Games With A Green Heart
A while back, I posed a question to the twitter-verse: what topic would you like to see covered here at Recognition Pattern? There were several requests for “green games” and given the current climate (excuse the pun) surrounding environmental and urban planning issues I thought that this was a very interesting area to explore. There are, in fact, a number of games concerned with not only educating the public on green issues but actively encouraging participants to engage in environmentally friendly practices in the real world.
Bottle Bank Arcade
The Fun Theory is a well-known Volkswagen initiative that uses fun as the ”easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better… be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.” The Bottle Bank Arcade Machine was a project designed to encourage the recycling of glass bottles. Sensors, lights and speakers were added to a bottle bank to provide positive feedback whenever a glass bottle was deposited. The video below shows how delighted users were when engaging with the arcade, with a real effect on the rate of recycling: the bottle bank arcade was used by 100 people while only two people used the conventional recycling bin during the same period.
One could argue whether such a system can really promote sustainable long-term change in user behaviour but its clear that people experienced a much deeper emotional connection with the arcade than simply dropping a bottle into an inert repository. Moreover, even though the action in both situations was exactly the same, the way it made the user feel is entirely different.
Recycling for the virtual and real worlds
Trash Tycoon by Guerilla Apps
Launched in 2011, Trash Tycoon is a social network game developed by US-based social games startup Guerillapps. Currently in beta, the game is similar to other Facebook farm-type games where the player interacts with a virtual city by clicking their way trough a series of tasks such as clearing piles of trash and cleaning buildings. More interestingly, players can then sort through their collected trash, using organic waste to feed worm farms and produce fertilizer while certain found objects can be ‘upcycled’ into items that can be kept or sold.
Screenshot from Trash Tycoon on Facebook
The game was developed in partnership with TerraCycle, a company that converts collected waste (particularly non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste) into a variety of products and materials. When waste is collected in the real world and brought to TerraCycle, players can earn virtual points in Trash Tycoon. Although this forms a tangible link between real world action and virtual progress in an online game, I can’t help but think it should be the other way round. However, it should be noted that Trash Tycoon does donate 10% of in-game purchases to CarbonFund, a non-profit organization focused on climate change education as well as carbon offsets and reduction.
Knowledge is power
For those of us who drive to work every day, the thought of our annual carbon emission contribution may leave us in a cold sweat but one innovative product uses game mechanics to provide drivers with the information they need to reflect on how they drive.
Ford SmartGuage and EcoGuide, dashboard.
In 2008, designers at the Ford Motor Company collaborated with innovation and design firm IDEO and design studio Smart Design, to develop the Ford SmartGauge with EcoGuide. An “innovative instrument cluster” for Ford’s hybrid cards, the system is a very clever feedback mechanism for driver behaviour.
In the game world, a player will moderate their play style and behaviour as they learn a game’s rule system in order to achieve optimal performance. But to do this, the game must provide sufficient and timely feedback so that the player can alter their actions accordingly. The SmartGauge dashboard features a vine and leaf which grows and blooms depending on how the user drives, as well as indicators for how many miles per gallon the vehicle is consuming and how many more miles until fuel runs out. Thus, the SmartGauge is not just measure of current behaviour but also a way to compare and moderate future behaviour. In this way an individual can track and monitor their own performance over time. But what if users want to get competitive?
Around 2010 General Motors started to sell a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle called the Chevrolet Volt. Mike Rosack owned a Chevy Volt and used a Volt iPhone app to do things like remotely monitor the state of charge of the car’s battery or change the charge mode. But Rosack soon discovered that he could connect other users and compare their charge rates. He deveoped a website called Volt Stats! (not affiliated with Chevrolet) and a meta-game and enthusiastic community of users was unlocked.
Volt Stats! leaderboard of top ten users.
As the websites states, “Volt Stats interfaces with the OnStar webservice used by the iPhone/Android RemoteLink apps to collect data about the performance of Volts driving in the real world.”
