ciggaming
Team Hot Pt. 3
2007-09-13 10:51 AM PDT
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - I've played Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, and Desert Conflict competitively (while playing Desert Combat and Call of Duty 2 for fun in competition) before playing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. I wanted to take this time to tell you what I enjoy about Quake Wars competition.
Quake Wars is played 6v6, which is enough people for a good team test without getting to the point of having to coordinate too many players at the same time. Its also a nice size for LAN events. The game is based on a stopwatch format, where one team (based on the map, it could be either Strogg or GDF) attacks and sets a time to complete all the objectives (or runs out of time, which is usually set at 20 min). Once a time is set, the other team switches and tries to beat it. If they can do all the objectives faster, they win. If not, the other team wins.
Objective based gameplay is great for spectating because the action is focused around the objective. In games like the Battlefield series, you had to control a certain amount of points in order to bleed the other teams tickets so the action was usually spread out. In ET:QW, the action is always focused around doing the objective.
The vehicles in this game are not nearly as powerful as the Battlefield vehicles. They can be hurt by regular gunfire, grenades, Rocket Launchers, other vehicles, artillery, etc. One of the issues at this point is having to try to balance 6v6 competition for maps designed for 12v12, but Splash Damage and iD are really good about help both the competitive and casual communities. Once spawn times and vehicle amounts are adjusted for 6v6, the balance between infantry and vehicles will be amazing.
The infantry is really fun. The registration is nice, even with higher pings. Its fast paced, extremely team based infantry that has a steep learning curve. Once you feel comfortable strafe fighting, then you learn the various kits. Once you feel comfortable with all the kits and strafe fighting,...
Quake Wars is played 6v6, which is enough people for a good team test without getting to the point of having to coordinate too many players at the same time. Its also a nice size for LAN events. The game is based on a stopwatch format, where one team (based on the map, it could be either Strogg or GDF) attacks and sets a time to complete all the objectives (or runs out of time, which is usually set at 20 min). Once a time is set, the other team switches and tries to beat it. If they can do all the objectives faster, they win. If not, the other team wins.
Objective based gameplay is great for spectating because the action is focused around the objective. In games like the Battlefield series, you had to control a certain amount of points in order to bleed the other teams tickets so the action was usually spread out. In ET:QW, the action is always focused around doing the objective.
The vehicles in this game are not nearly as powerful as the Battlefield vehicles. They can be hurt by regular gunfire, grenades, Rocket Launchers, other vehicles, artillery, etc. One of the issues at this point is having to try to balance 6v6 competition for maps designed for 12v12, but Splash Damage and iD are really good about help both the competitive and casual communities. Once spawn times and vehicle amounts are adjusted for 6v6, the balance between infantry and vehicles will be amazing.
The infantry is really fun. The registration is nice, even with higher pings. Its fast paced, extremely team based infantry that has a steep learning curve. Once you feel comfortable strafe fighting, then you learn the various kits. Once you feel comfortable with all the kits and strafe fighting,...
Team Hot Pt. 2
2007-09-13 10:50 AM PDT
How do we get people to watch a video game? This is ultimately the question that competitive gamers are going to have to answer if they ever want competitve gaming to become more mainstream. What are some of the problems with this?
1. Centralized focus - every popular sport (soccer, football, baseball, basketball, hockey) has a ball or puck that centralizes the action. TV cameras can follow the ball and get all the important information they need and fans have a basic premise to start with. Does follow the ball mean that an 8 year old can understand the nuances of football? Of course not. However, they can follow the ball and appreciate the action around it. Most video games don't have that preverbial ball. Take Counterstrike Source: 5 guys attempting to prevent 5 other guys from planting and detonating a bomb. However, without the ball to focus the action, it is entirely possible to miss everything important about a round while watching the bomb area or a single player. Until games figure out how to centralize the action and keep the focus of its audience, it will only appeal to those who actually play and enjoy the game.
2. Interest level - most people play video games casually and aren't overly interested in seeing cartoon figures shoot other cartoon figures on their screen. There needs to be something that connects the average person with a team (or individual) of players playing against another team of players in a video game. Reality TV has made a fortune off the daily drama of people interacting with each other. Video games are going to have to show the players, rivalaries, personalities, and ultimately the skill that it requires to be the very best (and stay there). Trying to sell a game in and of itself will never get the job done without the people that play them and all of the things that makes following competition so great being captured for an audience.
