With Blizzcon coming up we obviously had to have something cool in the works again. Last year's article series was a huge accomplishment for us and it was extremely well received. This year though we have got more active writing staff than almost ever before, we've got highly talented graphics wizards in Meru and shiroiusagi supporting us and more time to plan and prepare. So with all that and more in mind, we decided to run a rather unique theme for this series.
These articles follow the Major Arcana theme. Simply put, the Major Arcana are trump cards in a Tarot deck, and each card has its own meaning. The meaning of each card is very open to interpretation, with some cards representing wildly different aspects - both positive and negative. Each player at Blizzcon was assigned a card by our writing staff, the one that we collectively felt best fits the player's individual story. So why are we doing this?
-> We now have the passion AND manpower to put something like this together. Nothing can stop us now!
-> We went with a very common and general type of article series last year, and we often do the same for individual players throughout the year. We try to identify their individual storylines, or those within a group or series, and write about them. With a lot of those same players from last year's Blizzcon also competing at this year's event, we would run the risk of sounding repetitive if we wrote these previews in the same fashion. Players like MC in particular were at risk of getting what would essentially be rehashed article from last year, which is something we really didn't want.
-> It lets us work with a very creative and fun approach. Writing can and should be fun at times!
-> We think you will enjoy these special articles for the biggest SC2 spectacle of the year. It gives the whole thing an extraordinary feeling that you won't get for any other event.
Now, keep in mind that these articles are not about comparing the players to their assigned card. Instead, think of the card (and what it stands for) as the overall theme of their article. Sometimes we have to think outside the box to come up with an interesting angle to apply. Bearing in mind that with how open the Major Arcana cards are to interpretation, it's very possible that you've thought of angles that we haven't or that your idea of the player's essence (which is what we tried to dig into with these articles) is different from the writer's.
If you're interested in tracking our thought process, feel free to read up on the Major Arcana and the meaning of its cards and tell us how wrong we are for not assigning card X to player Z!
We hope you'll enjoy this year's Road to Blizzcon series as much as we've enjoyed working on it.
Here are a few resources for those interested in delving deeper into the meanings of the individual cards:
Side note:I like how I checked the wiki for "The Fool" (which is my nickname) and found that the article contained a wiki link to the term "Heyoka". TL is everywhere!
I hope it can remain understood that I only mean this as constructive criticism. I have always appreciated the writing of TL staff. It's a huge part of why I use TL and became a part of the community. I genuinely love the articles TL staff have produced over the years. I just want to say that the theme stuff seems like a crutch for real writing and a lot of the time it's such a narrow, singular thing that it doesn't even resonate with most people. You might see a lot of people commenting in a manner that indicates that they got it and enjoyed it, but the people who don't aren't going to be speaking up to say so. It's not a big deal, and I'm not the least bit agitated, but a lot of the time it seems like less professional content because it translates content that should be universal to us all into something that is often foreign to the majority of people, even if a significant minority still exist and relate to it.
Just some feedback on writing.. that I don't expect will go very far, because this thematic stuff has become the way of things on TL... but for my two cents, I have always appreciated the articles that don't try to achieve being fun or engaging via that particular route of being thematic. The gimmick gets old after a while, and simply changing out the face of the gimmick doesn't combat the inevitable drying up of the novelty itself. I think it takes away from the core content. Sometimes I get the vibe that it's more of a self-indulgent angle that the writer is enjoying, and that it is done more-so for the writer(s) than for the audience. But I could completely mistaken. I know there are people who feel the opposite of how I do, too.
Here's this for consideration - how do thematic TL articles, being taken as sports or esports writing (if we may equivocate) compare to standard, professional sports coverage. One thing is clear: my feedback comes from a person who prefers something more than less professional. I think it's more engaging, more universally accessable, and much better for our scene and for the writers themselves moving forward in their careers. Consider yourselves as applying for a serious writing gig in the future, where you are a paid employee. If the work you have to show has you comparing people to tarot cards and pokemon, you probably aren't going to be making a very professional impression.
That all being said, I think there are some great points and reasoning in the OP, and I won't be surprised if I enjoy this thematic angle. It's not as if I haven't before! And I am very much looking forward to these articles, as I do all TL articles. I very much appreciate the work and will definitely be reading these articles and all the future articles that you all put out, with or without the usual thematic stuff. I hope it makes enough sense to post this feedback here, on a thread specifically about the style of these articles.
This comes from someone who has often considered becoming a TL writer but who hasn't done what all of you have, in actually going through with that and putting in the time and energy to do it. So please don't mistake me for being without a measure of gratitude and humbleness in the face of that, while saying this.
