[Article] A Glimpse at the Other Side.

NeverGG

United Kingdom5399 Posts

March 18 2009 10:08 GMT

(Apologies if this is in the wrong place mods - it contains Star Craft references, but it's mainly focusing upon other e-sports and the fringe scene in general so I had no idea where to put it.)

A Glimpse at the Other Side:

There’s no two ways about it, Star Craft is the most widely publicized e-sport currently running in South Korea. With three main leagues (Proleague, MSL and OSL.) plus the additional GOM TV tournaments that use English language casters and other resources to appeal to a wider global audience Star Craft has the firmest foundation in terms of longevity and popularity.

However, it is far from the only e-sport regularly played at the two main venues of cyber athleticism (if you enjoy calling it that.) OGN’s Yongsan based studios and the MBC Hero Centre at LOOX Mall in Murae-dong host an impressive amount of other events to fill their air time. Genres vary from MMORPGS and FPS games to beat em’ up titles that are almost exclusively Korean in their origin and user base. Some have experienced success overseas or were imported and adapted to suit the Korean gaming community and some you will most likely never have heard of. Each has a unique draw for players at pc bangs and in homes across the country as well as those supporters of the pro-scene who attend live events.

Some of the tournaments are short-lived and serve added purposes such as the recent Batoo ‘Art of Brain’ tournament that showcased an older generation of players who demonstrated their skills in a game based upon the traditional East Asian tactical board game ‘Go.’ Here in South Korea there are television channels devoted to the study of potential strategies for this long revered past time so it was only a matter of years before it was immortalized in electronic form as well. Batoo sponsors the current OSL so a timely introduction to one of OGN’s sister games concluded a few weeks before the OSL itself is set to round up.

Special Force League ~ the most visible face of FPS events in Korea.

Currently the most prominent e-sports with leagues running at OGN or MBC are Special Force and the impending Special Force Proleague for which several of the main Star Craft teams will adopt parallel Special Force groups to battle it out. MBC Heroes and eSTRO are amongst those who have chosen to participate. With eSTRO’s background in FPS (their Counter Strike team was, until recently when they transferred to We Made and partially disbanded to allow new members from Seoul Jeonhwa and Lunatic Hai to join, considered the most well known and admired outside of Korea itself.) Special Force, run by the company Dragonfly hosts the largest FPS league in Korea. The youthful teams such as ITBANK Teenager Razer and Achieve bring passion and frenetic energy to the FPS scene.

One of the players at 'Again Special Force.' earlier this month.

The live events for the Special Force Master League that ended its run a few weeks ago and inspired the new ‘Again Special Force’ live events that will lead into the new SF Proleague were run in two different styles to entice fans to join in the live shows. The main league was set up like a casino where fans could use real casino chips to bet on the matches’ outcome and win themselves prizes. Free food was offered to anyone banking with Shinhan Bank who sponsored the league. There was even free pizza for a few of the events courtesy of their generous benefactors.

OGN's Sparkyz Special Force all-girl team gearing up for action.

Special Force also provided fans with a chance to see female gamers in action. Previously a ladies league existed for Star Craft, but due to a lack of players it was discontinued. The only pro-gaming women currently active are in the capacity of commentators or television presenters (for example Jongmi from OGN Sparkyz.) aside from STX Soul’s Seo Jisoo who remains a marginally used player except when it comes to publicity and non-gaming events.

Special Force teams for the last league required one female member as a standard formation of any team. The OGN Sparkyz team was comprised completely of lady gamers who made it to second place in one of the former leagues.

Fans of the Special Force team, Achieve.

The Korean FPS leagues tend to attract a different range of fans compared to the regular Star Craft events. The fan base is almost exclusively composed of young people between fifteen and twenty five. Often players from other teams will attend the events and the air of the whole experience resonates more casually than some of the higher profile e-sporting lives. Korea has several different FPS games to choose from which run leagues between once and twice a year.

The fresh and colorful Kart Rider stage.

FPS might be the second most prevalent genre in terms of live events; however, it draws a smaller crowd than the only racing game which currently holds its own regular live leagues. Kart Rider is the Korean answer to the Mario Kart craze and it has caught on with a surprisingly diverse spectrum of the indigenous Korean population. The leagues have a massive turn over rate with many sponsors including the online messaging service Buddy Buddy. The average age of Kart Rider pro-gamers is lower than that of their Star Crafting peers. The youngest champion Moon Hojoon is a prime example of a young gamer who has already won major titles and set himself up as a name which will forever be synonymous with the game itself.

