Well because of this thread I decided to force myself to watch some and see how I like it a bit more. Big problem I've had with esports in the past is a lot of the popular games I really don't care about, like dota, LoL, overwatch, etc.
Watched some Rainbow Six Pro League games though and have to admit, it was actually pretty fun. I definitely get the appeal and it really beat down a bit of the "Why would I watch when I could just play" theory I kind of had. To use the sports example, like some have argued, it is a bit like watching the NHL. Sure I could go play instead of watching, but I freakin' suck, and watching the best players go at it is different.
When it comes to the physical component of eSports, there is a huge, nearly insurmountable physical requirement in terms of hand dexterity and speed when playing certain real-time-strategy games like Starcraft. You can laugh, but it's just a fact when you're dealing with players who are doing over 300 actions-per-minute or 5 per-second, as they control individual units in 100 unit armies.
It's so pronounced and important that most of the best players in the world are forced to "retire" by the mid-20's and most of them peaking in their teens before running into issues like carpal tunnel or just slowing down. For other games, reaction time is super important and that peaks before your 25th birthday for the average person.
There was a documentary about one of the most famous Starcraft players in Korea, Boxer. It followed him around as he tried to re-enter the scene three years after being forced to retire. It would be like a behind the scenes documentary if Jagr had a camera crew following him this off-season as he tries to find a hockey team and start playing again, a past his prime legend fighting injuries and slowing down due to his old age. The only difference was that Boxer was under 30.
Here's an entirely boring video of a pro-gamer playing Starcraft 2, but go into the middle of the video and watch his hand speed.
The Following User Says Thank You to Oling_Roachinen For This Useful Post:
Impressive, but isn't that more akin to something like playing a piano?
Quote:
Originally Posted by chemgear
There are not multiple people working against you dynamically to impede and beat you whilst playing a piano.
The speed and reaction time needed is also why you are too old for e-sports by the time you are 30.
Yup. Mechanically it might be similar in that you're pressing keys either in combination and in succession but even in improvisation you're not going to be reacting that quickly in regards to adversity.
I'd think there's alot of similarities to piano. Players at the highest level of Starcraft repeatedly practice these mouse and keyboard actions and develop it into muscle memory. At this speed, most of those actions happen automatically without the player having to think about the individual actions.
One of my favourite youtubers, Innuendo Studios, made this really good video about how he became a fan of competitive Smash Bros. It gives some insights into the appeal of competitive gaming from a spectator's perspective and draws a lot of parallels with conventional sports fandom.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Party Elephant For This Useful Post:
Would you allow your kids to train for competitive gaming?
No, but there are some real world applications that I find encouraging. The other day after coming home from hockey camp my kids were talking about how they executed a bunch of moves they learned from one of the simulated computer games. they have also picked up some computer skills and learned about security. Its not all bad.
Last edited by Flamenspiel; 08-27-2018 at 10:42 AM.