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StarCraft Cheating Scandal Rocks Korea
dotarray writes with this snippet: "The largest scandal in e-sports history is currently unfolding in Korea, with revelations that a number of current pro gamers are involved with match setups and illegal betting. While the gamers are unnamed at this point, the story is said to touch many A-list StarCraft celebrities, including sAviOr, Ja Mae Yoon, one of the best-known and most successful players of all time."
Seriously, I was expecting something like a bot ring or involvement in a virus that spread via the game.
Restore the madness of youth's lechery
My world has fallen to pieces!
Do these people have the tabloids after them? Leaked sex tapes by spurned beaus? Drug rehab every other month? No? How are they A-list celebrities then???
It is nice to be part of a demographic that couldn't give a rat's ass about the whole thing, including MMOs and the surrounding scene.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
His first name is Jae Yoon, and his surname is Ma. Typically written in Korean with the surname first, as Ma Jae Yoon. Ja Mae Yoon is wrong.
I played Starcraft for a while, and I was very impressed with how balanced the gameplay was and how thought out the interface was. Blizzard did a great job making that game.
But it really stifles the creativity of the player by restricting actions to a very specific set of pre-programmed actions. You *must* farm for Vespene gas. you *must* collect crystals. There is little room for true creativity and adventuring. Today's FPS games are actually getting better at allowing this kind of freedom.
But to really get the most out of a game, you have to use your imagination. There's nothing more challenging than interacting with your friends and working out puzzles with nothing more than paper, dice, and pewter figurines. Dungeons and Dragons (and other clones of it) is the ultimate game because it removes artificially created limits and depends completely on how much you are invested in it.
If people are cheating and rigging game competitions, it's only because there is something to rig. Try cheating in D&D and you'll find that you only cheat yourself.
BadAnalogyGuy (aka Black Leaf)
As part of Korea's human rights laws, it is illegal to release criminals' names - they can only be implied - which means that as the police have now gotten involved, we may never be officially told who was involved in this drama.
You can't know criminals' names in Korea? Kind of weird.
Qxe4
Some people will do anything to get even more money. Its also possible that some of the Starcraft players are seeing a dead end of their time playing gaming professionally. As in they might not be that great at most RTS games, but amazing at Starcraft. And with Starcraft 2 coming along closer and closer, it might be the writing on the wall for Starcraft 1's viability. Cash out while they can and all?
Attention... all grammer nazi"s! Is they're anything; wrong with: my post,
Actually, if I was betting on the outcome of a contest between two people, I would sure as hell care if they were fixing the outcome and I wouldn't say I am stupid.
Oh, I get it, you just wanted a first post and had nothing better to post than racism. Guess who looks stupid now?
Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
Ja Mae Yoon is da man !! If he goes down, it all goes down. This is number 10 !! Number 6? Who is Number 2?
apparently someone used show me the money too many times...
Reading this I couldn't help but think of the sports analogies from professional athletes getting caught cheating in other sports. The headline that I found humorous when thinking of this article would read something like this.
"The players were caught injecting illegal performance enhancing packets to improve their gameplay."
Hopefully somebody finds that comment as amusing as I did.
When did playing computer games become a 'sport?'
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Eight Terran Out
So that one player who kept typing "power overwhelming" every match wasn't just bragging about his skill in broken English? Wow, I thought it was just his catchphrase...
I feel so betrayed. This must be how Tassadar felt when Aldaris arrested him upon his return after discovering the key to slaying the Overmind. It is as though I am Kerrigan abandoned by Acturus Mengsk to be captured by the Zergs. Today I am Jim Raynor, a warrior cut loose from his own people.
EvilCON - Made Famous by
As someone who occasionally follows the SC happenings in Korea, I can attest to the fact that this is a huge story there. The fame of these players really is comparable to that of football or basketball stars in the states.
More to the point, there is real talent, years of honing your skill, and real fans involved here. That's what makes this match fixing a real deal. That's too bad, this young sport deserves better.
Don't feed the trolls.