Kart Rider's Kang Jinwoo.

Kart Rider live events are a casual affair which have grown in status over the past three leagues. Whereas once the crowd consisted of a scattering of the gamers’ friends and some devoted fans they have now swelled to include casual gaming enthusiasts and those who come to appreciate the expanded complexity of the live events themselves.

A Race Queen watches the races unfold.

A welcome addition to the Kart Riding league was that of the eponymous ‘Race Queens’ – these scantily clad young women greeted fans watching on television with cute expressions, flag waving and some hilarious interviews that show-cased the awkwardness of some of the youthful players such as Kang Jinwoo. This clever strategy has helped to increase the exposure (in more ways than one.) of an e-sport that is now attracting the attention of gamers of all ages who want something stress-free and refreshingly bright to play in their spare time.

There is another side to the mainstream e-sporting scene in Seoul. Aside from the temporary leagues established to showcase new games such as Batoo, Keroro Fighter and SD Gundam there is also one more established type of game that holds both fleeting and long-standing tournaments at both venues.

The definition of fighting e-sports in Seoul.

Fighting games, or beat-em-ups are not as popular as RTS or FPS in South Korea given the domination of Star Craft, Special Force, Counter Strike and their brethren. However, there is a wide market within the casual gaming sector for this genre. On almost every street you can find a tiny stationary store packed from floor to ceiling with everything a student needs and invariably a beat-em-up console will be sitting outside slowly rusting and worn from over-use.

The most well established of these fighting game leagues is the Shinhan Bank sponsored ‘Dungeon and Fighter’ league. It is now in its’ fifth incarnation and the fan base is both shockingly loyal beyond the basic level of attending events and diverse. All ages, both genders and even foreign fans who often fail to make it to any leagues except for the more widely publicized Star Craft events join in with the spirit of this varied and down right bizarre live series.

Just another day at Dungeon and Fighter League.

Upon the surface ‘Dungeon and Fighter’ might just appear to be one more fighting game played in both individual and three on three contexts. However, it is the live events played at Yongsan’s OGN studios which set this game apart from its contemporaries such as Tekken Crash and the recent addition of Keroro Fighter.

Members of Bangpok, Magyecain and individual tournaments pose after a successful day's recording.

Imagine, if you will a team comprised of Lee Sungeun (Firebathero of Samsung Khan.) Jin Yeongsu (Hwasin.) and Shin Sangmoon (Leta) aside from being a power house of Terran talent you would also have a single entity that covered the bases of lethal play, good looks and a spirit of utter mischief. You would have 방폭의주범 (Bangpok for short.) A team famed for their epic and often quite insane ceremonies, their sense of playfulness and their league demolishing playing style.

Bangpok ~ Shin Hyunsoo, Jeong Sangwoon and Lee Sangmin.

As champions of the third league they shared the stage with several other (almost) as eccentric teams including Magicain (led by current Dungeon and Fighter commentator and dance specialist Jeongjoon.) who were triumphant in the second league.

Magyecain ~ Cho Sungho, Jeongjoon and Jangwoong.

Some of their antics during the fourth league included cross-dressing, dance parties, keyboard smashing and an inescapable aura of fun which has lured so many more fans to Dungeon and Fighter league than any other of the so-called fringe e-sports in Seoul itself.

Just one of Sangwoon's infamous 'Firebathero' esque ceremonies.

A recent down turn in the frequency and complexity of ceremonies demonstrated during the Star Craft lives (in part due to new limitations imposed by Kespa.) has led to some fans seeking their weekly doses of gaming drama and laughs elsewhere. This is not to say that the tone of Star Craft events is lacking in any way, but rather that Dungeon and Fighter league illustrates the high levels of demand for live events that are accessible to all levels of gaming enthusiasts.

In conclusion, what do other e-sports have to offer gaming fans in Seoul who can attend the live events and those from further afield, who might enjoy a different e-sports experience via the internet, replays or simple word of mouth between fellow fans?

The key word lodged between all of this discussion, all of these various facets of gaming culture in Korea is: diversity.

This single expression is why the Korean gaming scene is still flourishing beyond the confines of one game (Star Craft.) There is an event, a game, a player and a team for everyone.

Fringe e-sporting experiences - only accessible to the minority outside of Seoul?

The only visible down side contained within the sphere of (fringe) Korean e-sports is the lack of wide spread English language information about these leagues. Sadly, it is still the responsibility of foreign fans to wade through Korean language sites in search of dates, times and media for the lesser known e-sports. It is this writer’s sincere wish that hopefully in the future a wider spectrum of e-sporting information will be accessible for those who wish to get involved. Star Craft has led the way in terms of connecting foreign fans to the Korean scene and one day it might be possible to have a more complete panorama of the e-sporting scene as a whole.

