The International Amongst Other Things

It’s been a couple weeks since my last post, but you’re remotely interested in the E-sports / competitive gaming scene you’ll probably understand why by the title.  The last two weeks have predominately been a work, watch Dota, sleep, work, etc. so most other activities have been pushed to one side.  For those of you unsure what I’m on about let me explain. 

The International is a tournament for the Game Defence of the Ancients (Dota) in which 16 teams from around the world compete to see who will be crowned world champion.  The event goes over two weeks (first week group stages, second week playoffs) with the playoffs being held at Key Arena, Seattle to a public crowd in the thousands alongside a vast online audience.  This game, as well as the genre it sits in (with games such as League of Legends, Smite, Heroes of Newerth, etc.) have greatly grown in popularity over the past 10 years from humble beginnings to the point where it packs physical stadiums and potentially rivals some traditional sports in viewership as more people are introduced to the concept. 

This year the International is in its fifth year (Ti5) and the figures are crazy.  In its first year the prize pool was $1.6million whereas it tops around $18.3 million today.  The production quality has also greatly improved; with fully established game analysis pre and post-game, commentators being assisted with standalone camera and statistics staff so that they can focus on the game itself, and stage itself that feels like it has a lot more prestige and competitiveness about it through its design and direction. 

The growing prize pool largely funded by community support is one of the indicators of the increased awareness for E-sports.  Image from esports.inquirer.net published by Wykrhm Reddy.  Accessed 10/8/2015

The stage sits in the middle of the arena giving spectators a good view whatever angle they may be sitting in, with large screens positioned above the players’ pods.  The stage itself is the Dota 2 logo (A red square with 3 slashes through it) with each team’s pod being situated on the outer slashes looking at each other.  This is important because whereas in most tournaments, the players are positioned towards the crowd and not in sight of each other allowing for the potential of a team to see how the opposition is reacting to the situation adding a psychological element to the competition.  The stage itself also was dynamic in its lighting arrangement as it changed the image being projected on to the floor in relation to what was going on.  For example, during the game it projected the map onto the stage with each team’s respective side (Radiant and Dire) being shown to give an added visual representation of the battle.  It would then change in team fights when certain skills were used that have high impact like Enigma’s Black Hole (a skill that pulls enemies into a small circular spot over a period of 3 seconds while immobilising them).  Lastly, the Aegis of Champions (the trophy for the event) sat at the tip of the middle stripe throughout the event so that players were always aware of what was on offer.  Even if it didn’t consciously give a response, one could imagine that sub-consciously it played on their thoughts. 

The stage projecting the map with the corresponding side for each team.  Image from Twitter @TobiWanDota  https://twitter.com/TobiWanDOTA/status/628340868911464448  viewed 10/8/2015

As I have commented on in the past, events like this feel on par with traditional sports and I feel E-sports (or competitive gaming depending on your definition) will continue to grow to the point where we can see it more commonly in the public eye.  I may have a vested interest to see this as I have been playing / watching these games for a decent amount of time, but I think the testament to its potential success is through those who watch from non-gaming backgrounds.  Watching competitive Dota when living with others and seeing how they become more and more interested in it over time shows that it can be entertaining without the vast amount of knowledge it requires to play properly.  Seeing a big team engagement happen with a commentator getting enthusiastic about it while the crowd roars to an impressive play is somewhat easy to understand whether its Dota, League, Football, Rugby, etc. 

Now it’s all over I’ve got many days of YouTube content to catch up on, but we should be back to normal service next week.  I shall leave you with the final moments of the grand final brought to you via DotaCinema…

Esports and Architecture: The Stadium

Over the past week or so, I’ve been watching the Dota 2 International qualifiers as teams compete to grab hold of the few open spots for the main event in August.  As I write this, NA’VI are up against Vega Squadron with it being 0-1 to Vega in a best of 5 for the European spot and it’s anyone game.  I don’t have a side that I’m particularly rooting for but personally I feel that it’s gonna be 3-2 to NA’VI; due to their experience of dealing with high-pressure situations. 