A leaderboard was established where car owners can demonstrate just how efficiently they drive and recharge, sharing statistics such as miles per gallon (MPG), MPGe (equivalent), and MPGcs (cs stands for charge-sustaining mode, or the time when the gasoline engine is supplying all the energy). The website is a powerful demonstration of how a shared interest and competitive spirit can motivate people to moderate their behaviour for positive change.
Imagine if…
Games and game mechanics can encourage participants to modify existing behaviours (Ford SmartGuage) or start new ones (Bottle Arcade) but they can also immerse players in a world so deeply that they experience something they have never felt before (or don’t have the opportunity to) and gain a completely new perspective.
World Without Oil (WWO) was an alternate reality game (ARG) developed in 2007 by a multidisciplinary team including game designers Ken Eklund and the awesome Jane McGonigal. Designed to simulate the first 32 days of a global oil crisis, the game was an immersive experience that forced players to consider how this hypothetical event could affect their every day lives. The game was played by 1800 people across 12 countries. Players developed their own narratives, imagined a new world and shared countless images, videos and blogs. Without preaching or dictating what players should think or feel, the game allowed people to create and share their thoughts and concerns without judgement. As one player puts it so well:
“As for me, in this here and now, I’m a different person thanks to WWO. I’m much more aware of the fragile thread that supports the lifestyle I and others keep. I’m making changes, but there’s a long way to go. But I AM changing, and that means that for me, WWO was a success”.
There’s no magic key to ensuring changes in behaviour in the game world or in a game-like environment can result in immediate success in the real world, but if we could harness even just a small percentage of the enthusiasm people have for sticking to and achieving their goals on screen it may go a long way to solving many of the environmental challenges that we face today and in the future.
This post was first published on RecognitionPattern.com
Competitive Casual Gaming Is Already Here
A few posts back I wrote about the competitive gaming scene (PMS Asterisk*: Girl Gamers of Singapore) and pondered whether casual and social gaming would ever reach competitive status and attention from sponsors and players. Well ponder no more!
All those hours spent dancing in your bedroom may pay off…
Xbox 360 Singapore, Dance Central Championships 2012
Over the past two months Xbox 360 Singapore has hosted its inaugural Dance Central Championships with the finals taking place on Sunday, April 8. Developed by Harmonix, Dance Central is a game played using the Xbox 360 console and Kinect motion sensing input device. The sensor tracks players’ movements as they imitate dance moves on-screen, scoring points for timing and accuracy. Combining popular dance tracks with well choreographed routines, Dance Central has been well received by critics and players alike. Moreover single-player and Dance Battle modes make it a popular inclusion at parties, perhaps overtaking karaoke as the best way of making guests part of the night’s entertainment. (As I can attest from personally rocking Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head at a NYE party two years ago.)
Audience at Dance Central Championships 2012, Plaza Singapura, Singapore
The Dance Central Championships 2012 is the region’s first national dance competition utilising the Kinect for Xbox 360 and considerable prizes were on offer. The winner of specific categories received cash prizes including Solo (SGD2,000), Doubles (SGD4,000), and Junior (SGD1,000). The Ultimate Dance Champion, Sarah Dane Camongol, walked away with a trophy and prizes worth over SGD2,000 from a range of sponsors including Xbox 360, Starhub, CK Fragrances and LG. Although the event was not televised, the semi-finals and finals drew in a considerable live audience to Plaza Singapura, a local shopping mall.
Speaking from experience is does take a certain skill level and practice to achieve the high scores in Dance Central. Moreover, dancing in front of a crowd certainly requires additional prowess. With a massive screen and a fantastic set of speakers, the event definitely generated a lot of interest, toe-tapping and smiles from spectators. Not to mention the number of Xbox/Kinect bundles I saw purchased on site. I think the event was a great example of how to take casual gaming from the living room to a public arena. Other developers and publishers may need to take note soon…
World Cyber Games
Thanks to a tip-off from a reader, I was directed to a post on eSports blog Cadred reporting on an alleged leaked letter from the World Cyber Games (WCG) indicating that the “organisation will no longer be running traditional games tournaments and only supporting mobile phone games.” Although the news has not been officially confirmed by WCG, if the news is true, it represents a huge shift in competitive gaming highlighting the increased presence and acceptance of the casual gaming market.