Actually, if I was betting on the outcome of a contest between two people, I would sure as hell care if they were fixing the outcome and I wouldn't say I am stupid.
If you were betting on the outcome of a contest, I'd say that you were stupid.
If you were betting on the outcome of a football game, I'd say that you were stupid.
....the world yawns.
I really like watching commentaries on SC games. I started watching them a few weeks ago and I'm HOOKED.
Now I'm not a great RTS player. And I've never enjoyed watching sports on TV - basketball, football (English or otherwise) or even the way overhyped olympics - I just never cared.
But Starcraft is something I can somehow relate to. Especially Starcraft 2. myself, not being a good player, I see all sorts of strange tricks I wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Micromanagement tipping the results of battles in ways I wouldn't have even imagined. All kinds of strange tricks involved - it's mind-blowing sometimes, and really... really exciting.
The other thing is the commentators are very useful. They call out the strategy, which really helped a not-so-good player like me. you get some insight into their thought processes.
I knew Koreans were into Starcraft, but I didn't know they were THAT into it. I feel kinda sad now. As I see it, it doesn't matter who wins at Starcraft, I just like watching the game and could never imagine placing bets on it.
o hai
Something about Korea's obsession with Starcraft reminds me of cargo cults.
Proleague rules got changed and some suspects got removed from their team's roster: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=118849
Nope, I think you mistook me for someone else.
That is clearly Nationalism, not racism.
Maybe I am just that ancient, but is it a "sport" to sit in a chair pushing buttons? When I grew up, apparently in the stone age, sport was something that involved not just skill, but physical excellence; even body-building wasn't considered to be a sport, and you wouldn't use the word "athlete" about them either. No wonder the world is coming to an end...
You could say Starcraft is a shitty game, but to me Football, Hokey, and Baseball are shitty games. Oh and Basketball, too. Down on a 10 year old game,w ell these games have been around for much longer. Talk about dated gameplay.
According to Wikipedia starcraft page, South Korea accounted for almost a third of the blitzards global 'starcraft' sales.
...Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
Thanks to its enduring popularity there, blizzard first announced the upcoming Starcraft 2 at a South Korean gaming event.
Finally, from Wikipedia's page on South Korea:
In recent years online games have become a significant part of Korean culture. StarCraft, the real-time strategy game, is by far the most popular televised game in South Korea. Game tournaments, recorded in places like the COEX Mall are often broadcast live on TV stations such as MBCGame and Ongamenet. Professional StarCraft players can command considerable salaries in South Korea as members of pro-gaming teams that are sponsored primarily by cell phone providers.
Instead of harvesting with their initial drones, they set all their drones to attack the hatchery.
God spoke to me.
Or xenophobia?
Being a member of the human race I've always had a slight problem with the catch all racism naming that gets bandied about.
if you've watched the competitive starcraft scene in korea, this wouldn't be news. Nobody did anything when it was obvious at least a year ago.
Shocked, I'm completely and utterly shocked. There is cheating at competing, even when playing digital games.
My world falls apart when hearing operators of apparatus do things with it that are perceived as dishonest. My respect for presentations of ordered bits lies smashed and shattered on the floor.
Now pardon me but I'll carry on working.
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
...and here I thought *baseball* was stupid.
I think people are just playing blind and dumb here. Sport/betting scandals are everywhere and with computer gaming incentive is just too great to pass for many people. Especially when losing a game is just order of clicks or just a bit slower reaction.
For people seeking some adrenaline and easy money, of course it doesn't matter.
What I saw in this article, and what was esp fun - "retired players". Of course, PRO computer game playing is dumb for itself, together with "sports" part in e-sports, but... I think lots of people lost their lives somewhere on the road to PRO gaming league :).
http://opencm3.net, http://www.nongnu.org/gm2/
Reminds me of a Woody Allen quote, "I was watching a ballet at City Center, and I'm not a ballet fan at all, but they were doing the dying swan, and there was a rumour, that some bookmakers had drifted into town from upstate New York, and that they had fixed the ballet. Apparently there was a lot of money bet on the swan to live."
