WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITYLANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

RESOURCE CENTERENGLISH PROFICIENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL

COMPETITIVENESS

“esports: The world of gaming, it’s players and their careers and it’s community”

In Partial Fulfillment of the Midterm Examination Requirements of EPIC 4 ACCELERATE

Euraoba, Alvin A.

BS Criminology II-A

Monday & Thursday/ 11:30 am-1:00 pm

MS AMINAH FERNANDO KUNTING

Instructor
TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Thesis Statement

B. Research Questions

C. Main Points

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Definition

B. History

C. Causes

D. Effects

E. Types

F. Groups Involved

G. Present Time

III. CONCLUSION

A. Conclusion

B. What Happens Next

 INTRODUCTION

Esports (or electronic sports) is a term used to describe competitive video gaming. It’s
different from standard video gaming in that esports is competitive (human-vs.-human) and
usually has an engaging spectator element to it, like traditional sports. Esports tournaments
usually consist of amateur or professional gamers competing against one another for a cash prize.
For example, League of Legends pits five players against another five in a virtual battle arena to
destroy each other’s base. Whereas, in FPS games (or First-person Shooter games), like Call of
Duty, Overwatch and Counter-Strike, players are pit against each other in various modes to
complete an objective. Think of esports as competitive video gaming where skill and
professionalism is celebrated. The pro gamers who play at this level know the games inside out,
much like a professional footballer or athlete would in their respective fields.

A. THESIS STATEMENT

The goal of this study is to explore the world of esports, its players and the longevity of
their careers and its community. This study will try to determine the relationship of the players,
the game developers and its community.

B. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The main purpose of this study is to explore the esports, its players and the longevity of
their careers and its community.

Hence, the researcher seeks to answer the following:

1. What are the factors that influence people to engage in competitive gaming?
2. Why community development is important in esports?

C. MAIN POINTS

The main grounds of this study are to prove why esports or playing video games isn’t as
bad as people used to think. This study will provide information such as the role of
esports in the industry and the benefits of playing these video games the opportunities
that awaits for the upcoming generation of players. And the path of esports isn’t about
gaming; there are sides that they cannot see, the game development, building
communities, tournaments and events just like a traditional sports. This study will help us
understand more the world of video games and esports.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

 Esports is virtual sport. For many young people, it has entirely replaced the typical
football or basketball endeavors and instead they focus on developing a career in playing
computer games. At first this might sound crazy, but esports is actually a viable industry with
lots of chances to get famous and actually earn a living. So what is esports?

A. DEFINITION

Esports - Esports (pronounced "e-sports") is a general term used to describe video game
competitions. Much like athletic sporting events, Eports games are often played before live
audiences and may be broadcast over the Internet as well.

Video games - Video games are electronic games played on a video screen (normally

a television, a built-in screen when played on a handheld machine or a computer).

Game development - Game Development is the art of creating games and describes the design,
development and release of a game. It may involve concept generation, design, build, test and
release.

B. HISTORY

Ever since video games first appeared on screen, we have always been mesmerized and
entertained by gaming. One aspect that has always prevailed throughout is the notion of
competitive gaming, whereby players pit against one another to determine a winner and a loser.
The term “electronic Sports” or “eSports” dates backto the late nineties. One of the earliest
reliable sources that use the term “eSports” is a 1999 press release on the launch of the Online
Gamers Association (OGA) in which then Eurogamer evangelist Mat Bettington compared
eSports to traditional sports (Gestalt, 1999). Around that time, the sports discussion was also
fuelled by a failed attempt of the organisation of the UK Professional Computer Gaming
Championship (UKPCGC) 1999 to have competitive gaming recognized as an official sport by
the English Sports Council. The emergence of eSports as a business factor in youth culture is
quite often described as a ubiquitous cultural phenomenon of worldwide importance. The reality,
however, shows two different gaming cultures separated by eastern and western value systems.
In the United States and Europe, the history of competitive gaming is usually associated with the
release of networked first person shooting games, in particular the 1993 released game “Doom”
and the 1996 follow-up title “Quake” by id software (Kushner, 2004). During that time, teams of
online players, also called “Clans”, started to compete in online tournaments. By 1997 several
professional and semi-professional online gaming leagues had formed, most noticeably the still
influential “Cyberathlete Professional League” whose business concept was modeled after the
major professional sports leagues in the United States (Welch, 2002).

C. CAUSES

People of all ages play video games for many different reasons. Video games serve a
purpose and everyone plays for a reason. Identifying your motivation to play can be helpful to
maintain moderation or shift your desire to other activities. Some people play for competency
and mastery, exploration and freedom, some plays to build relationships, for excitement and
relaxation, escape, maybe from people or from situations. These reasons provide insight into the
motivation behind playing video games. The reasons why people play video games are not bad.
The reasons are simply needs and desire that video games try to fill. However, some people
chose the path of gaming as their career because just like traditional sports, it’s their passion and
the money that they earn in the gaming career is just as big as traditional sports.

