Read the following blog post from James Chen
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2010/11/evolution-2010-season-wrap-up-part-2.html
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Discuss your opinions on fighting games as an e-sport (be sure to address James Chen's 3 points and your opinion on them). If you have any experience with any other forms of e-sports, be sure to draw in those experiences also!
Minimum 250 words.
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James Chen makes a compelling case for why fighting games should be the most popular e-sport, but I am not convinced that they will become the most popular e-sport. His points are all very practical. Fighting games are more audience friendly. Spectators see all the action holistically, and aren't forced to choose which scenes to watch. All action happens on screen. Action happens fairly frequently. The action is relevant for the entire duration of the match (as opposed to a game where the endgame of a match is an autopilot cleanup after an irrecoverable attack). These are all points that strongly suggest that fighting games are better to watch. However, James does not talk about actual trends in e-sport spectator populations. A game's quality does not set its popularity in stone. For instance, Brawl is more popular than Melee. (See this poll: http://wii.ign.com/articles/113/1138536p1.html)
In an earlier blog post, James provides an example of exactly such a phenomenon. Texas Hold 'Em is admittedly not the most skill-demanding version of Poker. Whether it is the most exciting Poker game to watch is also up in the air. Due to "random" factors, it has launched itself as the most popular form of Poker by far. Another example is Guilty Gear. It's a really difficult game with luscious graphics. Yet its community is suffering. The implication of James' facts (that fighting games are very spectator-accessible) is that fighting games have the foundation to become the greatest e-sport. However, he cannot claim that it will become the greatest e-sport without examining the changing demographics and tracking viewer trends.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Week 11
Watch "Run It Back: The Road to Socal Regionals (Episode 1)"
http://vimeo.com/16293297
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Some of the players in the documentary talk about a time when players were secretive about their techniques that they discovered themselves (before the internet and Youtube). How do you feel about this relative to what happens nowadays? Also, how do you feel about the format that Alex Valle chooses to use for the Wednesday Night Fights tournaments? Feel free to also discuss your general opinions about the documentary and anything it covered.
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Nowadays players are more open about sharing ideas. The internet has facilitated this a lot. However, I know some players still keep things. Chu says he hides some of his Brawl secrets so that he can remain at the top in his region.
Valle's Wednesday Night Fight format is a good motivator for people to play for rank and test how good they are in the local community.
http://vimeo.com/16293297
--------------------------------------
Some of the players in the documentary talk about a time when players were secretive about their techniques that they discovered themselves (before the internet and Youtube). How do you feel about this relative to what happens nowadays? Also, how do you feel about the format that Alex Valle chooses to use for the Wednesday Night Fights tournaments? Feel free to also discuss your general opinions about the documentary and anything it covered.
--------
Nowadays players are more open about sharing ideas. The internet has facilitated this a lot. However, I know some players still keep things. Chu says he hides some of his Brawl secrets so that he can remain at the top in his region.
Valle's Wednesday Night Fight format is a good motivator for people to play for rank and test how good they are in the local community.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Week 10
Read the following blog posts from Maj.
http://sonichurricane.com/?p=263
http://sonichurricane.com/?p=2930
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At what point do you feel that a game becomes imbalanced? How do you feel about Maj's viewpoint?
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I think a game is imbalanced when, like Maj said, there is simply no reason NOT to choose a certain character. A Melee example would be selecting Pikachu over Pichu. If your goal is to win, it just makes no sense to select Pichu. If the entire roster is overcome by this Pikachu-Pichu phenomenon, then it creates a problem.
Fortunately, most games don't experience this imbalance. The problem, however, is that the community does not realize this. Lots of Brawl scrubs cry about Metaknight, but if he wins so effortlessly as people say, why are they not beating everyone and anyone with the character?
The bottom line is, games in general do pretty good. 4 top tiers is a great amount. It creates 10 matchups. 5 top tiers creates 15. And then there are the many high tier characters that are still competitively viable in several games.
http://sonichurricane.com/?p=263
http://sonichurricane.com/?p=2930
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At what point do you feel that a game becomes imbalanced? How do you feel about Maj's viewpoint?
--------------------
I think a game is imbalanced when, like Maj said, there is simply no reason NOT to choose a certain character. A Melee example would be selecting Pikachu over Pichu. If your goal is to win, it just makes no sense to select Pichu. If the entire roster is overcome by this Pikachu-Pichu phenomenon, then it creates a problem.
Fortunately, most games don't experience this imbalance. The problem, however, is that the community does not realize this. Lots of Brawl scrubs cry about Metaknight, but if he wins so effortlessly as people say, why are they not beating everyone and anyone with the character?
The bottom line is, games in general do pretty good. 4 top tiers is a great amount. It creates 10 matchups. 5 top tiers creates 15. And then there are the many high tier characters that are still competitively viable in several games.
