The field of digital gaming has evolved greatly as technology advances and audiences change in taste. In the early eighties the industry was filled with bedroom programmers; these games designers were very young, often teenagers, but able to publish hits that could sell in the millions.

As games became more complicated bedroom programmers died out; in the changed landscape a whole studio was required to make a successful game. Now, however, things are changing. Bedroom programmers are back.

This development is due largely to the World Wide Web, and latterly mobile phone technology. There is now a new market for small-scale games played in short bursts across lunch-breaks, or on mobile phones during trips. This area is just perfect for a new generation of amateur and semi-professional designers, with small studios – sometimes consisting of no more than a single programmer and a single graphic artist – making games which succeed in catching on. The famous Angry Birds, made by a small outfit in Finland, is the most significant example of this phenomenon.

In this burgeoning field of online games, one area in particular which has grown to a large degree in a relatively small amount of time is that of the online casino. Online casino-style games offer the same quick-fix entertainment as the majority of other Internet games, with the added factor of gambling: players are able to stake money and win or lose depending on their luck. These games are, of course, tightly observed by laws which vary from country to country; because of this anybody wishing to enter the world of online casinos – either as a player or as a producer of the games – will have to perform full research into the area beforehand.

Perhaps the antithesis to these small-scale games to be played over a home computer or mobile phone in one’s spare time is the world of E-sports. Games based around sports have moved closer and closer to their real-life counterparts, with many incorporating motion control to make it feel as though the player is actually engaging in the sport of their choice – even though they never leave their room, and may even be playing on their own against computer-controlled rivals.

E-sports and casino games are at opposite ends of the digital gaming spectrum – but anyone involved in games production will have plenty to learn from both of them.

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League of Legends

League of Legends is currently the biggest e-sport, although it’s more popular in Japan and other parts of Asia than Europe or North America. LoL, as it’s more commonly known, is an MOBA type game that imitated the original DOTA mod for Warcraft III. It’s a free game and is supported by purchasing items and characters. This has allowed the game to grow exponentially, and the huge player base means e-sport tournaments have a massive worldwide audience. LoL tournaments have prizes of millions of dollars, and the top teams become celebrities of the e-sports world.

DOTA 2

DOTA 2 is a direct competitor to LoL, although it has a much smaller player base at the moment. Even so, a recent tournament sponsored by the creators, Valve, had a prize fund of over one million dollars. The major problem with all MOBA type games is that they have a very steep learning curve, but DOTA 2 is trying to solve this with intelligent bots to practice against. The long term winner between DOTA 2 and LoL remains to be seen, but at the moment both are hugely popular.

Starcraft 2

Starcraft 2 is one of the most popular real-time strategy games (RTS) and was specifically designed to be an e-sport. This means that every fighting unit is balanced, creating tense and fair matches. While its popularity has been decreasing over the last couple of years, Starcraft 2 is still one of the most popular e-sports.

FIFA

FIFA is one of the few e-sports that are primarily played on console. For those that don’t know, FIFA is the biggest soccer game currently available, and is playable on almost all formats. Despite its deceptively simple control scheme, there’s a lot of depth to FIFA which allows for fascinating matches and large tournaments. Being backed by one of the largest games developers, EA, is another reason why this is such a popular e-sport.

Counter-Strike

Counter-Strike is a popular shooting game based on tactics, teamwork and individual skill. It’s in a period of transition at the moment, with the makers Valve recently releasing a new version called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Even so, there are a still a number of large tournaments and the game’s popularity is unlikely to go away any time soon.

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This article will provide a brief history of e-sports.

The Birth of Multiplayer Gaming

John Carmack, the head programmer at id software, had a vision. He wanted groups of players to interact with and compete against each other in multiplayer gaming arenas.

id’s seminal first person shooter, Doom, was one of the first games to feature multiplayer gaming. Up to four players could enter an arena and do battle in a fight to the death. The victor was the player that racked up the highest number of kills.

Doom was an instant hit upon its release in 1993, and it served as the blueprint for all FPS games going forward.

Quake

id followed Doom with Doom 2. The multiplayer aspect was expanded allowing for greater numbers of players to compete in the arenas.