D. EFFECTS

Video games are a ubiquitous part of almost all children’s and adolescents’ lives, with
97% playing for at least one hour per day in the United States. The vast majority of research by
psychologists on the effects of “gaming” has been on its negative impact: the potential harm
related to violence, addiction, and depression. We recognize the value of that research; however,
we argue that a more balanced perspective is needed, one that considers not only the possible
negative effects but also the benefits of playing these games. Considering these potential benefits
is important, in part, because the nature of these games has changed dramatically in the last
decade, becoming increasingly complex, diverse, realistic, and social in nature. A small but
significant body of research has begun to emerge, mostly in the last five years, documenting
these benefits. In this article, we summarize the research on the positive effects of playing video
games, focusing on four main domains: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social.
Integrating insights from developmental, positive, and social psychology, as well as media
psychology, some candidate mechanisms by which playing video games may foster real-world
psychosocial benefits (Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. 2014). In esports
competitions, both motor skills used to manipulate an avatar and psychological skills are
important to achieve optimal performance.

E. TYPES

There so many types of gamers and games on esports such as;

The Hardcore Gamer - Hardcore gamer, spending hours on hours trying to reach all prestige
levels and dominate the game. The one would become involved in the game; got angry at others
and would learn the multiplayer maps in-depth so he could take advantage of all of the most
beneficial spots. Some more well-known hardcore gamers would be professional players found
in the Esports league. These gamers train nearly every day, attempting to beat other players in
their chosen games, as well as their high scores and personal bests.

The Casual Gamer - Casual gamers make up a huge portion of the gaming population. Those
who play for the story of a game, who go at their own leisurely pace are gamers that take in the
scenery as much as they can, making it into a full-blown atmospheric experience. Casual gamers
need not necessarily be ‘rookies’ or ‘noobs’, but rather have an attitude that the outcome of the
game is not the main reason they play games.

The Mobile Gamers – The type of person who plays on a Smartphone. Mobile gamers can be a
casual or hardcore gamer.

Pro gamer - A Professional gamer plays video games for money. (The term electronic
sports are used to describe the play of video games as a professional sport.) Whether a
professional gamer is a subtype of the hardcore gamer largely depends on the degree to which a
professional gamer is financially dependent upon the income derived from gaming. So far as a
professional gamer is financially dependent upon gaming, the time spent playing is no longer
"leisure" time. In countries of Asia, particularly South Korea and Japan, professional gamers are
sponsored by large companies and can earn more than $100,000USD a year, in addition to the
following that some obtain. In the United States, Major League Gaming has
contracted Electronic Sports Gamers with $250,000USD yearly deals.
Newbie - This is gamer slang for a player who is new or inexperienced. Two derived terms are
"newb", a beginner who is willing to learn; and "noob", a derogatory name (an alternate spelling
for noob is n00b). The latter term was considered as the one-millionth English word by the
Global Language Monitor.
Girl Gamer - A girl gamer describes a female who regularly engages in the playing of video
games, role-playing games, or other games (colloquially referred to as "gaming"). This can be
from the most casual interest to the most serious professional gaming.
Fighting Games - A fighting game is a video game genre based around close combat between a
limited numbers of characters, in a stage in which the boundaries are fixed. The characters fight
each other are until they defeat their opponents or the time expires. The matches typically consist
of several rounds, in an arena, with each player character having different abilities but each is
relatively viable to choose. Players must master techniques such as blocking, counter-attacking,
and chaining attacks together into "combos".
First-person Shooter - First person shooters focus on simulating a firefight from a first person
perspective, and may be either individual or team based. Classic games include the PC
game Team Fortress 2, which is featured in a few smaller leagues such as the ESEA League,
RGL, United Gaming Clans, and European Team Fortress 2 League. Call of
Duty and Halo competitions usually play their console editions.
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena – Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games are
historically a spin-off of real-time strategy games, but are different enough that they are now
generally considered a separate genre. While traditional RTS games feature many units
controlled by a single player, MOBAs are typically team focused, the model being five players
on a team, each controlling a single "hero" unit. MOBAs are generally played on personal
computers.

