Slashdot Mirror
Four Kings, Schroet Kommando Go CS Movie Crazy
Simon Bysshe writes "Intel have just put online my latest film for them about competitive computer gaming, featuring a Counter-Strike match between Four Kings & the world's #1 Counter-Strike team Schroet Kommando. The movie includes pre-game interviews, animated tactical rundowns, live 'shoutcasted' games & finally a post-match analysis, and has already been downloaded over 40,000 times - we're trying to establish gaming as an entertaining spectator sport."
"has already been downloaded over 40,000 times"
Just wait till after the slashdotting.
Stop calling it a sport. A sport requires athletic exertion by definition. This is also a problem with non-video games; some people love to call chess a sport even though it's not (assuming that that chess boxing thing never takes off).
Instead, just take pride in what your game is--a fun, challenging game.
Rob
One of the problems with Video Games as a spectator sport, is that they aren't designed for spectators. They're designed to give the player exactly what they need to know, and occasionally to occlude things from the player that they aren't supposed to know.
What they do not have are good angles for crowds. If you want really good camera shots, you need 5 or 6 ghost spectators floating around the arena, and someone to switch between them (like a traditional sporting event). In theory you can have automated roving, rotating, or fixed cameras, but they tend to be poor at anticipating action. Likewise, the most popular Sporting videogames are FPS. But thanks to the perspective and the needs of the game, FPS games tend to have terrible character animation / environmental interaction, which is exactly what the audience is going to be watching. Furthermore, effects and crowd-pleasers must be kept a bit down, as the player has to be able to see though that thick fog of whatever.
Except for racing titles, most gaming companies just don't devote resources to a "passive spectator" mode. All the better for the players, of course, but if gaming is going to take off as a spectator sport (not only doubtful, but of dubious value) they'll need a better passive spectator presentation.
The ______ Agenda
Thats the thing - its NOT EASY to be world class. Yeah, its no big deal to jump online and smack some 12 year olds around. But going up against the best of the best in the CPL, etc? They will hand your ass to you on a silver fucking platter man. You wouldn't even know what the hell hit you. Those guys are better than just good. They're friggin amazing.
1.) Its faceless. Who the hell is [Sk]-l337sh00t3r- anyway? And besides the name, (which any player on any server can make their own) what is there to differentiate that player. Most clans will all use the same skin. Without being able to recognize the player quickly and easily it is more difficult to root or cheer for them.
2.) The teams come and go like the wind. If you stop going on the CS IRC servers for a couple of months, then the CPL or CAL-I teams that everyone is talking about are completely different the next time you go on. Theres no Red Sox-Yankees type rivalry, or even the possibility for that kind of rivalry.
3.) If I like a video game, Id rather play it then watch somebody else. This is different from other sports because if you are sitting on your couch and want to play say football, then you have to go through the hassle of getting people together and get off your couch and actually move. With video games, Im sitting at my box and can either spectate a match or jump on a server and play. No movement necessary. I want real competition? Go on IRC and find a scrim.
4.) Most people who do spectate video games are people who think they can at some point get to that professional level. You never hear of someone who doesnt play Counter-Strike watching a CPL match. Most people who watch football havent played in years, or at least dont play competitively. Yeah, there are a lot of people that play FPSs but by only drawing on that limited pool, they will never achieve a very high response to FPSs as spectator sports.
5.) This is kind of flame-starting, but I find that most people really into the culture of a video game, Counter-Strike in particular, are 12-yr old kids who have way too much time on their hands. As soon as they grow up a little and start having other responsibilities, they are going to spend less time on video games and what is the first thing theyll cut out of their gaming habits? Watching someone else play. Most likely theyd rather spend the time actually playing.
bleh..
I'm not interested in worthless comentary and having someone else determine which part of the match I'm watching. The only reason to watch it is to see what "uber-l33t" cs players play like and video of monitors showing them in third person is pretty useless. Why not just release the hltv demo and let me decide what part of the match I'm watching?