On October 17 2014 09:39 Lumi wrote: I hope it can remain understood that I only mean this as constructive criticism. I have always appreciated the writing of TL staff. It's a huge part of why I use TL and became a part of the community. I genuinely love the articles TL staff have produced over the years. I just want to say that the theme stuff seems like a crutch for real writing and a lot of the time it's such a narrow, singular thing that it doesn't even resonate with most people. You might see a lot of people commenting in a manner that indicates that they got it and enjoyed it, but the people who don't aren't going to be speaking up to say so. It's not a big deal, and I'm not the least bit agitated, but a lot of the time it seems like less professional content because it translates content that should be universal to us all into something that is often foreign to the majority of people, even if a significant minority still exist and relate to it.
Just some feedback on writing.. that I don't expect will go very far, because this thematic stuff has become the way of things on TL... but for my two cents, I have always appreciated the articles that don't try to achieve being fun or engaging via that particular route of being thematic. The gimmick gets old after a while, and simply changing out the face of the gimmick doesn't combat the inevitable drying up of the novelty itself. I think it takes away from the core content. Sometimes I get the vibe that it's more of a self-indulgent angle that the writer is enjoying, and that it is done more-so for the writer(s) than for the audience. But I could completely mistaken. I know there are people who feel the opposite of how I do, too.
Here's this for consideration - how do thematic TL articles, being taken as sports or esports writing (if we may equivocate) compare to standard, professional sports coverage. One thing is clear: my feedback comes from a person who prefers something more than less professional. I think it's more engaging, more universally accessable, and much better for our scene and for the writers themselves moving forward in their careers. Consider yourselves as applying for a serious writing gig in the future, where you are a paid employee. If the work you have to show has you comparing people to tarot cards and pokemon, you probably aren't going to be making a very professional impression.
That all being said, I think there are some great points and reasoning in the OP, and I won't be surprised if I enjoy this thematic angle. It's not as if I haven't before! And I am very much looking forward to these articles, as I do all TL articles. I very much appreciate the work and will definitely be reading these articles and all the future articles that you all put out, with or without the usual thematic stuff. I hope it makes enough sense to post this feedback here, on a thread specifically about the style of these articles.
This comes from someone who has often considered becoming a TL writer but who hasn't done what all of you have, in actually going through with that and putting in the time and energy to do it. So please don't mistake me for being without a measure of gratitude and humbleness in the face of that, while saying this.
Thank you for taking time to provide us with some feedback. I'll try to address a few of your points:
The core issue is that we're a group of some 10-12 active volunteers (and of those, maybe half produce 75% of articles) with lives that demand attention and time. We've spent a lot of time writing what you would probably categorize as "standard" articles, and it wouldn't be a stretch to estimate that stuchiu, Olli, lichter and I have somewhere in the vicinity of 200+ standard articles between us.
We like writing, but we spend countless hours each week (or I do) doing it and eventually that starts to feel stale. We don't always feel interested in writing that GSL recap or the preview for 2014 WCS EU Season 2 Ro32 Group E, so these articles - the ones with off-the-wall thematic approaches and innovative angles - they're the ones we really enjoy writing. From experience, I know that the unique articles like the ones leading up to Blizzcon last year or the editorials stuchiu has run are the fun ones. In essence, they're what makes me feel like putting in hundreds of hours a year is worth it.
I'm also not sure I think that professional is necessarily the way to go. We long for eSports to become recognized and legitimate, but it's worth considering that we love eSports for what it is, not necessarily what it would be if it were run like the NBA or the NHL. Those leagues have their merits, but I enjoy the sheer fun of competitive Starcraft II a great deal more than I enjoy faux professionalism, advertisements plastered everywhere and scripted crap. I'm not saying professional isn't without merit, but eSports is so niche that the target audience for which we write is small enough that we can make thematic approaches like Pokémon or Tarot and know that the majority of readers will either understand it or make an effort to. Might that hurt my chances at getting hired somewhere on the back off my TL body of work? Maybe. But I don't write on TL to secure a job somewhere. It might be a bonus having a hundred and fifty articles written that all resonate with the employer's sport interests, but it's not why we do this and I don't think we'd like to trade off all the fun we have doing this for a more professional and, ultimately, stale approach.
On October 17 2014 09:39 Lumi wrote: I hope it can remain understood that I only mean this as constructive criticism. I have always appreciated the writing of TL staff. It's a huge part of why I use TL and became a part of the community. I genuinely love the articles TL staff have produced over the years. I just want to say that the theme stuff seems like a crutch for real writing and a lot of the time it's such a narrow, singular thing that it doesn't even resonate with most people. You might see a lot of people commenting in a manner that indicates that they got it and enjoyed it, but the people who don't aren't going to be speaking up to say so. It's not a big deal, and I'm not the least bit agitated, but a lot of the time it seems like less professional content because it translates content that should be universal to us all into something that is often foreign to the majority of people, even if a significant minority still exist and relate to it.
