135 replies to this topic

[SideSt3p]

As a relative newbie to MechWarrior Online (MWO) but not BattleTech (BT) or any of the previous games in the MechWarrior (MW) franchise I have been thinking about the topic of MWO as an e-sport since I first saw the release information and concept art/gameplay. I feel as if this game has a lot of potential, and as it seems to be the game the entire BattleTech fan base has been eagerly awaiting for many years I want to make sure that we as a community help Pirahna Games to see and pursue all opportunities which can help them to build a highly successful game and player base.

Since I haven't seen anything about the topic of MWO as an e-sport so far, I thought I should raise it and see if we could get any good discussion going on it.

What is e-sports?

Electronic sports comprise the competitive play of video games. Other terms include competitive gaming, professional gaming, e-sport, and cyber sport. The most common video game genres associated with electronic sports are real-time strategy (RTS), fighting, first-person shooter (FPS), massively-multiplayer online (MMOG) and racing. Games are played competitively at amateur, semi-professional and professional levels, and some games have organized competition in the form of leagues and tournaments. Events such as Major League Gaming (MLG), Global Starcraft II League (GSL), World Cyber Games (WCG), Dreamhack, and Intel Extreme Masters provide both real-time casting of streamed games, and cash prizes to the winners.

A couple of today's most popular e-sports include:

• League of Legends
  
• Defense of the Ancients
  
• Defense of the Ancients 2
  
• StarCraft
  
• StarCraft 2
  
• Heroes of Newarth
  
• Halo
  
• Call of Duty
  
• Counter-Strike
  
• Street Fighter X Tekken
  
• Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

This is quite a broad spectrum of games, both in the type of game as well as the model which they are played. What this shows is that any game with proper marketing/preparation can be successful. E-sports is growing at an accelerated rate. With new services such as Twitch.TV and ow3ned.TV the viewer base for e-sports has been growing steadily (I don’t have any hard research on this, just personal observation from day-to-day). Check out www.Forbes.com for articles written there about e-sports, there are quite a few.



The e-sports industry is growing rapidly and provides a high amount of visibility to a game which is well designed and implemented. It also adds to the competitiveness of the gaming environment. This in turn can bring the game to a MUCH wider audience then initially thought. As a downside, it does require the game to be built around as balanced a model as possible, but since MWO is going to be Lance (4 ‘Mechs) and hopefully Company (12 ‘Mechs) combat, that should make it a little easier.

Why is this something which could benefit MWO?

This is probably the most relevant question.

I believe that if MWO does choose to go the E-sports route they could compete with the other games mentioned above and build an impressive player base. By having a larger player base, this in turn grants Piranha Games a larger share of profits with which they can continue to invest into the game and our community. It will also, bring BattleTech to a totally new demographic of all the kids who missed it in its glory.

General Discussion

I’m sorry for the generally rambling post, but I believe that this is something which we could talk about. And it would probably be more constructive then “Oh man what ‘Mech do you want to see!?” for the 1 millionth time.

What do you guys/gals think?

Please post a constructive response, no one word answers which help nobody to understand how you feel either way. I'm looking to help this game and try to show a way to have it in development for many years to come with a huge following.

Thanks,

Edited by SideSt3p, 12 April 2012 - 01:55 PM.

[Orzorn]

I absolutely agree. Supporting e-sports doesn't leave the casual players in the dust, either. In features that we gain from supporting e-sports, such as spectating mode, are as useful for the normal players as they are for voice casters. A replay feature, live spectating, etc would all go a long way to supporting e-sports.

And even Dota 2 shows that you don't need a ladder to support e-sports (since you can just play league games using practice games).

I think supporting a competitive scene helps the casual players just as much as it helps the pros, not to mention how much it can help the game's profits by getting it out there and making it popular for many many years.

[Motionless]

MWO needs some quality VOIP and recording/replay features if they wanted to launch themselves into such a competitive arena imo. And because it's launching minimum viable product I don't see it happening anytime soon. Between competing with established games like CS and upcoming contenders like the new Tribes games you gotta bring something special to the table.

