Cat Dota: Towards New Horizons in Esports Coverage June 5th, 2014 13:35 GMT Text by The Mediocre Gatsby

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Cat Dota:

Towards New Horizons

in Esports Coverage





The premier sporting event on the planet, the World Cup, is less than two weeks away. It's lauded not only for showcasing some of the best soccer on the planet, or for stoking national pride on a worldwide scale. No, the main appeal of the World Cup is that it is an event, a whirlwind experience that connects fans not only with the players, but with each other in a jubilant setting.



Dota 2, despite its appeal to people all over the globe, doesn't yet have the communal excitement or involvement of the World Cup. But it took a big step in that direction with the advent of its own World Cup--the TI4 Qualifiers--and specifically with a certain stream's coverage.



I'm talking, of course, about the GD Studio lounge stream, which presented not a new way to watch Dota 2, but a new way to experience the community of Dota 2. Beginning as a novel idea initially focused on Dota, it slowly unraveled into a "Big Brother"-type show that never ended, prompting memes, highlights reels, and countless gifs. From the epic Fnatic vs. C9 Mario Party battles to the "





Bruno's late night chats let fans vicariously socialise with its favourite community personalities. Bruno's late night chats let fans vicariously socialise with its favourite community personalities.

So what does this have to do with Dota 2 the game? Very little. But it has big implications for Dota 2 as an esport in the way it's marketed and experienced. The big victory of the stream wasn't that it threw a bunch of Dota 2 personalities on a couch and let them wax Dota. No, the stream succeeded because, far from providing in-depth coverage of the game itself, it focused on everything but Dota. And, perhaps surprisingly, what resulted was that the players, casters, and personalities shown became more humanized, people to hang out with rather than idiots to yell at.



Unlike conventional sports, where the media circus lets us know not only each player's struggle and history, but also their most recent haircut, favorite food, etc, Dota 2 has players that are just as visible (or even more so), but far more distant. A typical Twitch stream goes like this: player comes on, greets chat, starts game, plays, wins some, loses some, gets tired, says goodbye to chat, game off. All the while they're just a tiny head in the corner of the screen, the game at hand taking the most attention.



It makes sense. We're all playing Dota, after all. But just as Shaq is as well-known for his on-court antics as his off-court ones, the chance to see pro players be imperfect, be normal, be people has an indelible appeal. Sport is an extension of a person's passion, and so we can identify the goofiness of Dendi in his Pudge, or see the precision of BurNing in his Anti-Mage.



But that tells us nothing about how they act as individuals, what their desires and fears are. The lounge stream, by presenting an outlet away from Dota, gave viewers a glimpse of players dealing with more mundane forms of entertainment or adversity. Much can be said about PieLieDie the Dota 2 player based on his selfless support play, but much more can be said about him as a person for his reactions to Mario Party, and how he supported his C9 friend SingSing to the end.





Turns out Mario party can tell us a lot about Dota players! Turns out Mario party can tell us a lot about Dota players!

We also got to know many people on a much more personal level, thanks to things like Bruno's aforementioned monologues, or the return of famed Quake player Sujoy. More pertinent, however, were the words of Kuroky, who waxed philosophically about his life and ambitions between spouts of picture-perfect Dota memories (my personal favorite was his maxim "in order to love the love of my life, I need to love the life I live"). Also interesting were his thoughts of the stream as a whole, where he claimed that a lounge stream was a valuable opportunity to share your story to other people in a way that wasn't forced or overproduced. In other words, when it's simple and genuine.



Not surprisingly, when the players and casters engaged with the viewers as people, the viewers responded right back, providing a template for how to effectively engage with a viewing audience. While regular TV is still reticent to engage fully with second-screen functionality, the streaming format allows for instant interaction, meaning content is created in real time. The analogues to TV are numerous: whereas a regular channel might have a viewer drive that is interactive-yet-impersonal, the GD stream took questions both professional and personal and ran with them; while TV might have supplementary materials on a website, the GD stream played games with their viewers, both intentional (Pictionary) and not (the KITTEN UNDER COUCH'' episode).