Week 9
Read the following blog post from James Chen:
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2010/09/evolution-2010-season-wrap-up.html
This is a recap of EVO 2k10 (James did not write a recap of EVO 2k9). Street Fighter 4 made its EVO debut in 2009, bringing in a huge number of players. The second iteration of it, Super Street Fighter 4, was released a few months before EVO 2k10. EVO 2k10 brought in over 3000 entrants across all its tournaments, shattering the attendance records of any previous fighting game tournament.
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Do you agree or disagree with James's opinion that smaller communities should embrace Super Street Fighter 4 in order to grow their own community? Do you feel that the fragmented fighting game communities should "act as a whole"? Why or why not?
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Unity in the fighting game community would help it out a lot. One of the key quotes from this blog post worth nothing is, "They start learning how to play the other games due to general curiosity and the need for variety."
This is pretty important to understand. By showing support for the dominant game, you can funnel people into your game of choice. Playing competitive games in general is itself a hobby that allows two people to bond. A competitive Halo player and a competitive Melee player have something in common that they wouldn't be able to share with a scrub. When I see a competitive Brawl player, I'm ok with that. I think, "He is part of my world-not the world of competitive Brawl, but the world of competitive gaming."
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2010/09/evolution-2010-season-wrap-up.html
This is a recap of EVO 2k10 (James did not write a recap of EVO 2k9). Street Fighter 4 made its EVO debut in 2009, bringing in a huge number of players. The second iteration of it, Super Street Fighter 4, was released a few months before EVO 2k10. EVO 2k10 brought in over 3000 entrants across all its tournaments, shattering the attendance records of any previous fighting game tournament.
--------------------------------------
Do you agree or disagree with James's opinion that smaller communities should embrace Super Street Fighter 4 in order to grow their own community? Do you feel that the fragmented fighting game communities should "act as a whole"? Why or why not?
----------------
Unity in the fighting game community would help it out a lot. One of the key quotes from this blog post worth nothing is, "They start learning how to play the other games due to general curiosity and the need for variety."
This is pretty important to understand. By showing support for the dominant game, you can funnel people into your game of choice. Playing competitive games in general is itself a hobby that allows two people to bond. A competitive Halo player and a competitive Melee player have something in common that they wouldn't be able to share with a scrub. When I see a competitive Brawl player, I'm ok with that. I think, "He is part of my world-not the world of competitive Brawl, but the world of competitive gaming."
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 7/8
Read the following blog posts:
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/08/evo-2008-for-love-of-game.html
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/09/evo-2008-season-wrap-up.html
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/09/evo-2008-addendum.html
All 3 posts are James Chen's recap of the EVO 2k8 tournament, once again examining each community and its state. After Melee's successful showing at EVO 2k7, Brawl was released in early 2008, just in time for EVO 2k8.
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Respond to the following questions:
How do you feel about James's comments in regards to the Smash community's "god complex"? Does having too much control over your game cause problems? Also, pick a community that James discusses (besides Smash), talk about some of its shortcomings, and suggest possible ways that it could be improved.
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I found the God complex label funny because it's true. The smash community is pretty strict on their philosophy of having a skill-based game, and they'll criticize anything in the game that detracts from skill and gives more to luck. I don't consider it a problem, however. I think it just makes the community all the more fearsome, and it makes it easier to distinguish competitive members from casual members.
As for games and their shortcomings, I think some games are at an equilibrium point where nothing can be done. For instance, SF3S sounds like it is tapped out. It has a good community and nothing left to discover in-game, so there's nothing you can do for it. On the other hand, CvS2 has more that can be tapped (such as from low tier characters), so the community has more to unlock.
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/08/evo-2008-for-love-of-game.html
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/09/evo-2008-season-wrap-up.html
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/09/evo-2008-addendum.html
All 3 posts are James Chen's recap of the EVO 2k8 tournament, once again examining each community and its state. After Melee's successful showing at EVO 2k7, Brawl was released in early 2008, just in time for EVO 2k8.
--------------------------------------
Respond to the following questions:
How do you feel about James's comments in regards to the Smash community's "god complex"? Does having too much control over your game cause problems? Also, pick a community that James discusses (besides Smash), talk about some of its shortcomings, and suggest possible ways that it could be improved.
--------------
I found the God complex label funny because it's true. The smash community is pretty strict on their philosophy of having a skill-based game, and they'll criticize anything in the game that detracts from skill and gives more to luck. I don't consider it a problem, however. I think it just makes the community all the more fearsome, and it makes it easier to distinguish competitive members from casual members.
As for games and their shortcomings, I think some games are at an equilibrium point where nothing can be done. For instance, SF3S sounds like it is tapped out. It has a good community and nothing left to discover in-game, so there's nothing you can do for it. On the other hand, CvS2 has more that can be tapped (such as from low tier characters), so the community has more to unlock.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Week 6
Read the following blog post:
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2007/10/evolution-2007-season-wrap-up.html
James Chen is a Street Fighter community veteran and one of the organizers for the Evolution tournament series. In this blog, he recaps EVO 2K7, the first year that Smash was a featured game in the tournament.
