E-Sports: Unpopular, But For How Long?
E-Sports. Short for Electronic Sports. A contest of skill and proficiency at video games usually for an award, or prize. This is my personal definition of E-Sports but you could easily take out the word video and it would be a definition for traditional sports. However broadcasted E-Sports garner little to no attention. Why aren’t the games that are loved so widely by so many people not enjoyed by spectators? Games can be quite exciting to watch, in fact I have been known to invite friends over and have them play a title like Dark Souls and watch them squirm. Gaming streams are also popular, with thousands tuning in to watch someone like Floe (@Floejisan) play through an obscure title for hours. Games can be dynamic, carry tension, and can end in victory or defeat. Still, despite these similarities, E-Sports don’t seem to carry a following like traditional sports. I’d like to explore the reasons why that might be. What obstacles have to be overcome to make broadcasted gaming more successful? What must be done to overcome those obstacles?
There are many different game genres that are broadcasted to masses and touted as E-Sports. These genres include, but are not limited to: Fighting Games (Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, etc) Real Time Strategy (Starcraft 1&2, Lord of the Rings: Conquest), and First Person Shooters (Call of Duty, Counter Striker, etc.) While these genres are popular their viewer base is not as broad as traditional sports. There are a multitude of reasons why not. The quality of broadcast or commentators could be creating a lackluster experience. Perhaps inefficient tournaments have too much down time and bore the audience. The list goes on but the largest hurdle for E-Gaming, in my opinion, has to be the viewers inexperience with the game at a professional level. Even if someone plays Street Fighter every single day they could watch a stream and not understand most everything happening on screen. This is because there is a schism in knowledge between the amateur and professional level in gaming that is not present in traditional sports.
The schism is caused by the development process, each game is made from the ground up with competitive play in mind. At the same time the game is also designed to be accessible to as many players as possible. This is because the game is created to generate profit for the company creating it. As a result games often have mechanics that are not required for play at a casual level, but are entirely required during professional play. A great example of this is Street Fighter 4. One of the staples of the game is called the ‘focus dash cancel’ or ‘FADC’. This technique is used by every professional player. It allows you to make unsafe moves safer, and combo moves together that would never work otherwise. This technique is so common in top level play that it is reflex to most players. As a casual player this technique is not only difficult to do but also completely unnecessary. The mentality goes: “Why learn how to do this complicated and difficult concept when you can win against your friends without it?”
As a result when techniques like this are seen by spectators they’re usually unfamiliar with it, to the point of apathy. Many professional techniques take a large amount of skill to pull off and would impress even the best players. These fall flat on amateur players. This is because as casual players you cannot accurately gauge the amount of skill that is required for a technique to be executed. Unless you have attempted it yourself there is no visual cue that shows that one specific technique is harder than any other. In soccer most people already know how hard it is to bicycle kick a goal past a defender, even without attempting it. Anyone who’s vertically challenged can stand under a basketball rim and wonder how slam dunks are even possible. Because we’re aware of our bodies and their limitations it is easy to be impressed when those limitations are broken. With video games this innate ability to gauge skill is simply not present as there is no awareness of limits. Because of this detachment from the display of skill many spectators are completely unimpressed and thus are not entertained.
So what can be done? Many things would have to come together in order to appeal to more gamers and non-gamers alike. In fact many steps are already being taken in order to bring E-Sports into the hearts and minds into the people. Firstly commentators are the front line of the movement to create a better experience for viewers. Commentors like James Chen (@jchensor), and David Gramm (@ultradavid) have made a great deal of progress in elevating the position of commentating into the professional realm for the fighting game community. Not only do they explain that something was worthwhile, exciting, or a mistake, they also take the time to explain why.
The why is the most important part, it brings the viewer into the fold of knowledge, and bridges the schism so that they can understand not only that something was awesome, but also be able to recognize it the next time it comes up. Star Craft commentators, mostly in Korea, have also elevated their commentating to this level and even the loose translations can bring casual viewers from mildly entertained, to genuinely impressed. As streaming becomes a more professional endeavor so too the commentating must elevate. Developers also need to do their part and start to reward players with more than damage for higher skilled techniques so that visual cues correlate with skill level. At the same time making the game flashy at all times can detach the viewer the same way as if it always looks flashy then there is no disparity between low and high skill level techniques. This is a difficult balance to find, and I believe is currently best handled by the recent iterations of King of Fighters. Each cancel is greeted with a ‘oh man you’re awesome’ noise and flash, and supers that are cancelled into are given more flash than one that is done ‘raw’ or without a combo. Improvements can still be made of course, but I feel we’re on the right track. Also as gaming becomes more prevalent in younger generations we’ll see the gap between professionals and casual player’s knowledge shrink as well. With time kids might be able to watch a game they’ve never played and be able to tell the difference between a great player and a masher.
E-Sports is here to stay whether it’s welcome or not. I for one feel that E-Sports offers an amazing experience for participants, and informed spectators alike. As it grows it becomes more professional it will lose a degree of intimacy but in exchange will gain following and support in waves. In my future gamers are rewarded for their prowess and skill with scholarships and state colleges have E-Sports teams. I also see a future where hard working commentators like James Chen and David Gramm are rewarded with not only praise but with substantial financial compensation. I have my hopes for the future, time will tell what actually happens. With streams being run out of pocket by passionate gamers (@teamspooky). Commentators donating their time to voluntarily take the front lines. And players improving skills and elevating the competition. I can’t believe there’s anything less than a bright future for E-Sports and everyone involved. With that said, everyone involved keep a positive outlook and I’ll see you on the other side of the storm!
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