James "2GD" Harding said as much on the first episode of "The GD Show" to air after the stream closed, calling the lounge a "friend simulator" and outlining his general plan for it: "The most important thing for the viewer is, did you remember it?, and do you want more of it?” Harding went on to say that, though the TI qualifiers may not have had the level of quality as other competitions, they nevertheless had very high stakes, and therefore staked his bet on the qualifiers more as an event to embrace the world surrounding Dota than as a celebration of the game itself. Because, while the glory is performed by the heroes in the game, it's the players behind them -- and more specifically the people behind those players -- that are the real ones worth rooting for.





Credits:

Writers: The Mediocre Gatsby

Editors: Firebolt145, riptide

Photo via: Writers: The Mediocre GatsbyEditors: Firebolt145, riptidePhoto via: GD Studio

The premier sporting event on the planet, the World Cup, is less than two weeks away. It's lauded not only for showcasing some of the best soccer on the planet, or for stoking national pride on a worldwide scale. No, the main appeal of the World Cup is that it is an event, a whirlwind experience that connects fans not only with the players, but with each other in a jubilant setting.Dota 2, despite its appeal to people all over the globe, doesn't yet have the communal excitement or involvement of the World Cup. But it took a big step in that direction with the advent of its own World Cup--the TI4 Qualifiers--and specifically with a certain stream's coverage.I'm talking, of course, about the GD Studio lounge stream, which presented not a new way to watch Dota 2, but a new way to experience the community of Dota 2. Beginning as a novel idea initially focused on Dota, it slowly unraveled into a "Big Brother"-type show that never ended, prompting memes, highlights reels, and countless gifs. From the epic Fnatic vs. C9 Mario Party battles to the " Late Night with Bruno Carlucci " monologues, the stream provided a wide spectrum of content from Dota 2's more familiar faces. And I haven't even mentioned the kittens yet.So what does this have to do with Dota 2 the game? Very little. But it has big implications for Dota 2 as an esport in the way it's marketed and experienced. The big victory of the stream wasn't that it threw a bunch of Dota 2 personalities on a couch and let them wax Dota. No, the stream succeeded because, far from providing in-depth coverage of the game itself, it focused on everything but Dota. And, perhaps surprisingly, what resulted was that the players, casters, and personalities shown became more humanized, people to hang out with rather than idiots to yell at.Unlike conventional sports, where the media circus lets us know not only each player's struggle and history, but also their most recent haircut, favorite food, etc, Dota 2 has players that are just as visible (or even more so), but far more distant. A typical Twitch stream goes like this: player comes on, greets chat, starts game, plays, wins some, loses some, gets tired, says goodbye to chat, game off. All the while they're just a tiny head in the corner of the screen, the game at hand taking the most attention.It makes sense. We're all playing Dota, after all. But just as Shaq is as well-known for his on-court antics as his off-court ones, the chance to see pro players be imperfect, be normal, be people has an indelible appeal. Sport is an extension of a person's passion, and so we can identify the goofiness of Dendi in his Pudge, or see the precision of BurNing in his Anti-Mage.But that tells us nothing about how they act as individuals, what their desires and fears are. The lounge stream, by presenting an outlet away from Dota, gave viewers a glimpse of players dealing with more mundane forms of entertainment or adversity. Much can be said about PieLieDie the Dota 2 player based on his selfless support play, but much more can be said about him as a person for his reactions to Mario Party, and how he supported his C9 friend SingSing to the end.We also got to know many people on a much more personal level, thanks to things like Bruno's aforementioned monologues, or the return of famed Quake player Sujoy. More pertinent, however, were the words of Kuroky, who waxed philosophically about his life and ambitions between spouts of picture-perfect Dota memories (my personal favorite was his maxim "in order to love the love of my life, I need to love the life I live"). Also interesting were his thoughts of the stream as a whole, where he claimed that a lounge stream was a valuable opportunity to share your story to other people in a way that wasn't forced or overproduced. In other words, when it's simple and genuine.Not surprisingly, when the players and casters engaged with the viewers as people, the viewers responded right back, providing a template for how to effectively engage with a viewing audience. While regular TV is still reticent to engage fully with second-screen functionality, the streaming format allows for instant interaction, meaning content is created in real time. The analogues to TV are numerous: whereas a regular channel might have a viewer drive that is interactive-yet-impersonal, the GD stream took questions both professional and personal and ran with them; while TV might have supplementary materials on a website, the GD stream played games with their viewers, both intentional (Pictionary) and not (the KITTEN UNDER COUCH'' episode).James "2GD" Harding said as much on the first episode of "The GD Show" to air after the stream closed, calling the lounge a "friend simulator" and outlining his general plan for it: "The most important thing for the viewer is, did you remember it?, and do you want more of it?” Harding went on to say that, though the TI qualifiers may not have had the level of quality as other competitions, they nevertheless had very high stakes, and therefore staked his bet on the qualifiers more as an event to embrace the world surrounding Dota than as a celebration of the game itself. Because, while the glory is performed by the heroes in the game, it's the players behind them -- and more specifically the people behind those players -- that are the real ones worth rooting for. Arrange whatever pieces come your way.

