Ideas for an Article

[RomanKar]

So, if I were to write an article about our lovely esport, what sort of article should it be? What should it be about?  Most importantly, what would you like to read from me, or any esports writer about Guns of Icarus and its competitive scene?

Taking ideas.  I'll put them all in the fish bowl, and see which fish stands out.

On a side note, the next post I will post here will be a draft for the community.  I just want to hear suggestions, feel free to piggy back and run to the absurd, and back again, but please, no negative comments.  Do not disagree with an idea, simple give your own, or enhance someone else's.

Thank you for helping me in this matter.  I hope I can do the community justice with my words.

[vyew]

What makes competitive GoIO unique compared to competitive games (mostly the ever popular MOBAs and FPSs and RTS) (sorry for captain obvious), but also similarities.

Some ideas off the top of my head would be crews (as opposed to teams), interesting stuff about ship loadouts, how map control and positioning gets done and its effects in GoIO, close vs long range combat, individual skill vs coordination of crews and teams.

tl;dr I'm sure you already know what to write

[Queso]

The fact that what you see in the stream is often very much like naval combat mixed with more traditional aerial combat is extremely interesting. You don't need to know the game very well to appreciate it live. Another interesting thing is that much like a real sport, the spectators viewpoint is not tied to the way individual players can see the game. In other e-sports derived from the RTS (Starcraft, MOBAs, etc) you are pretty much locked into the perspective of what the players can see. In FPS casting you are locked into player view or free cam, and free cam makes you miss a lot of the interesting action of a twitchy fps. In Icarus the individual player is less important than the whole of the ship, so it allows you to watch a game without needing to know the location and current action of every single player. You can get a view of what's happening from the part summary. Casters could choose to focus on a crew a little bit of they wanted to with the ship cam, but the great thing is they don't have to.

[Shinkurex]

Hello,

I am writing to you as a former Co-Pilot of Zill's Merry Men. Current holders of the titles Masters of Ambush, and Lords of Labyrinth. Winners of the "Everybody Hates Field Trips" Mini-Tourney, and a part of the winning team for the The Hemlock-Rejkva Grand Tournament. I'm here to give you a glimpse into what makes the difference between the Guns of Icarus Online (GOIO) Competitive scene, and other competitive games. There are Three main reasons why this game stands out from all the rest; The Devs, The Community, and The Game.

First, let's look at the Devs. I'm sure everyone reading this has played their fair share of video games throughout the year. I've played plenty myself, from Call of Duty, to Minecraft and World of Tanks, I enjoy gaming. Though there is only one dev team that I know on a personal level, and that is Muse. When you first meet any Muse employee, you can tell that they have a joy for their game. A passion that I've not come across in a long time. These people love their work, and they do everything possible provide the most balanced gameplay they can. They are the only dev team I know that actively participates in most all competitive tournaments and leagues. I encourage you all to seek out a Muse employee, and see for yourself the level of compassion these guys have for GOIO.

After Muse, comes the community. I have never come across a community  like this... EVER. I am 25, and have been playing games ever since I was allowed to hop on a computer. In all my years, I've stayed away from all communities. I had experienced the toxicity of other gaming communities before, and that has soured me to most communities, but then I found GOIO. Every lobby that I joined in my early days on this game were welcoming there was no dragging me through the dirt because I was new, no rage quitting on me because we were losing 0-5... People taught you the game. The took the time between lobbies to tell me what was wrong with my build, or what I could of done better in-game. This community takes it up a knotch when it comes to the competitive scene. They are the driving force when it comes to creating tournaments, and events for everyone to enjoy. On the field they are respectful towards one another regardless on their stance on the great gunner debate, and I am comfortable in calling most everybody in the community a friend.

Now we get to the game. GOIO is like nothing ever played before. You are grouped with 3 other crew members aboard an airship. Your role may be the pilot, the engineer, or the gunner. Each with their own unique game play, that when put together properly, turns an airship into a killing machine. I had never imagined that you could put 3 different styles of game into one so seamlessly than what Muse has done... it's mind boggling. On top of all this, you're not the only ship on your team! Most of our tournaments and events have been geared toward 2v2 combat. That's 8 people on 2 ships per team! We have a joke forum thread stating that "You Haven't Played GOIO Until..." The answer to this thread is that you've not played GOIO until you've successfully coordinated not only you're own vessel, but also with your allied captain to such a level where those players feel like extensions of your own self. It is truly exhilarating.

So one may ask why all this matters in the competitive scene? Well the answer is simple.

1. Muse's Love for this game will mean that they will continue to work on it to provide the best possible balance and fun game play available. They are very open to new ideas, and try to accomodate everyone available.

2. This community is so different than any other gaming community out there, that we strive to hold respect for all people no matter the level, or the clan that they may be in.

3. The game is like nothing I've ever seen before on the competitive level. Each match plays differently no matter if one is on the same map. People adapt. They learn, and then communicate with their fellow team members to try something new, until they find something that works for that match. This is a game where it could be 4-0 one moment then the next, it's a 4-5 underdog victory.

To Clear Skies!
Shinkurex (Shink)

Something like that might work ... you'll have to excuse any glaring grammatical mistakes.... been a while since I've had to type that much

[obliviondoll]

Anyone writing this article, feel free to grab me as an editor.

On a mostly-unrelated topic, I'm planning to write a review sometime soonish (was meant to be this week, but got sidetracked by friends and visitors and going out randomly to hit friends with sticks). So that'll be fun. And bringing things back to the topic, I'd love to read an article about the competitive scene, and just the ideas posed already are making me hopeful for what I'll be reading.

[RomanKar]

I will be quoting you guys, so you know.  If you would like to be addressed with a specific title, please say so. 

[Shinkurex]

So long as you dont blame me for things, we're good

[RomanKar]

That was gonna be the title

[Queso]

I would like to be addressed as "The Better Matthew at Muse Games" (Queso or Matthew is fine)

[Keyvias]

If I had to summarize my personal favorite part of competitive:
Tension.

The tension at the start of a match.
The setting up and first placement of ships, the execution of strategy, and the battle's climax with a burst of explosions, bullets, and sometimes fire.

The tension in a battle.
Both teams pushing for that upper hand and watching a ship pull off an amazing maneuver to avoid fire, set up the perfect crossfire, or escape from an impossible situation.

All games have passion and tight nit teams at the competitive level.  I do believe ours excel more than other games, but it's not the sexy part of the story to me at least.
It's the five minutes in twitch chat when the ships first load in.  The excitement is a spark you can feel no matter the distance.

If you need quotes from anyone on the dev team, coding, balancing, CEO, just let me know and we'll get you in touch with them.