20-20: Kaci Aitchison ANSWERS! April 15th, 2014 01:03 GMT Text by CountChocula

TABLE OF CONTENTS

20 Questions



20 Answers



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So what has Kaci been doing since we last met her? Stuff like this, mostly.







Today, however, the interviewer becomes the interviewee, as Kaci readies herself to answer the questions you throw at her. Gaben himself





Kaci will return to TI4!



Before you jump in with your questions though, you may want to refresh your memory by watching this interview of her from TI3!



Kaci will return to TI4!Before you jump in with your questions though, you may want to refresh your memory by watching this interview of her from TI3!



20 Questions

You asked the questions. Look below for the answers!



20 Answers

What was your most memorable moment of TI3? What mistake will you not make again? [Prplppleatr]



The first thing that sticks out is the very first time James tossed to me. I was excited, because doing live broadcasts and just being myself and talking to people is what I love most, but I was terrified because I knew what a passionate, tight-knit (and massive) group I was opening myself up to. I have always respected people who are passionate about something, so that was the part I knew I could relate to- but my background in gaming is horribly laughable. I mean, when my husband and I were dating, we were out at dinner one night and he mentioned he still had an old school Nintendo with the first-ever Super Mario. Growing up, we had computer games (I was really into Tomb Raider until the later levels scared the crap out of me. Also Marble Madness and Commander Keen. Anyone else? No?) but never Nintendo, so I had only ever played as a kid at friends' houses. When I found out my boyfriend had a Nintendo, I practically shoved him out of his chair and forced him to let me play. We ended up starting a tournament, and he saved the princess and I never did. I was too impatient. In fact, there's a picture somewhere that he took of the final screen saying "congratulations! you saved the princess!" or whatever, and you can see my reflection in the screen, scowling because he won before I could.



Wow, that was an impressively boring tangent. Sorry. Anyway, the first moment I was on live for the broadcast really sticks out because I knew if people hated me, I would hear about it right away. So I was incredibly shocked that people were not just kind, but extremely understanding and welcoming. It enabled me to bring THAT truth of how welcoming the community is to curious non-gamers, to other people (I hope).



I made a ton of mistakes, and a lot of them had to do with lack of familiarity with the game, with the players, and with the teams. So my hope this time is that things will be a bit more familiar, making it easier for me to study up a bit more on who's who. I have a hard time keeping track of all the teams, player names, player nicknames, which heroes they typically play, etc., so while I definitely don't expect to have that down completely this year, my goal is to feel a little more grounded than I did last year.



I will also not be asking anyone about their Michael skills, and will not proclaim to love hooking.



Hey Kaci! Hope all is well. My question for you is, have you had a chance to try out Dota 2 on your own time since your TI3 experience? Were you able to find some success? If so, what is your favourite role to play and why? [EmmdotEmm]







Just typing that last paragraph and googling those images got me excited to WATCH the pros play it. That's what I'm super pumped for- to be backstage interviewing everyone, and look up and actually understand some of what I'm seeing.



Some of the wonderful Valve peeps I worked with suggested easing into it by playing Portal first. I did do that- and really enjoyed it. I got seasick though, so I think Dota will be a lot better for that!



EDIT: Since typing this answer, Hey there! I have gone through the downloading of it. Then I freak out and exit out. Here's my fear: The minute I try it, I can fail at it, and I'm really overwhelmed by how complicated it is. That being said, I will NOT return to TI4 without trying it. I'd say "playing" it, but that's a stretch- once I do the training, will I really be good enough to play? Likely not, but I'll give it the old college try. My fear is that people will assume since it's my second year that I must suddenly totally and completely understand Dota 2. OH MY GOSH NO. My big regret is that I allowed myself to be intimidated enough to not just dive in as soon as TI3 was over. It was fresh in my mind then, and with the passage of time I'm already thinking "Wait, which one was Pudge and which one was the flying fish thing that also started with a p?" Again, visual learner. Everything that starts with the same letter is filed into the part of my brain that goes "Maybe it's this one? Eh?" And OH MY GOD I just googled "Puck" because I thought "that sounds right" and Puck is what I was picturing but how did I decide that was a flying fish?Just typing that last paragraph and googling those images got me excited to WATCH the pros play it. That's what I'm super pumped for- to be backstage interviewing everyone, and look up and actually understand some of what I'm seeing.Some of the wonderful Valve peeps I worked with suggested easing into it by playing Portal first. I did do that- and really enjoyed it. I got seasick though, so I think Dota will be a lot better for that!EDIT: Since typing this answer, I DID try it ! I went in to the training level and completed the first stage of the mechanics . I'm probably saying that wrong, but you know what I mean. It was really challenging to try and get to a reactionary point, where I automatically knew what it meant to have to go back and kill enough creeps to earn enough gold... to then go back and buy more stuff. I'm still not entirely sure how you ever remember exactly what to buy when, or which thing to use in exactly which moment, so I'm trying not to worry about that and just keep going. My goal is to just keep trying the training little by little. I will say I was surprised by how interesting it was to play. Does that make sense? It's obviously interesting to watch people play who know what they're doing, but I was surprised that even though I was confused and stumbling around, it was actually pretty fun!