ReignSupreme. Profile Joined September 2012 Australia 1853 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 13:43:34 #2



In my opinion the only downside to the GD stream was Twitch Chat and it's interaction with the personalities. I have a dream, that one day this medium will rise up and find the perfect solution to removing copypasta and low content bullshit.

I have a dream, that my children will never have to grow up knowing of Kappa, or XXXXXXXX (No Space).

I have a dream today.

Oh and maybe also the... competition(?) between BTS and GD/joinDOTA. Not that it was a competition per se, but still I can imagine it sucks when BTS were drawing 20k+ viewers while the accompanying jD stream had 2k. Oh and maybe also the... competition(?) between BTS and GD/joinDOTA. Not that it was a competition per se, but still I can imagine it sucks when BTS were drawing 20k+ viewers while the accompanying jD stream had 2k.

atrox_ Profile Joined November 2010 United Kingdom 139 Posts #3 On June 05 2014 22:41 ReignSupreme. wrote:

In my opinion the only downside to the GD stream was Twitch Chat and it's interaction with the personalities.



Show nested quote +

I have a dream, that one day this medium will rise up and find the perfect solution to removing copypasta and low content bullshit.

I have a dream, that my children will never have to grow up knowing of Kappa, or XXXXXXXX (No Space).

I have a dream today.

Oh and maybe also the... competition(?) between BTS and GD/joinDOTA. Not that it was a competition per se, but still I can imagine it sucks when BTS were drawing 20k+ viewers while the accompanying jD stream had 2k. In my opinion the only downside to the GD stream was Twitch Chat and it's interaction with the personalities.Oh and maybe also the... competition(?) between BTS and GD/joinDOTA. Not that it was a competition per se, but still I can imagine it sucks when BTS were drawing 20k+ viewers while the accompanying jD stream had 2k.



I feel that the Twitch chat was one of the better things to come out of the lounge stream. The people on camera can only keep you entertained for so long before they become bored themselves in this 24/7 format.



Though as always, there is the option to hide the chat so if that was your only complaint then it was a huge success for you at least I feel that the Twitch chat was one of the better things to come out of the lounge stream. The people on camera can only keep you entertained for so long before they become bored themselves in this 24/7 format.Though as always, there is the option to hide the chat so if that was your only complaint then it was a huge success for you at least

Liquid`Nazgul Profile Joined September 2002 258 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 13:58:18 #4 The Kuroky Q&A was easily my highlight. Administrator

malcram Profile Joined November 2010 2417 Posts #5 if anything, it just shows that the viewers know where to go for what kind of content. i'm sure most of us had the BTS stream on for the games and the EU Lounge stream up at the same time for the entertainment.



competition or not between both studios, it's a good opportunity for them to learn from the strengths of each other. just got to set egos aside and grow with the community. drama always doesn't help.

Liquid`Nazgul Profile Joined September 2002 258 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 14:27:32 #6 On June 05 2014 23:23 malcram wrote:

if anything, it just shows that the viewers know where to go for what kind of content. i'm sure most of us had the BTS stream on for the games and the EU Lounge stream up at the same time for the entertainment.



competition or not between both studios, it's a good opportunity for them to learn from the strengths of each other. just got to set egos aside and grow with the community. drama always doesn't help.

