This was a question pointed out by a very good old friend of my parents (and myself) recently.
“I’m curious about why you are targeting 40+ folks, middle aged people who, like me, are probably consumed by their careers and may not have a high interest in esports. Do you hope to attract them to esports or just to explain it to them?”
Indeed.
My single goal for this activity is to popularize esports to the unexpeirenced generation or the unexperienced region. And why? Because I think many older generations in various countries regardless of the continent still hold that negative connotation towards their children or grandchildren playing games somewhere deep in their mind. In many countries, it’s still a “guilty pleasure” in that more than half of the entire population may actually play games during their commute to work or during their most private time in a toilet, but won’t accept the fact that competitive gaming can be a full-time occupation (sometimes earning way better than an ordinary salaryman). Would the senior generation ever get to play any games at some point in their lives? Probably not. I think they deserve to experience what it is, but perhaps through a different channel. A medium that they are very familiar with: a book.
By reading a well-crafted book, I want them to experience what we had experienced through playing games, but indirectly and only the interesting stories. Yes, I guess I want them to be attracted to esports, but not necessarily need to play the game themselves, but rather “know” what it is and understand what the fuss is all about. I don’t want to explain it just for the sake of explaining.
Now depending on the target reader, the corresponding narrative of the manuscript should be reflected accordingly.
- If my target reader is wrong, I would need to change the voice and the contents that would fit the best.
- If the target reader is solid, I would need to justify why those people need to read this story.
- And if they read, what good does it bring to the society (perhaps) or to the esports community.
Regarding 3, very roughly speaking, I think popularizing esports means that there will be more capital flowing in to the esports ecosystem, macroscopically. It has been very clear that, regardless of the types of companies, there are always folks who have a great interest or even a strong passion in esports either as a new business opportunity for the employer that they belong to or a new marketing channel for the product they sell. But unfortunately, too many times when the idea escalates up through the corporate ladder, the decision maker (who’s usually a senior person) almost always turns the proposal down, either because he is seriously blinded by the negative connotation of gaming from the get-go or because simply just not being able to grasp what esports is out of indifference. (E.g., ‘Gaming business in a power plant company? Are you nuts??’). I’d like to change this.
Another comment from my friend was the following.
“…I can get the gist of what you are saying, but the lingo/jargon takes some adjusting. I can say that you convey your enthusiasm for the subject clearly.“
Very good point. I would need to work on the language a bit more.
Gotta keep writing!
Just eSports 