WCG currently supports e-sports such as StarCraft II, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft and League of Legends. Despite the popularity and lucrative nature of current eSports, the letter points to financial motivations. Excerpts from the letter are included below.
“In the current status of gaming and IT industry, one of the most remarkable information to us was the mobile shipments have exceeded the PC shipments…. We made a hard decision that we should bring the mobile, new key sector in the game industry, in our event concept. Hence WCG decided to start the Mobile Game-Based Festival… There will be no longer present event modules, such as Pan Championship, and PC-Based National Finals. And the official game titles of WCG will consist of mobile Games.”
Reaction to the leaked letter has been mixed, some expressing disbelief while others are welcoming the move. If the transition does eventuate, it will represent a massive shift in the competitive gaming landscape. Stay tuned… you may well have to sharpen those Fruit Ninja and Draw Something skills.
This post was first published on RecognitionPattern.com
The Magic Lottery of Dog Poop
Cities are fun places to live but can present a challenge to our four-legged friends and their owners. On more than one occassion, I have only just narrowly averted disaster by side-stepping a recent warm deposit on the footpath. It is, of course, the owner’s responsibility to clean up after their beloved pets. However, not every owner is diligent in adhering to this social obligation and will conveniently have their attention diverted while Lassie attends to the call of nature. While these owners may prefer to turn a blind eye, their actions have a significant impact on the rest of us as dog waste is not only an eyesore and inconvenience but also a significant health and environmental hazard.
Singapore, as do most cities, adopts a punishment-based approach to moderating this behaviour. Owners can be fined up to SGD1,000 for not cleaning up after their dogs. Although it’s a significant financial deterrent, punitive policies require a high degree of constant policing. In order to be fined an offender must be caught in the act or sufficient evidence provided of the transgression. Further, the monitoring and collecting of this information can be quite an administrative burden, which is why some authorities are considering alternative methods to ensure that citizens do the right thing.
Turning dog poop into gold
Yes, you're very cute, but what you just left behind is not...
In an effort to clean the streets of New Taipei City in Taiwan, the municipality launched a campaign during 2011, encouraging dog owners to clean up after their furry friends. By collecting and handing in waste to government cleaning teams, participants received tickets for a lucky draw, with a chance to win one of three gold ingots worth up to T$60,000 (SGD2,250). “Through the raffle, we expect the public to pay closer attention to environmental sanitation and play a more active role in keeping their surroundings clean,”said New Taipei City Environmental Protection Department official Chen Chao-mint when the campaign was launched. The campaign was planned to run from August to October but was so successful it was extended by several months. Prizes were awarded in October with more prizes added subsequently. It’s interesting to note that it was not only dog owners who handed in waste but also residents who did not own dogs. Some sources claim that the campaign contributed to halving the amount of dog waste found in the city. The campaign has since ended (the city could not afford to maintain the gold rewards) but the council are hopeful that good habits have been instilled within dog owners. [@RecogPattern tried to contact the municipality to ascertain the level of street cleanliness since the campaign ended but have not yet received a response.]
The lure of lotteries
The lottery mechanic can be very effective in encouraging certain behaviours but it’s not just due to the motivation of cold hard cash. Firstly, lotteries provide participants with an opportunity to win without a specific skill requirement, just a basic action required to enter such as the purchase of a ticket. Secondly, a single participant has just as much chance of winning as anyone else, consequently there’s a perceived degree of equity and fairness. Thirdly, since the prospect of winning is randomised, it adds a level of novelty, excitement and surprise to the activity lighting up all kinds of pleasure centres in the brain.