F. GROUPS INVOLVED
 There are many different roles available within esports – we list the main types and
explain what they involve. As esports has grown, so too have the job positions available. Some
are more hands-on than others, with different working requirements and tasks varying greatly
depending on the role.
Players

These are usually signed to a particular team and will compete in different tournaments
for prize money. Wages vary, but the world’s top pros can potentially earn hundreds of
thousands of pounds per annum taking into consideration their wage, sponsorship deals and prize
winnings. Pros usually start off in amateur or grassroots tournaments – or reach the higher
rankings within a particular game – before catching the attention of bigger teams. Becoming a
top esports player is no simple achievement. To rise through the ranks, players specialize in a
specific game, developing their skills through extensive, competitive play. Some even train up to
14 hours a day to hone quick reflexes and multi-tasking abilities. Talented players primarily have
two options in pursuing their esports careers: Streaming and playing professionally.

TEAMS

Professional players join teams (in multi-player games) or play solo (in 1v1 games) to
compete for cash prizes. Each team specializes and competes in one specific game, such
as League of Legends, Dota, or Counter-Strike. The teams that compete at these tournaments
have millions of followers on Twitter, millions watching online, and tens of thousands of
spectators following them to in-person tournaments. A few examples include Evil
Geniuses, Fnatic, and Optic Gaming.

ORGANIZATIONS (ORGS)

The best esports teams are recruited to be a part of organizations, have several teams that
specialize in their respective video games but operate under the same name
(e.g., Cloud9, NRG, TSM, Optic Gaming, or Fnatic)—just as an NCAA college or university
competes in football, basketball, and hockey all under the same umbrella organization (the
college or university). It’s helpful to think of an organization as an elite conglomerate of the
teams playing a variety of video games. A few of the games are 1v1 while others are team based
and involve two squads competing against each other. Leveraging a larger fan base following as
the organization recruits more high profile players and teams, organizations will seek out
sponsorships with brands to access additional revenue streams outside of cash prizes. These are
determined by the following and successes of the underlying players and teams of that specific
organization.

LEAGUES

Esports teams, representing the organization they’re a part of, will compete in their video
game’s respective league where there are regular seasons, playoffs, and world championships.
Just as basketball teams are part of the NBA and compete against each other, esports teams
(typically under an organization umbrella) compete in video game leagues. League tournaments
are run by companies such as Major League Gaming (MLG) or the Electronic Sports
League (ESL). Leagues include North America League of Legends Championships Series, the
Call of Duty World League (organized by MLG), or the Pro League for CS:GO (organized by
ESL).

PUBLISHERS

In esports, each game is the intellectual property of the game creator, collectively referred
to as “publishers.” These publishers include Riot Games, Valve, Activision, and others. The
publisher’s dynamic in the esports ecosystem can be considered “all powerful.” Unlike
traditional sports, which can be played by whomever and wherever, publishers build and develop
their games and subsequently own all rights surrounding them. This means that they have rights
around where the game is played, who can host video game tournaments, and more. At the end
of the day, publishers own the intellectual property of each game, and other industry participants
(players, teams, tournament organizers) are keenly aware of this reality.

Esports Audience

Esports to reach 385 million viewers in 2017: According to Newzoo, an esports market

research organization, in 2017, the audience of esports will reach a total of roughly 385 million
people globally. Of this figure, 191 million are “esports enthusiasts” and 194 million are
“occasional viewers.” The number of enthusiasts is projected to grow by 50% by 2020, totaling
286 million. Most fans are in Asia, North America, and Europe: In the past, people thought that
the craze of competitive video gaming was primarily an Asian phenomenon, yet today only 51%
of esports enthusiasts are in Asia. In fact, North America and Europe have taken a prominent
place in the global esports and gaming ecosystem. Esports fans are working professionals with
purchasing power: Global marketing firm Mindshare found in a survey that 43% of esports
enthusiastics have an annual household income of $75k per year or higher, and nearly one third
(31%) have income of $90k or higher. This purchasing power and ability to engage on
technology platforms makes the esports audience particularly desirable to target for big brands.

G. PRESENT TIME

Esports isn’t all about games in the present. The paths and opportunities are not limited anymore
to games. Even if you can’t be a professional player, people can still be involved in esports. As
esports has grown, so too have the job positions available. Some are more hands-on than others,
with different working requirements and tasks varying greatly depending on the role. If someone
so good at games, the professional player’s path is the best way while the person is still young.

Shout caster (aka caster)/host

Are esports commentators who provide running commentary during live matches, and
usually engage in discussion before and after games. They may also be required to interview
players and other experts.

Analyst/coach

Are experts at taking information and using it to provide interesting stats or learn from it,
either for a particular team, tournament provider, broadcaster or game developer. Team analysts
usually work with coaches to generate strategies, analyse strengths and weaknesses, and
communicate this to the players in order to get the best out of them. Coaches work closely with
the players, to identify their strengths and weaknesses and make sure they are playing at their
best. They will develop strategies and analyse opponents in order to win as many matches – and
tournaments – as possible. Coaches may also be required to take care of day-to-day tasks in the
team’s gaming house, ensure everyone is on the same page and make sure the environment is
right for the players.
Team manager/owner
This can be an incredibly varied and hands-on – but very rewarding – role. Team
managers can be responsible of all kinds of things, from arranging player contracts, finding new
talent, motivating and instructing existing staff and players, entering tournaments, dealing with
travel and accommodation, and developing the team’s brand, strategy and partnerships. Other
senior executives within a team or organisation may look after other areas, such as sales,
partnerships and business development.

