So how will they present OW as a viewable epsort?

[DeadmanWalking]

In hots they have an overhead camera which can be moved around during esport events on things like twitch or espn, some way of drawing the attention of the viewer to a specific important location.

All I see in OW is a behind the character viewpoint and if the guy you are watching is large it is hard as shit to see what they are shooting at, or even the action in general. I've watched a few people play and I can't really see the skill like I can in fps view.

So how do you present this game for esports viewing? Some games have an invisible orb that can wander the battlefield and give you a perspective. Some an overhead camera. I could see this game switching from different players POV even.

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

[PassingBy]

Well if they could make a snorefest like CS into a viewable e-sport - I am sure Blizz will figure out something with OW.

[classic username]

Well if they could make a snorefest like CS into a viewable e-sport - I am sure Blizz will figure out something with OW.

just because you dont understand CS doesnt mean its a snorefest

[Kalcheus]

I'm pretty sure there's a spectator mode they turn on, you see it in some of the preview videos.

[PassingBy]

just because you dont understand CS doesnt mean its a snorefest

Yeah, since there is so much to understand about this game.
I understand that a lot of people do like the game, though it is totally not my cup of tea.

Just hope that with the success of OW (if it will be successful) the online FPS will be more like the pre CS times.
Or at least developers will understand that going for "realism" for an online FPS is not the only possible way.
And we'll see more games with the Q2-Q3 feel.

[DeadmanWalking]

I'm pretty sure there's a spectator mode they turn on, you see it in some of the preview videos.

The only mode I have seen is your viewpoint is several feet behind their shoulder blades and you can see the targeting recticle but big characters block most of your view. Maybe if they put the camera up a bit and to the side to look over a shoulder...

It also doesn't help with ranged snipers as the action is entirely down the scope.

[Volitar]

Eh Idk I'm sure Blizzard will force fuck our face promoting the shit out of the Esport scene but I generally don't think its an enjoyable game to spectate.

[Mormolyce]

How do FPS esports usually handle that? I admit I don't watch any.

I imagined just switching between various team members' viewpoints.

[Kalcheus]

The only mode I have seen is your viewpoint is several feet behind their shoulder blades and you can see the targeting recticle but big characters block most of your view. Maybe if they put the camera up a bit and to the side to look over a shoulder...

It also doesn't help with ranged snipers as the action is entirely down the scope.

Again, in the preview videos they showed, they had a 3rd-person spectator view. I'm guessing it's a feature they can unlock for tourneys, but not positive.

[Thrif]

Well, as you've mentioned, the first thing it needs to become is more accessible and understandable for viewers. There's a high pace in the game, with 12 players at once, and unclear objectives. It's very, very difficult as a viewer to understand things like what the strategy is, which team is winning, what they're supposed to do, who plays well and who plays bad etc.

There's a reason other games with equally fast pace only was played 1v1. Because that's the only way for the viewer to understand what's going on.

Truth to be told, I don't think it will ever become an e-sports - at least not a natural one, like LoL, Dota or CS, but maybe a forced one like HotS - but if it were to, they'll need to figure out a good way to convey information to the players as much as possible. An overview camera of all important objectives, instant replays, easy to follow and understand objectives, stuff like that.

Also they probably need to make it more turn-based and so that kills matters, like in CS. Right now kills doesn't matter, people are up and at it again instantly, there's no tension and nobody really cares that much.

Well if they could make a snorefest like CS into a viewable e-sport - I am sure Blizz will figure out something with OW.

CS has tons of features that makes it better suited to be an E-sports than OW though. First of all, the pace is definitely slower (although only silvers would consider it a snorefest), but that just means that close to every kill and every strategic move can be viewed on camera. It's very easy to follow every round and understand what's going on.

Secondly, it has a skill cap that OW will never ever reach. Acing, clutches, and just the general precision and skills of the players are easy to understand and be awed at. OW is both way too fast and way too forgiving with the aim for that to ever be the same.

A far better comparison would be to Team Fortress 2, a game that for a long time was Valves 3rd most played, and that always has hung around top5 in steam, which is the game that OW is "inspired by" (ripped off), and that never became an e-sports.

Bottomline is that no the fact that CS became an e-sports is in no way an assurance that OW will become an e-sports. But the fact that TF 2 didn't is indicative of the opposite.

- - - Updated - - -

How do FPS esports usually handle that? I admit I don't watch any.

I imagined just switching between various team members' viewpoints.

In CS, the pace is a lot slower so there's time for the casters and cameramen to catch and talk about pretty much everything that happens.

In Q3, they play solely 1v1 and switch perspectives.

OW can't really do either of them, so it'll be interesting to know what they try to come up with.