But, it wasn’t until the release of Quake, id’s followup to Doom 2, that multiplayer gaming became accepted. Quake was a fast paced, breakneck Lovecraft-inspired first person shooter. Its multiplayer component, Quakeworld, was unlike anything that had come before it.

A multiplayer tournament scene was quickly built up around Quakeworld. Tournaments and ladders were held on a regular basis with players competing from all over the world. id, wanting to foster the tournament scene, held a tournament with John Carmack’s Ferrari up for grabs for the first place winner. Dennis Fong, nicknamed ‘Thresh’, was declared the victor.

Starcraft: Brood War

Meanwhile, in South Korea, a different type of e-sports scene was being developed around a different genre of video games. Starcraft:Brood War, a real time strategy game developed by Blizzard entertainment, was growing in popularity. Pro gaming teams were being formed and stars were being made. Tournaments were being televised on major television networks, too.

The Growth of E-Sports

E-sports continued to go from strength to strength. In South Korea, Starcraft: Brood War remained popular. It was quickly joined with other e-sports titles, too.

In the rest of the world, FPS games reigned supreme with games like Unreal Tournament, Counter Strike, Halo, Quake and Painkiller being amongst the most popular.

Over time, the amount of money being pumped into e-sports continued to rise and e-sports stars were being made.

Unfortunately, slow internet speeds had made it hard to broadcast e-sports tournaments. In South Korea, the television companies had embraced e-sports to great success but, in the West, the television companies had shunned e-sports, thereby limiting its growth.

The Birth of Internet Streaming

The increased spread of broadband connections allowed for the birth of internet streaming. Instead of relying on flaky television companies, e-sports tournament organisers could broadcast e-sports coverage directly to viewers computers through the internet. Viewership figures quickly skyrocketed. Games like Counter Strike:Global Offensive, Quake Live, Starcraft 2, Dota 2 and League of Legends were being viewed by a global audience.

Conclusion

2012 was the biggest year for e-sports yet with more prize money being handed out than any year before it. 2013 is already looking to be an even bigger year with more tournaments and more prize money being handed out. As the popularity of e-sports continues to increase, it’ll likely continue to go from strength to strength.

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This article will list 3 of the most famous e-sports players, giving a brief rundown of their history in e-sports while explaining why they became famous.

#1 – Lim Yo-Hwan — ‘SlayerS_BoxeR’

Lim Yo-Hwan, more commonly known as his gaming pseudonym ‘SlayerS_BoxeR’, is arguably the most famous real time strategy player of all time. Nicknamed ‘The Emporer’, Yo-Hwan was the man responsible for making e-sports popular in South Korea.

Yo-Hwan burst onto the Starcraft scene in the early 2000s. His playstyle was fresh, unique and fun to watch, which quickly gained him a large number of fans. Yo-Hwan was a talented player, too, having held onto the #1 rank in Starcraft:Brood War for 17 consecutive months.

Yo-Hwan is famous for helping to build South Korea’s Starcraft:Brood War scene during its early days. He successfully recruited a number of top name sponsors to the e-sport and created a number of professional teams to play the game professionally. He also worked tirelessly to have Starcraft:Brood War games be televised on public television.

Yo-Hwan’s efforts were not in vane. Starcraft:Brood War and its successor, Starcraft 2, are still played professionally in South Korea. Both games are televised with millions of viewers tuning in to watch every day.

Yo-Hwan himself is still a part of the scene, too. He currently coaches one of the most popular Starcraft teams, SK Telecom 1, while acting as an ambassador for South Korean e-sports.

#2 – Jonathon Wendel – ‘Fatal1ty’

Jonathon Wendel, more commonly as his gaming pseudonym ‘Fatal1ty’, is one of the most popular FPS gamers of all time. Born in Missouri in the USA, Wendel was one of the first e-sports figures to train seriously for e-sports competitions. He practised on a regular schedule with his practise time increasing to 12 hours daily when preparing for a tournament.

Wendel experienced a great deal of success in a number of FPS titles, including Quake, Painkiller, Doom and Unreal Tournament. Over the years, he won over $500,000 worth of prize money in the e-sports arena.

