A Spectator Sport
Of course, every major successful sport eventually lives or dies based on the number of spectators it attracts. This is the big challenge for professional gaming, because while online games are great fun to play, they are less fun to watch. Today's shooters are so fast and frantic that only highly experienced gamers can hope to follow all the action. This leaves more casual gamers out in the cold. While this spring's Razer CPL tournament saw some very impressive play (including a midair frag by Fatality on Makaveli in the final), the frenetic nature of Quake III might make it difficult for inexperienced viewers to follow the action. Some insiders agree. "The games we currently have right now are not mass-media viewable," Atari founder and ex-PGL commissioner Nolan Bushnell admitted to Salon magazine.
CPL founder Munoz strenuously disagrees. "The rules of the competition appeal to our most primitive urges; it is about survival of the fittest in a digital environment. Anyone interested in computers and in the new developing culture around these machines will find it easy to follow the games and will find our events to be compelling and exciting." Furthermore, Munoz emphasizes the large number of spectators at CPL events. "[CPL] spectator areas are always full, not only of gamers, but parents of gamers, friends of the parents, curious bystanders, press, and fans of the sport. In my opinion, Quake, because of its simple rules, is easier to follow than baseball. The high-speed action makes it that much more interesting."
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The competition field looks pristine before the challenge. |
The boundary between spectators and competitors in gaming is unique among professional leagues. While a fan at a San Francisco 49ers game wouldn't expect to even get a tryout with the team, spectators at Frag 3 in October 1999 could conceivably get interested in the game, play it for six months, show up at Razer CPL in April of the following year, and at least be welcome to compete. For this reason, it would seem that amateur leagues are crucial to professional gaming's success. Angel Munoz thinks so. "An amateur league will give aspiring pro gamers an opportunity to get used to the particular challenges of competing in live events and will help them create a certain amount of fame without having to compete with the best in the world before they are ready."
Such leagues already exist, whether they be online leagues, such as the Online Gaming League (www.ogl.org), or regional leagues, such as the Digital Athlete Gamers League (www.dagl.net). DAGL is located in northeastern Louisiana and started sponsoring what are essentially LAN parties, where participants bring their own machines and hook them up to the host's Local Area Network. Last summer the league had its first event with 32 participants, and it is growing slowly. While there are prizes (the winner of the last tournament won $350 and various prizes donated by sponsors), the league runs on donated time as well as sponsors' donations. Perhaps the ethos of DAGL is best summed up by the following "helpful hint" for its tournament attendees: "Lastly, say 'Thank You' to the wives of the staff. They not only put up with our desire to run this huge event but they also help out with hours and hours of work."
