StarCraft II
https://variety.com/2018/gaming/features/starcraft-ii-esports-history-1202873246/
Great article. It talks about so many things, in depth.
Rather than the tense wars of attrition they were meant to create, Swarm Hosts largely led to stalemates. In January 2015, one such match reached an agonizing four hours in length (the Zerg player, Sébastien “Firecake” Lebbe, reportedly got so bored that he tabbed out to browse Reddit, a violation that led to his eventual disqualification)
In starcraft, particularly in Starcraft 2, the terran SCV operators are kind of derpy. So it’s somehow quite gruesome how the most effective way to win a competitive game is to mount attacks where you kill as many of these little guys as possible.
https://liquipedia.net/starcraft2/Female_SC2_Scene
Kind of sad that over half of the article is about Scarlett who’s transgender.
Female or male, browsing through the player profiles the “Approx. Total Winnings” fields is a harrowing experience. Many players whose names I recognized immediately had winnings below $20k. Recall that this is a pursuit they have most likely spent more than several years nearly full time. That’s abysmal return. Only when you look at someone like Serral who has made north of $1M, does it start to clearly compare favorably to having a kind or regular job competent players should be able to hold. Not like I ever thought programing was a viable career plan.
Also it’s obvious, but every one of these player articles on liquipedia has the line about how the player retired in their early thirties. I think the large majority quit not because they became physically unable to compete, but because they realized they just were never going to make any money and had to get full-time jobs.
Also why do all the girls play Zerg? I actually would speculate Jordan Peterson-esquely that the chaotic nature of the Zerg lore and play style attracts them. At least personally I can say that the reason I dislike playing Terran and Protoss is that it feels too orderly and focused. Any time I play or see a Zerg player, I just get that desire to see them swarm over all that order and break it down to nothingness. Terran and Protoss legitimately look like villains to me when I’m immersed enough. Non-Zerg matches are less interesting to me. ZvZ at least in Brood War had a very specific kind of quick-to-end character that there isn’t much to say about it. Not sure about Starcraft 2, I can’t recall many ZvZ games.
Really, I’m surprised not everyone plays Zerg. Maybe they do. At least every time I see a player profile of someone whose race is Terran or Protoss, I immediately think what kind of person is this?