Hi Kaci, really appreciate what you have done in TI3! All the interviews you've conducted have been really great and it adds a unique flavor to the event. My question is, what are your expectations about TI4? More specifically, what stories do you want to bring out to Dota 2 audiences watching on stream as well as the rest of the world in general. Thanks! [GabeN]



Great question, and thank you for the kind compliment. TI4 is going to be so much bigger (which is hard to imagine, right?) My expectations are that it will be a bigger opportunity to reach a wider audience, especially in person since the venue (if it's at the arena, I'm not sure if that's confirmed or not) is so much bigger, so I love the idea of getting to interact one on one with even more people.



As for stories, I've started thinking about that recently. What I'd like to do is catch up on what teams are coming and really look back at what they've been up to the last YEAR. I love having that perspective and being able to ask players about how far they've come, what they've changed, what they haven't, what it's been like aiming for this gigantic goal of playing in (and winning) The International. Those are the stories I'm excited about, getting to really know the players a bit more. One thing I'd like to do is redirect your question to the community- in the weeks leading up, I'll start using social media to ask YOU all what YOU want to know this year. I'm here for you- I want to bring people at home the best experience possible, so anything I can do to connect you with the event on a more personal level is what I aspire to do.



I'm also hoping to do more with the station I work for and try to do a story in the week prior. I don't for sure that they'll be able to make that happen, so no promises, BUT I would love to try and do something so we can really localize the event for our viewers and give them a glimpse into this huge amazing thing that's going on in their backyard... something that has an international spotlight on it, too!



I'm curious as to how much you have learned about Dota 2 since TI3. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that Purge was coaching you through various questions as you had no idea what was going on. Do you think that you will need such coaching, or do you think you have enough knowledge about the game/scene that you will be standing more on your own there? [Bladgrim]



Purge was SO helpful, and I also had a couple of Valve people who would sit with me and answer all of my stupid questions as they came up. I learned a TON about Dota 2 during the tournament, so that by the end of it I wasn't having to ask as many of the basic questions to my colleagues before going in to interviews. I understood what I was seeing even if I wasn't sure why I knew what I knew. Does that make sense? I actually surprised myself when we did a quick story on the tournament on the morning show at Q13 FOX the next week- I found myself explaining it to my colleagues and cohost, and they actually went "oh my gosh- i get it! that sounds awesome!" so that was really the first time I realized I had retained more than I thought.



I will definitely need some coaching again this year, but my hope is that I won't need it AS much. I came up with a lot of my own questions last year, especially towards the end, when it came to just talking to the players about how they were feeling and what it was like, but where I needed Purge to help was when I knew people watching at home wanted to know about "that thing that just happened that the audience freaked out over". That's what I would get from him quite often- I had him explain what I saw and why people were shocked/excited over it. That would help me know how to set up the specific in-game questions. I really hope Purge is there (along with others) to guide me again, but I'm hoping the help I need is on the next level, where I know the basics but still need guidance on some of the more nuanced things. Now that I got to know some of the players (I'm hoping some of them are coming back) that will make it even more fun to feel like "Hey, it's you!" instead of "tell me your name and what team you're on again?"



What do you think are the biggest challenges facing you as you return for your second international? [Gulf]



The one that I'm most nervous about is the challenge to just do a good job. I had SUCH a blast last year and people were so welcoming, I'm now putting more pressure on myself. It's like coming back to a new school after having a pretty good first week. "Will they still like me?" "What if I try playing Dota and can't even make it out of the training? Will they think I'm an idiot?" I just so badly want to showcase the tournament in the way it deserves, and I hope me being a terrible or barely-able-to-play dota player doesn't detract from that. I want to do a better job of remembering some of the key components of the game, keep better track of the teams and the players (so many nicknames to remember, oy!) and also hopefully do some more with the station I work with to bring the story to the local community.