Just some feedback on writing.. that I don't expect will go very far, because this thematic stuff has become the way of things on TL... but for my two cents, I have always appreciated the articles that don't try to achieve being fun or engaging via that particular route of being thematic. The gimmick gets old after a while, and simply changing out the face of the gimmick doesn't combat the inevitable drying up of the novelty itself. I think it takes away from the core content. Sometimes I get the vibe that it's more of a self-indulgent angle that the writer is enjoying, and that it is done more-so for the writer(s) than for the audience. But I could completely mistaken. I know there are people who feel the opposite of how I do, too.
Here's this for consideration - how do thematic TL articles, being taken as sports or esports writing (if we may equivocate) compare to standard, professional sports coverage. One thing is clear: my feedback comes from a person who prefers something more than less professional. I think it's more engaging, more universally accessable, and much better for our scene and for the writers themselves moving forward in their careers. Consider yourselves as applying for a serious writing gig in the future, where you are a paid employee. If the work you have to show has you comparing people to tarot cards and pokemon, you probably aren't going to be making a very professional impression.
That all being said, I think there are some great points and reasoning in the OP, and I won't be surprised if I enjoy this thematic angle. It's not as if I haven't before! And I am very much looking forward to these articles, as I do all TL articles. I very much appreciate the work and will definitely be reading these articles and all the future articles that you all put out, with or without the usual thematic stuff. I hope it makes enough sense to post this feedback here, on a thread specifically about the style of these articles.
This comes from someone who has often considered becoming a TL writer but who hasn't done what all of you have, in actually going through with that and putting in the time and energy to do it. So please don't mistake me for being without a measure of gratitude and humbleness in the face of that, while saying this.
Thank you for taking time to provide us with some feedback. I'll try to address a few of your points:
The core issue is that we're a group of some 10-12 active volunteers (and of those, maybe half produce 75% of articles) with lives that demand attention and time. We've spent a lot of time writing what you would probably categorize as "standard" articles, and it wouldn't be a stretch to estimate that stuchiu, Olli, lichter and I have somewhere in the vicinity of 200+ standard articles between us.
We like writing, but we spend countless hours each week (or I do) doing it and eventually that starts to feel stale. We don't always feel interested in writing that GSL recap or the preview for 2014 WCS EU Season 2 Ro32 Group E, so these articles - the ones with off-the-wall thematic approaches and innovative angles - they're the ones we really enjoy writing. From experience, I know that the unique articles like the ones leading up to Blizzcon last year or the editorials stuchiu has run are the fun ones. In essence, they're what makes me feel like putting in hundreds of hours a year is worth it.
I'm also not sure I think that professional is necessarily the way to go. We long for eSports to become recognized and legitimate, but it's worth considering that we love eSports for what it is, not necessarily what it would be if it were run like the NBA or the NHL. Those leagues have their merits, but I enjoy the sheer fun of competitive Starcraft II a great deal more than I enjoy faux professionalism, advertisements plastered everywhere and scripted crap. I'm not saying professional isn't without merit, but eSports is so niche that the target audience for which we write is small enough that we can make thematic approaches like Pokémon or Tarot and know that the majority of readers will either understand it or make an effort to. Might that hurt my chances at getting hired somewhere on the back off my TL body of work? Maybe. But I don't write on TL to secure a job somewhere. It might be a bonus having a hundred and fifty articles written that all resonate with the employer's sport interests, but it's not why we do this and I don't think we'd like to trade off all the fun we have doing this for a more professional and, ultimately, stale approach.
For what it's worth, as a reader of every TL article since early 2012, I completely agree with your approach, Zealously. The "standard" previews and recaps are necessary - they provide the foundation of information, but these articles (which you can feel have gotten a lot more love) and the editorials, special player profiles (Sora last year, for example) et cetera; those are what uses the information that is already provided and put through to us. Last year's BlizzCon articles were a highlight of TL writing, and I have full faith that these will be as good or better.
On October 17 2014 09:39 Lumi wrote: I hope it can remain understood that I only mean this as constructive criticism. I have always appreciated the writing of TL staff. It's a huge part of why I use TL and became a part of the community. I genuinely love the articles TL staff have produced over the years. I just want to say that the theme stuff seems like a crutch for real writing and a lot of the time it's such a narrow, singular thing that it doesn't even resonate with most people. You might see a lot of people commenting in a manner that indicates that they got it and enjoyed it, but the people who don't aren't going to be speaking up to say so. It's not a big deal, and I'm not the least bit agitated, but a lot of the time it seems like less professional content because it translates content that should be universal to us all into something that is often foreign to the majority of people, even if a significant minority still exist and relate to it.