Overall I didn't watch EU all that much. I had the kittens open at times of boredness and when the games started I always went to BTS. Got the Kuroky Q&A from Reddit after it happened and it was great. Overall I didn't watch EU all that much. I had the kittens open at times of boredness and when the games started I always went to BTS. Got the Kuroky Q&A from Reddit after it happened and it was great. Administrator

strongandbig Profile Joined October 2010 United States 133 Posts #7 I feel like I would've gotten more out of the couch stream if I was watching on my computer rather than my phone... I've played enough dota that I can tell what's going on on a phone screen, but the couch stream was harder (plus it's harder to join in the middle of a conversation than the middle of a dota game).



That said, the article makes a god point I believe about the personalization/humanization of dota players.



I think the day9 daily show and the HomeStoryCup really need to be mentioned here, however, as having pioneered a similar concept in another game.



I watched the daily two or more times a week for year, and the reason it was so successful was that day9 was really good at making the kind of connection the author talks about.



The hsc especially seems like it did exactly the same thing as the couch stream. Maybe rather than really innovative, this went more towards adapting a pre-existing successful model. "It's the torso" "only more so!"

Liquid`Nazgul Profile Joined September 2002 258 Posts #8 On June 05 2014 23:25 strongandbig wrote:

I feel like I would've gotten more out of the couch stream if I was watching on my computer rather than my phone... I've played enough dota that I can tell what's going on on a phone screen, but the couch stream was harder (plus it's harder to join in the middle of a conversation than the middle of a dota game).



That said, the article makes a god point I believe about the personalization/humanization of dota players.



I think the day9 daily show and the HomeStoryCup really need to be mentioned here, however, as having pioneered a similar concept in another game.



I watched the daily two or more times a week for year, and the reason it was so successful was that day9 was really good at making the kind of connection the author talks about.



The hsc especially seems like it did exactly the same thing as the couch stream. Maybe rather than really innovative, this went more towards adapting a pre-existing successful model.

HSC live right now in fact! HSC live right now in fact! Administrator

Unleashing Profile Joined March 2011 Denmark 11285 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 14:32:19 #9 I agree with most of this article.

Was a very enjoyable experience.



I got to pick and choose my casters for the game inside the game client and got great entertainment between games and got to know the pros better. Was great. From the Ghastly Eyrie I can see to the ends of the world, and from this vantage point I declare with utter certainty that this one is in the bag!

Fwizzz Profile Joined May 2012 Philippines 2668 Posts #10 lounge stream was very enjoyable. seeing fanatic vs c9 on playing mario kart was very funny.

teapoted Profile Joined August 2012 United Kingdom 13122 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 14:57:06 #11 I think the lounge stream was an enormous waste of resources and a shoddy effort from the GDStudio.



Sure, if you have a camera on a bunch of people in the scene you will get some enjoyable moments over the course of 2 weeks, but I really disagree with the importance you (the writer) seem to be placing on this kind of experience.



I think the lounge stream was one of the worst products TheGDStudio have ever put out. It was 2 weeks of twitch chat pandering and self-serving nonsense, granted, with some sprinkles of good stuff in between. It seemed to be an incredibly lazy of a set up, it's an easy excuse to say "this is what we wanted", but that doesn't mean you can't get the same effect at a much higher quality which will be entertaining for more people for longer. It was quite obvious by the viewer numbers that people quite quickly started losing interest. Considering the star-power, I don't think that was unavoidable.



And then there's the side issue that you're essentially taking attention away from a tournament (which you're not running) to produce this. Am I saying they're not allowed to do that? Of course not, but if you have all of these resources and you are officially the "euhub" (and yes they had an official stream, although theGDStudio originally weren't even going to have that, Tobi made them set it up and it was clear it wasn't a priority in the least), then I do think there should be a responsibility to bring attention to the teams who are actually playing. And not to a bunch of people who are already enormous names in the scene. (that's why they were invited after all, it's not like these people needed help)



I liked the way the GDStudio used to run tournaments in SC2. And the GDCouch at DH. And the GDShow (although that's also been pretty lackluster since they got into Dota heavily).



But this felt very little like the GDCouch. Presumably because the GDCouch was actually at the event, it had players who were playing in the tournament. It was casual, but it was still rooted in the tournament and in eSports. As for the lounge stream, you could have watched just about anything else in between games and gotten the same thing out of the tournament. Once you Goblak...

