In a university, the recreational center is most basically a gym. The rec has basketball courts, volleyball, maybe soccer fields and a swimming pool. The point is that the rec is a place for competition and growth. PlayStation University’s Rec Center is much the same. At PSUni, our Rec Center fosters the growth of competitive gamers.
Ever since Pong, certain video game genres have been made to be competitive. Taking this into account, various tournaments are held to cater to the competitive thirst, and as a result we see Major League Gaming and Evolution Championship Series (among others) showing stream viewing that rivals many NFL games.
In very much the same way that basketball and football is covered and discussed, PSUni’s Rec Center will discuss aspects of fighting games, real-time strategy, first-person shooters, and sports games that will assist players in becoming more competitive.
Who am I? How am I qualified to write on this?
My name is Daniel Name. I was born into a house with an NES and a brother, so competition was inevitable. Over the last year I have invested a very large portion of my time into fighting games including participation in many tournaments like Texas Bar Fights, PlayStation MLG Online Qualifier, and Major League Gaming Fall Championship. In the process of competition I have joined one of the same teams as the two-time defending MLG champions for Mortal Kombat 9, under the name OBS DJ L Toro.
More important than my competitive history is the connections that I have made over the last year. In competition and preparation I have met and befriended highly skilled tournament players from six countries, commentators, tournament organizers, and game developers. These contacts give me good perspective on the many aspects of competitive gaming.
What exactly is going to be discussed here?
On the one hand the Rec could be similar to the math department. Fighting games have frame data, real-time strategy has production rates, travel times, and so on, and shooters have… their own intricacies that aren’t quite my specialty. On the other hand the Rec might be more similar to the dormitories in that there is a large community aspect to competition. Whether you play 8 vs 8 Call of Duty or 1 vs 1 Mortal Kombat, competitive games have communities that play together, joke together, and sometimes even live together.
So what will be discussed here is all of the above. The Rec Center will showcase competitive gaming, the media that assist in it, and player development. We here at PlayStation University would like to welcome you into this discussion.