5 Things Every Game Needs to Make it as an Esport.
Esports is a massive part of gaming culture. But not every game is destined to make it as an Esport. Here are 5 factors a game needs to to develop an esports scene.
With peak viewership of 5.1 million for League of Legends, 2.9 million for CS:Go, 2.7 million for DOTA 2, 5.4 million for Free Fire and 4.2 million for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, there is no doubt that Esports is a huge phenomenon around the world. It is a massive part of gaming culture. And brands are always looking for which game to be a part of, and what could be the next big Esport to invest in moving forward.
But not every game is destined to make it as an Esport - and along with all the successes come unexpected flops such as Blizzard's much-hyped Heroes of the Storm. Here are 5 of the factors that every game needs to to develop an esports scene.
1. Easy to pick up, extremely hard to master.
Let's take football (soccer) as an example. Anyone can kick a ball. Given a few minutes, anyone can dribble a ball. But the layers of skill that go from the first time you are "able" to play football, to becoming a professional, are immense.
Why is this important? Because anyone who can play the game at a basic level, will have a better understanding and appreciation of what the pro athletes are able to accomplish.
Counterstrike has a long history of being one of the most compelling Esports in the world. And it has produced a legion of die-hard fans. One of the main reasons? It is easy to pick up and play.
Almost anyone can boot up CS:GO, enter a game and they will know how to point a gun at the general direction of an enemy - eventually getting slightly better at doing that over time.
But what makes CS:GO amazing is the skill curve that comes after you get the basics down. There are so many layers to skill in the game, from amazing movement mechanics, to precise aim, to map and game sense, to team tactics and communications.
Even a beginner at CS:GO can watch a pro play the game and appreciate the sheer amount of skill that those pros have.
As a result? You get crowds like this:
2. The possibility for legendary moments.
We can all remember legendary moments in sports. And esports is no different.
To give you perhaps my favourite example of this of ALL TIME, we need just look back at Daigo's INSANE series of parries in the 2004 EVO Worlx Championship's Finals. This moment is still talked about in gaming circles today, by gamers across all genres, not just fighting game enthusiasts.
So why is this an important factor in esports, and how can we tell if a game has potential to create legendary moments?
One thing to keep in mind when considering - is victory always possible, even when the odds are incredibly stacked in one side's favour?
In a team game, is there the potential for a single player to step up and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Do players become almost anime-like heroes in key moments?
This is one great thing about the hottest rising esport title, Valorant, which is essentially Counterstrike but with amazing abilities. These abilities give individual players the opportunity to take over rounds with highlight-reel plays that defy imagination.
One great example of this happened during the VCT Pacific Ascension Tournament recently, as Sscary of Singapore/Malaysia team BLEED pulled off an unthinkable 1v4 clutch to win a key round for his team.
3. Simple and clear objectives.
This is a pretty straightforward point, but an important one. The best esport games have really clear objectives that any fan, no matter how familiar with the game, can understand.
CS:GO and Valorant have attackers looking to plant a bomb, and defenders attempting to stop it.
DOTA2 and League of Legends have opposing bases defended by towers that need to be destroyed.
Fighting games like Street Fighter? The winner is the last one standing.
One great example of this is Rocket League - an incredibly popular esport in which two teams of CARS play soccer. You may not understand why, you may not get how to control cars to score goals, but you CAN get a thrill from that goal be scored and understand what the players are trying to accomplish!
4. A Level Playing Field.
Fans of any sport know that games are fun when the two teams playing eachother have an equal opportunity to win the match. And it's no different from competitive gaming.
A great esport requires balance between teams, factions, characters and more. If the game is unbalanced it negatively impacts the viewing experience and feeling of competitiveness and fairness.
Rocket League and CS:GO are two of the best examples of games with a completely level playing field. Two opposing teams, with identical abilities face off with only player skill and teamwork being the factor that determines winner and loser.
Games like DOTA, League of Legends and Valorant are similar, but add in the elements of character selection as an additional layer. How you form and build your team composition, who plays what character and how they interact with each other can greatly impact the competitiveness of a match. One thing that keeps it level, though is that both sides have access to the same selection of characters.
5. Storytelling.
This is the least easy to spot and yet perhaps the most important element of what is going to make a successful esport. What stories will be told before, during and after an event by teams, players, content creators and the broadcast that will capture the hearts, minds and imagination of fans watching?
Just like with athletes, who become heroes, in esports there is a need to create heroes that fans can look up to, admire and cheer for. There need to be underdog stories, rivalries and betrayals. Heroes and villains.
A great recent example comes from the recent VCT Masters tournament in Tokyo, as Edward Gaming's zmjjkk (Kang Kang) was a relatively under the radar player from China who exploded on the scene in dominant fashion. Riot did an incredible job of sharing his story through their content released during the event.
In this video they highlight how zmjjkk's name is a combination of his name and his brother's, who never made it as a pro player, because he made a promise to his brother that he would make sure his name made it to a pro stage. It is a goosebump-worthy story that immediately humanized the team from China, their relationships and shared that they have a strong "why" that makes them compelling to cheer for.
On top of that, Riot's content creators did a fantastic job of hyping up the new star player. From Tarik, to seangares, huge content creators became instant fans and generated millions upon millions of views exposing his skills to the world.
Those are the top 5 things I believe makes a game great for esports. There are far more and others I considered but, well, it's a top 5. If i had a 6th it would be around the ecosystem for talent development and grassroots involvement.
Anything I left off? Do feel free to let me know!