How are you approaching your role as host differently this time? [TundrA]



I feel a greater responsibility. Before, I went in almost blindly defensive, like "I have no idea what this is and good god I hope I don't mess anything up, but hopefully I do a good job for them." Now, I feel like these are my people and I need to protect them and represent them in the way they deserve. It's more personal. This is a community that many outsiders see as "exclusive" and perhaps cold to outsiders. That wasn't my experience at all, and my goal is to SHOW people who may not be familiar with this that we have some of the smartest people in the world converging right here in our backyard for a tournament worth millions. And beyond that- there are hard core Dota 2 fans who will be watching, and I want to personalize the tournament for those who can't be there. I actually GET all of that now- before, I had no idea what I was walking into.



Most esports are massively male-dominated, with few to no professional-level female players and only a handful of major female personalities in major esports titles. Would you like to see more women get involved in esports? If so, what do you think has to happen to make that a reality? [RuiBarbO]



Absolutely. I wish I knew the answer to the 'how' part. I think making it more social to outsiders helps, to be frank. Imagine if more young girls were exposed to what this tournament was all about, they might go "I want to do that!" and start young. I know there are female teams out there, but I don't know why they don't get as much exposure- I find it hard to believe that people wouldn't WANT to watch women in a tournament, but I'm not familiar enough with the scene to give a fair answer as to why that is and what we need to do. But I do know that getting out the story of TI4 and the scene in general will only help- people who learn about it won't see it as this strange thing that 'other people do'- they may start playing themselves, or if their kid comes to them and says they want to play, they'll be more supportive.



What do esports need to do better to encourage more and bigger sponsors to come into the scene? [uberxD]



I think finding ways to open up to a larger audience will help. It's not just about tournaments for gamers- it's tournaments for EVERYONE. I'm not a gamer, but I really enjoyed watching TI3. And let me be clear- I understood NOTHING of it when I started. That's not the point. Here's an example- after TI3, I ran a very brief story on the final round during our morning show at the local station I work for. We showed the teams playing, the crowd going bonkers, and the giant screens. Not a single co worker understood what they were seeing, but they ALL told me it looked AWESOME and they were intrigued. So I think sponsorships are the same- if we can continue to be accepting to the fact that maybe non-gamers will also get a huge kick out of watching, esports can cater portions of the broadcast to that, for example.



The community is keen to draw parallels between esports and traditional sports. Do you see any fundamental differences between the two? Is there anything that sets esports apart from traditional sports? [Dapper_Cad]



This is a tough one. I watched a lot of threads about this, and some gamers feel very strongly that esports ARE sports, while others seemed to think they didn't WANT to be compared because it WAS different. I think the biggest difference is in reception. People grow up learning how to accept people who play football, or baseball, or tennis, etc. as athletes who are passionate about a game. It's generally accepted. People who don't play tennis still watch tennis. I don't play football but I love watching it. Esports can have the same trajectory, but in a different way, perhaps. I think a lot of gamers need to go through the extra step of convincing their parents that gaming is a 'real' passion, a 'real sport', or a 'real' career path. Football players don't typically battle that. They say "I'm going to play football in college" and everyone goes "great! awesome." People say "I'm going to be a pro gamer" and people who aren't gamers might be like, "wait, you can do that?" That's the biggest difference. I have often said that was MY stereotype of esports coming into this. When I sat there for three or four days and watched the tournament, this light went off for me, like "this IS exactly like football." And of course the two activities are completely different, but what I mean is the passion, the strategy, the different levels of competition, the team camaraderie, the team rivalry- all of those components are what make observers fans of other sports. Why not esports? I think it's an issue of making it more accessible to people who aren't gamers but love watching.



Do you think if a single association or league, like the NBA for basketball, existed for a game like Dota 2 the number of audience, investors, or teams (both development/semi-amateur or professional) could grow to a more global scale? [Advantageous]



Oh man. Great question. I don't feel like I know enough about the esports industry to answer that, because I'm not even entirely sure what the esports model is for this now, really. It's an interesting theory, but it would be tougher- it couldn't just be on a national level, because part of the charm and intrigue is the battle between players on an international level/stage. Would an international association work for something like this? I don't know. I wish I had a better answer for this.