Vansetsu Profile Joined October 2010 United States 175 Posts #12 On June 05 2014 23:24 Liquid`Nazgul wrote:

Show nested quote +

On June 05 2014 23:23 malcram wrote:

if anything, it just shows that the viewers know where to go for what kind of content. i'm sure most of us had the BTS stream on for the games and the EU Lounge stream up at the same time for the entertainment.



competition or not between both studios, it's a good opportunity for them to learn from the strengths of each other. just got to set egos aside and grow with the community. drama always doesn't help.

Overall I didn't watch EU all that much. I had the kittens open at times of boredness and when the games started I always went to BTS. Got the Kuroky Q&A from Reddit after it happened and it was great. Overall I didn't watch EU all that much. I had the kittens open at times of boredness and when the games started I always went to BTS. Got the Kuroky Q&A from Reddit after it happened and it was great.



Any link to the kuroky ama? :D Any link to the kuroky ama? :D Only by overcoming many obstacles does a river become - デイヴィ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ド

malcram Profile Joined November 2010 2417 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 15:18:44 #13 http://www.twitch.tv/thegdstudio/b/531031153?t=19h10m



Q & A with Kuroky Q & A with Kuroky

cecek Profile Joined August 2011 Czech Republic 11248 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 15:19:17 #14 I hated the couch stream.

I think that way GD studio covered the qualifiers was extremely disrespectful towards Valve and the teams. They are given a perfect product from Valve, the tournament needs little effort from them (no money, no admining, etc.) and they are the de facto official stream. What do they do? They make this 'esports reality show', which drew a huge amount of attention away from the teams competing (who were supposed to be the main focus of the tournament) towards themselves and a few selected personalities. Not only that, but it was also bad on a technical level. Audio was shit, you could barely hear anyone with the 2 microphones, there was no structure, no schedule. Nothing.



We discussed it to death in general discussion a couple weeks ago. I basically agree with teapoted, but he articulated his post much better. super gg

TRAP[yoo] Profile Joined December 2009 Hungary 3274 Posts #15 On June 05 2014 23:53 teapoted wrote:

I think the lounge stream was an enormous waste of resources and a shoddy effort from the GDStudio.



Sure, if you have a camera on a bunch of people in the scene you will get some enjoyable moments over the course of 2 weeks, but I really disagree with the importance you (the writer) seem to be placing on this kind of experience.



I think the lounge stream was one of the worst products TheGDStudio have ever put out. It was 2 weeks of twitch chat pandering and self-serving nonsense, granted, with some sprinkles of good stuff in between. It seemed to be an incredibly lazy of a set up, it's an easy excuse to say "this is what we wanted", but that doesn't mean you can't get the same effect at a much higher quality which will be entertaining for more people for longer. It was quite obvious by the viewer numbers that people quite quickly started losing interest. Considering the star-power, I don't think that was unavoidable.



And then there's the side issue that you're essentially taking attention away from a tournament (which you're not running) to produce this. Am I saying they're not allowed to do that? Of course not, but if you have all of these resources and you are officially the "euhub" (and yes they had an official stream, although theGDStudio originally weren't even going to have that, Tobi made them set it up and it was clear it wasn't a priority in the least), then I do think there should be a responsibility to bring attention to the teams who are actually playing. And not to a bunch of people who are already enormous names in the scene. (that's why they were invited after all, it's not like these people needed help)



I liked the way the GDStudio used to run tournaments in SC2. And the GDCouch at DH. And the GDShow (although that's also been pretty lackluster since they got into Dota heavily).



But this felt very little like the GDCouch. Presumably because the GDCouch was actually at the event, it had players who were playing in the tournament. It was casual, but it was still rooted in the tournament and in eSports. As for the lounge stream, you could have watched just about anything else in between games and gotten the same thing out of the tournament.

i have to agree

of course you will get some cool stuff but if you look at the whole two weeks it was pretty lackluster. especially during the sea and cn qualifiers the whole thing was pretty bad... i have to agreeof course you will get some cool stuff but if you look at the whole two weeks it was pretty lackluster. especially during the sea and cn qualifiers the whole thing was pretty bad... FTD

ultrablaster Profile Joined June 2012 Seychelles 26 Posts #16 I agree with the whole show being mediocre at best, but the true gems like Kuro Q/A it produced were one the best things that have happened in my esports-"career".



