I took the time to thank Husky and commend him on his progression as a caster over the last year. Best part is - he's not only a great caster, he's also super good people.
I like the idea of a 6 man rotation with Tastosis, dayhusky, daywheat and JP making caster sandwiches with everyone. We'll get there. 2011 has budget constraints but hopefully we can work out a path to the perfect plan of 6. Watching the event live or on VoD, attending events, spreading the word to new people and yes, buying memberships or HQ passes all help fund these efforts.
Long story short - I have some cash constraints but I feel just as all of you folks do - Husky is a great addition. Typed on my phone so please forgive the slop.
I am also tipsy.
*EVERYTHING BELOW THIS POINT IS THE FIRST UPDATE FROM SUNDANCE*
Someone that I'm drinking with won't leave me alone regarding 2012 so here's a bit more of what I'm thinking.
We have major in studio competitions plannned (ALA Korea / GSL). Ideally - Europe/LA/NA/SEA and possibly MENA regions will all have times when their activities are in studio as well as blended global activities. I would absolutely love to have multi-language casts at some point (mostly for Asia/Russia) but even before that I'd like to get casters from those regions who cast in English into the mix.
If I have my way we will have a stable of casters that we work with including the folks I have mentioned but also folks like Khaldor, Totalbiscuit, Rotterdam, Mr Bitter and maybe a Blizzard personalty or two (and maybe some other new faces). The challenge foe me is to build the business to a place where we can support that. It's happening - slowly in some ways, quickly in others but it is happening and as it happens I am working to keep us on track for my vision of what MLG will become.
MY PR people will yell at me for posting this while drunk but fuck it. If you don't know me by now you will soon. If none of this makes sense blame the Gui - he made me post.
On September 04 2011 23:40 SundanceMLG wrote: Good morning TL!!!
It's 10:30am where I live and I've been up for a couple of hours with my kids playing chess and jumping on our trampoline. We had cereal for breakfast. It was gluten free but it was tasty ( I'm dropping some weight and gluten is bad for fat guys).
That was just so that the handful of people who have issues with me posting while tipsy can also see that most of the time I am not, in fact drunk. I drink, I have a family, I enjoy music and film. I love to ski and travel. I'm a person just like all of you.
I put myself out there because like all of you I am a part of the eSports community. I am a fan of what we are building and it is a deeply rooted part of who I am. I have dedicated a large chunk of my life to trying to make MLG grow and for the last year and 2 months I have been the CEO. You may hate what I've done or you may love it but either way I want to know why you feel that way so that I can learn and make educated decisions around what comes next.
1. Prize pool goes up significantly next year. No change this year. 2. Gaps in broadcast matches is being worked on and will be better VERY soon. Still a challenge for people in the room but we have a plan for that too. 3. Nothing I am planning for next year puts us in jeopardy of going bust. In fact we will spend less and produce more competition. 4. You're stuck with me. Literally. Whether you're a fan of MLG or you begrudgingly watch because the players we draw put on a good show you will have to deal with the fact that I am not going anywhere. I started this company and I will see it through to completion. One day it will be in a place where I can step down and spend my time with my family but for now - I'm not going anywhere.
Enjoy your day and be good to each other - I've got a football game to go lose (and by football I mean soccer).
On September 05 2011 01:46 MLG_Adam wrote: We are working very hard to improve the product NOW. Many promises about 2012, and yes we will follow through with them, but the product now is being worked on.
Downtime on the stream and at the event is our #1 priority right now. I can't promise we'll solve it to your complete satisfaction, but we are working on a complete broadcast schedule overhaul, and on some logistical efficiencies.
Hopefully Orlando is much better than every event prior in terms of giving you guys relatviely non stop matches.
On September 05 2011 01:53 MLG_Adam wrote: Also, big thanks to my boss for constantly leaving me wonderful public surprises to wake up to
Hold your judgment about any studio discussions until we announce full details. We'll have some baseline updates in Orlando, and ideally a full announcement in Providence. A lot of the speculation going on right now is off base, but I promise you we will not do anything that is a logistical nightmare for players, teams, nor other competitions.
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
1) 2012, done. 2) Done. You will be very happy once we announce details. It will be very easy and affordable for top Euros to make our events in 2012. 3) 2012, done. 4) Not possible. What we can do is make VoDs, rebroadcasts, etc. more accessible, but being able to have optimal viewing times for everyone, regardless of global location, is really not possible. We'll do our best, and we're open to suggestions, but this one might be something that will never be 'optimal' for everyone.
When Sundance replied on Reddit, I was extremely happy. He's always had good ideas, and he let the community in on them.
I was pushing towards Husky being a permanent member of the MLG Casting Team on Reddit, and I'm glad that Sundance addressed it. I thought that Husky had done a phenomenal job at Raleigh, and I couldn't wait for more of his casting. I'm glad that Sundance also shares a similar opinion, and it seems that he's pretty happy with Husky himself.
When he updated his post, I was even happier.
Global activities and casts in different languages sound like a bright opportunity for MLG in the future, as well as the addition of other casters such Totalbiscuit.
I personally see no problem with the way that Sundance relayed this information to the community.
Too many CEOs are way too serious, and it's nice to see a change of pace for once.
This tone shows me that Sundance sees the community more as a group of friends, rather than a plethora of money bags. To me, I see nothing wrong with that.
On another note, Sundance never even had to relay this information to us, but he did. He could be doing a million other things while he was drunk, but Sundance decided to inform the community.
Instead of getting caught up in conversations with friends while he was drinking, he -
1.) Browsed Reddit 2.) Responded to the concerns of the community 3.) Let us know what the future of MLG holds for the community
Did he relay this information in an inappropriate manner? To some degree. Could he have done numerous other things that were even more inappropriate? Absolutely. Am I happy that Sundance relayed this information the way he did? Absolutely.
I see no reason to be mad at someone who is comfortable with the community that he's indulged himself in. God knows there are thousands of individuals who manage to be more inappropriate than Sundance when they aren't even tipsy.
There is nothing wrong with having a few drinks with your friends. There is nothing wrong with showing a bit of your personality. There is nothing wrong with caring for a community.
Will edit the thread if he provides any more information ^^
wow, if MLG pulls off the regional thing they'll have a real Global Starleague going on, could be awesome. Would also pull in the European scene, which hasn't really happened yet.
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
It's their intense brotherly competition that has made them decide to avoid casting together. Would likely be a mess.
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
From what I've heard they've said that they don't want to do it because it (unintentionally) turns into a sibling rivalry and they just try to talk over each other. But considering that I heard it from the internet, that could be complete bullshit lol.
That being said I'm sure if they don't have a problem with it we will see it eventually. If they do....oh well they're just as awesome by themselves lol. Besides, I'd much rather watch Tastosis than the Plott bros. Even though I like Sean a lot more. I just think Dan and Nick have really turned into an amazing pair of casters. Like Madden and Michaels lol.
