Bad manners and annoying limitations

So I was sitting down at my computer one morning when I came across Neo-Destiny's steam (for those who don't know he was a competitive StarCraft player who turned to League of Legends) and I saw that he was active!

Being that he's one of my favorite players, I tuned in too see some Hawt Draven action only to find him playing Xcom, Enemy Unknown, a non competitive single player game. And at first I wasn't perplexed as it was freaking awesome to watch him, but eventually I had to think to myself "Wait, what's he doing not practicing the game that makes him money?"

So I dug into it a bit and it he probably got banned for BMing his team or something along those lines. Which means the Tribunal (or who ever) decided to ban him for his usual antics. The interesting thing about it is, the fact that League has these control systems seems to be working. I know that Destiny has become tamer since his days in SC2. I mean c'mon. Just look at all the BM highlights that he managed to accrue over the years. However he himself on his stream said that he was getting less and less Bad Mannered.

With Stephano getting suspended a few months ago for making those comments about abusing a 14 year old girl, it seems like ProGaming is cracking down on explicite comments and outrageous behavior.  It used to be up to the individual teams and event organizers to discipline the players (except IdrA's team cause lets be honest what could they do about it?) but with entities like The Tribunal making it's way into the scene, we can expect more standardization across the whole of gaming.

Is this step going to make Gaming a legit sport in main stream society? Are we going to be taken seriously because we start reigning in player behavior? Probably not.

I'd love to see a Pro-Gamer go through this transmutation...

The fact of the matter is Gaming doesn't have Michael Vick-esque scandles, even when we compare Setphano's off color humor it doesn't compare. The closest thing we have is the 2010 match fixing thing we had with some Korean players. ProGaming all in all is pretty tame when compared to Football's made up girlfriend trend, or Baseball's steroid problems. The worst we have is a little immature insulting throwing and some offensive language.

All in all the pro-gaming scene is going through the same transition that politicians are going through. Namely, anyone with a camera phone can expose what they're doing. Screen caps and steam footage can get players in plenty of trouble. But unlike Mitt Romney, Pro-Gaming doesn't have 47% of the drama and poor decisions that our government does.

FIRST... No but really

So! Here we are. First post of my new blog. Im excited. I like news things, new things are great. Which is the perfect segue into the topic of this blog: Technology.

Now you may think "Ohmigawd not annuther technonerd blog" and to be fair this isn't completely inaccurate (if a little insensitive and off putting). But i'll be using my blog to explore gaming as a hobby turned profession. This is one of the fastest growing entertainment mediums in America right now and it shows no sign of slowing down. Perfect for a blog.

So lets get to know each other. I'm Alex (Or Captain Buffalo as most of my screen names were back in the day), a ruggedly handsome 19 year old who's in love with video games. I've played them ever since i way little. Marathon, the Warcrafts, Call of Duty, Morrowind, are all childhood favorites I turn to now and then for "Nostalgia" or the feeling of "forgetting all the crappy graphic and hours of frustrating gameplay". Video games have become much prettier and user friendly, much like girls. In middle school, they're kinda attention seeking and temperamental  but in high school they're exactly the same but you're willing to put up with it now for some reason (Hint: it's probably sex).

I've seen the industry progress. I remember the days when sprinting in First Person Shooters was a wild concept, now you can't find a game that doesn't have it. I've seen the rise of Minecraft, and the fall of Everquest, I watched the little start up company Bungie from it's earliest endeavors (Myth and Myth II were some favorites) to it's greatest achievements in the Halo series.

But right now my interesting is in the budding world of New Media. The fact that I can watch a Mongolian singer belt out the Italian national anthem while sitting in my room in Minnesota is not only hilarious (and confusing if you don't know geography) but also astounding. Such connectivity has limitless implications for our economy, especially in the gaming industry.

We live in a world where you can support your self by playing video games. Look at people like Husky. He doesn't even play competitively but he makes his money in casting. Look at Twitch Tv or JustinTv. These are sites dedicated to helping professional gamers showcase their abilities, get viewers, and play commercials to make some cash. YouTube is where it all started but it's become something much larger. It's become it's own market, industry, whatever you want to call it.

So, I look forward to dissecting the ever changing state