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
You're confusing the concept of "news for nerds" with the concept of "news which is personally interesting to me". Nerds cover a wide spectrum of interests and nationalities. The development of these competitive tournaments in the field of gaming are certainly interesting to me on one level, even though I'm neither Korean nor into Starcraft - it's interesting to see where this is headed, and similarly interesting to see the parallels with sports (in terms of the fame of the players and even match fixing scandals now). I don't follow this too closely, I'm mildly interested, but other people follow this passionately, for that particular group of nerds, this is definitely "stuff that matters".
Rugby is where it's at. ;-)
RUGBYRUGBYRUGBY
Really? You really can't see how a story about the biggest professional sport, that revolves around playing a video game, is news for nerds?
Someone will be by to collect your nerd badge.
Seriously, if you don't know who Lebron is you either don't know what the fuck basketball is, are just making shit up, or are a borderline retard.
Despite your grossly misplaced arrogance, you left out the most popular option: D: none of the above.
You are making some erroneous assumptions with that proclamation:
I/we actually give a rat's ass about basketball, USA sports, or any sports....NOT!!!
(BTW, I know what basketball is-I even used to play a lot of it-but have NEVER watched it, but I did not know who/what a 'Lebron' was. I was also wondering what Michael Jackson [MJ] had to do with basketball!)
Maybe I am 'just making shit up, but if by not knowing who Lebron Whoever is makes me a borderline retard, I can assuredly take comfort in the fact that you are truly over the line, and outstanding in that field.
BTW, who(or what) is a 'Beckham'? Another basketball player?
This thread is getting more confusing than getting struck on the head with a football bat.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
Eureka!!! Full contact Starcraft!!!!
I'll be rich! Rich! Rich I say!
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
about Asian cultures. I believe that the reason is that since families and family names are so important, it would result in result in innocents being punished unfairly. So whilst their values on the one hand are like ours in the sense that only the perpetrator should be punished, their culture is such that releasing his/her name, would harm the entire family. That is, if someone is convicted of rape, should his cousin, who already must feel terrible, also have his career prospects permanently destroyed?
Look, I know that we call some competitive activities "sports" to make them appear more legitimate, but video gaming is as much as a sport as computer troubleshooting is, which is hardly at all...
Just call it pro gaming and leave it at that.
Go ahead and mod me down now.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution; the primary newspaper in Atlanta Georgia, basically declared his guilt in connection to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing. It was a disgusting display of using the power of the press to make the public think one way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_jewel
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
...only because e-sports doesn't have much history.
Where do you live. It seems like a nice place, with much opportunity. I want to go.
Blizzard succeeded with WarCraft III largely by improving upon the in-game RPGs developed players created in StarCraft maps, but you know WarCraft I & II were never anything special. StarCraft otoh was just too hard an act to follow. As Blizzard knows StarCraft II simply won't live up to the hype, they've set all this mess up to help transition the layer community. ;)
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
you walk and hit a ball. any old duffer can do that
is car racing a sport?
like you said, you sit down and push a buttons. now you've added a steering wheel
is poker a sport?
you fiddle with chips and cards. but those poker players are athletes of mental endurance, that's for sure
no, the simple fact is: a sport is anything you want to call a sport, a sport. and if enough people agree with you, it simply is the new truth
why? because there is no linguistic authority that allows people to use words in only proscribed ways. the people own the language, and the people decide what a word means any damn way they please, in aggregate, with no authority. this is simply the evolution of language: all words shift in meaning, constantly. the way you use certain words would be looked at aghast by people from 1960, 1910, 1860, etc. the world is not ending, language is simply evolving, as it always has, and always will
if enough people feel like the word "sports" is being dumbed down too much, a new word will evolve that will come to signify a sport of mighty physical endurance only, like football or cycling... if enough people deem that meaning important, and incorporate it into wide use
why don't you go and invent that derivative word now, or coopt an existing word close in meaning to a new meaning. it happens every day, all the time. go, get the ball rolling, pun intended
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
So the bribing done in Belgian football (the one you play with a foot and a ball) was done by stupid people, because they did it so they could bet on the outcome. Betting was not even done in Belgium.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
If anyone has read Freakonomics, this headline will come as no surprise.