Tournament admin/referee
Admins and referees ensure an esports tournament runs smoothly and that all rules and
regulations are adhered to. They may have to deal with player disputes, work with event and
broadcast staff to make sure everything runs on time, and organise the tournament schedule.

Content creator/journalist
Esports teams and other companies may hire their own content creators, who may be
required to write news, edit videos, handle copywriting, conduct interviews and write about
partnerships and sponsorships. Sometimes this role will cross over into social media/community
management. Similar to a content creator, journalists usually work for a publication and their
focus will be more objective. Journalists will often seek out exclusive stories, conduct
investigative reports or uncover scoops. They will be required to conduct interviews, write
articles, grow a varied contact book and stick to tight deadlines. They may also be required to
produce video content and post updates on social media.

Marketing/PR executive
Established teams and companies will usually have a separate department responsible for public
relations and marketing. PR executives will work with journalists and influencers to secure
positive and high-profile coverage for their brand, while marketing executives may be
responsible for maintaining a budget, placing advertisements and signings sponsorships to grow
their fan base or customer base. Some executives will look after both PR and marketing within
their company. There are also external PR/marketing agencies that can look after several
different brands. Marketers and promoters can be key to the success of a particular tournament or
esports event.

Community/social media manager

Community managers are responsible for looking after the fan base or customer base of a
particular game, company or team. They may be required to produce interesting and engaging
content for the community, track the amount of fans, handle promotions, competitions and other
initiatives, gather feedback and relay it to other teams within the company.

Sales/partnerships manager
Like sales positions in other industries, sales in esports are very similar. Sales executives or
managers may be responsible for ticket sales, sponsorship agreements, hardware sales, growing
their customer base or fan base, and coming up with new ideas to generate excitement around a
brand and generate revenues. Sales positions are generally commission-focused, so the worker
will receive a higher pay cheque depending on the amount of sales they have accumulated within
a particular month, or if they have hit a certain target. Esports teams may also have their own
partnership executives who are required to establish relations with other companies and partners.
They will work on joint projects with partners and sponsors, help generate revenues for the team
and work on initiatives designed to engage and monetize their fan base.

Agent

Esports agents will aim to get the possible contract and deals for their players. They will
negotiate on the player’s behalf; manage partnerships and present players with different
opportunities in order to grow their stature and revenues. Agents will usually take a commission
from any deals they strike.
Event manager/production executive
These managers will be responsible for organizing and overseeing live or online esports events.
They may be required to develop strategies, work with different departments and partners on
content and ensure everything is in place to oversee a successful event.

Production/broadcasting
People in the broadcast and production department at an esports event will be working on a wide
range of activities, from lighting and camera work, to ensuring all the technicalities are working
correctly, such as the streaming set up and any screens/projectors/speakers, and will have to
work to a set schedule. Video production staff may need to record additional interviews before
the event and edit them in. Some esports studios will have their own dedicated
broadcast/production rooms for staff to work.

Legal/finance

Lawyers, legal experts, accountants and solicitors will usually help esports teams and companies
produce contracts, settle disputes (inside and out of the court, or through arbitration), restructure
and work on any complicated legal matters. Some organizations will have internal finance staff
to keep on top of accounts and manage incomings and outgoings. These areas can be well-paid
but will usually require a degree or other higher education qualification.

Other careers

This is just an example of some of the more well-known jobs within esports. There are other
careers and specialist jobs that may not be mentioned here. Outside of esports, there are many
other jobs in the games industry which may crossover into esports, for example game developers,
audio engineers, publishers and testers.
 CONCLUSION

The activities of the players today include that of devoting their time in games are causing a huge
impact in the industry. Without these players, there won’t be a tournament that the community
hype and wait every year.

A. CONCLUSION

Esports in the past are very different in the kind of esports of today and the way people
view video games also changed. Gaming isn’t all about gaming anymore. People are getting
more and more exposed to games and its industry are constantly rising. The players, community,
game developers, teams and organizations coexist for esports. The careers for esports keeps on
widening as years pass by.

B. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

This industry is expanding every year. Tournaments are becoming bigger and bigger,
teams are gaining more and more fans and players are growing into millionaires. Countries are
starting to recognize esports, be it by granting P1 visas for competitors or actually accepting
esports as real sport.
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