Richard Thaler and Cass Suntein have explored the notion of choice through psychology and behavioural economics in their book “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness”. Thaler recently posted Making Good Citizenship Fun exploring the use of lotteries to encourage positive behaviour while Wired also featured an article on The Psychology of Lotteries.
Carrot or stick?
Although New Taipei City implemented the lottery system to reward citizens who kept the streets poop-free, punitive methods were still enforced at the same time such as asking residents to photograph offenders, who would then face fines (part proceeds put towards a reward for the informant), indicating that perhaps in this instance, reward alone was not sufficient to encourage the desired behaviour.
Punishment and reward are both forms of extrinsic rather than intrinsic behaviour (this topic covered in a previous post). Being fined or receiving a monetary reward are external forces imposed on the individual. However, the responsible citizen who believes that picking up after their dog is just “the right thing to do” is motivated by an intrinsic reward: they have maintained a poop-free street.
Double or nothing! Or maybe not…
Rewards are obviously more pleasant to receive than punishment but when combined with an uncertain outcome, their lure is contingent on the individual’s personality and appetite for risk. Some people are more risk-aversive than others and will prefer a course of action that will lead to minimal reward but with a lower probability of a bad outcome. Others will choose a higher probability of a bad outcome with their goal set on the higher reward.
Balancing risk and reward is a task that resonates with gamers. Games are designed to provide players with a range of choices, each with their own set of short and long term consequences. Do I seek out extra ammo but risk running into more goons? Do I focus on leveling up my melee skills while leaving myself vulnerable to an enemy with long range weapons? While playing Monopoly do I focus on buy utilities or railroads? Games allow players to test different scenarios and understand the consequences of their actions while learning about their own appetite for risk.
Positive outcomes for everyone
Aside from encouraging good behaviour, there’s another important positive outcome to implementing a reward-based incentive program: a pleasant experience for the administrators themselves. We love to give good news but hate being the bearer of bad news. And does anyone but a complete sadist actually enjoy making people feel bad while taking their money? Wouldn’t the workplace be a much more enjoyable place in which to work if customers’ interaction with that department was one of surprise and delight rather than frustration, resentment and anger? (Automated telephone answering services I’m talking to YOU.)
We each have a responsibility for the way we treat others and yet the processes and procedures of many organisations often dehumanise interactions, whether those experiences are navigating a website, filling in a hard copy form, endlessly on hold during a telephone call or waiting in a queue. Why do organisations settle for “customer satisfaction” instead of setting the bar higher and aiming for “customer joy”? I believe that customer joy is actually a by-product of an organisation that values their employees, encourages them to take pride in the service they provide, facilitates their ability to provide that service to a high standard (you’d be surprised how many don’t) while bestowing regular, consistent positive feedback.
Easier said than done
The carrot is obviously more appealing than the stick but the answer isn’t just about throwing rewards left, right and centre. Individuals vary greatly in their aversions to punishment and appetite for reward, not just in quantity but also quality. The context in which a campaign is implemented also demands a hard look at the overall outcome that is to be achieved, whether the primary interaction is online or offline and there’s a big difference between encouraging a good behaviour versus discouraging a bad one.
Although long-term effectiveness has yet to be seen, the municipality of New Taipei City definitely deserve a thumbs up for trying to implement a new model of modifying citizen behaviour through the use of rewards rather than punishment alone. So the next time you venture outdoors, strolling your city’s streets, spare a thought for the poop-free street and what it takes to keep it that way.