Wendel later parlayed his popularity into sponsorship deals. Soon, ‘Fatal1ty’ branded gaming keyboards, gaming mice and gaming computer hardware was flooding the computer hardware scene. Wendel was also featured in documentaries, including an MTV ‘True Life’ documentary that followed him as he prepared for a particularly difficult Unreal Tournament 3 league.

Wendel played his last tournament game in 2006. Since then, he has successfully transitioned to the world of poker where he is experiencing success.

#3 – Emil Christensen – ‘HeatoN’

Emil Christensen, more commonly as his gaming pseudonym ‘HeatoN’, is the most celebrated and most famous Counter-Strike player of all time. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Christensen revolutionised the game and enthralled fans with his skill.

Christensen was a mainstay of the Counter-Strike community for many years. He played in some of the most popular teams of all time, including SK-Gaming and Ninjas In Pyjamas. He earned over $250,000 in prize money during his time spent playing Counter-Strike.

Christensen eventually faded away from the Counter-Strike scene but his popularity never vanished. He became a cult hero with many Counter-Strike fans looking up to him.

Christensen recently returned to the e-sports scene following the release of the sequel to Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. He resurrected his former team, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and recruited a number of top players to play under its banner. Acting as manager, Christensen has led the team to domination over the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene with the team winning every major tournament of 2012.

Conclusion

While there have been many popular e-sports figures over time, the three listed above are arguably the most famous and the most revered. Without Lim Yo-Hwan, e-sports would have never developed a following in South Korea. Likewise, without Wendel and Christensen, it’s likely that e-sports titles would have remained small and niche in the western world.

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This article will explain the differences between the three genres while providing examples of the most popular e-sports title in each.

#1 – Real Time Strategy

RTS games are, as the genre name implies, strategy games that are played out in real time. RTS games are normally played 1v1 with each player trying to destroy the other.

RTS games are the e-sports equivalent of chess. Players start by collecting resources and investing them into production facilities and technology buildings to create an army with a composition of their choice. Different army compositions have their own strengths and weaknesses. Scouting the opponents army composition and creating one that can defeat it is the key to winning in RTS games.

The most popular RTS game being played worldwide is Starcraft 2. In 2012, millions of dollars worth of prize money was handed out with some of the best RTS players earning 6-figure paychecks. 2013 is looking to be an even bigger year.

Starcraft 2 is unique as an e-sports title in that it is regularly televised in various parts of the world, including Sweden, Germany and South Korea.

#2 – Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

MOBA games are an evolution of RTS games. While RTS games are normally played 1v1, MOBA games are team games that are played 5v5.

The goal in every MOBA game is simple – destroy the opposing team. Players accomplish this task by gradually powering up their characters in the game to make them stronger. Then, once their characters are strong enough to overpower the characters on the opposing team, they mount a co-ordinated offensive attack to assault the opponents base. If they succeed, they leave the game as the victors.

The most popular MOBA games being played worldwide are Dota, Dota2 and League of Legends. Dota2, the sequel to Dota, is primarily played in developed countries while Dota is mainly played in developing countries in Asia and South America. League of Legends is played worldwide.

All three games have a cult following with a number of tournaments being played each year. ‘The International 2’, a Dota2 tournament that saw the winners taking home a $1,000,000 prize, was the biggest e-sports tournament of 2012. ‘The International 3’ is vying to up the ante by increasing the prize purse to a record $2,000,000.

#3 – First Person Shooters

As the genre name implies, FPS games are shooters played from a first person perspective. FPS games can be played 1v1 or as part of a team.

The goal in every FPS game is to eliminate the opposition. In 1v1 games, players accomplish this goal by having better aiming abilities than their opponents. In team variants, players must out-aim their opponents but they must also work together as a team.

The most popular FPS e-sports titles are Halo 4, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Quake Live. Halo 4 and Counter Strike:Global Offensive are both team games. Players must co-ordinate their attacks to skillfully destroy their opponents. Quake Live is a 1v1 arena FPS that sees players navigating fantasy arenas using fantastical weapons to outaim and kill their opponents.

All three games had regular tournaments throughout 2012. 2013 is promising to be an even bigger year for FPS titles.

Conclusion

E-sports titles have traditionally focused on the three genres listed above. It’s likely that future e-sports titles will be part of these genres, too.

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