[Deleted]

its so sad that the second reply already startet a "war" between overwatch and other fps X (cs in this case).
People like different things is it that hard to understand? jeez.

On topic though, have they ever stated that they wanted OW to be an Esport?
I mean they didnt want hearthstone to be one, but it got pretty big anyways. so it would be interesting to see i guess.

[PassingBy]

Secondly, it has a skill cap that OW will never ever reach. Acing, clutches, and just the general precision and skills of the players are easy to understand and be awed at. OW is both way too fast and way too forgiving with the aim for that to ever be the same.

In CS, the pace is a lot slower so there's time for the casters and cameramen to catch and talk about pretty much everything that happens.

In Q3, they play solely 1v1 and switch perspectives.

OW can't really do either of them, so it'll be interesting to know what they try to come up with.

Q3 was/is much faster than OW. And no one, who actually played the game had any problem understanding the plays. And it was played on the WCG, hell a guy from my clan actually won it in 2002.
And they tried to have competitive team play Q3, but 1v1 was always the mode of choice, you're right.

OW can be kinda the "casual" version of CS. Like LoL is to DotA.
A beautiful cartoonish graphics, less of a learning curve (however with the amount of heroes this one might be problematic), less toxic community.
Shinier hats too.

[antelope591]

Well if they could make a snorefest like CS into a viewable e-sport - I am sure Blizz will figure out something with OW.

lol if CS isn't an e-sport then no game is...its pretty much the perfect game as far as e-sports is concerned

[PassingBy]

lol if CS isn't an e-sport then no game is...its pretty much the perfect game as far as e-sports is concerned

Never said it isn't. It is an e-sport, I'd even say that the existence of CS is one of the reasons we see the e-sports the way they are now.
It's a matter of personal choice. I find it boring, and not my cup of tea. While I do understand what makes people play/watch it.

There are things more surprising for me.
For example baseball - while I also find it boring and not my cup of tea I also can't even wrap my head around the fact that someone would pay money to watch it.

[Eats Compost]

I guess it depends a lot on the tech that's in use. If it's ingame, players can manually control their own camera or choose their own perspective, or even just default to what a caster of some kind is watching. If it's exclusively done by streaming, they'll probably just show what the caster is seeing. If there is no caster, I'd expect it to just switch between viewpoints semi-randomly.

[Thrif]

Q3 was/is much faster than OW. And no one, who actually played the game had any problem understanding the plays. And it was played on the WCG, hell a guy from my clan actually won it in 2002.
And they tried to have competitive team play Q3, but 1v1 was always the mode of choice, you're right.

I know nobody had a problem with it, and that it was very popular. It was one of the first e-sports ever. But they played it 1v1 so it was easily watchable, and OW isn't designed like that. And yes, Q3 was marginally faster than OW, but they are still way closer to each other than any of them are to CS.

OW can be kinda the "casual" version of CS. Like LoL is to DotA.
A beautiful cartoonish graphics, less of a learning curve (however with the amount of heroes this one might be problematic), less toxic community.
Shinier hats too.

Doubt it. There's a reason LoL is called a dota clone, because when push comes to shove they are actually really really similar games. LoL is a bit easier and more skill-shot focused, but there isn't any big differences really. OW and CS are really, really different games, with one focusing on being action packed and one focusing being strategical.

You might be right in that CS players will watch it occasionally when they feel like something more casual though. I'm sure that's the reason many people play it to begin with.

[Mormolyce]

In CS, the pace is a lot slower so there's time for the casters and cameramen to catch and talk about pretty much everything that happens.

In Q3, they play solely 1v1 and switch perspectives.

OW can't really do either of them, so it'll be interesting to know what they try to come up with.

How about TF2? Does that get... esported at all?

[Very Tired]

How about TF2? Does that get... esported at all?

A bit, TF2 e-sports doesn't attract as much attention since the competitive stuff seems to be unofficial, but they are finally working on adding it in the next update. No one really complains about the camera work though and you can get whats going on. Unlike games like LoL, where unless you actually have some experience in the game, it'll just look like a blob of characters running everywhere firing stuff in every direction... after a good 10 minutes of boring startup farming that is.

[Ulmir]

It has to be specced in 1st person, anything else will be completely awful.

[Thrif]

How about TF2? Does that get... esported at all?

http://www.esportsearnings.com/games is the easiest way to see how e-sported something gets. Currently TF2 ranks in at #43 with 272K total prize money, so while it appears to get at least a little e-sported, it is nowhere near the big titles, with CS handing out 60 times that amount, 100 times if you count the original game.

So to answer your question, not in any meaningful sense, no.