If you asked many teenagers what their dream job would be, professional video game player would top a lot of lists. This week's articles explored that dream come true for "gold farmers" in China and found it very different than we might imagine. But what about another type of professional gamer? The competitive pro-gamer.
This must be the life! It's being a professional athlete without the physical strenuousness. It is fame and fortune and video games all in one neat package! But, unsurprisingly, the truth is much less glorious.
For those who might have no idea what I'm talking about, competitive pro-gaming is a relatively new phenomenon where skilled gamers will compete in tournaments to prove who is the best in the world. It is very similar to professional sports in many ways. The tournaments are viewed by thousands of people worldwide. Some are even televised. There are fans, commentators, and corporate sponsors. The structure differs depending on the game, but often the video games require teams of 5 or so people. The teams train together, and in the case of many Chinese teams, live together as well. The article I read has one player saying that he practices with the team for 6 hours a day followed by individual practice and study late into the night. The work is almost year round, with no weekends or holidays. It is a grueling task, and as you might imagine, the competition is fierce. With generations raised on video games coming into their young adulthood, there is always a younger player ready to take your spot. Most players have years of playing recreationally before entering the professional arena. Payment can occur one of two ways. In the case of the game Dota 2, there is prize money for the best teams. For other games like League of Legends the players are given a salary.
With such a new industry, there is much uncertainty. Problems like gambling and ethical treatment of players have yet to be addressed, and as the audience and popularity grows, they become even more pressing. One big issue that plagues the community is gender. There has yet to be a single woman competing in any of the tournaments hosted by gaming company Valve. There is still a lot of stigma facing female gamers, and the fan comments can be nasty.
For more information, this article (http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/21/5919973/inside-the-life-of-a-pro-gamer) was an interesting read and there is also a free documentary on the subject called "Free to Play".
In a game this fraught with controversy and challenges, can the competitors really be called "play"-ers?
Hi Hannah, in regards to the question of gender representation, I think that may just be a thing that's true for professional competitions in general. A case can be made for sports such as basketball or Olympic athletic competitions, since there are clear physiological differences between females and males, but even pro golf is gender-segregated, despite being a sport with relatively little physical exertion.
ReplyDeleteAnother observation that I've noticed before is that the teams in the North American and European scene have a less grueling practice schedule than their Chinese or Korean counterparts, and are generally worse-performing on an international level. Do the North American and European regions perform worse because of a less dedicated regimen, or is the talent pool they recruit from simply not up to the same standards?
Yes, I definitely think a lot of the problems I mentioned are not unique to gaming, but prevalent in many different sporting events. The only aspect that is unique might be that there is even less regulation in this arena because of how new it is, as well as how international. Your question about nationality is also interesting, and one that I certainly not equipped to answer. I do wonder though why teams are so nationalized? Why not have a team with players from China and America?
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