Wonder Cow

After ~8 years away, I've made a foray back to Dota content! I'm challenging myself to answer questions I've always wanted answered. Starting with this one. If you remember me, then you'll enjoy this excessively specific analysis of Hand of Midas. youtube.com/watch?v=wYE3RU…

@D2BOWIE @XcaliburYe Was changed about 2 years ago, just flame guard. It wasn't hidden. Here's the patch notes: dota2.com/patches/7.31

@XcaliburYe 🤔huh Was that a hidden change? Also: his barrier or any barrier? How can you even play tinker IF it doesnt absorb 100%?

The reason a lot of players are rushing the lvl 10 flame guard talent + mageslayer is that you can tank about 4 fingers of death with your flame guard as ember. What I don't get though is: why is he losing a little bit of HP despite having the barrier up ?

@dragondropdota I agree with you in principal, but I also think you underestimate the number of people for whom commentary is background noise. There's also really cool applications for audio-based summaries of every game as a podcast or radio feed (which we did manually back in the day).

If anything this is yet another "use case" that may be neat technologically, but shouldn't worry any real casters out there. Esports commentary works best when the casters communicate their passion for the game. Technology will never be able to replace them on that level.

@solarrsystem FWIW, fiction writing is really difficult. Nobody is good at it when they start. Many scifi authors started as nonfiction authors and transitioned as they learned more about narrative, exposition and character. If you still want to write fiction, there's many ways to get there!

I’ve been figuring out my writing journey and have realized that creative writing is maybe not my forte, but something along nonfiction stuff is what I should stick with. I’m tempted to return to writing long threads any interest? i need to dig up my old list of topics to cover

@esportslaw Good conversations, I appreciate you putting up with my pleb-size character limits and your perspective. I know it can be frustrating the have a conversation when you don't know when one side will be finished talking xD

@TheWonderCow I understand the thrust of your argument and I think it’s somewhat true, though I think you muddy the waters frequently. Some of this stuff really is inherently different btwn sports and esports, but a lot of it isn’t.

Esports teams are the most misunderstood stakeholder in the industry. Fans & industry insiders alike are overly reliant on comparisons to traditional sports analogs. We need to unpack these comparisons to grasp the real opportunity for & role of esports teams. 🧵

@esportslaw All notable esports are closer to Tennis or Golf than they are to the NBA. Players in some sports are generally independent, managing their own affairs and competing of their own accord. There's indication that golf will subdivide into player-controlling orgs as it matures.

@esportslaw This means teams, in the NBA, are not competing directly players (for a variety of reasons, which is where the mixing-matching comes in -- Twitter not the best for delicate organization). Esports teams are and always will be in direct market competition with indie players.

@esportslaw And, more importantly, you'll never need any of that to go and make gaming content, professional or amateur. In gaming, there's no way to stop a player from participating in the content market fully independently of a team. There's no equivalent to that in sports.

@esportslaw That's not true, it's a matter of fact. Sports are physical games. You need high-quality arenas to play in, you need players to travel, you need large gyms for physical training. You don't need any of that in esports. It can be an edge, but none of it is necessary.

@esportslaw In other words, the team brings more relative value to the relationship in the NBA. Players need teams in sports. No matter how big an NBA star gets, they need an NBA team to play professional ball. For esports, that's not true.

@esportslaw A YouTube channel from a basketball star is not the same thing as one from a Dota player. The Dota player is able to go to market with the exact same product with or without a team. For the most part, the basketball star can only be a basketball star if they are on an NBA team.

@esportslaw I don't see how one reliably scales a business where the brand's primary draw is always threatening to directly compete with the brand itself. They can definitely be successful, but the cost to grow & sustain an esports brand seems like it'll always stay high relative to sports.

@esportslaw For example, there was no risk of Kobe Bryant leaving the NBA to play basketball independently. That will always be a risk for orgs trying to staff up with players. There are some limited spaces (like LoL) where franchising reduces this, but it never goes away.

@esportslaw So, in the NBA (or equivalent league), players need orgs to get going. Compare to gaming, where orgs will always need to offer a player more in value than the player can make on their own. That means high-value gamers get inflated very quickly, and it undermines the org's growth

@esportslaw Compare to esports, where you basically need some talent, a little luck, and a computer or mobile phone. Many more gamers build brand with their personal professional or recreational play than those who get their brand from an organization. Sorry, this is almost the last one...