If your child come to you and said "Mom, after highschool I'm taking x years break, I want to be a progamer," how would you react? [RagnaRock]



Honestly, I would be stunned, because my husband and I are both clowns who aren't particularly good at gaming (my husband may disagree with me on that) so my first question would be "who are your real parents?" but my second question would be "how much time and effort have you put into this and are you truly ready to get serious?" If the answer is "yes" then I would support them. It's all about "are you taking a risk to support what you're passionate about"? Because I'm all about that. If my kid came to me his senior year and said "hey, so, I'd like to be a rock star." My answer would depend on what the years leading up to this moment showed. Has my kid been listening to music while staring at the wall and eating cheese puffs? Or has my kid been jamming in a band, writing songs, reaching out to music teachers for feedback, that sort of thing. If it's the latter, I would say "that's awesome and I support you" because it would be clear that it wasn't just about idealism or 'being rich and famous'- it would be a true dream of his rooted in a very real love of music. Gaming would be the same. If my kid was like, "Hey, I'm going to be a pro gamer" and his gaming resume is 7 Saturdays of Duck Hunt, then the answer is no. But if he's been seriously into gaming for a bit and has reached that point where he needs to really go for it and see what he can do (or SHE, by the way, all of these fake scenarios would easily be a she too) then I'd be all for it.



How does it feel to be so positively accepted into an entire new community? Do you think part of it has to do with yourself and your own personality (Ex. - saying Michael skills and having it be a joke for a day and still smile about it)? Were you determined to be a fan favourite from the start? Because it clearly worked! [NbSky]



It's incredibly awesome and scary at the same time. I'm a huge ham and a huge people person but I'm also slightly insecure when it comes to what people think of me. I just want to be accepted, and I sometimes wish I were a little more "I don't care what people think/say, I love me just as I am!" but I'm just not wired that way. I love love love people, and part of that is hoping people accept me. It's scary because I feel like there's no where to go but down! People were so nice to me! This year, what if I have a horrible cringe worthy mistake? I have no problem making fun of myself, but I still want to be professional. I will say that I have never been afraid of looking foolish, or looking unpolished or less than perfect. The reason is that I personally have always related more to people who are a bit more transparent and rough around the edges. People who always say the right thing and look perfect make me nervous- "don't they have any insecurities like me? what are they REALLY thinking?" so my goal has been with EVERY story I tell to tell it from as honest and genuine a perspective as I can. I do hope that's part of what helped people accept me, and I'm not planning on showing up to TI4 as a sudden Dota expert. That's just clearly not who I am, and I'm not about to pretend I'm suddenly an esports expert. But I do know SLIGHTLY more now than I did last year- like, perhaps when the caster asks me something about micro skills, I won't wonder who this "Michael" character is!



Oh, and to your last question- oh my gosh, no. I was just determined to NOT BE HATED. I think it's a mistake to go into something thinking "at the end of this, I hope people like me best!" Ugh. How grating that would be. I say that because, if you go back to what I said at the beginning of this answer, I'm a people pleaser, and from experience I can tell you when I've done that, it just comes across as desperate, and frankly phony. Wanting to be liked? Sure. I figured most people would be like "eh, who's the idiot? I guess she's ok." but was hoping it would end at that and not turn into a hate fest.



Did TI3 open or close any doors for you? [prplhz]



Open! Open open open! It opened my eyes to this whole new world that I could tell stories about, and it's a world I very much want to continue being a part of. I'm currently a features host for the local fox affiliate (we're owned by Tribune, not Fox News Channel, just to clear that common question up!) but for awhile I was anchoring the news. I enjoyed it, but it was hard talking about murders and robberies, etc. because I missed telling stories about what POSITIVE things people were doing. This was such a great reminder that there are so many things out there needing their story told.



Has anyone in your personal life (nephew, niece, cousin co-worker or friend’s kid, etc.) brought up their interest or passion in gaming/esports since your appearance at TI3? [OuchyDathurts]



I did have most of my friends and family come around on the idea of WATCHING the tournament this time around, so that's actually pretty huge since none of my family members or close friends come from a gaming background. I do have this friend who coincidentally had started the tutorial for Dota 2 around the same time I started hosting TI3, so it was fun to talk to him about it afterwards. Actually, he made me feel a lot better because he's one of the smartest people I know, and even HE was intimidated about going outside of the tutorial and playing against real people!





Last year you ran a piece on TI3 on your TV station after the event. Will you do another one before the tournament this year to get it a bit of public attention? [Julmust]



I can't confirm anything because it is ultimately up to my managers to approve, but I fully plan on doing a story on our air surrounding the tournament. I'm actually hoping to do one in the week leading up to it, and maybe once again when it's over.