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
There is a reason they don't cast together. You don't think they know the masses want them to cast together? Now, I'm not going to speak on half of either Tasteless or Day9, but it's a big X-factor.
When Tasteless+Artosis are casting, you know what you are going to get. When Day9+djWheat are casting, you know what you are going to get. Tasteless+Day9? No idea. They tend to stay away from anything that would put them in a situation where it might be slightly awkward or have people speculate on who is better or whatnot. Both are awesome enough in their own right.
Hey sundance, while you're drunk, can you please turn off auto renew for memberships when purchasing via paypal? It sucks because it forces me to connect a credit card to my account, I only have funds on my paypal account.
I particularly enjoyed Rotterdam recently and would be glad to see him cast more. It would be interesting to have a Blizzard person cast as well. I found Dustin Browder's casting of those good ol' battle reports pretty enjoyable, in fact those were the first casts I've ever seen--not to mention + Show Spoiler +
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
Iirc, they did have a 3 way cast with Artosis at Blizzcon.
On September 04 2011 13:38 PepperoniPiZZa wrote: Hey sundance, while you're drunk, can you please turn off auto renew for memberships when purchasing via paypal? It sucks because it forces me to connect a credit card to my account, I only have funds on my paypal account.
You should be able to buy it with ur paypal account. You just need money on the account, you can't use ur chequeing account directly.
Sundance, if you bring MLG to Seattle i will buy you a beer, and a bowl, if your into that ^^ I promise i wont bore you with fallacies of an apocalypse.
As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
A lot of people here seem to want the plott brothers together on a cast still, but I'd much rather see Artosis and Day9 do something together, would be pretty good I think.
Glad to see the head of a company isn't so high and mighty to drunk text. I wonder what he sent his ex-girlfriends after this...
"You may have dumped me but we're gonna have 8 FUCKING STREAMS BITCH!"
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
On September 04 2011 14:09 Pulse.761 wrote: The fact that he cares enough to inform us about his ideal future of MLG while he's drunk tells me he's a keeper.
He could be doing a million other things while he's drunk, but instead he decided to -
1.) Browse Reddit 2.) Respond to the concerns of the community 3.) Let us know what the future of MLG holds for the community
So what if he posted while he was drunk? So what if he swore?
Members of companies around the world have done loads of "activities" that are considered far more offensive than what Sundance did.
All Sundance did was let us know that he cares about the future and his relationship with the community.
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
What exactly is unprofessional about this? The fact that alcohol is involved? Or the fact that he is showing a bit of personality?
Dont be a negative nancy, its not very often that you see somebody who actually cares about their audience enough to be real with them.
If he's gonna have the Russian casters, and force everyone from Russia watch em without the opportunity to watch real casters, I'm gonna sign up into the terrorist organisation and bomb the MLG.
surely I won't do it, but I'm gonna really hate MLG if they're gonna do that. srsly
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
What exactly is unprofessional about this? The fact that alcohol is involved? Or the fact that he is showing a bit of personality?
Dont be a negative nancy, its not very often that you see somebody who actually cares about their audience enough to be real with them.
It's the fact that alcohol is involved. Instead of taking the opportunity to build up hype for the announcement, and to make the announcment in a way that would generate the most excitement possible, this benefitting e-sports and MLG. But mainly because he was drunk. It's not professional. It just isn't.
I think most people would prefer the down-to-earth honesty in Sundance's post than a PC announcement by a company. it makes him and the MLG team seem more personable. good on ya!
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
At some point this might look unprofessional, but don't forget that it also can be a part of Black PR.
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
What exactly is unprofessional about this? The fact that alcohol is involved? Or the fact that he is showing a bit of personality?
Dont be a negative nancy, its not very often that you see somebody who actually cares about their audience enough to be real with them.
It's the fact that alcohol is involved. Instead of taking the opportunity to build up hype for the announcement, and to make the announcment in a way that would generate the most excitement possible, this benefitting e-sports and MLG. But mainly because he was drunk. It's not professional. It just isn't.
It's his thought process and plans that they have. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll go through with it.
It's a different form of "hype". We know part of the plan, we don't know when it will happen, or if it will happen to its entirety.
But by telling us this, he gives us something to look forward to.
Information is leaked all the time. For God sake, Blizzard's PRODUCT SLATE got leaked. Do you think that they'll still try to hype people up for the future? Of course.
Just because something is "leaked" doesn't mean that you can't hype up the community about it in the future.
Fuck it - they should let the casters get a little tipsy for the casts ... That would be much fun. Well, maybe not Husky so much but Day9, Tasteless, Artosis would be hilarious. Husky is fine sober .
I quite like the idea of what MLG is doing, and I really love that Sundance is invested in the community, he really does care about what we want and what the people think. Whatever the motivation he is just someone I cannot help but respect.
I do hope that they continue the roaming MLG's if possible though. I really do like that aspect of it, and I've been hoping for one to pop up near me. I love the roaring crowds and just the energy that MLGs have been producing!
I love how MLG always brings the highest caliber of play, yet it still has the smallest prizepool out of every single major StarCraft tournament/league. How about fixing that first?
God damn Sundance. You seriously got to stop being such an awesome guy. You keep listening to the community and letting everyone know whats up at all times. What happened to the good ol' days where CEOs sat behind their desk and just collected money? =P
On September 04 2011 15:46 Lenet wrote: I love how MLG always brings the highest caliber of play, yet it still has the smallest prizepool out of every single major StarCraft tournament/league. How about fixing that first?
Dude chill. Most businesses plan out their expenditures a full year in advance. MLG had no way of knowing that this year was going to be huge for them. I'm surprised they've adjusted as much as they have with the GSL exchange, venue upgrades, and bandwidth to match the surge in demand. Its probably driving them pretty deep in debt.
They've already announced they will increase the prize pool next season, and you can bet it will be competitive with other big tournaments out there.
I have no problem at all with his semifrequent drunk tweeting/posting. He never seems to get sloppy about it or say anything too horrible. The one questionable thing I can remember was him tweeting some words of wisdom that included "fuck like rabbits while you're young." Seems massively inappropriate for the head of a gaming company whose fans' ages probably extend into the low teens.
On September 04 2011 16:07 Ladnil wrote: I have no problem at all with his semifrequent drunk tweeting/posting. He never seems to get sloppy about it or say anything too horrible. The one questionable thing I can remember was him tweeting some words of wisdom that included "fuck like rabbits while you're young." Seems massively inappropriate for the head of a gaming company whose fans' ages probably extend into the low teens.
I'm sure those gaming fans are the ones on Xbox live saying much worse things. Sundance is human! I rather have him as the CEO of MLG than the corporate jackasses that are everywhere else.
And this wasn't even the most important thing Sundance said tonight, check his twitter for the pic of the Evil Knievel outfit for the next MLG
On September 04 2011 15:46 Lenet wrote: I love how MLG always brings the highest caliber of play, yet it still has the smallest prizepool out of every single major StarCraft tournament/league. How about fixing that first?