(Thanks for reading – This is only my second article *hides* I hope you enjoyed this insight into the lesser known e-sports in going on currently in Seoul. I hope to bring as much coverage via my photos and live reports in the future.)

Resources:
+ Show Spoiler +

http://gametv.afreeca.com/dftv
http://www.fomos.kr/
http://www.teamliquid.net/
http://www.fpskorea.com/
http://www.dailyesports.com/
http://kart.nexon.com/kart/page/Main.aspx?URL=Home/Index

zXk3

Mexico1178 Posts

March 18 2009 10:22 GMT

Great article... i know korea have also some other "mainstream" fighting games, like Dead or Alive 4 and Street fighter 4, i wish to know anything about that, but seriously this was a great article

CDRdude

United States5625 Posts

March 18 2009 10:32 GMT

Wow, awesome! It would be really cool to learn a bit more about the other games, but as you mentioned, there's that pesky language barrier. Do koreans like guitar hero/rockband type games?

EscPlan9

United States2777 Posts

March 18 2009 10:33 GMT

Thanks for sharing!

Especially the kart rider chic with big boobs... nice shot mate! :D

I really want to see some of the FBH-esque ceremonies in action... I miss FBH's ceremonies already

Scaramanga

Australia8090 Posts

March 18 2009 10:39 GMT

kekeke great article never, thanks for the pictures they were gooood

Spenguin

Australia3316 Posts

March 18 2009 10:47 GMT

bloody awesome article Never!! Thanks so much.

renegade_zerg

Korea (South)525 Posts

March 18 2009 11:30 GMT

More shots of these race queens needed imo. thanks for sharing.

anotak

United States1537 Posts

March 18 2009 11:43 GMT

Koreans are so good at tekken, I wonder how they would do against the top american or japanese players.

Doso

Germany769 Posts

March 18 2009 12:15 GMT

Nice Read. Thanks for the article nevergg!

Jibba

United States22883 Posts

March 18 2009 13:40 GMT

#10

w2play special forces

Xusneb

Canada612 Posts

March 18 2009 13:48 GMT

#11

Nice article, NeverGG! I find it fascinating that there exist so many 'fringe' e-sports. I suppose starcraft will always be number one as it is possibly the only truly balanced, skillful game.

I'm wondering about the players: I'm guessing they aren't able to live off their respective e-sports like Starcraft pros? Unless the level of popularity and funding is as high, I doubt these players are able to train in houses all day with their teammates. They are likely still going to school/holding normal jobs.

On a more big picture note, sometimes I don't even think the game matters when it comes to the popularity of a certain e-sport. The players, the rivalries, the drama, the ceremonies, the atmosphere - basically anything before and after the actual game - seem to draw a lot of people. Do you see this for certain games?

theqat

United States2856 Posts

March 18 2009 14:03 GMT

#12

On March 18 2009 19:22 zXk3 wrote:
Great article... i know korea have also some other "mainstream" fighting games, like Dead or Alive 4 and Street fighter 4, i wish to know anything about that, but seriously this was a great article

Baezzi posts videos from lots of other Korean games on his YouTube account "Jon747". Check that out for SF4, Kart Rider, etc.

Dungeon and Fighter looks like an awesome mix of Diablo and Final Fight or something. I'd play that.

Edit: It's very interesting how stylish and "cool" the players of other games (especially that Dungeon and Fighter team) appear compared to our beloved Starcraft players. I'm guessing the time commitment for professional Starcraft is much greater than for most or any of the games in this article. Hopefully NeverGG can elaborate on that point.

NeverGG

United Kingdom5399 Posts

March 19 2009 05:39 GMT

#13

On March 18 2009 22:48 Xusneb wrote:
Nice article, NeverGG! I find it fascinating that there exist so many 'fringe' e-sports. I suppose starcraft will always be number one as it is possibly the only truly balanced, skillful game.

I'm wondering about the players: I'm guessing they aren't able to live off their respective e-sports like Starcraft pros? Unless the level of popularity and funding is as high, I doubt these players are able to train in houses all day with their teammates. They are likely still going to school/holding normal jobs.

On a more big picture note, sometimes I don't even think the game matters when it comes to the popularity of a certain e-sport. The players, the rivalries, the drama, the ceremonies, the atmosphere - basically anything before and after the actual game - seem to draw a lot of people. Do you see this for certain games?