This post was first published on RecognitionPattern.com
PMS Asterisk*: Girl Gamers of Singapore
From Angry Birds and Bejeweled to CityVille and Words With Friends, the rise of casual and social gaming has brought video games to popular mass culture. The low friction point and minimal cost required to play these types of games has resulted in not only an increased number of people who play games but also a wider demographic. According to a 2011 report released by the Entertainment Software Association, the average gamer is 37 years old, 29 percent of players are over 50, and women represent 42 percent of gamers. However, in the world of hard-core gaming, the traditional stereotype still abounds: a male in his late teens or early twenties, single, socially awkward and living out of his parents’ basement. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Many hard-core gamers successfully hold down full-time or multiple jobs while also balancing social and family obligations. In fact, they are often masters of time management! Further, although a large proportion of women gamers play casual and social games, a growing number play console and pc games and consider themselves to be serious or hard-core gamers. Far from being individuals with no lives who lock themselves away from the world, these girl gamers are social, ambitious, professional and successful. In fact their commitment and passion for competitive gaming is something mainstream society should value, support and encourage.
Team Asterisk*
Defense of the Ancients (DotA) is a mod for the real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, from the Word of Warcraft franchise developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Played online in teams of five, where one team versus another, the format appeals to players who seek a definitive outcome over a shorter time period than that offered by most MMORPGs. The game is strategic relying on tactical selection of heroes and items rather than resource management and base building as seen in traditional real-time strategy games.
On stage at Sendi Mutiara Multimedia (SMM) in Kuala Lumpur against Nirvana.cn. (L-R) MiTH-Jinny, PMS MsJovial*, PMS furryfish*, PMS kimchi*, PMS pinksheep* MiTH stands for made in Thailand, and they also have their own team, for which PMS furryfish* played in Wuhan, China for World DotA Cup 2011. Photo credits: gosugamers.net
Team Asterisk* is a Singapore-based all girl competitive gaming team specialising in DotA and is in fact, the world’s first all-girl DotA team. The two founders met by chance in 2004. Tammy Tang, aka furryfish*, had been playing games competitively for several years when she was introduced to Dawn Yang, aka pinksheep*, by a mutual friend. After playing a competitive show match organized by the WCG (World Cyber Games), the pair decided to set up a girl’s team. However, both founders admit that recruiting girl gamers at that time was a very difficult task. As Tang recalls, “One of the girls I found on a mailing list. I was like, there’s a girl’s name!” After several months of networking and utilising word of mouth, team Asterisk* was born, the name demonstrating how different players can work together to produce a stellar performance.
In 2008 team Asterisk* joined Pandora’s Mighty Soldiers (PMS), a US-based clan affiliated with over 800 teams worldwide across all gaming platforms. As PMS’ own website states, it is the “First all-girls clan in the world catering a safe and fun environment for gamer girls in both competitive and casual gaming”. The collaboration allows Asterisk* to benefit not only from the clan’s well established reputation in international gaming circles but also management and sponsorship opportunities. The team currently consists of five players, one trainee and two inactive/honourary members who no longer play competitively due to work commitments. The team’s LAN homebase in Singapore is the Colosseum@Iluma.
Tang, leader of team Asterisk* and Esports Team Manager at Razer, recalls how she started playing video games as a child. “My dad has always been tech savy. He was free with letting me play with the computer… I started with Pacman, Alley Cat and Pinball. When I went to my cousin’s house I’d be playing with their Nintendo console… I started serious PC gaming when World Of Warcraft 2 came out.” Yang remembers her first video game experiences fondly. “My first game was Bobby Is Going Home on Atari. When I was a kid I used to watch my cousins play Prince of Persia, Heroes of Might and Magic and things like that. I was very interested. I’ve always been quite imaginative and liked reading books, so I think gaming is another outlet for me where I can explore worlds.” But what started as a hobby for both gamers has evolved into a serious competitive activity that requires a significant time and cost commitment while allowing them to travel the world and represent their country overseas.
The world of international competitive gaming
Competitive gaming is a serious business. Events such as Major League Gaming, Global Starcraft II League, World Cyber Games, Dreamhack and World Games Championship, provide cash prize pools often consisting of millions of dollars. In 2011, DotA2: The International had a first prize of USD1million and prize pool of USD1.6million.