That's the kind of thing that you make an announcement of an announcement for. Something that'll generate a lot of buzz and it's likely they want to be 100% sure of the numbers before just throwing out terms like "more than 10 times the size of 2011" or whatever only to have it backfire because it turns out to be 9 times the size in the end. You don't just casually release that kind of information in a drunken tweet on a holiday weekend.
Good to see an update on MLG's future, but with the budget concerns existing when I can only fathom so many people getting involved, I'm heavily concerned if its survival is guaranteed over long-term.
Another thing to note is that maybe they're trying to be a little too ambitious with adding additional casters. We don't need every caster to have an enjoyable experience.
Are you shitting me? The guy is connected the community... LISTENS to the community and you are upset about a couple tweets? He wants to help build this together.
I've never heard of a CEO that connected to his audience and LIKED by them as well.
I share his vision of a bigger better MLG and can't wait for the future.
and I was gonna go to bed but now I am gonna have a beer in his honor.
On September 04 2011 13:12 Pulse.761 wrote: We have major in studio competitions plannned (ALA Korea / GSL)
I...Wow..Okay..
Just wow.
The reason GSL works so well is the limited area the players all come from. I can't see how this could possibly work with gamers coming from across America... or in Europe with gamers coming from across a continent. It doesn't seem feasible outside Korea.
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
What exactly is unprofessional about this? The fact that alcohol is involved? Or the fact that he is showing a bit of personality?
Dont be a negative nancy, its not very often that you see somebody who actually cares about their audience enough to be real with them.
It's the fact that alcohol is involved. Instead of taking the opportunity to build up hype for the announcement, and to make the announcment in a way that would generate the most excitement possible, this benefitting e-sports and MLG. But mainly because he was drunk. It's not professional. It just isn't.
Well, I for one welcome this hype-bullshit-less attitude. I'm getting a bit tired of it, honestly. But to each their own. On the same note, i don't really mind alcohol. It's just as cool as without any alcohol involved so w/e.
I think this laid-back attitude of SC2 community is pretty damn cool and it appeals to me alot, i don't really think being "overly professional" would anybody. Maybe it would attract some douchebags from 'mainstream' but with the cost of "watering down" stuff for the rest of the community. (or at least for me anyway)
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
Really close? They are brothers. Nick & Sean Plott, the Plott brothers.
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
Really close? They are brothers. Nick & Sean Plott, the Plott brothers.
I really like Sundance. I feel like MLG is one of the most transparent companies in e-sport today.
Honestly what other event maker let's us get such an inside glance at things? And when we shit and rage (as I am prone to do too) he answers and usually he answers quickly.
I can't believe people are angry about him being tipsy while writing this =)
Lastly I've never been a big Husky fan but that boy has won me over these last MLG's. I also really enjoy JP as a caster mainly because he really knows what his role is and is great at giving his co-caster their time to shine
On September 04 2011 13:23 dAPhREAk wrote: we want daytosis as a casting duo. well, at least i do. doesnt have to be for the whole day, but just a few casts. =D
That 'fuck it' was golden shows he's down to Earth and that I'm happy with that. The only way MLG can go is up. It truely has been a miracle from Dallas to now and I doubt anyone truely thought this could all be the result, except Sundance, he knew where he wanted to go and he's achieved that.
They should improve the pricepool by a lot. They have so much attention, good players and very probably make a lot of money. Pricepool is lower than IEM, Assembly, Dreamhack, Battle.net Invite. (yes I know there is the big MLG final, but still)
Sundance has always been this way. He's a LOT closer to the MLG community. If you stretch wayy back to MLG, when it was purely Halo (and Final Boss dynasty), Sundance has always been there. He actually commentated as well and has good knowledge of Halo. The fact that he listens to the MLG fans is huge.
I have questioned it slightly when Halo Reach awful v5 came out. But he didn't technically have a hand in it. And he eventually straightened out a lot of stuff so. He's doing a great job at CEO and look where MLG has gotten in a little over a year?
Great job Sunny, I always known you are capable. That's coming from a MLG fan stretching back to Halo: CE.
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
Really close? They are brothers. Nick & Sean Plott, the Plott brothers.
Some brothers are close. Some are not.
Those two remind me of me and my brother, Day's my life of StarCraft felt like nostalgia to me (Except I didn't go to tournaments haha!)
I'd be down for seeing them cast together though for sure.
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
What exactly is unprofessional about this? The fact that alcohol is involved? Or the fact that he is showing a bit of personality?
Dont be a negative nancy, its not very often that you see somebody who actually cares about their audience enough to be real with them.
It's the fact that alcohol is involved. Instead of taking the opportunity to build up hype for the announcement, and to make the announcment in a way that would generate the most excitement possible, this benefitting e-sports and MLG. But mainly because he was drunk. It's not professional. It just isn't.
Balls to that.
I despise the way some seem to treat the community as an emotionally fragile 8 year old child waiting for christmas with the attention span of a gnat only kept amused by a constant flow of inflated "hype" like there a crack addict being waned off of an intravenous drip of morphine.
You know what is professional? Being frank with your fans. It's the reason why the Minecraft community adores its creator Notch because he simply comes out and tells people exactly what he plans on doing in the next patch or what hes working on in the future. No bullshit. No messing about telling people to "watch this space". Just wholesome answers.
Next time you go out though Sundance be sure to bring the entire PR department with you to get piss blind drunk. It'll do them some good.
Possibly, probably, I would like, if. Not really anything concrete in this, just hype.
First thing they should do : stop having 1+ hours downtimes on stream when they have 2 streams at once, and then, something on both streams at the same time. That's not good planning, especially when we're missing big games like...at each event. Nobody ask for those to be casted, just put an observer in autofollow, it'll be ok.
On September 04 2011 13:19 Colak wrote: We need to have day9 and tasteless cast together...make it happen sundance
They don't like to cast together; it's not MLG
Have they ever casted together? Would love to see that even if it's older stuff. I always thought that was weird since they both say that they're really close or w/e
Really close? They are brothers. Nick & Sean Plott, the Plott brothers.
Some brothers are close. Some are not.
They are really close, and sean especially, who tries to come off as authentic as possible, always states how close he is to his brother. I can understand not wanting to cast with your brother, as much as Nick and Dan behave like siblings separated at birth, the relationship that nick and dan will always have not that element that sean and nick will have. Also they all casted together at Blizzcon, as a three man outfit.
back on topic, I really like that sundance is so open to the community, even if the worst case scenario comes and this is all hype, that would not really be the point, he is the most upfront and open CEO of any company ever.
So I'm pretty excited about the future, as far as I'm concerned the only way is up, and yes, I did drink the kool-aid.
It's 10:30am where I live and I've been up for a couple of hours with my kids playing chess and jumping on our trampoline. We had cereal for breakfast. It was gluten free but it was tasty ( I'm dropping some weight and gluten is bad for fat guys).
