SGNDT, The Expectations
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SGNDT, The Expectations »
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Written by: Marksman 09/12/2009 14:20:46
On the first impression, it looked decorated with aesthetics and technical posters such as brackets and scores list. The orc and night elf models were a nice touch and made this tournament different than all the usually detail scare, clean walls and lacking aesthetics. The pictures of previous SMM also made it unlike a tournament area but also a memory lane of SMM’s previous achievement. SMM also displayed their awards and success which was impressive.
Don’t Night Elves ever get cold?
You don’t mess with me! Lok Ta Rogar!
Clean smooth good looking information board
SMM Showing off their achievements
Viewing Memory Lane
Upon registration wherever it may be for players or the media, they provided us with a goody bag per person. Bags were custom designed and the contents were considerably high valued and very contrasting from the usual goody bags. We were given a few figurines about the game Hellgate London along with a short comic book about the game. The figurines were very nice and well done with detail. It showed that SMM wasn’t being thrifty on expenses.  The Slayer  Toy Soldiers got a lot more real  A mugshot  The Templar Box  When did Hell start selling comic books? Moving on, there was a Garena TV booth beside the main stage. Throughout the SMM tournament, Garena Tv had been provided live streaming services to the international DOTA community. That’s a really good thing to do with the world of gaming getting ever smaller. This again is something rarely done if was ever done in Malaysia.
Streaming services brought to you by GarenaTV
When it came to the start of the event, it was well taken care of. The MC was well prepared, well able to adapt and smoothly executed the phases of the opening and closing ceremonies. Accommodations were specifically prepared for different people. Players and staff stayed in the condominiums within the A Famosa resort while media also have equally accommodating rooms in the resort hotel. The venue was a place called Cowboy town next to the Resort hotel, considerably far from the condominiums. Nevertheless, shuttle service was present to provide the needed transportation services. Internet access, a boon to media was present within both accommodations and the venue itself, making it very participant friendly.
A Famosa Shuttle at your service
Another touch SMM did to make this event special was the inclusion of LCDs to provide a first person view of the players. Being a gaming tournament with a high skill level player base, gamers and fellow participants are eager to see on how other excellent players play the game. SMM has clearly foreseen this, providing first person views for all ten players for the stage games. Another ten LCDs were in the Gaming Arena (dubbed the pits). Each LCD shows a first person view of a player playing in the pits, each player from different tables or islands. It definitely kept the gamers interested and alert throughout the tournament, especially during the later rounds where the games have really heated up.
LCDs giving the view of the player’s actions to the crowd
Adding to the hype were the commentators. Two commentators from Gamestah were brought in all the way from Australia. The two, Toby Dawson and Will Whiting are very experienced, entertaining and enlightening commentators. They are very good in explaining things about Dota such as strategies, hero selections and etc in a style that isn’t confusing for non Dota players. So thumbs up for them.
 Toby Dawson and Will Whiting doing what they do best, commentate on Dota For the gaming systems on stage or the pit, everything needed was prepared. From the extra slots for mousse and keyboards to Warcraft 3 hotkey changer, it’s there. This is a very important thing that organizers tend to neglect. SMM was aware of this and wanted players to be totally comfortable and able to play at their best with their own gear. For any event, it was also important to pay attention to detail. Tiny details although insignificant eventually add up to be significant. SMM had paid good attention from the media booth to the live stream to the commentators, even down to the plasticuffs binding the chairs. Their emphasis was good and it certainly contributed to the well being of the entire event. Last but the most critical element that brought the SDGT to a success Is the good management of staff. The events were executed smoothly and sometimes even ahead of schedule. They were always preparing early and very helpful to anyone who enquired. Kudos to that. Two paragraphs ago, I’ve written their attention to detail. However, they did leave a few important details unattended. First and foremost, there were no dustbins. Not a single one in sight in the entire hall. The place had become a mess especially during the second night. Rubbish was strewn in the booths and among the audience chairs. The A Famosa staff did clean the mess but left the large trash bag in the booth. If there were proper dustbins, there wouldn’t have this issue.  The chairs have grown the human ability to excrete  What’s with the chili sauce, people? During the opening ceremony, SMM was prepared, the MC was prepared. The sponsors and players weren’t. When the sponsors were called to receive their tokens or appreciation or the team leaders for their team draw, there were these moments silence as the following person wasn’t present or simply at the other end of the hall, struggling to move forward. That made me slightly disappointed for it was something definitely avoidable and easily prepared. It disrupted the atmosphere and the momentum of the ceremony which the MC was trying to build up. The commentators were also prepared to an extent but were caught off guard. They were aware that they are taking an additional role of announcing the group draws of the teams. They adapted fine but you could see their surprise and initial awkwardness that was smoothed out quickly. In addition, the tables in the gaming arena had very large tablecloth. A lot of players bring their own gear and thus generates the need to always go under the table and plug them in. The cloth that extended down to the floor is bothersome, adds delay time and also potentially affect players who are unused to playing with their feet covered with such cloth. It also reduces cost if there are any and should be further discouraged.
The critical factor to heir problems was the size of the hall or the lack of it. The hall is too small to comfortably fit everything. Space was lacking in the booths, the seats were insufficient for the audience size. Players and audience were forced to sit on the floors in order to watch the games on stage. The space between the seats and the LCDs at the gaming arena was also too small. Many people couldn’t get a good look and were forced to go to the other side. That crowded it sometimes up to the point that the entrance was completely blocked. I couldn’t even get out through the thick crowd and was forced to take an alternative entrance. This problem is a serious detriment to audience comfort and enjoyment.
Not enough chairs = This So how does all this put SNDGT in our thoughts? They certainly did well but there are things that can be improved to bring a greater, richer experience for players and spectators who traveled from all over Malaysia and the rest of the world. SMM is one of the best gaming organizers of Malaysia so far but we can go to that extra step further to bring Malaysia to the next level of E-sports. |
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