Yes, from what I've seen the set up of fringe e-sports doesn't lead to a dormitory style regimented life such as that which the Star Craft players lead. Some of them - such as the Kart Rider and Keroro Fighter pros are too young to live away from home (some are as young as 11-12.) and others such as the Dungeon and Fighter players who are in their late teens to mid twenties seem to have their own places and a less strict method of practice time.

I do agree with you regarding the atmosphere being almost more important than the game itself in some cases. For Dungeon and Fighter especially all the players know each other and there are some inter-team friendships which are very obviously on show during the live events. The DF lives used to include games for the crowd during the fourth league which were lead by the casters.

They ranged from crazy chicken foot beat-em-up matches which destroyed the stage to making audience members eat horrible food and drinks for game tokens. They even tried to get me involved a few times, but I couldn't because of my camera!

The ceremonies of DF league shocked me because they use so many props, costumes, different music and other things. It was reminiscent of SKT1 and KTF's mascots policy only on a much bigger scale. It really hit me when I was sitting with the leader of Bangpok (Sangwoon.) having a konglish conversation about gaming and DF whilst he was dressed in full drag queen regalia.

Also the players are usually very welcoming - Hyunsoo of Bangpok has helped me get photos with the team more than once and Sangwoon set up the photo shoots shown above. Basically fringe e-sports are even more accessible to fans because of their more casual set up - it's just a case of being able to find out when they're recorded.

There are plenty of wonderful examples of how utterly insane and fun DF league is to go to in the link I provided for DFTV @ Afreeca's Fighter Forum at the bottom of the OP. I was gutted when I found out it would be moved from Thursday night at the beginning of the fifth league to Tuesday morning when I would be at work.

The last day I attended I got my co-worker to write Bangpok a letter explaining why I couldn't cover their work for that league and thanking them for all their help. Sangwoon accompanied me outside to read it and then did the above photo for me with the other players. Him and Hyunsoo actually stood there holding my hands and asked me to come back as soon as I could - I've had plenty of heart-warming moments with the Star Craft players, but the welcoming nature of the DF players (Bangpok and one of the individual champions especially.) was so overwhelming - eventhough I don't really watch the games often it was that which brought me back for the whole of the fourth league.

NeverGG

United Kingdom5399 Posts

March 19 2009 05:42 GMT

#14

On March 18 2009 19:32 CDRdude wrote:
Wow, awesome! It would be really cool to learn a bit more about the other games, but as you mentioned, there's that pesky language barrier. Do koreans like guitar hero/rockband type games?

There's not really much of a demand for those types of games here from what I've seen of the arcades in Seoul (they usually mainly have FPS and beat-em-ups.) I know Korea did a WCG qualifier for Guitar Hero 3, but I heard it was pretty badly attended and there are very few 'pro' players for musically themed games. It's much more prevalent in Japan I think - if you consider the amount of different instruments which have been converted into game form over there.

Mikilatov

United States3897 Posts

March 19 2009 05:42 GMT

#15

Very interesting, thanks for this.

Oh and, I lol'd pretty hard at the 'exposure' joke.

Pieguy314

Canada262 Posts

March 19 2009 07:08 GMT

#16

They should play games like SSBM (super smash bros melee). I think it's the closest thing to Starcraft in terms of skill required.

IntoTheWow

is awesome32274 Posts

March 19 2009 07:22 GMT

#17

Is team Disney still alive in special forces? Im guessing not since it was an all women team and you mentioned that rule...

Tekken Crash is airing in OGN (I think?) too! it looked fun from what i saw on the vods~

IntoTheWow

is awesome32274 Posts

March 19 2009 07:23 GMT

#18

NeverGG

United Kingdom5399 Posts

March 19 2009 07:24 GMT

#19

On March 19 2009 16:22 IntoTheWow wrote:
Is team Disney still alive in special forces? Im guessing not since it was an all women team and you mentioned that rule...

Tekken Crash is airing in OGN (I think?) too! it looked fun from what i saw on the vods~

I'm not sure - I haven't seen them at any lives though so I think the only currently active all-female team Danny mentioned was Sparkyz. I've seen them setting up Tekken Crash at MBC's Hero Centre so I think that's where they're shooting the current tournament.

IntoTheWow

is awesome32274 Posts

March 19 2009 07:54 GMT

#20

Oh well i watched 2 women team battle it out at Special Force at arirang. But arirang usually airs old stuff so i wouldn't be surprised if the teams or the leagues changed completely :p

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