That was just so that the handful of people who have issues with me posting while tipsy can also see that most of the time I am not, in fact drunk. I drink, I have a family, I enjoy music and film. I love to ski and travel. I'm a person just like all of you.
I put myself out there because like all of you I am a part of the eSports community. I am a fan of what we are building and it is a deeply rooted part of who I am. I have dedicated a large chunk of my life to trying to make MLG grow and for the last year and 2 months I have been the CEO. You may hate what I've done or you may love it but either way I want to know why you feel that way so that I can learn and make educated decisions around what comes next.
1. Prize pool goes up significantly next year. No change this year. 2. Gaps in broadcast matches is being worked on and will be better VERY soon. Still a challenge for people in the room but we have a plan for that too. 3. Nothing I am planning for next year puts us in jeopardy of going bust. In fact we will spend less and produce more competition. 4. You're stuck with me. Literally. Whether you're a fan of MLG or you begrudgingly watch because the players we draw put on a good show you will have to deal with the fact that I am not going anywhere. I started this company and I will see it through to completion. One day it will be in a place where I can step down and spend my time with my family but for now - I'm not going anywhere.
Enjoy your day and be good to each other - I've got a football game to go lose (and by football I mean soccer).
On September 04 2011 23:24 MrCon wrote: Possibly, probably, I would like, if. Not really anything concrete in this, just hype.
First thing they should do : stop having 1+ hours downtimes on stream when they have 2 streams at once, and then, something on both streams at the same time. That's not good planning, especially when we're missing big games like...at each event. Nobody ask for those to be casted, just put an observer in autofollow, it'll be ok.
1 hour downtime because of fast games quickly turns into a 1 hour late schedule when something like Boxer vs Rain happens.
Autofollow is a good idea in concept but is pretty annoying to watch on a stream, ala the first few NASL games. It also requires the obs pc to be in game at the very start of each game.
What I'd like to see the most for down time is first person screen capture from the featured stations run as side streams, say sponsored by twitch, but switched in to as required on the main streams a little like this mock up.
Then when the main casters cut back in for a commentated game, they can say 'if you want to continue watching the game on featured station 2, you can find them on twitch tv'
It would bring the 'featured stage' experience that people at the show floor get a little closer to those watching at home.
On September 04 2011 23:40 SundanceMLG wrote: Good morning TL!!!
It's 10:30am where I live and I've been up for a couple of hours with my kids playing chess and jumping on our trampoline. We had cereal for breakfast. It was gluten free but it was tasty ( I'm dropping some weight and gluten is bad for fat guys).
That was just so that the handful of people who have issues with me posting while tipsy can also see that most of the time I am not, in fact drunk. I drink, I have a family, I enjoy music and film. I love to ski and travel. I'm a person just like all of you.
I put myself out there because like all of you I am a part of the eSports community. I am a fan of what we are building and it is a deeply rooted part of who I am. I have dedicated a large chunk of my life to trying to make MLG grow and for the last year and 2 months I have been the CEO. You may hate what I've done or you may love it but either way I want to know why you feel that way so that I can learn and make educated decisions around what comes next.
1. Prize pool goes up significantly next year. No change this year. 2. Gaps in broadcast matches is being worked on and will be better VERY soon. Still a challenge for people in the room but we have a plan for that too. 3. Nothing I am planning for next year puts us in jeopardy of going bust. In fact we will spend less and produce more competition. 4. You're stuck with me. Literally. Whether you're a fan of MLG or you begrudgingly watch because the players we draw put on a good show you will have to deal with the fact that I am not going anywhere. I started this company and I will see it through to completion. One day it will be in a place where I can step down and spend my time with my family but for now - I'm not going anywhere.
Enjoy your day and be good to each other - I've got a football game to go lose (and by football I mean soccer).
Now just waiting for the, "OMG He posted that he had breakfast with his kids!! THAT'S SO UNPROFESSIONAL!!! And he posted that he likes to ski and has a family and likes traveling, OMG why is he not 24/7/365 all about ESPORTS?!? How dare he have a life!!! You see, he doesn't care and he is ruining ESPORTS!!!"
On September 04 2011 23:40 SundanceMLG wrote: Good morning TL!!!
It's 10:30am where I live and I've been up for a couple of hours with my kids playing chess and jumping on our trampoline. We had cereal for breakfast. It was gluten free but it was tasty ( I'm dropping some weight and gluten is bad for fat guys).
That was just so that the handful of people who have issues with me posting while tipsy can also see that most of the time I am not, in fact drunk. I drink, I have a family, I enjoy music and film. I love to ski and travel. I'm a person just like all of you.
I put myself out there because like all of you I am a part of the eSports community. I am a fan of what we are building and it is a deeply rooted part of who I am. I have dedicated a large chunk of my life to trying to make MLG grow and for the last year and 2 months I have been the CEO. You may hate what I've done or you may love it but either way I want to know why you feel that way so that I can learn and make educated decisions around what comes next.
1. Prize pool goes up significantly next year. No change this year. 2. Gaps in broadcast matches is being worked on and will be better VERY soon. Still a challenge for people in the room but we have a plan for that too. 3. Nothing I am planning for next year puts us in jeopardy of going bust. In fact we will spend less and produce more competition. 4. You're stuck with me. Literally. Whether you're a fan of MLG or you begrudgingly watch because the players we draw put on a good show you will have to deal with the fact that I am not going anywhere. I started this company and I will see it through to completion. One day it will be in a place where I can step down and spend my time with my family but for now - I'm not going anywhere.
Enjoy your day and be good to each other - I've got a football game to go lose (and by football I mean soccer).
We love you, Sunny.
I'm just a bit pissed that I didn't get to have a beer with you in Anaheim. Hopefully we can address this problem sometime soon.
(you're killing e-sports if you don't come to an IEM, bro)
Sundance and MLG is going to be too good to be true soon!
But really, hopefully everything goes right with the upcoming changes and people are even more happier and satisfied. I'm already greatly satisfied even though you need to wait game to be casted for a little bit sometimes, but it's great to hear you guys are planning everything!
Very cool to hear. Fuck the PR department! I already heard about TB, but Rotterdam, Bitter and Khaldor are all really good casters and it would be awesome to see them at MLG. Keep doing what you're doing Sundance!
Also off topic, you guys showed the player's reactions much more this last MLG after they won/lost. Keep doing that!
We are working very hard to improve the product NOW. Many promises about 2012, and yes we will follow through with them, but the product now is being worked on.
Downtime on the stream and at the event is our #1 priority right now. I can't promise we'll solve it to your complete satisfaction, but we are working on a complete broadcast schedule overhaul, and on some logistical efficiencies.
Hopefully Orlando is much better than every event prior in terms of giving you guys relatviely non stop matches.
Also, big thanks to my boss for constantly leaving me wonderful public surprises to wake up to
Hold your judgment about any studio discussions until we announce full details. We'll have some baseline updates in Orlando, and ideally a full announcement in Providence. A lot of the speculation going on right now is off base, but I promise you we will not do anything that is a logistical nightmare for players, teams, nor other competitions.