Teams from around the world participate at these tournaments with serious commitments from international organisers and corporate sponsors. Team Asterisk* have competed in China, France, India, Malaysia, and Thailand as well as local events held in Singapore. The team has had a number of achievements over the last seven years including first place at the 2010 Iron Lady Championships (the only all female competition in the world) as well placing in the top 10 of the Compaq AMD Pro-Gaming League and top 20 at the Electronic Sports Thailand Championship, World Games Championship and Avalon Tournament.
So what does it take to enter the world of competitive gaming? Both Asterisk* members admit to putting in around six hours a day. That’s an incredible time commitment, considering current and previous team Asterisk* members have either full time study obligations or employment in advertising, banking, sales, flight cabin crew and Esports. But it’s about more than just sinking a lot of hours into the game. As Tang notes, “You can be a casual gamer who plays as much as I do or more but if you don’t have the right attitude you can’t go competitive”. Yang agrees, “The attitude is quite different. As a competitive gamer we look to improve and we are committed to it. Sometimes it’s not fun. Sometimes it’s really hard work. But if you regard yourself as competitive then you need to put in the hours and train, regardless of whether you still find it fun or you’re tired. So we take it quite seriously.”
Another factor is the ability to work in a team. “You have to be able to take criticism objectively,” says Yang. “For some casual gamers they don’t really want to be told what to do. But for us, its really important to know what we are doing wrong. That’s a big difference.” The focus of time spent on the game is also very different for competitive gamers. Players must keep up to date with updates for maps, heroes and items, research associated competitive advantages, plan strategies and watch replays from high level gamers as well as playing the game individually and as a team.
Tang has also recently taken on board the commitment of streaming her solo game play. “It’s an industry in itself with websites like Twitch.tv, own3d.tv and livestream.com. When you play your game you broadcast online live. People can see what you’ve done previously but the main attraction is that it’s live… I’ve got a base of people who expect me to be there. So that’s part of the reason why I play daily. It motivates me to play.”
With an average age of 24, Asterisk* team members have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to this passion and with that comes significant sacrifice. Tang says, “I have a full time job and family commitments so I don’t really hang out much”. Yang, a copywriter says, “I try to play as much as I can but it’s hard. I work in advertising and the hours can be very long and tiring.”
Competitive gamers as positive role models
The ongoing commitment and discipline required to participate in competitive gaming, is taxing for many teams let alone an all-girl team. When asked if Asterisk* has ever considered adding male members, Yang responds, “All of us have, on and off, joined our guy friends for minor competitions. But the thing that makes us unique or standout from the rest is that we’re all girls. We constantly push the boundaries for what girls can achieve as gamers.”
Team Asterisk* is looking for a manager but currently manage themselves. Team members handle everything from administration and fan management to the logistics of touring, marketing and self-promotion. Tang laments, “I get a lot of comments like, ‘Wow, you always play games. So fun!’ It gets very annoying. They don’t understand that a lot of the time you have to do things you don’t want to do just so the team can improve. Most of the admin stuff like buying tickets and coordinating with event organisers is done by me. Dawn does the marketing side of things like our blog and Facebook page [while] another girl does our game strategy and planning.”
They are active participants in the gaming scene competing in tournaments and attending gaming-related conventions but they are also committed to building the girl-gamer community. Tang says, “Girl gamers in general don’t know what to do. They enter this community that’s full of guys and most of the time it’s because of a guy friend or boyfriend… So they don’t really know the possibilities, what they can do or what’s out there. So the role we play is more of an inspirational role and move them into the right direction for competitive gaming”. To this end Asterisk* recently assisted Philippines team MSki Girls (affiliated with Mineski) in joining the PMS clan as PMSki.
