Why are PC tourneys at PAX so lacking?

Bumbler

I apologize if this is something that's been discussed before. This is only going to be my second PAX, and I'm pretty new to the PA forums.

But yeah, with the ever-massive competitive PC gaming scene (LoL, Dota 2, CS:GO, just to name a few), why is there literally nothing dedicated to these esports games amidst all the tourneys and events?

I've noticed that this is the case at all the PAXs, not just South. Is there just a lack of people willing to organize it?

shimwood

I've been to 3-day LANs where LoL tourneys have taken so long that the participants weren't able to do hardly anything else the entire time so that might have been taken into consideration. Not sure about CS:GO, though. I actually like that the big eSports titles aren't getting a lot of attention in favor of other games.

Bumbler

shimwood wrote: »

I've been to 3-day LANs where LoL tourneys have taken so long that the participants weren't able to do hardly anything else the entire time so that might have been taken into consideration. Not sure about CS:GO, though. I actually like that the big eSports titles aren't getting a lot of attention in favor of other games.

I don't necessarily feel like they need a ton of attention. Why not just a few small tourneys, each spanning a few hours, with participants randomly selected from tourney sign-ups? Let someone cast, even. These things make for amazing spectating material.

GhostDan

And that could be the problem. Crowd control and keeping people moving/out of the way is a constant challenge to PAX. They might not want it because of that.

That being said, there was a email sent out to people last Wednesday mentioning there will be a 6400 square foot Arena. From the email

For all fans of competitive gaming who will be heading out to San Antonio this January 29-31 for PAX South 2016, PAX and Twitch have teamed up to bring 6400 square feet of awesome gaming tournament action in the center of the expo hall.

The only information on the website is that PAX Arena has been added as a location on the schedule, however there's nothing currently scheduled for there yet. There's literally nothing else published about it, but I'm hoping they provide more info later.

Bumbler

GhostDan wrote: »

That being said, there was a email sent out to people last Wednesday mentioning there will be a 6400 square foot Arena. From the email

For all fans of competitive gaming who will be heading out to San Antonio this January 29-31 for PAX South 2016, PAX and Twitch have teamed up to bring 6400 square feet of awesome gaming tournament action in the center of the expo hall.

The only information on the website is that PAX Arena has been added as a location on the schedule, however there's nothing currently scheduled for there yet. There's literally nothing else published about it, but I'm hoping they provide more info later.

Yeah, my hopes were pretty high when I saw that announcement, right up until I saw that it's exclusively Nintendo games. https://smash.gg/tournament/pax-arena

xLira03

Bumbler wrote: »

GhostDan wrote: »

That being said, there was a email sent out to people last Wednesday mentioning there will be a 6400 square foot Arena. From the email

For all fans of competitive gaming who will be heading out to San Antonio this January 29-31 for PAX South 2016, PAX and Twitch have teamed up to bring 6400 square feet of awesome gaming tournament action in the center of the expo hall.

The only information on the website is that PAX Arena has been added as a location on the schedule, however there's nothing currently scheduled for there yet. There's literally nothing else published about it, but I'm hoping they provide more info later.

Yeah, my hopes were pretty high when I saw that announcement, right up until I saw that it's exclusively Nintendo games. https://smash.gg/tournament/pax-arena

Any idea how we can sign up for this? Assuming it's different from the other small tourneys going around.

DanQ

In general PAX focuses a bit more on games anybody can just sign up for and play. You'll get people who go "oh I played that game at a friend's house before a few times, I guess I'll sign up" Combining that mentality with e-sports mentality is not fun for anybody. Part of it is probably lack of people willing to organize, or at least lack of knowledge on how to organize. Trust me, you don't want people unfamiliar with a game organizing an esports type tournament.

japester

Bumbler wrote: »

I've noticed that this is the case at all the PAXs, not just South. Is there just a lack of people willing to organize it?