See I know who Beckham is because of the movie, Bend it like Beckham. And I know who Michael Jordan is although like you, I immediately thought of Michael Jackson too and was trying to puzzle out what he had to do with sports :)
[John]
Shit better not happen!
is high among sexual offenders
rehabilitation is often impossible, because, unlike bank robbery, where the underlying drive is legal (desire for cash), but the methods are not, with sex offenders like pedophiles the underlying drive itself (desire for sex with children) is the actual problem. this underlying drive is usually organic: no amount of punishment or treatment can remove it
therefore, i honestly believe that pedophiles should be permanently removed from society
let me say this: i am a liberal. i believe in marijuana legalization, the right to abortion, universal healthcare, stricter control on guns, etc. on most questions you will find me to be leftwards of most
but when i examine the problem of pedophilia, i see it as a "problem" like homosexuality: the desire is innate and organic. however, homosexuals can enter into relationships amongst consenting adults. therefore, there is no rational reason to take issue with homosexuality
however, with pedophiles, you have their sexuality oriented towards children, who have no ability to make informed consent. you can see that pedophiles have basically been biologically cursed. its as if they inherited the gene for huntington's disease or tay-sachs disease: they have, through no fault of their own, been organically and genetically condemned to a life of suffering. they have been endowed with a desire that no society can ever rationally tolerate. i simply see no other way around the problem: pedophiles cannot be rehabilitated and they can not be tolerated. permanent banishment seems to be the only solution. through no fault of their own, pedophiles have been genetically made to be incompatible with human society
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
"...most sex offenders are repeat offenders..." is false.
Sex offenders are less likely to show recidivism than most other folks jailed for felonies. It's one of the very few crimes where we do a good job of helping offenders control themselves.
The parent is lying, plain and simple.
Actually, if I was betting on the outcome of a contest between two people, I would sure as hell care if they were fixing the outcome and I wouldn't say I am stupid.
Gambling on Starcraft, FFS?
I can come here and read a headline containing the words "scandal" and "cheating," and the underlying story deals with StarCraft rather than some public figure's extramarital adventures.
the hypocrisy of going out of your way to tell everyone how much you don't care about something. if you don't care, you wouldn't comment. commenting means caring
so if you truly do not care, shut up, and go away, then you've proven you don't care
or, admit that you care, and that you hate yourself for caring. work out your issues, and get back to us
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
The first year after it was released it was a mess. Crashes, no reason to play any but the zerg class and rush.
It only took 10 years to get it polished.
You can build a large stadium for Starcraft, but unlike pro sports, seeing it live on a screen strikes me as almost the same experience to seeing it at home on one of the Starcraft channels, which would significantly decrease demand to go see live matches.
The fact that the market for Starcraft viewing there can support a (more than one I heard?) Starcraft channel seems quite significant.
It's not dispositive, but I'd point out that South Korea's population is about 50 million, versus just over 300 million for the United States. I wonder if the US was that size, and there were only two significant cities were New York and Boston, if we would still need as large of stadiums for ours sports.
Never heard of Bend it like Beckham. Sounds like a great porno flick though.
Or some of them committed the heinous "crimes" of public urination.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2007-03-21/news/VOFFENDER21_1_matamoros-deltona-incident
Ah, nuts to this! The fix is always in with these mugs.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Cargo cults? I don't see it, at all.
What are they imitating blindly in the hopes of achieving a result?
The only thing I could possibly see an analogy to is that you're saying they're imitating the West in the hopes of achieving something (I dunno, success as a nation?) by lionizing pro sports players. Seems like a stretch to me though, since no one would say anything like that about the popularity of soccer in Korea.
This is about an underground gambling ring that fixed Starcraft matches in order to make money off of the bets on those matches. There was no hacking involved, just social engineering. Various pro gamers have been accused of throwing matches as a part of what basically amounts to a conspiracy.