Just some feedback on writing.. that I don't expect will go very far, because this thematic stuff has become the way of things on TL... but for my two cents, I have always appreciated the articles that don't try to achieve being fun or engaging via that particular route of being thematic. The gimmick gets old after a while, and simply changing out the face of the gimmick doesn't combat the inevitable drying up of the novelty itself. I think it takes away from the core content. Sometimes I get the vibe that it's more of a self-indulgent angle that the writer is enjoying, and that it is done more-so for the writer(s) than for the audience. But I could completely mistaken. I know there are people who feel the opposite of how I do, too.
Here's this for consideration - how do thematic TL articles, being taken as sports or esports writing (if we may equivocate) compare to standard, professional sports coverage. One thing is clear: my feedback comes from a person who prefers something more than less professional. I think it's more engaging, more universally accessable, and much better for our scene and for the writers themselves moving forward in their careers. Consider yourselves as applying for a serious writing gig in the future, where you are a paid employee. If the work you have to show has you comparing people to tarot cards and pokemon, you probably aren't going to be making a very professional impression.
That all being said, I think there are some great points and reasoning in the OP, and I won't be surprised if I enjoy this thematic angle. It's not as if I haven't before! And I am very much looking forward to these articles, as I do all TL articles. I very much appreciate the work and will definitely be reading these articles and all the future articles that you all put out, with or without the usual thematic stuff. I hope it makes enough sense to post this feedback here, on a thread specifically about the style of these articles.
This comes from someone who has often considered becoming a TL writer but who hasn't done what all of you have, in actually going through with that and putting in the time and energy to do it. So please don't mistake me for being without a measure of gratitude and humbleness in the face of that, while saying this.
Thank you for taking time to provide us with some feedback. I'll try to address a few of your points:
The core issue is that we're a group of some 10-12 active volunteers (and of those, maybe half produce 75% of articles) with lives that demand attention and time. We've spent a lot of time writing what you would probably categorize as "standard" articles, and it wouldn't be a stretch to estimate that stuchiu, Olli, lichter and I have somewhere in the vicinity of 200+ standard articles between us.
We like writing, but we spend countless hours each week (or I do) doing it and eventually that starts to feel stale. We don't always feel interested in writing that GSL recap or the preview for 2014 WCS EU Season 2 Ro32 Group E, so these articles - the ones with off-the-wall thematic approaches and innovative angles - they're the ones we really enjoy writing. From experience, I know that the unique articles like the ones leading up to Blizzcon last year or the editorials stuchiu has run are the fun ones. In essence, they're what makes me feel like putting in hundreds of hours a year is worth it.
I'm also not sure I think that professional is necessarily the way to go. We long for eSports to become recognized and legitimate, but it's worth considering that we love eSports for what it is, not necessarily what it would be if it were run like the NBA or the NHL. Those leagues have their merits, but I enjoy the sheer fun of competitive Starcraft II a great deal more than I enjoy faux professionalism, advertisements plastered everywhere and scripted crap. I'm not saying professional isn't without merit, but eSports is so niche that the target audience for which we write is small enough that we can make thematic approaches like Pokémon or Tarot and know that the majority of readers will either understand it or make an effort to. Might that hurt my chances at getting hired somewhere on the back off my TL body of work? Maybe. But I don't write on TL to secure a job somewhere. It might be a bonus having a hundred and fifty articles written that all resonate with the employer's sport interests, but it's not why we do this and I don't think we'd like to trade off all the fun we have doing this for a more professional and, ultimately, stale approach.
I read the piece about Classic and it wasn't lacking in any area, nor did the style make it wacky. Combined with a strategy article this preview is perfectly well informed and full of essence.
Also it's not like regular sport journalists never try something unorthodox and usually it's refreshing to most readers rather than to a minority.
On October 17 2014 19:56 y0su wrote: First article was good but I'm hoping for a bit more... I guess tactical analysis... Was well written tho and I look forward to the next one!
On October 17 2014 19:56 y0su wrote: First article was good but I'm hoping for a bit more... I guess tactical analysis... Was well written tho and I look forward to the next one!
Did you read the complimentary strategy article?
Why is there no link to the strategy article in the "main" article? (Or am I just not seeing it?)
On October 17 2014 19:56 y0su wrote: First article was good but I'm hoping for a bit more... I guess tactical analysis... Was well written tho and I look forward to the next one!
Unlike lumi I believe starcraft really doesn't have to be compared to the normal professional sport scene, and that yes, it could really add something to the reading of the articles to start them out with a comparison, just to open certain angles of view and making the writing/reading fun and different. Besides, TL article are not the «mainstream» articles I already very well could see - Bomber as a good Chariot («impulsivity, bravery») - MC as Emperor (he rules them all!!) - Polt, with his always so composed and impartial attitude, as Justice :D
EPT
6 Terrans 
6 Protoss 
4 Zerg
