seems like an exciting moment
"Esports" or broadcast companies need to figure out how to explain this shit to the Casuals and non-gamers. They should start by ending the row of blank faced dudes staring at screens and stop calling gamers by their tags.
Yeah. I think esports are going to be super lucrative (moreso than they already are) going forward, but I totally hear the "get this off espn" crowd, especially for MOBAs. It doesn't help, in this instance, that Dota (or LoL) are just super hard to follow as an observer unless you sorta know what's going on. Valve has actually tried to fix that gap in the past-- at the last 3 or 4 world championships, they've had a "noob-friendly" broadcast to help explain the basics.
On your first point - how would you change that? They have to play the game, and (at this point) that requires looking at a computer screen.
On your second point - handles are a part of the gamer culture -they're not going away anytime soon. Why do you think monikers are a barrier to mainstream acceptance? The NBA has Black Mamba, The Mailman, The Truth, etc.
1. I just mean not show the players while the game is happening. It's just weird and makes everyone look like a donk sitting in mom's basement.
2. It might be a part of the culture but it's huge barrier for people not in the culture. We don't refer to Kobe as "the black mamba" for all his endorsements, interviews, merchandise, etc. it's just a nickname, like in every sport. It's not like every time Arnold Palmer walked up to the first tee they announced "now on the tee. From Latrobe, PA: The King"
1. I think it's stranger to remove the human element and not show the players at all.
2. So essentially you're saying that you can't identify with a competitor unless you know his birth name? Interesting. I've always been fine with referring to well-known gamers by their handles like xPeke, Bjergsen and Faker. However, when I play with RSF, I call him by his real name, I don't call him RSF. I guess what I'm getting at is I don't have a problem with handles if I don't know the person. I'd wager that's a pretty typical viewpoint in gamer culture though. I see how it's not that common in physical sports. Weird divide.
1. Huh. I think one of the reasons that people got behind Ad Finem in this specific tournament, and why you see fans of specific players, is
because of an emphasis on player personality over what's happening on the screen. You could see ssaspartan losing his shit every time the crowd got behind him, and the crowd fed off of that in kind. I think ITC is way off here; you need to remove the barrier between player and gameplay in order to grow the audience, but you also need more engaging and charismatic players. I didn't know who ssaspartan was a week ago, but I'm 100% going to be following him and his teammates in the next Dota Major.
2. I don't see that as a barrier at all. When you're watching individual guys in twitch (which, for the record, is how most pro gamers make their salaries), they're going by their usernames, because when they play the games... that's sort of how people playing the games are seeing them. I know maaaaaybe like 3 pro players' real names, and that's because they're built into the usernames, anyway. (Like, TC = Tyler Cook IIRC)
I call RSF by his boards name when I play w/ him.
I think you've played with me like twice, though. I thiiiiink TexasDeac10 calls me Nate? Most people I play with (like 90%?) do, usually. Though it was fun when I went by Intellectual Gronk on Steam and kory got everyone to call me granky. I liked that. CALL ME GRANKY.
