Press Play to Start: The world of an esports commentator
For some reason, I’m in a nostalgic patch.
Maybe it’s because my graduation is on the horizon, and now that we are back on campus, everything seems to remind me of my freshman year. Or maybe it’s because I bought a bunch of old games, and I’m currently dedicating all my free time to beating them (Super Monkey Ball 2 is harder than it sounds, I swear).
Who knows?
Regardless, I found myself looking over my old columns. Now that a year has passed since my first column, I’m finally able to read them with a fresh pair of eyes. And I have to say: Some of them really don’t hold up.
Sure, my early writing was shoddy when compared to my current articles. But my criticism is mostly centered around my
actual analysis.
Some of my predictions were completely off, and a variety of my suggestions showed how green behind the ears I was to this entire field. Granted, making mistakes is part of the job, regardless of how many years you have under your belt. That still won’t stop me from cringing whenever I read some of my early conclusions, though.
After painstakingly going through all my articles and cursing my obvious youthful hubris, I was forced to admit I still have a long way until I can become a proper esports commentator.
However, that did get me thinking: What does make a good esports commentator?
Initially, I thought that the core tenants would be the same as just regular sportscasters: Funny and knowledgeable on whatever they’re covering (or at least enough to make plausible predictions). And I was right!
Well, sort of. I also realized that esports commentators, especially those that cast over live matches, need to have one more quality: Being able to explain the game to the audience.
This is virtually unseen in any other field. After all, no serious sportscaster ever stopped their commentary to explain how to play football or basketball, right?
But in esports, it’s easy to get disoriented during matches without some explanation on how the game works, especially if the game in question has dozens of characters and mechanics such as League of Legends.
Of course, the amount of explaining is deeply connected to the event’s target audience; more casual viewers will require more “hand-holding” than those who actively participate in the competitive scene. But even this difference goes to show that, more so than in most other sports, esports commentators genuinely serve as a bridge between the viewers and the athletes.
As soon as I realized this, my respect for the field skyrocketed, and I was ready to make up a plan on how the esports scene can properly value its sportscasters.
The problem, however, is that it generally already does.
Take for example EVO, one of the most prestigious fighting game competitions in the world. Unlike other tournaments, it hosts a plethora of games, with its roster changing every year. This means that fans who decide to attend the event will likely only be there for a specific game but will still be exposed to a handful of others to which they know nothing of.
What this translates into is an audience that is at both times casual and professional. So how does EVO solve this problem?
Easy: Hire a bunch of commentators that specialize in different audiences only after they decide on which games to feature.
Not only does this solve the problem of having a permanent caster who does not understand the game, but also allows fans of all different backgrounds to properly enjoy what they are seeing. After all, regardless of your culture, gender, and even knowledge of the game itself, there is likely a commentator that can make you feel like a part of the action.
Of course, organizers still have to work out pairings and time slots and whatnot, but by having a wide variety of commentators to pick from, they at least minimize the chance of alienating their audience.
Other tournaments that feature only one game also show that they understand the importance of commentary. Take for example the recent Valorant tournament held in Berlin.
Not only did they have special castings for different zones across the world (North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia), they also partnered with a handful of Twitch streamers and gave them permission to restream the event. This means that anyone who is even remotely interested in Valorant, regardless of their cultural background or favorite type of casting, can interact with the event.
While there are many other tournaments using their casters wisely, the two that I highlighted serve to illustrate the uniqueness of esports commentary. It can, more than any other sport, meet the audience wherever it may be.
And perhaps, thanks to that very flexibility, it achieves perfect harmony with what made gaming interesting in the first place: The fact that anyone, regardless of their background, can play a video game and enjoy it.
Guilherme Guerreiro is a junior writing about esports. His column, “Press Play to Start,” runs every other Wednesday.