Thursday, February 25, 2016

Policing Behavior in Esports

This is officially sanctioned anger!!!
My latest PopMatters article is all about shit you shouldn't do if you're an esports athlete.

Sort of.

There are actually several fines I don't discuss that I find especially interesting and/or hilarious. For example, the penalty index for League of Legends includes a punishment for removing your headphones before a game is over. It makes sense of course. Most of these games take place on stage in front of a huge crowd. If a professional player can hear the crowd, they may gain information about the match they wouldn't otherwise know. Still, I like the idea of a player taking off their headphones out of frustration or celebration and getting slapped with a fine.

There are also penalties for things that remind us all how much money is involved in esports. Accordingly, all players must follow strict uniform guidelines. Unfortunately I don't know what those exact guidelines are, but I imagine is contains limitations on the size and placements of sponsor logos. Or maybe Riot just wants to make sure these players are wearing breathable material.

Likewise, there's a ban against broadcasting a logo that wasn't prior approved. Their example is you're not allowed to put on a hat immediately after a match. I think the assumption here is that a winning team member, in a blatant attempt at shirking the uniform guidelines, puts on a Budweiser baseball cap and pantomimes a chugging gesture while winking at the camera.

There are all silly hypotheticals of course, but the strangeness of behavioral policing remains. The culture of professional esports feeds into and from gaming culture at large, and even sports culture generally.

The rules we establish, and the rules we don't, can tell us a lot about the culture around us.


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

EXP Podcast #366: Firewatch Debrief

I'm just going to pretend I don't smell smoke.
The forest can be a beautiful place.  Centuries-old trees shade your path as you walk through a sprawling valley.  The river has carved this place out the eons and its serene, yet unyielding presence reminds you that it was here before any human set foot in here and it will remain here long after the last human is gone.  The forest can also be a scary place.  One missed step and you're just another piece of debris floating through that river.  Also: does that shadow look particularly bear-like to you?  And of course there are the ever-present personal demons and sense of existential angst that accompany your every step.

You guessed it: this week we're talking about Firewatch!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.





Show Notes:

- Runtime: 44 mins 03 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

The Long Dark: Chilling With Wolves

In celebration of Firewatch, we revisit another game set in an isolated wilderness.  Except in this one the chief conflict is less about personal morality and more about fending off bloodthirsty wildlife.  Still pretty dramatic though.


Wednesday, February 17, 2016

EXP Podcast #365: PC Problems

"Take that console plebes!"
Quantum Break is coming to PC, which for some reason infuriates some Xbox One owners who feel mislead. Why so sensitive about the console vs PC market? Is something amiss on the world of console gaming? This week on the podcast, we discuss computer gaming, my recent PC build, and more. Join us, won't you?

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.




Show Notes:

- Runtime: 32 mins 27 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Spelunky: Bad News Leopards

We are back with vengeance! But our luck may have left us behind. This week, we go back into Spelunky and discuss YouTube drama, Sisqó systems, and so much more.