Both Asterisk* members believe competitive gaming has helped to develop and hone skills that are useful in work and life. “I’m a good leader,” says Tang. “I’m really quite stubborn. If there’s a way where I can see things work out, then I will really make it work out. Most people aren’t very sure of what they want. But I am. It teaches you how to manage people.” Yang acknowledges the importance of team dynamics. “You really have to work as a team in gaming otherwise you can’t maximize the potential of what five [players] can do compared to one… Communication is very important. How you talk to people can create a different outcome.“
Support in an internationally competitive environment
In Singapore most competitive teams are either self-funded or receive some type of corporate sponsorship. As an established competitive gaming team, Asterisk* are sponsored by professional gaming hardware manufacturer Razer for peripheral equipment and other sponsors such as Toshiba, JV and Art of Colour on an event basis. When asked whether the team would seek government funding the team responded that they wouldn’t and that other teams needed the money more than they did. However, they always welcome new sponsors.
Singapore’s Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) recently announced a gamer assistance fund worth SGD20,000. Since 2008, the organisation has assisted gamers to participate in overseas tournaments and held more than 50 public gaming events. Although the fund will make a big difference to self-funded teams it’s only a drop in the ocean compared to the support offered to teams in other countries.
“Thailand’s gaming community is very vibrant,” says Tang. “They have lots of competitions. They even have TV channels for gaming.” In 2011 Thai company Neolution, a computer hardware and software distributor, opened Neolution Stadium in Bangkok, boasting 170 high-end computers and a gaming arena, designed to accommodate boot camps, casual gaming and competitive gaming. Buildings such as this are aligned with the growing popularity of “gaming houses” in China, Korea and Taiwan where professional gamers eat and sleep for free while being paid to play games.
Team Asterisk* believes the Singapore government could provide non-financial support by excusing competitive gamers from school or NS (national service) in order to compete in international tournaments. “Most of the gamers here can only play while they’re young. There’s actually a lot of talent out there. But if they could get excused [from school and NS] it would make a big difference.” At the 2011 International DotA 2 Championship held in Germany, Singaporean all-guy team Scythe.SG placed third in the competition and won USD150,00. To date, it’s the largest prize winnings a Singapore-based team has ever won. However, Ukraine team Na’avi won overall and collected USD1 million. It is interesting to note that two Scythe.SG members were unable to attend the tournament due to school commitments.
There is a notable lack of support for competitive gamers in Singapore when compared to their overseas counterparts. Although the Asterisk* Facebook page has over 13,000 fans (Scythe.SG have less than 2,000) the majority of fans are from overseas with strongest support from Thailand and the Philippines. Corporate sponsors who are willing to support the competitive gaming scene are also thin on the ground despite the popularity of social gaming. “There are a lot of people playing games,” says Yang. “Its been increasing in Singapore. If you ask the person on the street most of them play some kind of game. So I don’t think it’s a lack of [public] interest, I think it’s a lack of commitment from sponsors.”
If companies are willing to contribute money towards competitive gaming, it could stimulate enough interest that people will start playing those games seriously. But is competitive gaming about skill or money, or are the two elements entertwined? Tang notes, “In Singapore we don’t really have big sponsors… [or] local home-grown tech companies who are willing to fork out money to sponsor teams…. and make people believe that gaming is something worth going for… For example League of Legends, I wouldn’t say it’s a really competitive game but they’ve managed to contribute enough money to make it seem like it’s a competitive game. So a lot of people have picked it up… They’re boasting a USD 5million prize pool for the next season.” My gut feeling says that if anyone put up a million dollars to play Bejeweled you would suddenly see a lot of people training and taking the game seriously at a competitive level. The question is, would people watch?
Having competed in their first tournament in India last month at the Delhi Youth and Gaming Festival and with other tournaments scheduled for the year ahead, team Asterisk* is looking forward to what 2012 will bring. With the level of discipline, commitment and stability the team has demonstrated since their inception, Singapore should sit up, take notice and support hard-core gamers who have contributed significantly to the local and international competitive gaming scene… and who also just happen to be an all-girl team.
Support PMS Asterisk* and join their Facebook page.
This post was first published on RecognitionPattern.com
