“At the end of the day, professional gaming stands alone in a world of drawn comparisons”
As the world of e-sports burgeons and begins to form its identity, it still faces numerous challenges before becoming mainstream. Although I do have a limited knowledge reach (and time between classes), I foresee some incredibly important challenges that will inherently define the direction and success of the e-sports realm. In no way do I want to be a “Debbie-downer,” but I think it is important and critical to always be taking stock of challenges facing e-sports as success grows… so without further ado:
1. High Barriers to Entry
To put it bluntly, e-sports are not intuitive and incredibly complicated, which presents an enormous challenge for game-designers, commentators, players, and organizations. When you watch a new sport, say a tennis match or a baseball game, you may think (if you’re like me), “Wow, I could never, EVER do that, but I understand how it can be done.” Professional gaming does not have this saving grace. To a new viewer, watching characters move on a screen provides no intuition about the skill, persistence, intelligence, etc., etc., of the athletes controlling what happens.
In addition to this lack of what I will call “Athletic empathy,” most professional e-sports are played in very complicated games. Each player could play a wide range of characters (champion, hero, etc.), each with specific items to buy (build path) and skills to upgrade for playing with and/or against other characters, and performing different actions based on countless factors in the “game-state.” Once you get a handle on each of these aspects of play for a certain game can you begin to develop a full understanding of the game. It’s a bit more complicated than trying to score a goal or running a mile as fast as you can, which is compelling, but there exists no great way of getting new viewers up to speed.
2. Integration into Youth & Academic Institutions
Although the e-sports market is growing incredibly quickly, longevity will be determined by a successful or failed integration into youth programs and academic institutions. As of this writing, attempts to integrate e-sports into academic and youth institutions are being started.
Riot Games’ League of Legends has begun taking concrete steps to carve out a spot on college campuses and youth culture. This is a historic move, and one whose success or failure should be considered very highly. Almost continually, provoked by the efforts put forth by Riot Games, the NCAA is constantly discussing the integration of e-sports into the realm of varsity athletics. But before anything major can happen, a lot has to be sorted out.
Hands-down, the largest concern facing the NCAA is: how will amateur gaming fit into the work-life balance of students? Disregarding the often (almost entirely, for pro gamers) false preconception that gamers are lazy, unhealthy individuals, there can still exist a clash between a healthy academic and social life and gaming. Becoming and remaining an elite gamer requires about 8-18 hours of practice a day, depending on the player. This massive time commitment does not necessarily mesh well with a purposeful life outside of gaming, but I believe there is a great balance that can be had somewhere, especially as intelligence and strategic thinking begin to play greater roles in e-sport success.
The second, and possibly completely inhibiting aspect of e-sports in the college scene is that a private company actually owns the games being played. Unlike soccer, tennis, or gymnastics, a single company actually owns League of Legends or Overwatch or Starcraft. The systematic intertwining of these massive companies with the juggernaut of the NCAA and its constituent schools provides a dangerous breeding ground for chaos and corruption. A lot, and I mean A LOT, of smart, unbiased individuals well versed in sports governance will have to sort this one out.
3. Differentiation from Traditional Sports
It constantly makes me nervous that the world of professional gaming has become known as “e-sports”; in essence, the title provides a crutch that does serve an important purpose right now, but may end up inhibiting the genre.
The term “e-sports” is important to its short term success: it provides a familiar, comfortable platform from which to wrap one’s head around the idea of professional gaming. To consider professional gaming a sport makes those unfamiliar with its origins more open minded to accepting its existence. It is after all, a sport. In this the term e-sports is very useful for gaining positive media traction (ESPN has begun to write about E-sports), and social acceptance, but it also creates a lot of preconceived notions about the culture.
First and foremost, e-sport competitors are not traditional athletes. Yes, they similarly hone a physically-based craft, but professional gamers often play for longer, can have much shorter and varied careers, and are still considered ‘nerds’ or ‘outcasts’ in some areas. A lot of the fundamental underlying skills of persistence, physical prowess, strategic thinking, etc. directly from traditional sports, but the field of application differs significantly. To say that a DOTA 2 player and an NFL player are similar may not be too crazy, but the worlds in which they live are completely different.
The danger in all of this – the equating of gamers and athletes, gaming and sports – is that you risk imparting too much of the traditional sports model onto professional gaming. As an example, think about the fighting game (Smash, in particular) tournament structure. To my knowledge, there is no traditional sport with a losers’ bracket that offers a second chance at life in a bracket-style tournament. This format keeps the players honest, and creates incredible story-lines and competition. I worry that this format may start to wane if these games become NCAA sports or national interests. In addition to nuanced tournament formats, player development, relegation structure, player associations, and things down to professional venues should try to learn from professional sport operations, but should not try to copy those operations directly. Professional gaming and sports are just too different to be operated the same way.
