Esports Tournament viewership needs uniformity across events

The growth of esports is now an accepted and a widespread phenomenon. The latest release of games has seen an inclusion of mainstream celebrities as well as an astonishingly high number of female gamers. Esports’ growth coincides with the growth of Twitch, the live streaming platform.

Amazon bought Twitch for $970 million in August 2014. The deal raised a lot of eyebrows, but the continuous appreciation of the live streaming service has definitely paid off for Amazon. The deal was with an intention to bolster the Amazon Web Services.

The Global Esports market will reach $906 million by the end of 2020. Despite such huge numbers, the potential for esports growth remains at an all-time high. In the current environment, most of the numbers come from North America and China.

The potential for esports growth in other countries and regions is very high. This propels a lot of investment into the segment. But as we proceed into the next era of esports growth, this article focuses on an important aspect of esports, the viewing experience. More specifically, the uniformity in viewing experience is something that is extremely crucial.

Uniformity in the viewing experience

The growth in esports is, however, spread across several esports titles. We have several game developers such as Valve, Blizzard, Riot publish their proprietary game client. Valve has steam, while Blizzard has their very own BattleNet Client. They publish their games on these clients. This is not out of the ordinary as we definitely expect the developers to have a right to choose their platform of choice.

But as a viewer, we are used to seeing different tournament organizers use different HUDs. This is especially true for Valve’s games, Dota 2 and CS GO. Valve has the least interference policy in how tournament organizers handle their events. They do have a fixed set of guidelines which are least intrusive in nature. But outside of these parameters, tournament organizers are free to meddle with the format, the prize pool, the HUD and various other offerings at the LAN events.

CS GO and Dota 2 have several companies organizing tournaments in the scene. Organisations such as PGL, FaceIT, ESL, Dreamhack, Starladder and many more are very well known. But in their efforts to distinguish their tournaments from the rest, they always try to exhibit something unique. Distinct HUDs are definitely one of the most community-loved methods.

Are the changes too much?

As esports grows and events become more frequent, Tournament organizers are striving to make their event unique. These changes range from the analyst desk, unique content outside of the game as well as within the game. The weatherman is one such example which provided extra features for the viewers to enjoy.

Of late we are seeing several changes to the In-Game HUD. These changes cause differences in the basic layout of the game. From moving the Health bars and ammunition indicators to different areas on the screen to adding extra animations to adequately display usage of smokes and flashes, these changes are two-sided.

I think @cssltv are fucking killing it:

-Arguably the most comprehensive and competitive format in the scene
-Games all day for the fans
-Consistently scheduled breaks for talent, to keep them fresh and at their best

— Thorin (@Thooorin) May 28, 2018

Viewers have welcomed the smoke and flash indicators. But certain changes like the displacement of the health bars confuse new viewers to the stream. A tournament only lasts for around 5-6 days. Once the tournament is over, viewers have to watch a different tournament organiser’s HUD. This causes a lot of confusion and definitely provides instability when it comes to the viewing experience.

Traditional sports believe in uniformity

Traditional sports too have different tournaments organized by third-party organizers. Sports such as Cricket regularly see massive tournaments, including multinational events. But the viewing experience does not divert from the World Cups. An average viewer can switch on the television and he would know where to look to check the score.

Checking the Health bar, ammunition and weaponry in Counter-Strike are crucial to understanding the current position of the game. Without such information, a viewer would be totally confused about his favorite team’s chances to win the match. The lack of uniformity is a big problem in esports and needs a quick solution.

Should Valve step in? Or should it be up to the tournament organizers?

Valve has always ensured it has a hands-off policy when it comes to how tournament organizers run their events. They do not want to intrude into the tournament organizers’ creativity and personalization.

Of course, the diversity in presentation and HUDs requires a consensus on part of the tournament organizers. If history is any indication, Valve will only step in when the problem becomes big. The community outcry against such a viewing experience might not be at its peak right now. But as organizers strive to differentiate themselves from the flock, we are bound to see more changes to the HUD.

Keep the basics, change the specifics.

I think tournament organizers should come together and form the perfect ingame HUD with room for individual design and sponsors. Even I am sometimes confused where to find info when watching a game from tournament to tournament – then imagine a returning new viewer/player..

— Andreas Højsleth (@Xyp9x) May 29, 2018

Valve has been quite successful in its approach to esports. They should urge tournaments organizers unofficially to provide a common viewing experience to CS GO and Dota 2. Minor changes should be allowed which will not change the basic layout of the game. Certain additions such as Smokes, Flashes, Wards etc can be really advantageous to the public. It is in these aspects that the organizers can display their creativity. But changing the base layout of the game might not be the best strategy especially when you want to appeal to a wider audience.

Rohan

The author

Esports journalist. An esports fan, former wannabe pro and occasional angry young man. You can find him trying to climb the Dota 2 MMR or just chilling in Rocket League. Or maybe building an entire city in Cities: Skylines. The current mood is always a surprise.

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