Lawyer105 said:
I can't say that I agree with you... in all of the examples you've mentioned, and pretty much everything else that (as far as I can see) you intend, there is an inherent element of "fair" built in.
In baseball or marathon running or whatever, everybody's dealing with the exact same rules and "gameplay" as everyone else. Success in that is purely a matter of skill (sure, I suppose there's some element of luck in terms of getting born with the ability, but that's going a bit far).
In games, however, there's often much less "fair" and much more luck. A dude beats you in Starcraft. There might be SOME element of skill... but unless you're playing exactly the same race, with exactly the same terrain advantages and (for many RTS's these days) get exactly the same RNG rolls, you can't really say that one person is more skilled than another. It's even more true in games which are more complex than RTS's - e.g. MMO's or FPS's.
It takes no real skill to sit in a corner with a sniper rifle camping the enemy's spawn and patting myself on the back about all the noobs I pwn'd. And don't even get me started on the poor balancing of PvP for games like WoW. Even a straight fight often isn't a contest between two people's skill as much as a "who got lucky and had the best weapon/class for this situation" or "who had three other friends shooting at/attacking my target".
There's just too many random factors, too much luck, in any given game environment for me to believe it constitutes a true test of skill vs skill. And so I don't see anything particularly worthy of respect.
Besides... skill at a game adds nothing to the world. It doesn't make anything better, or the world a brighter place. At least skill at widely accepted sports or cultural issues adds something to the world. Skill at Starcraft is meaningless (ok, ok... unless you live in Korea - but even then, it doesn't include any other game really).
Oh, there is a great deal of fair. No player has any upper hand inherently. Yes there is luck, but there is also luck in baseball. The wind can shift, a player's muscles may be acting up that day, etc. I'm unsure how there is more luck in Star craft than in a sport. You say unless they are playing the exact same race, with the same terrain advantages. Well then shouldn't a sports team be playing against a cloned version of themselves? If they have a player who can run much faster, as opposed to mine which can throw farther, that seems as much a difference as which race/class/gun you seem to have.
I'll agree there are many unbalanced pvp scenarios in games, but there are just as much in sports. I don't see how any sports field is more controlled than any in-game environment. Unless they are using completely identical equipment, with teams with the exact same capabilities. There are good pitches, bad pitches and sometimes you just didn't see that rogue till it was too late.
I'm not a huge starcraft player, but if I were to get beat by a player who's been practicing and mastering the micromanagement zerg for the past few months, I feel it would be the same as getting beaten by someone who has been practicing football for the past few months. I don't have much skill in either. They learned the rules, and how to use the tools they are given to beat me. Yeah, there is luck, but there is a combination of luck and skill in everything. RNG are used and that's a valid point, but the system doesn't show favoritism. In sports the ball was wet, so it slipped out of my hands. In an MMO he critted twice in a row.
Plenty of games ARE all about luck and some all about skill. I'm not saying every video-game is a perfect forum of skill and ingenuity, but no game matches that either. And as for 'sports at least add something to the world' via public relations with other countries, you've also proved another point. I think a nice starcraft tourny in Korea would do just as well to promote 'unity' or what have you, as a baseball tourny here.
Mages got buffed, he is op! = You were born with longer legs, no fair.
Gods, he got the sniper rifle. = They got a new aluminum bat, this'll be tough
RNG hates me = I had the sun in my eyes.
so its not all bad.