Not to say that MWO couldn't be that something special, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.

[Victor Morson]

MWO will require a "Free play" mode, where everything is unlocked and it happens separate from the persistent game in order to make this even remotely viable.

[Orzorn]

Victor Morson, on 12 April 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:

MWO will require a "Free play" mode, where everything is unlocked and it happens separate from the persistent game in order to make this even remotely viable.

League of Legends has no such mode, and it does just fine for itself.

[SideSt3p]

Motionless, on 12 April 2012 - 01:33 PM, said:

MWO needs some quality VOIP and recording/replay features if they wanted to launch themselves into such a competitive arena imo. And because it's launching minimum viable product I don't see it happening anytime soon. Between competing with established games like CS and upcoming contenders like the new Tribes games you gotta bring something special to the table.

Not to say that MWO couldn't be that something special, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.

I'm not sure that MWO needs a VOIP or even a recording/replay feature to launch them towards a competitive arena of gaming. I feel that League of Legends (LoL) is a prime example of this.

Players utilize free options (Skype) for voice communication and a 3rd party developed a free LoL recorder. I'm not saying we could expect that easily from MWO but it shows that it can be done.

And I believe that MWO DOES bring something incredibly special to the table: The MechLab.

While the MechLab does create a lot of hardship on developers for maintaining balance, the pure amount of customization makes this game incredible. You can have crazy team comps too with 4 medium/fast heavies vs 4 assaults and the dynamic is exciting and different game to game.

Am I completely off base with those feelings? Lol

[Orzorn]

SideSt3p, on 12 April 2012 - 01:39 PM, said:

I'm not sure that MWO needs a VOIP or even a recording/replay feature to launch them towards a competitive arena of gaming. I feel that League of Legends (LoL) is a prime example of this.

Players utilize free options (Skype) for voice communication and a 3rd party developed a free LoL recorder. I'm not saying we could expect that easily from MWO but it shows that it can be done.

We should stay far, far away from this topic. It has its own (still alive) thread, and I certainly don't want to repeat myself for the billionth time anyways.

Quote

And I believe that MWO DOES bring something incredibly special to the table: The MechLab.

While the MechLab does create a lot of hardship on developers for maintaining balance, the pure amount of customization makes this game incredible. You can have crazy team comps too with 4 medium/fast heavies vs 4 assaults and the dynamic is exciting and different game to game.

The Mechlab could provide some absolutely awesome metagame strategies based around countering other mech combinations and strategies. We already saw such play in Mechwarrior 4, and I'm excited to see more of it.

[Kevin Kirov]

no

[DarkTreader]

Kevin Kirov, on 12 April 2012 - 01:44 PM, said:

no

Wow... way to put a lot of thought into that one.


I think this is an interesting idea... though I'm not sure how much I'd want to have a 'Coca-Cola' billboard in the middle of my match because the company dropped some cash to PGI in return for some in-game advertisements.

[Motionless]

DarkTreader, on 12 April 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

Wow... way to put a lot of thought into that one.

He may have, he just didn't type much.

DarkTreader, on 12 April 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

I think this is an interesting idea... though I'm not sure how much I'd want to have a 'Coca-Cola' billboard in the middle of my match because the company dropped some cash to PGI in return for some in-game advertisements.

If anything I'd like it, I think devs need to explore advertising as a way to fund a game more. It's the reason why can play angry birds for free, I'd like to see it brought into more 'robust' games like PC FPS.

[Evinthal]

I would really rather NOT see MWO be an e-sport game. You get enough people waving their e-peen around acting like they are the best thing in the game and/or their fecal matter smells like roses. I'd rather not have another reason for MORE people like that to set up shop.

[Cold3y3s]

It could be interesting if it happened, especially since MechWarrior is a game type completely different from any others on the market and has a lot more strategic possibilities (and giant robots, don't forget the giant robots).