If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
I agree with all of your points. I , as an american, feel the same way about the time of european tournys ( IEM etc.). MLG would do many wonders to maybe move the times up an hour or two for the europeans, because even for me on the east coast 12 am-1am is to late for me(the last part of day 1). Cheers MLG!
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
How would you change the broadcasting time so it would be good for Europeans? There isn't much they can do IMO. Yes, it sucks for Europeans but hey, most of the time Americans gets screwed hard schedule wise with tournaments in Europe or Korea. So let them have this one at least favoring their schedule.
And i don't think MLG would get significantly more viewers if more EU players would attend. But as Sundance has already stated, the prize pool will increase for next season. I guess we will see if it will attract more Europeans.
I agree with the tournament system though. But as a European, i really can't whine much about the other points 5ukkub made.
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
I disagree. The "young viewers" will likely make up a majority of MLG's viewership. Companies are going to let minor things slide if they are being promoted to a vast audience. Sundance's behaviour is sympathetic to the community. Building rapport builds a bigger audience, etc. etc
On September 04 2011 14:09 Pulse.761 wrote: The fact that he cares enough to inform us about his ideal future of MLG while he's drunk tells me he's a keeper.
He could be doing a million other things while he's drunk, but instead he decided to -
1.) Browse Reddit 2.) Respond to the concerns of the community 3.) Let us know what the future of MLG holds for the community
So what if he posted while he was drunk? So what if he swore?
Members of companies around the world have done loads of "activities" that are considered far more offensive than what Sundance did.
All Sundance did was let us know that he cares about the future and his relationship with the community.
On September 05 2011 03:39 Ownos wrote: Okay? All of this is old information. Just some dama on someone being slightly tipsy?
Tbh most of it was new information to me. It was kind of apparent that MLG wanted to stretch their borders, but I had no idea about the plans for future casters...which was what I mainly cared about :3.
im just skeptical about the overhype of all the promises being made. Like the prize pool increase, ive always been a supporter of the fact of a pay to enter tournament atleast having the prizepool of what was paid to enter, which currently MLG doesnt meet, then claims sponsors helped with that prizepool. And when it gets raised how much will it go to? will it actually allow foreign players to make money at a MLG event to keep the other scenes going or potentially to interest competitive players that dont have a shot at top 10 due to massive amount of skilled koreans and invites.
what im hoping for is for players that arent sponsored if they do well can atleast make back travel and costs of the event. without placing in the top 3 as it is currently... so that would be atleast 500 bucks for top 32 or 64. as of now for competitive players that love to compete and try to make a name for themselves, the risk vs reward of attending an MLG event is quite terrible.
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
1) 2012, done. 2) Done. You will be very happy once we announce details. It will be very easy and affordable for top Euros to make our events in 2012. 3) 2012, done. 4) Not possible. What we can do is make VoDs, rebroadcasts, etc. more accessible, but being able to have optimal viewing times for everyone, regardless of global location, is really not possible. We'll do our best, and we're open to suggestions, but this one might be something that will never be 'optimal' for everyone.
On September 04 2011 23:40 SundanceMLG wrote:I put myself out there because like all of you I am a part of the eSports community. I am a fan of what we are building and it is a deeply rooted part of who I am. I have dedicated a large chunk of my life to trying to make MLG grow and for the last year and 2 months I have been the CEO. You may hate what I've done or you may love it but either way I want to know why you feel that way so that I can learn and make educated decisions around what comes next.
Generally speaking, I think we all love you. ♥♥♥
1. Prize pool goes up significantly next year. No change this year.
Honestly, I don't even think an increase in the prize pool is necessary (but hey, more money is never a bad thing. Kudos to you for making it happen, man). I think the only real problem is the way the money is distributed. Currently you have $14,000 * 5 and then $120,000 for the national finals, for a total of $190,000. You could easily make the regionals $25,000 each, leaving $65,000 for the grand finals.
That way players are better financially rewarded for consistant performance during the year, and they still take home over $25,000 if they win the finals.
I actually agree with that. If you upped the smaller tournaments and used that inflow of new cash for next season to keep national around 100k it would be a better system thats still very financially worth it.
what more could a community want from the CEO of a company trying to make e-sports succeed where no other company is legitimately competing? kudos to the man for making it happen, it takes a lot of non stop energy to build something like this.
On September 05 2011 01:46 MLG_Adam wrote: We are working very hard to improve the product NOW. Many promises about 2012, and yes we will follow through with them, but the product now is being worked on.
Downtime on the stream and at the event is our #1 priority right now. I can't promise we'll solve it to your complete satisfaction, but we are working on a complete broadcast schedule overhaul, and on some logistical efficiencies.
Hopefully Orlando is much better than every event prior in terms of giving you guys relatviely non stop matches.
Going on this, GomTV did something interesting during the preliminaries. They broadcasted some VoDs from previous games during the breaks.
Instead of just showing us a screen of nothing during downtime, could you try perhaps showing us VoDs of good past MLG matches during downtime or perhaps even cutting into another games Stream during this time (Halo or LoL)? As of now, the stream is basically showing nothing at all during this time period. I'm aware I could just switch over to them, but with nothing showing on the stream what would it hurt to just switch it onto a down stream?
Unless you got action constantly now, this might be a viable option?
sounds logical and fair, the MLG is in good hands. :-) as a european, I don't mind those weird times. if you start earlier, then it would be worse for asia. as it is now, the people in america get to see everything, the people in europe the beginning to the middle and the people in asia/australia get to see the middle till the end.
edit: can a mod please update the title, now that we also have a second statement from sundance and a new statement from adam?
Erhm, why is people hating on Sundance and MLG? Imo there's basically nothing to complain about more than the waiting times between games (which they will fix) and possibly the tournament system (which they also will fix).
I have nothing but respect for Sundance after these posts, he clearly wears his heart on his sleeve and the way that he speaks directly to his customers and communities is to be applauded IMO.
If these changes are implemented I for one will be buying the annual pass for next years events.
One day Sundance I hope that you are able to look back at what you and your co-founders started with immense pride and can spend more time with your family. Onwards and upwards MLG.
On September 06 2011 19:01 tiaz wrote: Erhm, why is people hating on Sundance and MLG? Imo there's basically nothing to complain about more than the waiting times between games (which they will fix) and possibly the tournament system (which they also will fix).
If the stuff he's telling us here is true, there in fact there won't be any (major) reasons to complain about MLG anymore . I would have to search something diffrent to rant on .
After reading the updates of Sundance and Adam I will be buying a MLG pass instantly although normally I am just able to watch little bits of MLGs program. I seriously want them to make good money from it, because what they are doing is so great for us the community and already they have given me so many hours of joy and excitement. Thank you for being awesome - I will try to give a little bit back for that!
