Project Breakdown and Stuff

Project Breakdown

The project will be initially broken into three parts:

1) Financial aspect of pro gaming. Money will be the primary motivation for gamers to quit their day jobs and spend hours training to play. That money will have to come from somewhere, either sponsorship or part of a league association. The Major League Gaming (MLG) has a few teams on contract to play exclusively for them, and some of those players are getting six figures. The World Cyber Games is open to everyone who gets through the preliminaries and is funded through sponsorship by both game and tech companies and in some cases the city that is hosting the event. So the questions is can a living be made being a professional gamer?

2) The technology of pro gaming. Besides PC, consoles, and broadband we should take a look at how to present gaming matches to fans. Usually enthusiasts show up in person to observe a match. However, there have been successful attempts to broadcast games on TV. The best example is a series of TV shows on the USA Network from MLG. It only lasted six weeks but there is talk of another series of shows. The World Series of Games did get a deal with CBS to show games but the World Series fell apart due to funding issues. The fact that one of the big four networks was interested should speak volumes, but we still don't know how they would have done it. Also, some game developers have started incorporating technology in there games to allow spectators to watch a game. Bizarre Creations make the popular Project Gotham Racing series for the Xbox. Their third game included a mode the let Xbox Live users log onto an ongoing match of other users in a race. Electronic Arts built something called Battlecast (could be wrong) into Command and Conquer 3 for use in tournaments. Can games be presented like sports games to reach a larger audience?

3) The social aspect of pro gaming. I've asked this question before, what makes a person a fan of something? By now everyone has seen pictures and video of the Halo Nation waiting to pick up the new game at midnight. And now the passion of Phillies fans are at an all-time high. So what drives these people to such devotion? Can this be replicated with pro gamers? Are game player personalities needed, like a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods equivalent? There are a lot of game fans but sometimes it is for a specific game. I don't really know if there is an overlap between Madden football fans and Halo fans, or even Command and Conquer 3 fans. Without fans can pro gaming actually happen? With the current generation is it possible to achieve a viable fan base to elevate pro gaming into a popular and profitable market in the next five years? Ten years? If not, what will it take?

We should choose what we will work on the next time we meet. That way we can start work on our draft proposal.

The Truth.............

..................is that I am awesome at a certain game that shall not be named. Yes, so fracking awesome. I'm just glad I am so humble to admit this.