Dynamic Broadcasting; user input in eSports broadcasting
Brief string of tweets discussing the advantages of user controlled broadcasts. Also my first attempt at using Storify to curate my tweets, rather than write text walls otherwise known as ‘blog posts’.
-
Maybe with the Oculus Rift – the concept of user control over the medium – eSports broadcasts are merely a starting point.
-
These tweets started when I considered the current state of eSports broadcasting. Currently it is primarily traditional: a video feed sent out to a broadcasting platform (usually twitch.tv which harbours many gaming related video streams) which is accessed by viewers. There can be paywalls for higher resolution streams or access to the chat etc. also which offers some degree of personalisation.
-
LoL and DOTA2 do it the contemporary way, giving the option of user camera control, pick your commentators etc.
-
Valve’s DOTA2 (and Riot Games’ League of Legends I believe) have the option to watch live broadcasts of matches inside of the game, giving the viewer the ability to control what the camera looks at and which commentators they want to listen to. This gives more power to the viewer in terms of what is viewed and how it’s viewed, creating a more personalised viewing experience, and a broadcast that better connects with it’s viewer. If said viewer wants to follow a particular player in real time, they can. If they want to follow a particular team, they can. If they want to follow just the statistics generated from the game, they can (I think).
-
LoL has that right? Regardless that’s the right idea, I feel that’s the new paradigm for high quality broadcasts
-
Quick, somebody develop a universal user controlled observer client! #eSports
-
If somebody can develop it: a program that allows a viewer to view a broadcast of any particular game (be it League of Legends, DOTA2, Starcraft, Counterstrike etc.) within it’s respective client. Of course, the developer would have to offer said in-game observer feature, but a unifying piece of software could very well create for a strong eSports network with opportunities to integrate social networks.
-
Games embody the idea of immediate control over the medium. It seems logical that eSports should follow suit!
-
Video Games are all about interactivity and user control. It would be great if eSports could set the stage for this kind of broadcasting that embraces it’s viewers directly as those who help create the spectacle.
-
Consider the availability of the very game players observe. Unlike pro sports where there is a divide, games are almost universal.
-
As players we navigate the same arenas as the pros, the only remaining divide is that of skill
-
These last two tweets simply sum up the idea that, in comparison to traditional sports broadcasts, the divide between viewer and professional is much less. Most viewers of eSports play the game too, and there is more common ground in terms of the virtual geography; where the competition is taking place.
storify.com