Those kind of things can not be forced or scripted. They just happen, when the time and place are right. Burning <3 Rotk | Kuroky / Trixi / Black / EGM / fy / iceiceice fanboy

schmitty9800 Profile Joined August 2010 United States 290 Posts #17 It was pretty amusing, but during the qualifiers I'd say I spent 10% of my streaming time there, 90% on regular casted games.

The Mediocre Gatsby Profile Joined May 2014 United States 4 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 16:04:12 #18 On June 05 2014 23:53 teapoted wrote:

I think the lounge stream was an enormous waste of resources and a shoddy effort from the GDStudio.





I definitely think it wasn't perfect, and in fact think both studios missed a great opportunity to bring more stories to the forefront with regards to the qualifying teams. I would say my article works more when applied to Dota 2 coverage more generally, and less so when applied directly to the TI Qualifiers. The euhub with the casts was an afterthought by them, but I still think the casts were well done, especially those with pros in them.



The TI Qualifiers needed hype, and this stream kept things lighter and more fun while the games played themselves out. We knew who the favorites were going in, and they placed accordingly. (NAR, though new, is filled with familiar names. VP was a surprise but is a familiar team. The only team I knew nothing about--and still do--is Arrow.)



But I don't see how "Twitch Chat pandering" is a bad thing--Twitch Chat is essentially the audience of the stream (or at the very least the audience that makes themselves vocal). It's definitely more id than anything else, but as I pointed out in the article, this type of interactivity doesn't exist in other types of media coverage, so utilizing it can only be a success. More sophisticated and deeper ways to do it need to be navigated, to get rid of the cancerous parts, but I'm more excited about it than aggrieved. Though I really do appreciate the contrary voices--the stream was guaranteed to turn some people off, especially since the BTS coverage was quite high quality.



EDIT: The takeaway is that the GD stream provided a more communal and personal type of coverage, and that approach needs to be wedded to the high quality game coverage in order to create a truly compelling tournament and scene. I definitely think it wasn't perfect, and in fact think both studios missed a great opportunity to bring more stories to the forefront with regards to the qualifying teams. I would say my article works more when applied to Dota 2 coverage more generally, and less so when applied directly to the TI Qualifiers. The euhub with the casts was an afterthought by them, but I still think the casts were well done, especially those with pros in them.The TI Qualifiers needed hype, and this stream kept things lighter and more fun while the games played themselves out. We knew who the favorites were going in, and they placed accordingly. (NAR, though new, is filled with familiar names. VP was a surprise but is a familiar team. The only team I knew nothing about--and still do--is Arrow.)But I don't see how "Twitch Chat pandering" is a bad thing--Twitch Chat is essentially the audience of the stream (or at the very least the audience that makes themselves vocal). It's definitely more id than anything else, but as I pointed out in the article, this type of interactivity doesn't exist in other types of media coverage, so utilizing it can only be a success. More sophisticated and deeper ways to do it need to be navigated, to get rid of the cancerous parts, but I'm more excited about it than aggrieved. Though I really do appreciate the contrary voices--the stream was guaranteed to turn some people off, especially since the BTS coverage was quite high quality.EDIT: The takeaway is that the GD stream provided a more communal and personal type of coverage, and that approach needs to be wedded to the high quality game coverage in order to create a truly compelling tournament and scene. Arrange whatever pieces come your way.

Rayeth Profile Joined April 2010 United States 258 Posts #19 On June 05 2014 23:53 teapoted wrote:

I think the lounge stream was an enormous waste of resources and a shoddy effort from the GDStudio.



Sure, if you have a camera on a bunch of people in the scene you will get some enjoyable moments over the course of 2 weeks, but I really disagree with the importance you (the writer) seem to be placing on this kind of experience.



I think the lounge stream was one of the worst products TheGDStudio have ever put out. It was 2 weeks of twitch chat pandering and self-serving nonsense, granted, with some sprinkles of good stuff in between. It seemed to be an incredibly lazy of a set up, it's an easy excuse to say "this is what we wanted", but that doesn't mean you can't get the same effect at a much higher quality which will be entertaining for more people for longer. It was quite obvious by the viewer numbers that people quite quickly started losing interest. Considering the star-power, I don't think that was unavoidable.



