Slaktoid
Aperture Harmonics
K162
12
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Posted - 2012.09.30 15:28:00 -
[1] - Quote
I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic this time, even though it sometimes feels like CCP are preaching sportsmanship and stroking the player with one hand, while slapping him with the other. This is a highly subjective opinion though, I may be somewhat biased by bittervet syndrome.
I'm concerned about how this will go down in mainstream gaming media though. I can certainly see some harmful headlines, especially from those who aren't fully aware of how the PLEX system works. Judging by the comments (or lack thereof) by the CSM, I assume they were sidelined and as surprised as the rest of us by this announcement. They may not be the best to consult on esports matters, but they have easy access to those of us who have been involved and have been following the esports scene for a long time.
A few words for Bro and Fozzie specifically (and the other who organize this). I hope there is a future for this. I would strongly urge you to limit participation to one character pr person. I want to see Kil2, Garmon, Prom (their actual names, not alts) and all these guys we already know from media productions, compete with eachother. It's the storylines we need to create for this thing to explode. Nobody would watch the UFC if Joe Blows were fighting Dim Sums every time. It's the Anderson Silvas and the Randy Cotoures who makes it interesting. It's the Brazillian Top Team vs Chute Box rivalries that engage us so deeply. We need our own Nadas and Boxers and Nesteas to emerge. We need our own Clan 9 vs Death Row, or fnatic vs SK Gaming rivalries to get the blood boiling and the stakes raised.
You need to focus on the Teams and the names, they need to create the brand. We need to be able to recognize and pick out those we know to be good pvp'ers, so we can cheer for them, worship or hate them. If we can't easily recognize who are fighting, we don't have a stake in the outcome of the fight, and the result won't matter. It won't draw us back another time. After this initial round, you need to look to preserve the "teambrands" or at least encourage them to "bring it" to the next tourney. This could be done by invites for example. Maybe the top 8 teams will be invited back to the next tournament, provided they keep roster changes limited and such.
I would also suggest to try to reach out to people who truely know what this is all about. The likes of Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham, Rod "Slasher" Breslau and so forth. They are contractbound by other companies to some extents, but that probably don't prevent anyone from reaching out informally. Talk to maybe MLG management. A lot of those guys are passionate about what they do, and I would imagine guys like Sundance DiGiovanni could give excellent advices about the most important things to look out for.
We can't just go ahead in the usual way of "This is Eve Online. We do it our own way, we don't care bla bla bla". We need to pay attention to mainstream gaming media coverage, stream numbers etc, because that is what will bring the external sponsors like Razer, MSI, TT and others. And those are the companies one would like to attract to an E-Sport.
Good Luck. And may the best team win! |