On September 06 2011 19:29 Luddff wrote: Are you guys not scared that this will scare away eventual sponsors because MLG is losing its seriousness? I am.
A very real concern and yes I agree with you. I just wanted to make a quick comment about the EU have a hard time watching MLG because of time it's on. I watch GSL at 2 am my time. Watch it or shut up, sorry the world doesn't revolve around EU. MLG's number one priority for SC is getting koreans because they are the best in the world, and the money is in NA. All places have their tournaments that suck for others to get to, I really don't see this as a fault of MLG in any way that EU don't find it worthy to come and get a chance at a Code S spot. Sorry that isn't attractive enough for you. I would imagine if someone thought they were good enough to get top 3 at MLG they would come out regardless of them spending it from their own pocket because they get a Code S spot. If they don't want to come out and finish in the middle of the pack then that's kind of the way people from the west coast feel when it's in the east coast.
On September 04 2011 14:03 The_Piper42 wrote: As much as I would love to say Sundance is awesome an incident like this for a CEO worries me... even if all the young viewers think this is cool MLG needs to maintain some composure to be taken seriously around the world and to continue to grow.
Agreed, this is simply unprofessional the way this was posted.
I don't get people like you, do you actually perfer formal stiff CEOs who only communicates in dull proof read forms? If your concern is merely that he may hurt his business doing this, I'd advice you to leave such dicisions to him - he seems to be rather succesful at what he is doing. Also, I salute him for actually having fun doing what he wants to do.
It's insulting to say that a personal message like that is wrong. For one he is also a person so why can't he talk like one? He isn't always the boss, he's a father, a husband, a fan too.
On September 06 2011 19:29 Luddff wrote: Are you guys not scared that this will scare away eventual sponsors because MLG is losing its seriousness? I am.
I'm not. Do you think he is incompetent or something? Is Sundance having a party and enjoying the succes of MLG (which he should be proud of) the MLG? Ofcourse not, the MLG is the MLG and Sundance is Sundance. So to say the MLG loses it's seriousness is absurd. Unless I have missed where you say what this actually refers to.
In addition, I think it is actually a calculated move. As seen from the change to the memberships and the desire to grow the fanbase that way, it's a different way to provide credit and allow you to invest more. Having him put out a message like this can actually be in line with that goal of increasing memberships because he connects with us, shows a different side, it can really engage people on a different more emotional level and open them up to the idea of supporting the MLG.
The first time I read the message I didn't care for it's appropriateness, I thought there was nothing wrong with it. And I don't even want to make a suggestion or demand anymore at this point, they have already proven how much they care and what they can make happen. So I'm excited for the future.
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
1) 2012, done. 2) Done. You will be very happy once we announce details. It will be very easy and affordable for top Euros to make our events in 2012. 3) 2012, done. 4) Not possible. What we can do is make VoDs, rebroadcasts, etc. more accessible, but being able to have optimal viewing times for everyone, regardless of global location, is really not possible. We'll do our best, and we're open to suggestions, but this one might be something that will never be 'optimal' for everyone.
Normally a MLG tournament will go like this;
Fri night 11PM-7AM (8 hours of SC2) Sat 4PM-8AM (16 hours?) Sun 4PM-3AM (11 hours)
I would love to have the 1st day of the tournament starting at some time earlier than 11PM in CEST. It could be 8 or 9PM. I know you guys already prepared really hard for a tournament, I think it is possible to start a bit sooner than you did? Saturday can be shared a bit with Sunday, like Sunday always ended at 3/4AM (again, CEST time) and Saturday always over 6 or 7, last MLG with "SOTG" till over 8 O.o that's too much, seriously. Also, about the stream, when I fall asleep is the time waiting during games. Please just hook a computer with replay and auto follow 1 player if there aren't any observer (as the one who control the view in replay) and put it on streams. If there's also observer, I can't ask anything better. Watching crowd is fun, but it's boring after the first few hours of MLG... The new VoD page is also really really AWESOME btw <3 would love to sneak some highlight videos like NaDa reactions after he won or MMA's kamehameha :D Edit: to the post below me or to anyone who against my thoughts about time: Dreamhack starts pretty early (10AM) and ends also pretty soon. But I would like to NOT compare between events, coz it's really not the same. Difference is simply different. What I am trying to say here, is, you can re-distribute the length of content in each day. I never made it 100% through Saturday used 1 2liter cola + 3 redbulls + 3 chips last MLG, not enough.
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
1) 2012, done. 2) Done. You will be very happy once we announce details. It will be very easy and affordable for top Euros to make our events in 2012. 3) 2012, done. 4) Not possible. What we can do is make VoDs, rebroadcasts, etc. more accessible, but being able to have optimal viewing times for everyone, regardless of global location, is really not possible. We'll do our best, and we're open to suggestions, but this one might be something that will never be 'optimal' for everyone.
I would love to have the 1st day of the tournament starting at some time earlier than 11PM in CEST. It could be 8 or 9PM. Saturday can be shared a bit with Sunday, like Sunday always ended at 3/4AM (again, CEST time) and Saturday always over 6 or 7, last MLG with "SOTG" till over 8 O.o that's too much, seriously. The new VoD page is also really really AWESOME btw <3 would love to sneak some highlight videos like NaDa reactions after he won or MMA's kamehameha :D
Shouldn't really complain about the time. We have Dreamhack, IEM etc. It's easier for Europeans to watch GSL too. Let them have MLG and mess up your sleep schedule once every 2 months or so !
Alongside his various updates throughout this little train of thought, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Sundance. Continue doing what you're doing MLG, and I look forward to the improvements promised!
I think anyone from the EU complaining about the Streaming times is just be stupid. It's the problem that everyone faces with how Starcraft is a live streaming sport.
I personally live in NZ where if I want to see all of Saturdays games I'm forced to wake up early in the morning. But I live with that and accept the fact.
is he the best manager in the world or what? openly stating he is drunk all the time and did anyone see the twitter where he asked if someones mum is hot? the best part is he is actually really intelligent and thoughtful and is pushing the industry forward.
MLG and NASL fighting for being the prime tournament of Starcraft 2 on North American soil, and the ones who benefit the most are the players and the fans! ~
On September 06 2011 20:27 JustPassingBy wrote: MLG and NASL fighting for being the prime tournament of Starcraft 2 on North American soil, and the ones who benefit the most are the players and the fans! ~
fighting?... I don't think NASL is on the same level as MLG. IMO MLG has nothing to worry about, Except for maybe IGN. Gotta see how IPL event turns out.
He types better than I do drunk. Anyway hopefully games from station 1 and 2 can be broadcast when nothing is happening on the main stage casted or not casted. xD
Meh I just really don't like how much he pushes buying HD passes and other things... Its obvious that MLG needs money to operate but I for one would love to see some figures to see just how dire the need for community investment actually is >.>
On September 06 2011 20:43 Swwww wrote: Meh I just really don't like how much he pushes buying HD passes and other things... Its obvious that MLG needs money to operate but I for one would love to see some figures to see just how dire the need for community investment actually is >.>
I have to say, generally I don't give a damn who the CEO of some business or another is, but I really like Sundance. Looking forward to the future of MLG!
