esports
With the advancements made in Virtual and Augmented reality, games has suddenly become immersive on a whole other level. How will it effect esports? For the practitioners and the audience?
Competitive VR/AR games haven't had the chance to become big yet, but with new technology being developed like never before, things are looking up for the potential of VR in esports. How will it impact esports, or the gaming industry in theory though? It’s hard to predict and we can only speculate the VR/ARs effect and impact in the gaming world. Right now, the existing VR devices are too expensive and non-efficient to be a widely owned item. That must change in the future for the genre to grow to be able to compete with the other big titles of esport.
What does this mean in competitive esports? In practicality, there are some questions. While sitting next to your team and be able to speak with them, and look at their reactions, offers a huge impact on how the game is panning out. The VR games are surely to have some similar ways of communication with your team.
Right now, the most obvious VR compatable's are FPS, as you look through the eyes of the character you play. How will it work with other genres such as Dota 2, League of Legends and Hearthstone? Games such as Fortnite and Apex Legends, where you see the character in front of you, are more likely to work. However, new ideas and new formats are likely to be developed due to the ever changing and ever adapting gaming industry. There will most likely be new releases due to the unique format of VR, and new games will also likely rise among the most popular titles. AR doesn't necessarily have the same restrictions as VR, but will also have to adapt to fit on the competitive esports scene.
A proven concept
We have already seen the hysteria of the first big game release with AR, Pokemon Go, and granted, a big title loved by many and an incredible hype along with the “new factor”, contributed to the games crazy popularity. As most things new and hyped up, it’s understandable that Pokemon Go was incredibly popular from the release, but maybe rather surprisingly, the game still owns a huge following.
There are a few active competitive leagues right now that use VR. Virtual Reality Challenger League being the biggest one playing games like Echo Arena, Echo Combat and Onward, and has grown to be a rather large tournament. We can see that the people behind the venture has put a lot of effort into it, but the games and the tech are just not good enough yet to compete with Dota, CS:GO and Fortnite, or any other of the major titles in terms of popularity. However, with more and more developers putting VR/AR into focus, we might get there soon. Because there are incredible benefits of being the first to produce a game or technology that can make VR/AR a heavy hitter in the world of esports.
Spectating
Esports for the audience has the potential to be revolutionized with the new technology. Now, we follow the games on a fixed screen. This way of watching is what we love and are used to, and this is all well and fine but that’s because we don’t know any better. Imagine to spectate a game, maybe your favorite player in CS:GO, with your own VR device, to simply watch what he/she sees, or to look around the player and have your own experience. Imagine to spectate two opponent teams in a fight, jumping between them. A cool way to watch, right? With VR, the choices expand from a fixed screen in front of you to endless possibilities and staggering immersion. The watching experience can really be enhanced, and lets the viewer be a part of the game in whole new and different way. This doesn’t mean the end of the fixed screen, it might just be the best way to get a macro-perspective of what’s happening, but if you are a true fan, you might want to look from other perspectives.
Bridge between gaming and sports
Another big change, or maybe more of a merger, where VR/AR has the possibility to do something is that of bridge building between gaming and physical sports. Gaming and esports can become a more physical experience, where the gamer needs to be in good shape, attracting a whole different audience and practitioners. Right now, VR fitness games are already developed - and there’s coming more. For the people who like to exercise while doing something else, this is the perfect way to get in shape. If we integrate these more physical based games into esports, we have something entirely new. Sure, all VR, and some AR, games are, and probably will be, at least partly focused on physicality. Stamina, reaction, agileness and coordination will be areas where the best in the genre will excel at, but imagine games where these attributes are prime.
We don't know yet what the future holds for VR/AR in esports. The only thing that we can be certain of, is that it will have a much bigger part than now. The potential is incredible, the experience mind-blowing and possibility that esports can attract a whole new audience, promising. To say the least, we are excited about the future.
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