Kaci, you stated in your previous Hot_Bid interview that your gaming experience was limited to playing on an old Nintendo Console. Has TI3 inspired you to play more games? If Yes, which ones? [Rustug]



I played some Portal as a result- the Valve folks I worked with took a look at my short gaming resume and suggested that would be a better place to start (as opposed to jumping straight into Dota). I really love Portal- I like puzzles and it's fun trying to figure out how to get the cube into another room by looking at the angle you need to fall out of the portal from. But good god it made me sea sick. On one level, I had to keep circling up these stairs to get enough momentum to go through the portal at the right speed, and I kept MISSING the damn hole. So up I would spiral again, and five minutes later everything was spinning! Egads!



Hi Kaci! It is SO great to see you're back for TI4! (I can't believe it's almost been 1 year!!) I know you love Seattle but would you ever consider becoming a full time Dota tournament host if the scene got really big? If not, would you consider travelling to host another dota event? [2016anywhere]



I can't believe it's almost been a year either! It's gone by super fast. I do love Seattle, but I would always consider traveling to host another Dota event. It would be so cool to meet people all over who are doing this.



Who is your favorite Dota 2 commentator and why? [Lucumo]



Ooooh that's a tough one. The only ones I know are the ones i worked with, and I only really saw them in action when they were tossing to me- the rest of the time we were pretty separated backstage. I can't believe I'm going to fuel the ego, but I will say my CURRENT favorite is Juno (I'm combing James and Bruno because I can't decide), because they can dish it but they can also take it, and i appreciate a good sarcasm slugfest. They were ALL awesome, though, truly.



Do you have a favorite quote from one of the Dota 2 heroes, especially after meeting some of the voice actors at TI3? [Donathan]



I actually don't- one of the tough things about being backstage for the tournament was that we couldn't hear the in-game sound from the heroes. I was telling everyone backstage how scary Timbersaw was to me, and everyone stopped and looked at me and laughed, saying if I heard his voice and his dialogue in game I wouldn't feel that way at all! I guess he's scared of trees? I thought he was all badass about trees, so that shows how much I know. So that was funny to me. Honestly, just hearing the voice that says "Your bottom tower is under attack" and stuff will make me happy because it reminds me of being backstage watching the games trying to decide where to look with all the action!







Are you going to rap for us at TI4? We saw the video, we know you can do it :D [gosublade]



If I show up well rested, it is on. Can I rap Ludacris? I seriously love Ludacris. I will rap Ludacris all day.





Bonus Questions

Considering the slowly increasing mainstream acceptance of gaming, and the huge success of competitive gaming as a spectator sport in particular over the last few years, what is your favourite type of cake? [ControlMonkey]



The cake is a lie.











Will you be doing a Lina cosplay for TI4? [malcram]



No. Will Puppey?







Will you participate in a Dota 2 showmatch played by commentators, analysts and interviewers and commentated by players at TI4, and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people? If so, what role or hero would you play? [mr_chapy]



I highly doubt I'll be good enough to, but if I were, I'd pick Timbersaw since now I feel sorry for him, or (googles heroes to jog memory) Gyrocopter! I forgot about him! He was fun to watch.







When is your Dota 2 announcer pack coming out? [FinestHour]



That would be cool!







Please give some advice for travelers who have never been to Seattle. I need it to plan my trip. Thanks! [hmsrenown]



Seattle is awesome. Try to give yourself an extra couple of days and walk down by the waterfront, through Pike Place Market. Bring a light rain coat- the natives typically stay away from umbrellas! Drive over to Alki in West Seattle to look back at the skyline- it's gorgeous!











Writer: CountChocula

Gfx: riptide

Editor: riptide

Images via: Valve

: CountChocula: riptide: riptide It's been a while since Kaci Aitchison did her last Q&A with the community , and we felt that it was time we heard from her again! We don't need to tell you that Kaci was a hit at TI3, or that she not only gave the broadcast colour but also made it accessible to a host of viewers who were new to Dota, just like her. After all, not every host can pull something like this off!So what has Kaci been doing since we last met her? Stuff like this, mostly.Today, however, the interviewer becomes the interviewee, as Kaci readies herself to answer the questions you throw at her. Gaben himself confirmed that Kaci will be at TI4 , and now here she is, just months away from hosting the Dota tournament of the year for the second consecutive time. What will you ask her? 我会让他们连馒头都吃不到 Those championships owed me over the years, I will take them back one by one.