SC2: Following Streams

Welcome to another Perch of StaticFalconar. This is a retrospective blog series on games in 2010.

            Part of why SC2 is as big as it is due to the streams. There must be some magic formula that I haven’t quite grasp on, yet I know its there. Ok, to have that sentence make sense, you gotta follow my train of thought. As much as I like SC2, I can never get into it as much as say SSF4. There is a real simple reason why.

            SSF4 or any fighting game really, is more about high dexterity and reflexes. Sure in games like Guilty Gear there’s like 5 different bars you have to keep track of to know what your character is capable of. But its all right there as well as my opponent. I don’t have to remember to scout other than open my eyes, be aware and read my opponent. This translates real well on the stream as it doesn’t matter the quality of the commentary I can easily follow along.

            This isn’t the case at all in an RTS like SC2. Just playing the game, you have make an extra effort to scout and the entire game itself is a slippery slope where if you make enough mistakes, there is just no way you can come back from it. But somehow the streams seem to keep up with it all due to the commentary. Most streams have the commentators on one screen and yet they somehow just know from the timing when shit is happening. Sure they aren’t always correct and there times when by the time they tune into a battle, its half over. Yet if it wasn’t for the commentary I would be utterly lost.

            This could also be due to just me knowing and being better at fighting games then RTS ones. Yet if I was more proficient in just knowing the timing and what to look for, there could be a disagreement in where I should be looking and which base I should be commentating on. Of course, since I never been to any SC2 event that had been streamed, there could be more that goes on behind the scenes. With the power of Korea in the production of certain SC2 streams in my mind there is a team of people looking at every base and army from both players and the producer gives live notes to the commentators on where to look just like an NFL game. Ok, that probably not true.

            Regardless, the commentary for SC2 streams is really top notch no matter how they do it. On top of that, SC2 as an E-Sport is seems to be very viable and sustainable. Before SC2 came out, one could make the argument that it was all based in Korea only, but that is simply not the case anymore. Korea may still have the biggest scene, but due to so many non-Korean streams I see or hear about, I am inclined to believe there is a growing scene for SC2 that’s more legitimate then ever.  

So what say you guys? If you were to just see a replay of a high caliber SC2 game, can you follow along it enough to give commentary to at least your friends? Or perhaps guys like Husky and Day 9 have a natural talent that makes them that much more worthy of their fame.

Tomorrow, a game everybody loves to hate; GT5.