(There are some references to specific players and game details which you may not be familiar with, but that's ok. Focus on the more general points that he is trying to make.)
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Respond to the following questions:
James makes a point that certain communities are "watered down" from excess players. Should communities strive to get better if it comes at the cost of alienating newer players?
Also, do you agree with James's viewpoint of a strong community making a strong game or do you feel that it is the other way around?
I really loved James' article. He gave fair treatment to each game community, and I believe he accurately told what there is to tell. In response to the first question, I didn't pick up too much in the area of supporting arguments for his claim. Of course, if everyone in the world played a game, that could hurt it, but at the same time, having just 6 pros will also be bad.
In response to the second question, I take the same stance that we should just not go to extreme conclusions. The reality is that it's a balance of both. A strong game won't stand without a strong community. GG is a great example of this. GG is incredibly deep, but it just doesn't get as much of the light because of its community (or lack thereof). At the same time, a strong community won't sustain a weak game. True, MvC2 has its issues, but J does not emphasize enough that MvC2 is quite intricate. Imbalance issues aside, it's still a great game, which helps it have a great community. If you really want to argue that a weak game just needs a strong community to thrive, then I want to know where the Pong tournaments are. How about Tic Tac Toe? Etcetera. Basically, don't go to extremes. Strong game, strong community, you need both.
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2007/10/evolution-2007-season-wrap-up.html
James Chen is a Street Fighter community veteran and one of the organizers for the Evolution tournament series. In this blog, he recaps EVO 2K7, the first year that Smash was a featured game in the tournament.
(There are some references to specific players and game details which you may not be familiar with, but that's ok. Focus on the more general points that he is trying to make.)
--------------------------------------
Respond to the following questions:
James makes a point that certain communities are "watered down" from excess players. Should communities strive to get better if it comes at the cost of alienating newer players?
Also, do you agree with James's viewpoint of a strong community making a strong game or do you feel that it is the other way around?
I really loved James' article. He gave fair treatment to each game community, and I believe he accurately told what there is to tell. In response to the first question, I didn't pick up too much in the area of supporting arguments for his claim. Of course, if everyone in the world played a game, that could hurt it, but at the same time, having just 6 pros will also be bad.
In response to the second question, I take the same stance that we should just not go to extreme conclusions. The reality is that it's a balance of both. A strong game won't stand without a strong community. GG is a great example of this. GG is incredibly deep, but it just doesn't get as much of the light because of its community (or lack thereof). At the same time, a strong community won't sustain a weak game. True, MvC2 has its issues, but J does not emphasize enough that MvC2 is quite intricate. Imbalance issues aside, it's still a great game, which helps it have a great community. If you really want to argue that a weak game just needs a strong community to thrive, then I want to know where the Pong tournaments are. How about Tic Tac Toe? Etcetera. Basically, don't go to extremes. Strong game, strong community, you need both.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week 4
Read the following from Sirlin's Playing to Win:
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/more-on-losing.html
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/how-far-should-you-go-to-win.html
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/what-should-be-banned.html
How do you feel about "soft bans"? Do you feel that this contradicts "playing to win"? Also, how do you feel about the Street Fighter community's decision to outright ban Akuma from Super Turbo? Is this hypocritical? Do you feel that bans are ever warranted?
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Soft bans, in the most technical sense, contradict "playing to win." However, it is completely understandable to have a tradeoff between playing to win and making the game interesting. For instance, the government exists to protect the people. The more control the government has, however, the less freedom the people have. Which is more important, security or freedom? Both are important. Thus, you must find a balance between the two. The same is true for soft bans. If something like Akuma makes the game far too ridiculous and not fun, and eliminating the element could still keep the game competitive and interesting, then a soft ban is permissible. One not need enforce "play to win" to such extremes that practical adjustments should never be made.
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/more-on-losing.html
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/how-far-should-you-go-to-win.html
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/what-should-be-banned.html
How do you feel about "soft bans"? Do you feel that this contradicts "playing to win"? Also, how do you feel about the Street Fighter community's decision to outright ban Akuma from Super Turbo? Is this hypocritical? Do you feel that bans are ever warranted?
---
Soft bans, in the most technical sense, contradict "playing to win." However, it is completely understandable to have a tradeoff between playing to win and making the game interesting. For instance, the government exists to protect the people. The more control the government has, however, the less freedom the people have. Which is more important, security or freedom? Both are important. Thus, you must find a balance between the two. The same is true for soft bans. If something like Akuma makes the game far too ridiculous and not fun, and eliminating the element could still keep the game competitive and interesting, then a soft ban is permissible. One not need enforce "play to win" to such extremes that practical adjustments should never be made.
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