I am not into MOBAs or tournaments of any kind, so take this with a grain of salt. But I have been to PAXen where they had a big presence. LoL was a major event at Prime, I think, a few years back. Maybe it was East. I only knew this because my friends, who were huge into the game, were hitting everyone up for the character codes being handed out in the daily swag bags. And the tournament was the main thing being blasted on the jumbotron in the main queue area.

If they are still popular (and I assume they are), maybe they are concentrating on their own independent events? I dunno. South is still tiny, so I expect the programming options will expand as attendance and convention space (currently under renovation) increase. If the demand is there, and the game creators aren't opposing it (like, to drive interest to their own official tournaments), then it should organically appear at PAX if people keep asking about it.

Beker

PAX run Tourneys (Not talking about PAX Arena or tourneys run by other companies at PAX) have always strived to be games that you don't normally see on the eSports scene. As @DanQ said, games that anyone can pick up and play. Happy to have pro gamers at our shows, but setting up tourneys for games that appeal to them mean they are the only ones that will win them. We would much rather have non-pro games and formats so that more average gamers have a better shot and its more likely that "Your friend that's really good at Mario Cart" could walk away with the medal.

Bumbler

Beker wrote: »

We would much rather have non-pro games and formats so that more average gamers have a better shot and its more likely that "Your friend that's really good at Mario Cart" could walk away with the medal.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, though. Most of us that are fans of the current esports scene will likely never be good enough to be pro gamers. Why not give us a chance we'd otherwise never have to walk away with a medal for a game we're wildly enthusiastic about? Rather than outright banning any attending pro gamers from participating, they could serve as "coaches"...

...is there someone I could email once I get a chance to write out a full event pitch for next year? I'm local.

YoungFrey

GhostDan wrote: »

And that could be the problem. Crowd control and keeping people moving/out of the way is a constant challenge to PAX. They might not want it because of that.

That being said, there was a email sent out to people last Wednesday mentioning there will be a 6400 square foot Arena. From the email

For all fans of competitive gaming who will be heading out to San Antonio this January 29-31 for PAX South 2016, PAX and Twitch have teamed up to bring 6400 square feet of awesome gaming tournament action in the center of the expo hall.

The only information on the website is that PAX Arena has been added as a location on the schedule, however there's nothing currently scheduled for there yet. There's literally nothing else published about it, but I'm hoping they provide more info later.

At Prime 2015, they had a Rocket League theater that ran all weekend and was very popular. I'm guessing PAX Arena is similar. If it's the same kind of thing, it could still be a totally different game.

DanQ

Bumbler wrote: »

Beker wrote: »

We would much rather have non-pro games and formats so that more average gamers have a better shot and its more likely that "Your friend that's really good at Mario Cart" could walk away with the medal.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, though. Most of us that are fans of the current esports scene will likely never be good enough to be pro gamers. Why not give us a chance we'd otherwise never have to walk away with a medal for a game we're wildly enthusiastic about? Rather than outright banning any attending pro gamers from participating, they could serve as "coaches"...

...is there someone I could email once I get a chance to write out a full event pitch for next year? I'm local.

Well you would have just as good a chance at walking away with a medal in the sorts of games they have now is the point, probably a better chance if you aren't super skilled in your esports game. There isn't any way to be like sorry, you are too good, you can't participate. People's skill levels aren't known and sign ups are first come first served. Also I'm sure you can get your game on and set up pick up tournaments in the free play or bring your own computer areas. I've seen people set up competitive smash bros matches in the free play area.

You can always volunteer though and hopefully work your way over to the tourney management in the future.

taumeson

Also you can send me any ideas. We've absolutely done COD and CS:GO tourneys before (and CS before CS:GO came out, and TF2, and etc.) and some folks have touched upon it - we're just trying to have a different vibe with our tourneys. Not just games that anybody can pick up and play, but games that are out of the ordinary - we did CLOP and Goat Simulator today, for example. Ratchet down the pressure, hand out medals (e-sports teams get pissed when they win and just get medals) and change the perception of what a tourney can be.