll be about the only thing I use my TV for other than SNES and Dexter.
On October 03 2012 06:30 WhalesFromSpace wrote: Well now Saskatchewan has something more to do than hockey
You could always go to one of our many fine clubbing establishments and possibly get stabbed.
I thought we were talking about Saskatchewan, not Winnipeg
Oh, and Grats!!! Great job!!
Think that reference is towards stabbos... i mean gabbos!
No one's been stabbed outside of there... recently... or if so it hasn't been publicly announced lol XD. You wanna get stabbed go to the jolly roger on 5th ave past midnight.
Pretttty sure people have been stabbed inside and outside of gabbos. Remember crime like that will hardly ever come up i. the news because regina likes to not shed attention on it.
So who would be some big names from the surrounding provinces that could come? Anyone have ideas or people they would wanna see??
Looks really good! Congrats on what seems like a really fun and successful production!
It's pretty amazing comparing those screenshots to the look of the stereotypical local access show (someone sitting in a room in front of a sheet with a camcorder, or the like). It speaks both to the dedication/skills of the people working on it, as well as just generally how accesible decent production software/equipment is these days. Cool stuff.
Lots of people were talking about putting it online in this thread, but I don't know if anyone is going to follow through. If I ever get the permission to do it (legally) I will do so right away.
I think the coolest thing right now is hearing how many people are in Saskatchewan and are learning about our strong community. I can't wait to see you guys at the next event!
But now I ask a favor from the TL community- help me vet the unit stats screens. I'm running a little thin on time right now, and I doubt I could do as good a job as you guys.
We already found the following protoss corrections: sentry: cost should be 50 and 100 immortal: turn rate should be 720 colossus: turn rate should be 720 Observer: cost should be 25 and 75 warp prism: shields should be 40
On December 01 2012 06:30 Franthier wrote: I am surprised that there is a lot SC2 players in Saskatchewan. It puts people in Toronto to shame.
Saskatchewan is a province,
Toronto is a city. A province better have more people than a city.
Nope. Toronto has more people than the whole province (2.5 times more people actually). Even Calgary has more people than Saskatchewan by like 20000. So it is likely there are more SC2 players in Toronto than in the entire province of Saskatchewan.
On December 01 2012 06:30 Franthier wrote: I am surprised that there is a lot SC2 players in Saskatchewan. It puts people in Toronto to shame.
Saskatchewan is a province,
Toronto is a city. A province better have more people than a city.
Nope. Toronto has more people than the whole province (2.5 times more people actually). Even Calgary has more people than Saskatchewan by like 20000. So it is likely there are more SC2 players in Toronto than in the entire province of Saskatchewan.
Toronto or the GTA? I am thinking toronto toronto not the GTA.
On December 01 2012 06:30 Franthier wrote: I am surprised that there is a lot SC2 players in Saskatchewan. It puts people in Toronto to shame.
Saskatchewan is a province,
Toronto is a city. A province better have more people than a city.
Nope. Toronto has more people than the whole province (2.5 times more people actually). Even Calgary has more people than Saskatchewan by like 20000. So it is likely there are more SC2 players in Toronto than in the entire province of Saskatchewan.
Toronto or the GTA? I am thinking toronto toronto not the GTA.
And I didnt realise Sask was so small O.O
City of Toronto. According to Toronto's site, the GTA has 5.5 million people.
EPT![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/wetbread%20enger%20in%20game.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/techmarauder%20and%20elusive%20wide%20shot.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/show%20title.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/jason%20and%20josh%20casters.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/Winner's%20Corner.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/battlecruiser.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://saskgamers.com/images/den/zealot%203d.jpg)
Maybe you guys can upload these to youtube and link them on TL. 
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/i6Yly.png)