And then there's the side issue that you're essentially taking attention away from a tournament (which you're not running) to produce this. Am I saying they're not allowed to do that? Of course not, but if you have all of these resources and you are officially the "euhub" (and yes they had an official stream, although theGDStudio originally weren't even going to have that, Tobi made them set it up and it was clear it wasn't a priority in the least), then I do think there should be a responsibility to bring attention to the teams who are actually playing. And not to a bunch of people who are already enormous names in the scene. (that's why they were invited after all, it's not like these people needed help)



I liked the way the GDStudio used to run tournaments in SC2. And the GDCouch at DH. And the GDShow (although that's also been pretty lackluster since they got into Dota heavily).



But this felt very little like the GDCouch. Presumably because the GDCouch was actually at the event, it had players who were playing in the tournament. It was casual, but it was still rooted in the tournament and in eSports. As for the lounge stream, you could have watched just about anything else in between games and gotten the same thing out of the tournament.



I will say that I disagree with almost everything in this post.

I thoroughly enjoyed most of the coverage from this GDStudio (at least what I was awake to see here in America). I watched their stream during the games and then a bit of the after-hours gaming.



As a more casual fan of Dota, I enjoyed seeing the personalities I know just relaxing and commenting (or not) on the various games. The stream was definitely at its best during the games when there was 1-2 pros on the couches discussing the games with whomever else. Certainly I think the studio could have done more, but I enjoyed what was offered. It was a great stream to put on my 2nd monitor and tune in only when something interesting was going on. And since that's how I treat most of dota, this fit perfectly. Plus, Kittens. Who can be mad at that?



I think the real issue is that there are simply too many games in the qualifiers to anyone to maintain interest. 40ish teams, with maybe 1-2 favorites in each region are a recipe for garbage games and anti-hype. Which is exactly what happened. The games were horrible stomps most of the time, and the few good games there were generally happened in the finals (which I suppose is what you hope for in a tournament). I am perfectly fine with a "low quality" production like this when the games are clearly of a similar quality. If this was the actual tournament and the GD Studio was proposing doing the entire TI4 tournament this way, I would probably be pretty mad, since the real things deserves more respect. For clowny games and unknown teams, I'm happy to see something like this.



The one good point you make in the post is about not putting any attention on the teams in the qualifiers. Which I can understand being a bummer, if you were hoping to learn about these up and coming teams. They did a terrible job at that. Fortunately, BTS was there to provide that sort of thing. Since I already can't keep up with the various tier 1 teams, I don't feel too bad not learning much about these new ones, but I can appreciate that there was a lot of missed opportunities in this area.

I will say that I disagree with almost everything in this post.I thoroughly enjoyed most of the coverage from this GDStudio (at least what I was awake to see here in America). I watched their stream during the games and then a bit of the after-hours gaming.As a more casual fan of Dota, I enjoyed seeing the personalities I know just relaxing and commenting (or not) on the various games. The stream was definitely at its best during the games when there was 1-2 pros on the couches discussing the games with whomever else. Certainly I think the studio could have done more, but I enjoyed what was offered. It was a great stream to put on my 2nd monitor and tune in only when something interesting was going on. And since that's how I treat most of dota, this fit perfectly. Plus, Kittens. Who can be mad at that?I think the real issue is that there are simply too many games in the qualifiers to anyone to maintain interest. 40ish teams, with maybe 1-2 favorites in each region are a recipe for garbage games and anti-hype. Which is exactly what happened. The games were horrible stomps most of the time, and the few good games there were generally happened in the finals (which I suppose is what you hope for in a tournament). I am perfectly fine with a "low quality" production like this when the games are clearly of a similar quality. If this was the actual tournament and the GD Studio was proposing doing the entire TI4 tournament this way, I would probably be pretty mad, since the real things deserves more respect. For clowny games and unknown teams, I'm happy to see something like this.The one good point you make in the post is about not putting any attention on the teams in the qualifiers. Which I can understand being a bummer, if you were hoping to learn about these up and coming teams. They did a terrible job at that. Fortunately, BTS was there to provide that sort of thing. Since I already can't keep up with the various tier 1 teams, I don't feel too bad not learning much about these new ones, but I can appreciate that there was a lot of missed opportunities in this area. The Innocent shall suffer... big time.

teapoted Profile Joined August 2012 United Kingdom 13122 Posts #20 Are you justifying low quality production by low quality gameplay? Once you Goblak...

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