I covered the Pandemic storyline already, but there are certainly other things worth noting from draft night.
They was a big surprise on their broadcasting team: Ben Stein! I didn’t know he was so knowledgeable about gaming. Wait, that was Fatality? Well, I guess he came off as a little stiff. I’d call it a case of the Mondays if it was Monday, but for now I'm calling it early jitters. I really hope that's it, anyway, because if it’s an accurate portrayal of things to come … we, as listeners, are in trouble. I think he’ll come around though, he’s definitely got enough knowledge to be a good broadcaster.
His best moment came when he was honest with the viewers – as he was distracted by the Playboy Bunnies that were hanging around the pool. He was more relaxed, and spoke with confidence. Of course, everybody without that view probably didn’t notice that change because they were too busy being jealous. Luckily, after three decades of training with lunar monks, I’m impervious to such petty emotions.
There were some small production issues that got sorted out as the draft went on. The announcement for the first pick had to be delayed because the booth guys were too busy talking, but they did a much better job of interrupting the discussion to announce the players in the later rounds. Overall, I think they did a good job with the stream. The announcers weren’t bad, the production was enjoyable, and the woman that interviewed the players after they got drafted was acceptable. Her English was good, she didn’t speak poorly even though she didn’t seem totally comfortable speaking the language (she’s asian). Her speech was actually too formal, a little stiff, but everything was clear so I didn’t think it was a big deal. It was good work for a first broadcast, where there are bound to be some kinks. I give it one thumb up, and one thumb sideways.
Which is one more thumb up than the GMs get. It was downright ugly up there, and I'm not talking about physical appearance. I’m not sure which was worse: the failed draft strategy, or the failed draft picks. To put it another way, they did a worse job drafting than the Yahoo! autodraft option, which is guaranteed to draft three hopeless backups, two injured players, and at least one player guaranteed to halve his statistics from last season. What was so bad? Two GMs drafted players that were already drafted, and another couple picks were used to fill spots nobody else needed during the draft, while possibly missing out on a better player in another game.
If you need to fill a Project Gotham Racing and a FIFA ’07 spot, it doesn’t make sense to draft a PGR player when all the other teams are set. Nobody is going to steal your player. You draft a FIFA player, and then grab whichever PGR person tickles your fancy. But no! There were one or two times when the teams didn’t follow that logic. And, kudos to the announcers, they picked up on it and pointed it out.
Then there was the drafting of drafted players, which even Yahoo! would consider a bad move. How can that happen? All the spots are accounted for before the draft; the GMs knew going in exactly how many players from each game were going to be picked. It’s not like they only ranked their top ten DOA4 players, and then had two teams draft nothing but DOA4. There were laptops sitting right in front of them, for pete’s sake. In the end, I don’t think it cost the teams that much due to the depth of the talent, but it seems like a silly mistake that could have been prevented with a little more preparation.
My other big impression from the draft was how small Counter-Strike was. The CS community is insular, and we all knew other games were going to fill a large portion of the draft, but it was still shocking when it happened, somehow. Like seeing a really bad movie on TV. The movie got ripped to shreds in the reviews, everybody told you it’s bad, and you’re stuck watching in on TNT a month later because the only things on TV are reruns of The Golden Girls and VH1’s new series, “The 50 Most Disgusting Piles of Vomit.” And even thought you’re totally prepared for the suckage, it’s still appalling. There are just some things you can’t mentally prepare for, and being part of the CS community, having the teams I’ve come to know and write about take a back seat was a little strange.
It’s going to be interesting to see how they blend all the action together. There’s generally been a huge rift between PC gamers and console gamers. Each platform has their own games, their own news sites, their own shows/plans, and that’s only starting to change recently (GotFrag/MLG, and now CGS using both platforms). Is there going to be any way for PC gamers to watch the console action if they don’t have DirecTV? Highlights? Replays? Obviously, the same questions apply in reverse. How will console gamers be able to appreciate a game played on the PC if they don’t have it installed?
Basically, it’s a problem of making sure fans follow the franchise, not the individual players or teams. Even if the Chicago Bulls literally traded all their players, I’d still follow the Bulls because I’m a fan. But if coLAngeles (I'm sticking to my guns!) traded the CS:S to the Carolina Core, I don’t think fans of the compLexity CS:S squad would follow the LA franchise anymore. Ditto for NY3D. Over time things might change as we get used to the idea of franchises, but I think it’s a concern in the meantime.
I don’t know about you guys, but after months of waiting and thinking about the CGS, I’m finally getting excited to see the teams in action. The draft is over, the league’s gearing up for action, and it’s time to think about which of the six CS:S teams is going to represent the US in the CGS Finals. Life is good.
Unless you’re just getting back from the Playboy Mansion. In that case, you probably miss the view.
