Sometimes I’m a little slow in the head, so bear with me while I make sure I have this story straight.
People in competitive gaming have been working for years to build the industry with the hope that players (and eSports bloggers) will, someday, somehow, be able to make a living off gaming. And not a “staying in your parent’s basement” living, because that “barrier” was broken a long time ago, but a self-sufficient existence. We’ve been trying to turn our amateur reindeer games, or reindeer-shooting games, to be more precise, into a professional league, or even a sport.
Then the CGS comes along, offering the closest thing we’ve ever seen to that dream, and all of the sudden people are “sellouts” for joining up? Is this not what we’ve been hoping for all this time? A league that has the financial backing, and (seemingly) the motivation to grow eSports?
And, worse than that, the community is turning Kevin “aZn” Wang into some kind of cult hero for throwing away the same opportunity that thousands of gamers would kill to have.
Am I getting this right?
I understand the complaints about the bastardized Counter-Strike rules. They’re killing the game. It’s not fun to watch anymore. Max Rounds 9 with $16,000 startmoney is the worst thing to happen to a sports league since daisy dukes were standard NBA apparel. Source is so bad for competitive play that people are still excited for Promod – spawning in a wall one time out of ten isn’t that bad. I get it. I really do.
I just don’t care.
Let me put it this way: can you imagine this conversation ever happening?
League Official: “We’d like to offer you $30,000 a year to play video games, with the possibility of making over $100,000 alone from your salary and bonuses.”
CS Player: “Hey, that sounds really great. You’re offering me more money than I can possibly make going to individual tournaments, and you’re going to pay for all my expenses. But, your ruleset sucks. Sorry, I’m going to pass on the chance to make a living doing what I love. I’ve got principles, you know.”
I can see it happening. The only problem is that, in my imagination, the CS Player is already a millionaire, is married to a supermodel, and has a signed guarantee from God that he’ll be happy the rest of his life.
Anybody that truly wants to be a professional gamer, and will do whatever it takes to achieve that dream, would be insane to turn down an offer from the CGS. If it goes bottom-up, you’re no worse for wear. You’ve banked the guaranteed salary, and you can go to whatever the best remaining option is.
More importantly, if the CGS does succeed, and gaming becomes something like the X-Games, you’ll be living your dream. The ratio of risk to reward for joining the CGS is so ridiculously steeped towards “reward” that it’s like a seesaw with Mini-Me on one end and an elephant on the other.
For me, it comes down to this: how many times does a chance come around that can turn all your dreams into a reality?
Probably not even once in a lifetime. Some people, through social or economic circumstances, are forced into a job they hate, but can’t quit because they need the money. Gamers are being offered the chance to do what they love. It might be a slim chance. It might be a great chance. And we have no idea how it’ll turn out, but you have to at least give it a shot.
Kathy "Snuggles" Zablotzky is a Dead or Alive player for the London Mint. She’s 52 years old. By that age, you’re bound to gain some wisdom, even if it’s just through dumb luck. Although, judging by what she said, I doubt that was the case, here.
This isn’t an exact quote, but it should be very close. She was talking about how she got into gaming, and she had this to say at the very end:
“If you’ve got a passion for something, you can do it. And if you’ve got a passion for something, you should do it.”
The players aren’t sellouts. They’re following their dream, wherever it may take them. We should all be so lucky to have the opportunity.