Damn, I love everything about this company's outlook. What's it take to get a job with MLG? That would be my dream come true, I don't even care what I would be doing if my boss was that damn cool.
On September 06 2011 21:07 demonik187 wrote: Damn, I love everything about this company's outlook. What's it take to get a job with MLG? That would be my dream come true, I don't even care what I would be doing if my boss was that damn cool.
Offer to fill volunteer positions at events, be a respected forum member, and show initiative.
The first thing I listed is by far the most important as they get to know you and see your level of seriousness towards e-sports and the company.
On September 06 2011 20:43 Swwww wrote: Meh I just really don't like how much he pushes buying HD passes and other things... Its obvious that MLG needs money to operate but I for one would love to see some figures to see just how dire the need for community investment actually is >.>
Any organization that is out to make money (which I assume they are ultimatly trying to do) tries to make people buy their services. What exactly is your problem with that? It would be a pretty weird to publically announce they don't "need" any more of your money. As far as I know, MLG is not a charity.
I would wait until I hear the 'official response". Too many times have people claim to have something great in the works, and because its shined up and looking new; people buy into it. 6 months later they realize its lemon. I am not saying he is going to put out retooled crap, but at least see what it is before either kissing the ground he walks on or burning him at the cross.
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
1) 2012, done. 2) Done. You will be very happy once we announce details. It will be very easy and affordable for top Euros to make our events in 2012. 3) 2012, done. 4) Not possible. What we can do is make VoDs, rebroadcasts, etc. more accessible, but being able to have optimal viewing times for everyone, regardless of global location, is really not possible. We'll do our best, and we're open to suggestions, but this one might be something that will never be 'optimal' for everyone.
Instead of making announcements of announcements. Why not make it public when it's ready? You guys really haven't told us anything from the SoTG at Raleigh to this. We get it. You guys are excited; the fans are excited. Enough crescendos.
On September 06 2011 20:27 JustPassingBy wrote: MLG and NASL fighting for being the prime tournament of Starcraft 2 on North American soil, and the ones who benefit the most are the players and the fans! ~
fighting?... I don't think NASL is on the same level as MLG. IMO MLG has nothing to worry about, Except for maybe IGN. Gotta see how IPL event turns out.
Currently, MLG still has plenty of flaws and is nowhere near perfect. Yes, they are working on it, but so is NASL and IGN. It remains to be seen which will become the most prominant tournament on NA soil.
Things that are being worked on in each respective tournament (in spoilers because this is way off topic):
- current prizemoney is a joke without the code S spot on the line (which is worth at least 1,5k for dropping out of the ro32) and without them sponsoring the flight for the Koreans plus caring for them so well during the event, most of them wouldn't even consider attending the tournament - current tournament format is bad (according to public opinion) well, this has been discussed to death
- production quality despite the huge prize pool, the production quality was very poor. even the attending players realized this, the Koreans listed this as one of the reasons why they withdrew from the tournament (not that I side with them in this regard, pulling out of a signed contract is a stupid move). I understand that maybe for their sponsors it is important to have such a huge prize pool so that not much money (relatively) is left for production, however claiming that such a humongous huge prize pool for the fans was not a wise move. - scheduling despite the games not being broadcasted live, they decide to cast the games live on the spot, which results in very many scheduling conflicts and walk overs due to players not attending.
- limited to specific regions people might disagree with me here, but I don't take a tournament that excludes the best players of the world seriously. I do not expect tournaments to treat Korean players special, but excluding them by the rules is a dickass move. - general broadcasting plan making the results of the qualifier public while not broadcasting it live is a bad idea and it seems most of the people here agree with me. Either hold the results secret and broadcast it in the following week (like ESV Korean weekly), or just broadcast it live and post the results as they fly in.
tl;dr: Each tournaments has its flaws and nothing is perfect yet, but everybody is working hard to improve. The players and fans can only benefit from it.
On September 05 2011 02:49 5ukkub wrote: If you want to get more EU viewers, here are a few things to improve:
1) increase the prize money. (it's just too small to risk the costs of a plane flight + jetlag + absence in EU tourneys)
2) Make the costs to participate lesser for EU players (GOM is paying for Koreans... figure it out how to get more EU Pro's)
3)Fix your tournament system (it favors worse players over better ones)
4) Do something about the streaming time (EU is tired of staying up at night to see MLG...)
That's basically all i can think of. Don't get me wrong. If you really plan to expand worldwide, it's really cool, but there is always room to improve Thanks and all good wishes with future endavours!
1) 2012, done. 2) Done. You will be very happy once we announce details. It will be very easy and affordable for top Euros to make our events in 2012. 3) 2012, done. 4) Not possible. What we can do is make VoDs, rebroadcasts, etc. more accessible, but being able to have optimal viewing times for everyone, regardless of global location, is really not possible. We'll do our best, and we're open to suggestions, but this one might be something that will never be 'optimal' for everyone.
Instead of making announcements of announcements. Why not make it public when it's ready? You guys really haven't told us anything from the SoTG at Raleigh to this. We get it. You guys are excited; the fans are excited. Enough crescendos.
This whole 'announcement of an announcement' community bash trend is pretty comical. I answered his questions/comments. When I can answer them with more information I will, but I would rather over communicate than have you guys speculating on silence.
No crescendo intended, just assurances that we're listening and patient questing answering.
Getting more and more hyped for the next mlgs. :D I watched bw at 4-6 am before school every time. Don't know why I shouldn't stay up that early in the morning before studying... people are way to whiny about shedules.
I love it when the guys higher up are actually just down to earth dudes trying to do the fucking best they can to make what we all enjoy even better. I feel unbelievably spoiled.
MLG_Adam, perhaps you could answer a question more timely and relevant to the 2011 season for us. How are you doing invites to the MLG Championship at Providence?
The guys who showed up more than once MMA, Bomber, DRG, and Boxer are all sure to qualify based on points. Are you going to use your 4 korean invites on them or are you going to invite 4 different Koreans?
Surely if you invite 4 random Koreans then it's not fair they got a free pass into the Championship event, right? But, then again, if you invite the 4 who already qualified you are letting foreigners who didn't deserve the spot into the Championship pool play also.
How do you intend to do things for this? The only fair way I could think for it would be to hold Korean qualifiers for the Korean spots for the championship, and the Koreans who qualified use their seeding spots. This is purely my opinion though.
How will you guys handle it? It's almost a damned if you do damned if you don't spot you have put yourselves in.
On September 06 2011 22:49 Corrik wrote: MLG_Adam, perhaps you could answer a question more timely and relevant to the 2011 season for us. How are you doing invites to the MLG Championship at Providence?
