With soccer, all you need to play with your friends is a ball, a field, and something to mark the goalposts. For esports, even the most causal pickup game requires significantly more setup. Each player needs a full computer, internet connection, desk, and chair. Major esports tournaments magnify this challenge hundredfold by adding in streaming computers, cameras, lighting, and hundreds, if not thousands, of feet of cables.

ARAM CEO Rafal Mrzyglocki tackles the challenge of the unique production needs of esports tournaments every day. His company specializes in full-service design, rental, and technical production for large-scale esports events. ARAM has worked across the world helping to produce events for top-level tournament organizers like ESL .

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”While attending an esports event, people want to have that feeling that they are so close to their idols.”[/perfectpullquote]

Rafal described his company’s work to The Esports Observer rather succinctly:

“Imagine building a concert stage for billboard top stars with all that multimedia, lights and powerful audio system. Then put 10 people in the middle of it so they won’t be affected by the show so they can play their game. Sounds like a challenge? That’s what we do.”

ARAM has been working in event production for nearly 20 years producing music festivals and corporate events. The Warsaw-based company has also worked in television production for shows like “The Voice” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

Rafal himself took over ARAM at the age of 17 when his father passed away in 1997. The company had a much smaller scale at the time, and Rafal wanted to find “a new path of growth for ARAM.” After a late delivery of a projector got his team in trouble with a client, Rafal purchased his own projector and began building the company’s stock of production equipment for rental and internal use.

“Now, 20 years later, we have one of the largest stock of lighting and video equipment in Eastern Europe.”

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In 2014, ARAM partnered with ESL for Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice. “We are responsible for designing the look of the stage, planning, lighting design and providing all equipment,” he said. “For a client like ESL, it’s a one-stop-shop solution.”

While the company had plenty of experience in operating other events, Rafal explained that his team learned quickly that esports events had their own unique set of challenges.

“We learn a lot and collect huge experience on all levels. We put a lot of broadcast and TV production experience into esports while working with ESL for so many years, which taught us how the esports events are different and what is important.”

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“For a client like ESL, it’s a one-stop-shop solution.”[/perfectpullquote]

For ARAM, the most important aspect of an esports tournament is the professional players competing on the stage. He described his team’s vision of esports stages as being similar to that of concerts. “There are many elements that are common,” he said. “Technologies that we are incorporating are comparable, but how we are using them and the goal…is different.”

“First of all, instead of musicians on the stage, we have pro players. They are the stars that everyone came to watch. While attending an esports event, people want to have that feeling that they are so close to their idols. In the same time they cannot be too close because that might interrupt them. There are actually many elements that may interrupt the players—the lights, the audio.”

Not interrupting the players is critical to Rafal because the impact of distracting production design carries much more weight in esports than in ARAM’s other projects. A production failure at a concert or television shoot might ruin a small element of a show, but production delays at an esports event can influence the results of a professional-level competition.

“Players are super important as that is a tournament and the stakes are many times bigger,” he said.

To ensure that the production is designed well and doesn’t affect competitive integrity, Rafal says that having team members who understand esports is crucial.

“Listen, and bring to your team people that know what esports is and how to play with it. Work with partners that have experience in esports events. Use their know-how, give your ideas so in the end you can create together a great experience for your audience both in-house and online.”