January Discussion Topic of the Month: eSports

Discussion in 'General StarCraft 2 Discussion' started by MeisterX, Jan 15, 2008.

January Discussion Topic of the Month: eSports

  1. MeisterX

    MeisterX Hyperion

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    [img width=650 height=157]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a246/J0neagle/ss6copy.jpg[/img]​

    January Discussion Topic of the Month: eSports
    Blizzard has a tradition of supporting competitive play. We have seen our games thrive to become popular eSports titles played in leagues worldwide. For StarCraft II we would like to continue in this spirit and offer you an enjoyable experience as a spectator, shoutcaster or participant in tournaments. We'd like to hear your opinion on eSports!

    If you have a StarCraft II fan site and would like to participate, please email me at Karune@blizzard.com.


    eSports Questions for Fans:
    * How do you experience eSports?
    * What should a game offer to make it a good eSports game?
    * What would you like to see in StarCraft II to enhance the eSports experience?

    * Additional Feedback you would like to give


    Each StarCraft II fansite will be featuring different types of questions, so be sure to also visit those sites. All of this feedback will be compiled and sent to the dev team and I.


    Please structure feedback as follows:

    -----

    <question you'd like to answer>
    <your answer>

    <question you'd like to answer>
    <your answer>

    -----

    Looking forward to some great discussions on eSports!

    Source: Battle.net Forums
     
  2. EatMeReturns

    EatMeReturns Happy Mapper Moderator

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    What should a game offer to make it a good eSports game?

    A game should offer three basic things: (A) The ability to express, review, and observe matches/games constructively and effectively, (B) enough excitement and action to entertain the spectator, but not so much that it dominates the game, and (C) enough sand-box free-form activity (whether it be with unit positioning in an RTS, team communication in an FPS, or spell utilization in an RPG) that each match/game is unique.

    (A) The ability to express, review, and observe matches/games constructively and effectively
    Let's assume that we have 2 almost identical games. The only difference is that game 1 allows replays and in-game commentating, while game 2 is $20 less and has improved graphics. Which one, do you think, will you buy? Personally, I would buy game 1 because it allows me to learn from past games and matches from not only my experiences, but others too. It also allows me to help others learn with the in-game commentating. Game 2 is extremely lacking, even though it is much cheaper and has better graphics.

    (B) Enough excitement and action to entertain the spectator, but not so much that it dominates the game
    This is a more conceptual approach to game spectating, but isn't any less important (nor more, for that matter) then the other two. This creates the kinds of events where people may gather as if it were a rugby or tennis match and not only applaud and cheer when they should, but also to enjoy what they are watching. However, if a game is overly designed to please the audience, the game itself will degrade. There is a fine tight-rope in between boredom for one group and boredom for the other, but I'm sure Blizzard will be able to walk this line, seeing how well balanced they can make the Zerg, Protoss, and Terran.

    (C) Enough sand-box free-form activity that each match/game is unique
    If I want to go to the movies, I most likely don't want to see the movie i saw last week. Nor the week before. Nor the week before! This is true to everything I go to watch. Game spectators are there to watch. More than likely, they don't want to see the same strategies used on the same map over and over again. This is why free-form strategy is so important. There should be enough strategical space so that every single player of that game should be able to come up with their own strategy. This isn't to say that they can't be similar, but they still must be unique. Blizzard has offered this through every single one of their games, and I won't be surprised if this is true with Starcraft 2, also.
     
  3. LordKerwyn

    LordKerwyn New Member

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    * How do you experience eSports?

    To be honest I havn't and I don't expect to much with the release of Starcraft 2.

    * What should a game offer to make it a good eSports game?

    The spectator features that have been mentioned above.

    * What would you like to see in StarCraft II to enhance the eSports experience?

    The game should have superb balance (which it will given enough time because it is a Blizzard game), and the game should also have ways for players to show off a level of tatical and strategic skill.

    * Additional Feedback you would like to give

    ABSOLUTELY DO NOT CUSTOMIZE THE GAME JUST FOR E-SPORTS. I can't emphasize this enough. While I expect Starcraft 2 will most likely break records as far as E-sports go, the 90% of gamers who are going to play this game are just for the hell of it should not be forgotten. That means there should be some automation, the UI should act like the game came out in 2008 not 1998, units and abilities should not just be viewed from the gameplay perspective they also need and should be refined from a "cool" perspective and a lore perspective as well. Unit ideas SHOULD NOT be elimated just because a few people who would like to call themselves pros think the units could destroy some arbitrary competitve area. The super unit Mothership and a few other things come to mind when I say this. The gameplay for the average gamer should not be sacrificed in the name of E-sports.
     
  4. zeratul11

    zeratul11 New Member

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    "* What would you like to see in StarCraft II to enhance the eSports experience? "

    day and night cycle (optional or not) which affects gameplay. some units get benefits from nightime and vice versa. if this is implemented then more complex strategies will be put to the test.

    let say the cycle turns every 12 minutes in game.
     
  5. Unentschieden

    Unentschieden New Member

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    One of the earlier Q&As mentioned that this won´t be the case, it was viable for WC3 because that had creeps but thouse won´t be in SC2.
     
  6. notjim

    notjim New Member

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    * How do you experience eSports?
    I play fighting games at anime conventions, but as far as war3 (my main game) i watch videos of pros duking it out online.

    * What should a game offer to make it a good eSports game?
    a large enough fanbase, and a fair (balanced) gameplay. after that, their must be alot of room for player innovation. and finally, in rts games, their must be the need for tech balanced with the need for an army.

    -edit: also the need for expansions balanced with the need for an army, and the need to balance static defense with viable siege tactics.

    * What would you like to see in StarCraft II to enhance the eSports experience?
    well its not in the game so much but blizzard hosting a site with pro replays and up to date strategies would be huge! pay some of the pros to share some insights to the new guys. and of course continue to sponsor tournaments. having a replay commenting system or a way to save a replay as a mpeg would be nice too.

    * Additional Feedback you would like to give
    dont try to design units for a specific strategy out of the box. the players will always find the most innovative and surprising tricks and strategies anyways. be prepared to update your strategy guides once the game hits online, and keep patches as timely as possible, so people dont tower power their way to victory for an entire season, like they do with a certain game of yours.