The guys who showed up more than once MMA, Bomber, DRG, and Boxer are all sure to qualify based on points. Are you going to use your 4 korean invites on them or are you going to invite 4 different Koreans?
Surely if you invite 4 random Koreans then it's not fair they got a free pass into the Championship event, right? But, then again, if you invite the 4 who already qualified you are letting foreigners who didn't deserve the spot into the Championship pool play also.
How do you intend to do things for this? The only fair way I could think for it would be to hold Korean qualifiers for the Korean spots for the championship, and the Koreans who qualified use their seeding spots. This is purely my opinion though.
How will you guys handle it? It's almost a damned if you do damned if you don't spot you have put yourselves in.
The 4 invites will be awarded to the highest placing Korean player from each event:
Okay so now we know how to get secret information about MLG: Buy Sundance lots and lots of drinks! We should all pitch in and maybe he'll reveal everything! ;D
On September 06 2011 23:02 MLG_Adam wrote: The 4 invites will be awarded to the highest placing Korean player from each event:
MMA MVP Bomber Orlando- ?
What happens if Bomber beats the you can only win your first time curse? Also while all the winners obviously deserve to be there I'm gonna be so sad if it's an all Terran group. Korean Protoss and Zergs need to step their game up for Orlando ^-^
On September 06 2011 23:02 MLG_Adam wrote: The 4 invites will be awarded to the highest placing Korean player from each event:
MMA MVP Bomber Orlando- ?
What happens if Bomber beats the you can only win your first time curse? Also while all the winners obviously deserve to be there I'm gonna be so sad if it's an all Terran group. Korean Protoss and Zergs need to step their game up for Orlando ^-^
Highest placing. I guess if Bomber wins twice they would take 2nd place from Orlando.
Wait whaat? I havent read the entire threat but...the people here were complaining because Sundance said he was tipsy while posting on reddit???? :D I dont get, whats there to complain?
And the EU people reeeally complained about the broadcast time? I am from EU and have no problem with the time (at least if its an east coast MLG - Anaheim was a bit to brutal to stay up ). Are you EU guys really proposing that MLG starts at 7am local time? :D Get real man!
And this is exactly why i choose for an MLG Gold Membership, not just because the games are awesome and i can watch them in HD, but simply because MLG develop themselves and continue to strife to a better experience for both the people on the floor as the stream viewers ( damn you for being in the states ! ).
MLG really showed from when SC2 entered the Stage as a "side shows" to a real fully driven community, held high by many members of the current esport scene. From the very first MLG with SC2 till the last event, i have seen them all with Dallas as rock bottom.
And what did they do blame it on someone else ? No hell it wasn't even totally their fault what happened in Dallas, yet the set out a clear plan improved and asked the community for improvements, that's not just showing the courage to admit something went wrong, that's showing you actually care about your mistakes and the let down it had on the community. That is what i like to call true spirit to improve and strife to a better performance every single event.
For this i want to thank all the people at MLG, for making me as an European feel home and fully involved with the tournaments.
<3 MLG.
P.S.
Sundance next time your sitting drunk in a bar drink another scotch and cheer for the awesome community that surrounds this scene. And if you happen to be in Amsterdam in the future be sure to let us Europeans know so we can all toast together on the future of SC2.
P.P.S
On the above post i don't care keep the times as they are i will watch them anyways :D
On September 06 2011 20:27 JustPassingBy wrote: MLG and NASL fighting for being the prime tournament of Starcraft 2 on North American soil, and the ones who benefit the most are the players and the fans! ~
fighting?... I don't think NASL is on the same level as MLG. IMO MLG has nothing to worry about, Except for maybe IGN. Gotta see how IPL event turns out.
Currently, MLG still has plenty of flaws and is nowhere near perfect. Yes, they are working on it, but so is NASL and IGN. It remains to be seen which will become the most prominant tournament on NA soil.
Things that are being worked on in each respective tournament (in spoilers because this is way off topic):
- current prizemoney is a joke without the code S spot on the line (which is worth at least 1,5k for dropping out of the ro32) and without them sponsoring the flight for the Koreans plus caring for them so well during the event, most of them wouldn't even consider attending the tournament - current tournament format is bad (according to public opinion) well, this has been discussed to death
- production quality despite the huge prize pool, the production quality was very poor. even the attending players realized this, the Koreans listed this as one of the reasons why they withdrew from the tournament (not that I side with them in this regard, pulling out of a signed contract is a stupid move). I understand that maybe for their sponsors it is important to have such a huge prize pool so that not much money (relatively) is left for production, however claiming that such a humongous huge prize pool for the fans was not a wise move. - scheduling despite the games not being broadcasted live, they decide to cast the games live on the spot, which results in very many scheduling conflicts and walk overs due to players not attending.
- limited to specific regions people might disagree with me here, but I don't take a tournament that excludes the best players of the world seriously. I do not expect tournaments to treat Korean players special, but excluding them by the rules is a dickass move. - general broadcasting plan making the results of the qualifier public while not broadcasting it live is a bad idea and it seems most of the people here agree with me. Either hold the results secret and broadcast it in the following week (like ESV Korean weekly), or just broadcast it live and post the results as they fly in.
tl;dr: Each tournaments has its flaws and nothing is perfect yet, but everybody is working hard to improve. The players and fans can only benefit from it.
- broadcasting schedule problems, the break between games is way too high, and with two streams there should be at least 2x games being shown during those 3 days - when the tournament is held on the west coast most of EU can forget about following it, at least us with a family; even on a east coast it would be wonderful if the could move the starting time by 1 hour or stop having huge breaks between broadcaster games
- I don't have any additional problems to add except maybe a personal one. I just don't find games that are not live as exciting, and games that are cast like 2+ weeks after they are done are just not interesting at all
Altogether MLG is for me best at the moment, although IGN when they go Live have a best chance to become the best.
Nothing personal, but why do European fans think a North American based tournament should change it's broadcast schedule to accommodate their sleep times? I've never seen any EU tournaments making it easier for me to watch their stuff (I am on the US West Coast, aka Pacific Time).
I totally get you guys want to see the games, but that's just life in a global world. I have to stay up stupid late if I want to watch GSL, it's just a fact of life. I'm not complaining to GSL that they need to change their broadcast schedule to accommodate me.
No matter what community you look at, there are always the naysayers, the ones who are infinitely pessimistic or trolly to the point of sadism. The main difference between communities that thrive and ones that fall is that the ones that thrive learn to look past and eventually completely ignore the needlessly pessimistic, yet maintain the ability to receive and process constructive criticism. I believe the sc2 community is thriving, and I truly hope it continues along this path. What better way to assist a dragging world economy than by birthing an entire market from sheer will of a community. I <3 you all that support Esports both through words and actions. And Sundance, if ever I have the opportunity to shake your hand a beer for you will be in my other.
I am pleased that he chose to share this stuff, and I really hope the nature of the tournaments (who gets into pool play, extended series, etc) get a good hard look and maybe a revamp.