The upcoming International 5 showcases the increased popularity of Esports.  Image from blog.dota2.com accessed 01/06/2015

I have been watching ‘Esports’ for the past 10 or so years with games such as CS 1.6, CS:GO, WoW Arena, HotS, HoN, Dota (2) and so on.  I have always enjoyed watching competitive play and as games became a big part of my leisure time, it was somewhat natural to levitate towards watching it over conventional sports such as football or rugby.  Over this time, it has gone from strength to strength; due to the ability to easily stream with services like twitch and VoDs from YouTube; quick information access from social media and well-organised websites dedicated to presenting the news; the rise of financial support for the scene and greater level of production value being put into physical events (LANs).  Even if you didn’t have any interest in ‘Esports’, it is clear that its growth is significant and its viewer base is only going to get bigger. 

Wembley Stadium ready to show a football match.  Image from Wikipedia accessed 01/06/2015 

With all that said, there has always been the discussion of whether such a thing as a video game can be considered a sport.  There are of course many views that feel strongly one way or another, but for me I’d like to discuss this from an architectural point of view, using the stadium as a vector point.  I feel it has a way of showing how similar we are and how competitive gaming as a large-scale event visually correlates with a conventional sport event. 

Wembley changes from a football ground to a concert event.  Image from Wikipedia access 01/06/2015

The stadium itself is quite simple in its own way; with its design focusing on giving a group of people a place to come together and experience an event together with relative ease and comfort.  Regardless of whether it’s a massive venue like Wembley or a local football ground with a couple of stands; it can accommodate different events by adapting itself to suit the needs presented.  To use Wembley as an example, it is used as a football pitch for big events such as the FA cup final, but it also has music concerts for bands like AC/DC or Foo Fighters.  Structurally, the stadium hasn’t changed beyond a temporary floor and stage in the space where a pitch would be, but beyond that everything is pretty much the same.  Visitors come with their tickets in hand; clothing and banners representing their support for a group through colours and logos; and cheer / scold on the action taken by those performing.  I have talked a lot in the past about how architecture is not the bricks and mortar but the experience that people feel in a place and by taking these experiences felt during a stadium event, one can see how ‘Esports’ also create architecture by giving people the ability to come together and have these mutual feelings akin to a football supporter seeing their favourite team play. 

The International #2 (2012).  Image from Wikipedia accessed on 01/06/2015

Going back to The International, for the past 3 years the finals have been held in Seattle to a host of thousands of people in person cheering for their teams.  During the Ti2-3 era, it was played at the Benaroya Hall, but recently it has been relocated to the Key Arena which in its time has hosted musical acts, basketball games and special interest events.  The International is a high quality event with match analysis, high profile commentators and multi-pov streams alongside a user-based compendium that gives people a program-like digital book to place their predictions and receive rewards while increasing the overall prize pool.  The arena itself features a large audience who dress in their teams’ colour; hold banners showing their favourite player / team / anecdote while pennants relating to the teams sit high up in the space which are lit-up according to their progress through the tournament.  The commentators sit to the side with their thoughts broadcasted over the PA system, while a large projection gives viewers the ability to either focus on the whole picture or a particular players pov.  The audience gasps and applauds as a play is made or a hero is picked much like a goal or skilled cross in football or the start of a song for a band.  The stadium remains the same, but with some minor changes it gives all these people the ability to experience these emotions which in turn, what makes a building architecture in my view. 

The International 4 showcases the difference 2 years makes.  Image from Reddit accessed 01/06/2015

I haven’t been able to attend any of these types of events yet, but I am very much looking forward to being able to in the future.  It doesn’t really matter if you believe that video games are/not a sport, but the stadium gives us the ability to enjoy our competitive activity and the potential for a roller-coaster of emotions that come with it. 

Update on Dota 2: 1-1 but it’s looking like NA’VI are going to take game 3.  If they take this it looks like it could be 3-1 final score but we shall see.