[Aegis Kleais]

With what little PGI has shown of us MWO, I think it would cater very well to e-Sports. Not to mention it would probably be the first that I would ravenously follow. Heck, if it got to a point where we could log into websites and spectate games (even on a delay) on the fly, that would be freaking sweet.

The great thing about MWO is that it caters to a type of game that rewards good tactical play rather than your "Superstar" single players (though they're always ever-capable of amazing gameplay) So it would be great to watch matches even for the tactical analysis.

[CeeKay Boques]

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Always has been an e-sport to me, since I played leagues... just gotta sell it.

Edited by Technoviking, 12 April 2012 - 02:06 PM.

[Shepherd]

I made a post about e-sports waaay back when these forums first went up. I think e-sports are great for any game. Think of the popularity that any of the games at MLG or Intel have. People will actually stream videos of the pros playing. They aren't actually playing the game, they're WATCHING the game! When pros play a game, you get people talking about it. When people talk about it, the popularity further increases.

Also, e-sports keeps the developers honest. Serious pros won't touch a game that isn't kept balanced. Nobody plays Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War at MLG because the balance is miserable. Heck of a fun game, but it's about as balanced as a fat kid on a see-saw.

E-sports also raises the bar for the players. Just check out any of the major starcraft 2 casters. Day9, for example, has a daily webcast where he educates people in how to play Starcraft2 better. Imagine that for MWO.

E-sports is a win-win. I hope that it's on Piranha's horizon. Not at launch of course - players need to develop skill and so forth - but hopefully within a year of launch they'll implement some features that will facilitate e-sports. Features like observer mode and free-cameras that can roam all over the map in order to focus on action in different places.

[Threat Doc]

Victor Morson, on 12 April 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:

MWO will require a "Free play" mode, where everything is unlocked and it happens separate from the persistent game in order to make this even remotely viable.

Negative, Ghost Rider. The entire idea would be to have the combat taking place as a matter of the persistent universe. Drop after drop, especially as short as PGI has them planned to be -15 - 20 minutes, IIRC- is absolutely perfect for a match, then you trade up matches, etc. Run highlights of other, not so 'deadly' matches, in a separate show, or examine tactics, 'Mech loadouts of certain prime 'Mechs, etc. Get the NGNG guys, maybe even 'Duncan Fischer', to voice the games, get them recorded and up on multiple sites, etc. I would even go for, to start out with, Company COs who show promise to various potential sponsors, to be paid for their troubles of setting up and/or running the unit. If successful, in the near to far future, depending on the popularity of the matches and how much new development PGI put into the game, expand the money to include all team members, for their work. I'm in need of work, now... put me in, coach, hehe.

DarkTreader, on 12 April 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

I think this is an interesting idea... though I'm not sure how much I'd want to have a 'Coca-Cola' billboard in the middle of my match because the company dropped some cash to PGI in return for some in-game advertisements.

I don't see why not. There are a few companies in the BattleTech lore that have history all the way back to our time, and we don't know them all, so why not. The bill boards, crawls, and element decals could even be designed to have a more BattleTech 'feel'.

Honestly, guys, I had a dream about this somewhere around four weeks ago, and it basically fit what's already being discussed, here. Yes, I had a BattleTech/MechWarrior Online dream... the first one in a REALLY long time, but a BT/MW dream nonetheless, hehe. Yes, I get out enough. No, my PTSD does not inform these types of dreams. Hehe.

[Mason Grimm]

In regards to the MOD TICKET recently received; While one word answers are sometimes frustrating they are also the opinion of the poster and as such have a valid place in a thread.

[Fresh Meat]

I would love to see MWO as an esport. hopefully replays will be available through saved game information which may later be played by the actual engine to allow more dynamic monitoring and commentary.

Edited by Fresh_Meat, 12 April 2012 - 02:26 PM.

[Outlaw2]

I think its as likely as World of Tanks becoming a professional e-sports game.

[Skygrunt]

I think e-sport would be awesome also i'm a fan of pay to play tournaments with cash pay outs so piranha keeps a portion of the entry fee and maybe the top few teams and/or players get the rest. It would cost piranha nothing and give very competive players a reward.