Volamel
2016-12-28 09:11:39
Stories are tales that are told, sometimes purely for entertainments sake. More often than not, they propose a message. An underlying lesson to be uncovered by the reader or listener. Mythology are stories that are so incredible grandiose and flamboyant that they capture you in its hooked net, leaving you captivated. Whether or not the tales are true, are subject to your own opinion, but for ancient civilization to create stories that even resonate to a modern society is the true definition of amazing.
In the greek mythos, the story of Icarus is one of choice, tragedy, and hubris. A brief summary to add context: Icarus and his father, Daedalus, attempt to flee their home on the island of Crete. Daedalus manufactures a pair of wings made from wax and feathers to ferry them off the island. After trying the wings first hand he gives the boy a hasty warning, “Do not fly to close to the sun, nor to close to the sea.” Overcome with excitement the Icarus disregards his father's warning and flies to close to the sun, thus melting his wings.
The story is laden with themes of failure, arrogance, and consequence. Many of these themes we seen in many creative mediums today. Ultimately from these lessons and from others experiences, we can help shape our own experiences. This rings too true within the sphere of competitive gaming. With esports quoted growth in the new year, there are somethings that have been recurring like a bad marathon during your favorite holiday.
Esports has seen its fair share of mishaps and shortcomings. There has been enough “trial by fire”, I think, as a collective community, people have an idea of what is acceptable and what is not. We arrive now to Overwatch, possibly the next “titan” in the history of competitive games. Currently in the off season, Overwatch is at all too important crossroad, which every competitive game has faced. It is imperative that it does not succumb to the same fate as Icarus.
Overwatch esports does not have to fall.
Dramatic tension has been completely lacking in modern esports. What ever happened to “distance makes the heart grow fonder”? This does not bare on Overwatch, yet, but using other games as a reminder, or a guide, is a tool seemingly unexplored. Esports time and time again falls into the same pitfalls. These themes bare resemblance to the story of Icarus.
Daedalus recommends that the both follow his flight path, and let him lead. Overcome with glee with his father's gift, he disregards his father and flies to close to the sun, melting his wings, and ends the story with an abrupt period, as Icarus’s drowns in the water below him.
“Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind blows out candles and fans fire.” - Francois de La Rochefoucauld
We have had our troubles, yet we also have seen others experiences as well. They should be stepping stones to improvement, not something to simply ignore. There are lessons to be learned in the story of CS:GO. There is a overwhelming consensus that there is a problem of over saturation. Blizzard is should be familiar with this, Starcraft 2 suffered this around its peak as well. What is a worry is that the format of the Overwatch League (OWL) and its off season.
A possible middle ground is to define regions, (NA, EU, KR, etc.) and let third party organizers run their own leagues during a global season. In a scenario similar to the League of Legend Championship Series (LCS), each region plays during the exact same time of the year just adjusted for time zones and other regions specific obstacles. This way, we still have competition within regions and tournaments, while not feeling like there is too much content being produced.
Currently there is little information on OWL, but from the morsels we do have, there are some question that I have not seen talking points on. Are off season, third-party tournaments going to devalue the overall importance of the league itself? Are we concerned about over saturation? Why are there still event overlap conflicts in 2016?
The meta will come and go, sooner rather than later. What is next on the docket? Discussion needs to continue.
Think of the Overwatch League as a fine stew. Everyone has their own “secret” recipe. Perhaps you saute your vegetables before adding them into the pot, maybe you cut your potatoes differently. Most of them come out flat and flavorless or over spiced and to powerful. Blizzard needs to take notes on all the “stews” currently in the esports ecosystem. With all the recipes to boil down, we should have a succulent dish on our hands.
Blizzard is no stranger to esports. Forefathers of competitive gaming, they have had their successes in the past with the Starcraft franchise. They created modern competitive gaming, with unrivaled success for their time. And yet, they too have had their shortcomings. World of Warcraft, for its time, had astronomic viewership for how new the idea of “esports” was. They missed that opportunity. Recently, however they have started a grassroots effort to revitalizing it and it seems promising.
Another example is Heroes of the Storm, which came packaged with an “esports” narrative attached to it. All of these games had slow starts, nothing is an immediate success. I think that's what so endearing about Blizzard Esports: they never seem to give up on their games. It take a certain plucky optimism to constantly produce content and support their games, no matter what. Nothing is perfect, and I don’t expect the OWL to be, but there are some worries that linger around the new year’s corner.
“We can complain that rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses”. - Abraham Lincoln
The upcoming Overwatch League has drawn its similarities to a certain other localized league. The Championship Gaming Series was a competitive gaming league which was air on television through 2007. Being a complete failure, many have compared OWL to CGS. Blizzard needs to maintain that Icarian arrogance to laugh at naysayers, while also listening to community feedback over concerns that this is CGS 2.0.
Blizzard cannot fly to close to the sun nor the sea.
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Comparing Overwatch with the story of Icarus, if the sun in this analogy is the over saturation of esports, then the sea would be the players.
Finding the correct balance of tournaments and content creation and not having a season that leaves its players dry and bewildered is finally starting to emerge in the west. Blizzard cannot follow the path of Icarus, they must follow the path of those before them. Players deserve breaks.
Another thing that would be nice to see in the future for Overwatch is a fully supported amateur scene. A “potential” amatuer league could be pivotal in filling the gaps in the off-season. Creating story lines and showing the future star players of Overwatch, while also not feeling mandatory for other viewers. A great example would be the Starcraft 2 tournament series GSL, and it’s Code A bracket. Separated from the highest level of play, these former pro’s and ingenuitive amateurs battle for a seed back into Code S, the professional league.
The lead actor in a movie needs to be surrounded by equally great supporting actors to fully realize their potential. The Overwatch League has everyone's attention, but the things around it, that actively support it, will define it. A proposed amateur league could be just that, the support actor to help bring home numerous awards and accolades home to Overwatch.
Mythology is a wonderful thing. To this day it still we still find lessons and wisdom from seemingly fictional stories written by our ancestors. I lift a quote from A.D Williams, he says “Knowledge comes from learning. Wisdom comes from living”. Our ancient ancestors have lived, they’ve experienced their own personal struggles and victories. The story of Icarus is no exception.
Let me explain.
In the story, Icarus and his father are desperately trying to get off their home island of Crete. Icarus himself, never actually leaves the island because he inevitably fails and crashes into the ocean. This is an allusion to esports success and how it's impossible to measure “great” from “good” without being subjective.
There is not a final destination for esports or competitive gaming. There is no finish line where one company can say “We did it. We won!”. The only thing there is to achieve is merits and money. It’s hard to define success. Is it the viewership? Is it the revenue streams? Sponsorship deals? For esports, you can’t put a name or number on it. It isn’t that easy.
The scene continues forward, pushing the benchmark further along the timeline of esports history.
With Riot Game flagship title League of Legends and Valve Corporation facing legal troubles , Blizzard and Overwatch stand at the precipice of adding another global esports league into existence.
Images courtesy of Blizzard.
