While I was researching for some project, I found this neat site that lets any one create a timeline of something. http://www.xtimeline.com/
I was thinking if Teamliquid could do one of Starcraft e-Sports, and the best part is that you can embed this on any site.
I think this would help people understand. I know that I am still confused as how sc as an esport got started. The interface for viewing is pretty neat to.
Here are some things to include:
1. All the OSLs, MSLs, Blizzcons and other tourney's
2. When teams were made (both foreign and Korean)
3. When certain players changed the way people play (BoxeR, or the Bisu vs sAviOr MSL finals in 2007)
4. When foreigners came (Tasteless, idrA, Legionnare, etc.)
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HonestTea
5007 Posts
I wrote this post two years ago in another thread:
Starcraft is released. It hits Korea, where it becomes hugely popular. It helps that 1) It's a damn good game, 2) Blizzard had good brand recognition in Korea, 3) Korea had a great computer + modem/lan infrastructure, and 4) Korea had an advanced gaming culture, where games are considered as a legitimate entertainment option for anybody, instead of exclusively for nerds.
People like to play online starcraft.
Some genius gets the idea to take a net cafe, feed it steroids, and make online gaming the main feature -> PC Bangs are created.
(I figure you knew up to this point)
PC Bangs multiply like rabbits. Soon, the players who take SC seriously begin to distinguish themselves. Rumors start on battle.net of gosus. "This gosu, he goes by [nickname], he plays at such-and-such PCbang..."
PC Bangs hold tournaments for money. Gosus travel to play in a these tournaments. A simmering competitive atmosphere develops.
Someone realizes that these gosu tournaments are drawing large crowds (Not to mention Blizzard's ladder tournies). He wonders if he could televise these tournaments, if people would watch.
Starcraft starts to create real buzz. People hear of Koreans winning Blizzard's tournaments. Some gosus are becoming familiar names in the gaming community. The 'gosu as celebrity' begins to develop.
Tooniverse (an OnMedia subsidiary), a cable channel specializing in cartoons, (think Cartoon Network in the States), agrees to televise tournaments between gosus. The first televised tournaments air late at night on Tooniverse, with cheesy introduction graphics, cheesier backdrops for the commentating team, and cheesiest uniforms for the players. Lil' HonestTea, watching at home, realizes that gosus are playing on TV and is blown away.
Many forces came together to take that and create the progaming scene of today. OnMedia eventually created a channel exclusively for gaming, and make StarLeague it's flagship content. Players were developed into personalities, and then into celebrities. Larger, mainstream corporations noticed how progaming had captured a large part of a crucial demographic (young teens and adults). The government realized that they could capitalize on the popularity of progaming to push their "Korea as infotech leader of the world" policy. Clans / PCbangs became clubs, and clubs became pro teams, and pro teams became sponsored corporate teams.
So now we have a scene with players, coaches, cable channels, broadcasters, announcers, corporate sponsors, advertisors, a governing body (KESPA), Ministry of InfoTech support, Air Force support, Navy support, and FANS.
Yes Boxer was a key figure. So was Um Jae-Kyung. Giyom helped. But there are a lot of people in the background who made key contributions as well. The People at OnMedia (and later MBC cable). The producer for OSL. Kespa's first president (Kim Shin-Bae, an executive at SK Telecom). and FANS.
Damn, looking back, I was lucky enough to be right in the middle of all of this. I remember rooting for SoSo against Zealias way back when. I saw my first PC bang when I was in middle school, and by Highschool I was hoping to hell that Garimto would kick Boxer's ass in the finals. And now I hope GGPlay will kick Iris' ass in the finals.Last edit: 2007-07-09 19:54:33
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EPT
