Tuesday 10 August 2010
StarCraft
For those who do not know, StarCraft is a popular real-time strategy computer game. Even though it was made back in 1998, it has been a professional competition league in Korea for over a decade. This is one of the more popular 'e-sports' which are basically competitive gaming competitions. I had heard of this before, but had to check it out for myself.
They really take this seriously. There are two teams, each with a coach, corporate sponsor, mascot, fans, etc. Each player sits in a sound proof booth and plays using an official StarCraft monitor, keyboard and mouse.
There are three announcers who are pretty much screaming during the entire game which can last anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. The events are best-of-seven matches. Video cameras are everywhere, and the event is shown live on the Korean 'e-sports' channels.
The event we went to was one of the semifinals matches. All the seating was taken when we got there and the rest of the room was full of people willing to stand for over 3 hours. During the slower parts, they would show people in the crowd, many who had signs. During game 6, I got some screen time which means I made it onto live Korean television. I'm kind of a big deal now. The game is also up on youtube if you want to check it out. My 3 seconds of fame are at the 1:03 mark.
The final match of the competition is in Busan in two weeks, which just so happens to be the weekend that we'll be visiting. So of course we'll have to check that out. That game will be on a beach, and should have a crazy amount of people. Stay tuned.
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So this was Starcraft 1 as opposed to Starcraft 2? Two may not be released over there yet but when it does, lookout! I am proud to say that I do not know anyone that waited till midnight for the release of that game over here a few weeks back. I am just saving up for a computer that will actually run the program. Yeesh!
ReplyDeleteYes, this is still the first one. The second one just got released about a week ago. They actually held back the release until Blizzard could figure out a way to make money off of the professional leagues here. There may or may not have been extensive playing of the new one in the lab since it was released. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean you're proud? Over here, gamers are admired and looked up to. I think America should get on that bandwagon. There's something awesome about a country that appreciates competitive gaming. All the promotional stuff at the fast food joints is currently StarCraft themed instead of kids movies or tv shows.
Proud in the fact that I restrained myself from doing it. I really want this game but my computer won't run it. That's awesome they embrace that culture unlike America. I wonder if Grand Theft Auto has tournaments there? :P
ReplyDeleteThats the beauty of the first StarCraft, its so simple it can run on just about anything. Grand Theft Auto does have a following, but I don't think its played professionally.
ReplyDeleteWooo hoo you're FAMOUS!!
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