3. Consistency - Baseball has been played for over 100 years. Soccer and golf? Even longer. Video games have a...
1. Centralized focus - every popular sport (soccer, football, baseball, basketball, hockey) has a ball or puck that centralizes the action. TV cameras can follow the ball and get all the important information they need and fans have a basic premise to start with. Does follow the ball mean that an 8 year old can understand the nuances of football? Of course not. However, they can follow the ball and appreciate the action around it. Most video games don't have that preverbial ball. Take Counterstrike Source: 5 guys attempting to prevent 5 other guys from planting and detonating a bomb. However, without the ball to focus the action, it is entirely possible to miss everything important about a round while watching the bomb area or a single player. Until games figure out how to centralize the action and keep the focus of its audience, it will only appeal to those who actually play and enjoy the game.
2. Interest level - most people play video games casually and aren't overly interested in seeing cartoon figures shoot other cartoon figures on their screen. There needs to be something that connects the average person with a team (or individual) of players playing against another team of players in a video game. Reality TV has made a fortune off the daily drama of people interacting with each other. Video games are going to have to show the players, rivalaries, personalities, and ultimately the skill that it requires to be the very best (and stay there). Trying to sell a game in and of itself will never get the job done without the people that play them and all of the things that makes following competition so great being captured for an audience.
3. Consistency - Baseball has been played for over 100 years. Soccer and golf? Even longer. Video games have a...
Team Hot Pt. 1
2007-09-13 10:50 AM PDT
Great places to compete in online events:
Total Gaming League (www.totalgamingleague.com) - they started up fairly recently and put nice money into some of their leagues. Their website and coverage is improving with leaps and bounds as is the amount of games they cover. If you are a new team looking to gets its feet wet or an experienced team trying to find tough competition, this is a good place to go.
Cyberathlete Amatuer League (www.caleague.com) - Has been around a long time and once was the premier league to compete in. WIth the emergence of CEVO, GGL and TGL, CAL and its free competition (and no prizes) have begun to take a back seat. Still a great place to catch high quality competition for a variety of games.
TeamWarfare League (www.teamwarfare.com) - Probably the best place for a team to start in. They have ladders where you can challenge (or be challenged) that doesn't require a once a week commitment. They have leagues that are usually played by teams a bit less serious about competition. They are very friendly and easy to navigate. I'd recommend any team that's never competed and is looking to start somewhere to join a ladder of your favorite game and work your way up.
Cyber evolution (www.cevo.com) - pay to play league that has become very prestigious in the past few year. It only hosts CS 1.6, CS:S, COD2, Quake 4, and America's Army, so that's a drawback. However, each team pays a bit of money with the winning teams winning most of the pot. If you are looking for serious, top level competition and play one of these games, this is the place for you.
Global Gaming league (www.ggl.com) - used to be a free league with cash prizes but has slowly evolved away from that. Is a great community site with a lot of information about various games and offers ladders for practically any game you can think of. There are better places to compete at this point, but keep an eye on this site.
Total Gaming League (www.totalgamingleague.com) - they started up fairly recently and put nice money into some of their leagues. Their website and coverage is improving with leaps and bounds as is the amount of games they cover. If you are a new team looking to gets its feet wet or an experienced team trying to find tough competition, this is a good place to go.
Cyberathlete Amatuer League (www.caleague.com) - Has been around a long time and once was the premier league to compete in. WIth the emergence of CEVO, GGL and TGL, CAL and its free competition (and no prizes) have begun to take a back seat. Still a great place to catch high quality competition for a variety of games.
TeamWarfare League (www.teamwarfare.com) - Probably the best place for a team to start in. They have ladders where you can challenge (or be challenged) that doesn't require a once a week commitment. They have leagues that are usually played by teams a bit less serious about competition. They are very friendly and easy to navigate. I'd recommend any team that's never competed and is looking to start somewhere to join a ladder of your favorite game and work your way up.
Cyber evolution (www.cevo.com) - pay to play league that has become very prestigious in the past few year. It only hosts CS 1.6, CS:S, COD2, Quake 4, and America's Army, so that's a drawback. However, each team pays a bit of money with the winning teams winning most of the pot. If you are looking for serious, top level competition and play one of these games, this is the place for you.
Global Gaming league (www.ggl.com) - used to be a free league with cash prizes but has slowly evolved away from that. Is a great community site with a lot of information about various games and offers ladders for practically any game you can think of. There are better places to compete at this point, but keep an eye on this site.