Korean* Activity**? I'm shocked I tell you, shocked!
*Not to imply it would only happen in Korea.
**No, it isn't a sport.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
pedophile recidivism rates, which my comment referred to, are the highest
sex offenders in general can be "treated" or "punished" because again, the disconnect is between the desire ("i want to have sex"), which isn't a problem, and the method ("gee i think i'll rape someone"), which is a problem
but with pedophiles, the root desire itself is a problem, which cannot be treated or punished. its always there, no matter what you do. so such a person simply cannot exist with society. it is not conscionable for a society, once it finds out someone has this predilection, a predilection they know will never go away, to ever allow this person near children ever again. and since you can't turn society into a police state where children are lock away, it is incumbent upon you as a responsible society to lock the pedophiles away, forever. this is extreme suffering for their crimes. as if there were some other way. there isn't another way. pedophiles are simply born with an organic desire they must suffer their entire lives for, they have been make incompatible with human society. its a lot of suffering, as if they were born with huntington's disease or tay sachs disease, but it is what it is: is it fair that anyone is born with huntington's disease or tay sachs disease and they must suffer for that?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/3/29/
I remember doing this fondly behind my DM screen. The great thing about imagination is that the guy making up the story/rules also has imagination, so when your "friends"/players try and break your game, you just break them... painfully.
Here in Spain there is precisely one poster boy for basketball: Pau Gasol. I'll leave you to guess why.
Surprisingly good film. It's one of those 'coming of age' flicks with a racial tension included and made for a very low budget in the UK.
The title leverages the name of an English footballer that has a degree of fame and to be fair does have the ability to bend in a cross better than pretty much any other player I've seen. Which if you don't follow football will mean as little as that lebron thing means to me.
If you've heard of Keira Knightley, she was the supporting actress in it. Which will no doubt merely increase your desire to find out it was a great porno...
Why would he bend in a cross? They are usually used for crucifixions.
It's to do with the inevitable contortions if you don't get the feet nailed in properly.
Cheating is acceptable in Korea. This is not news.
Really, now. Competitive gaming has been about gambling since there was competitive gaming. I'll never forget the naive youngster I was trying to reach the top in competitive Street Fighter when I see a couple of people taking bets on a match between some of the local best. I was appalled, intrigued and uncaring all in that order. It was kinda shocking, but it doesn't really surprise once you think about it and it doesn't even change the game all that much... maybe. Who cares besides haters?
The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
He was put on a pederast list, when his common law ex-wife got angry over the years and bolted with the 3 kids. She told police he molested them over the years, despite him always working 15-hour days to come home to eat and just barely enough time to be around. Within a couple days of leaving him, she had a talk with the original police officer that she was very angry at him and the things she said were mostly false. However, the word already went into the system. Without a court trial, they put him on the list because they have him associated with that Black Israel and patriot movements, and they didn't like him calling them all "cock suckers" and "they muss be jesus, ooh I'm scared of you because you kill and steal everyone's property because you think you is jesus" whenver he went on the witness benches in unrelated matters.
He lost his 2 houses that he owned outright, from working a gardening business with 15 employees under him. He moved into a RV camper that was under someone else's name, because someone that didn't like him now said he owed $50k income tax for being defficient of a thousand dollars they wouldn't confirm him to. He didn't get removed from that list for 5 years, but he's been living in that RV now for over 15 years to this very day despite the entire town knowing him.
Santa Ana, California...since 1991.
Whatever can be done to scare you into subserviance to cooperate and adapt to the allegations made against you, will be done.
Shocked! I'm shocked I tell you! Who'd have thought it was possible.
(how about - anyone who has worked with Korean corporations?)
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
"biggest professional sport"? seriously? SC1, a sport? thought it was one of the excuses used by certain crazed parents for abandoning their newborn at home or that other one where some dude died from playing too much SC1 (or was it WoW).
now THAT's nerdy.
this....this is more like news for gamblers/bookies
no, I'm not.
"fixed games" and "betting" isn't nerdy...it's....hmmm...gambler-y (in essence, more like "news for gamblers")