November 1, 2018
I interviewed Tiffy Tsay, a third-year student at UC Berkeley studying
data science and the co-lead of Cal Women in Gaming. Overwatch is a first-person shooter (FPS)
video game developed by Blizzard, one of the largest video game companies today.
Since its release in May 2016, it has grown
to become one of the most popular video games in the world, with
over 40
million players worldwide. Here is a video of one full round of gameplay:
There has been a significant competitive scene for the game, with tournaments
across the globe for professional teams. Competitive video games in general
have rapidly increased in popularity over the past several years with the
likes of Overwatch, League of Legends, and, more recently, Fortnite. One of
the common debates surrounding them is whether or not they ought to be
considered sports, especially considering that they are often labeled 'eSports'
and are even covered by ESPN. Some
universities have also come to embrace eSports, with schools like UC Irvine
and Indiana Tech offering eSports scholarships and UC Berkeley
recently
developing an eSports community center for its campus.
The following interview was conducted in the Main Stacks library at UC Berkeley.
The topics include Tiffy's video game background, Overwatch, gender stereotypes
surrounding gamers, and the gaming community at UC Berkeley, among others.
...
Alex: How did you first get into video games?
Tiffy: So I have an older brother who’s eight years older than me, and we would play a lot of N64 [Nintendo 64]. We were really into Super Smash Bros. He would have me play against the bots on the highest difficulty. Later, I got into PC [computer] games, first League of Legends, which seems to be kind of like a gateway drug for a lot of gamers.
Alex: Would you now identify as more of a PC gamer? [The term 'PC gamer' is often used to describe someone who primarily plays games on the computer rather than on a console like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.]
Tiffy: Yeah, I would say so. Although growing up we did have consoles, but mostly just Nintendo consoles.
Alex: Now you mostly play Overwatch, right?
Tiffy: Yup, I used to play a lot of League of Legends, but I basically quit that for Overwatch.
Alex: What makes Overwatch different than other FPS’s?
Tiffy: I would say the characters and their abilities. There are definitely other things that you can do in the game that you can’t do in other FPS’s.
Alex: I remember playing it once on my friend’s computer, and I think the sniper, Widowmaker, has a hook that she can use to get to places?
Tiffy: Yeah, I think that’s one of the best things about Overwatch. Blizzard does a good job of making each character really unique and interesting, and I think this definitely appeals to the players.
Alex: Is there a certain role you usually play?
Tiffy: Yeah, normally support. [A support is responsible for assisting their teammates by using their abilities. One example could be healing.]
Alex: So when you compete on the team, do you and the other players normally stick with the same roles? Or do you guys ever switch things up?
Tiffy: We try to stick with the same roles, but the players are definitely willing to try new things when they need to.
Alex: What would you say is the most difficult role in the game?
Tiffy: Probably tank or DPS. I think to be a good tank you have to have a really good understanding of the game. For DPS, you have to have really good mechanics.
[A tank is able to withstand large amounts of damage and is responsible for absorbing incoming damage from the enemy team. The role of DPS, or Damage Per Second,
involves dealing significant amounts of damage to the opposing team. Video game mechanics involve one's mastery of the physical movements one makes while playing,
such as moving a mouse or joystick.]
Alex: In League of Legends, there seems to be a stereotype that females typically play the support role rather than a carry role. Is there a similar stereotype for Overwatch? ['Carry' is often used to describe one who 'carries' the team on his or her back. Carry roles like DPS are ones that offer a greater opportunity to influence the game in one's team's favor.]
Tiffy: Yeah, for sure. I think the community tends to stereotype women and LGBTQ people as tending to play support roles more than carry roles. Like when players are using mic’s and they hear each other’s voices, people make assumptions based off of the way they sound and tell them to play support and take the carry roles themselves.
Alex: Do you think there is a sense of masculinity associated with these carry positions?
Tiffy: Definitely. I think in general, though, the ones who call these roles tend to have a lot of confidence in their skills and view themselves as important to their teams.
Alex: How is the Overwatch community on campus?
Tiffy: It’s actually pretty big on campus. I would say there’s a good mix between male and female players. Also, Berkeley’s official team actually won the past two college national championships.
Alex: eSports seem to be becoming a lot bigger on campus. Toward the beginning of this semester, I went to Caltopia, and it seemed like half the RSF Fieldhouse was just dedicated to eSports! I think last year was similar. Why have eSports suddenly grown so much on this campus?
Tiffy: I think a huge part of that comes from the administration backing us up. They have definitely been willing to invest in eSports, so that has been huge for us.
Alex: Were you always into the competitive aspect of gaming?
Tiffy: No. I always liked gaming because of the social aspect of it, especially back in middle school when that would be one way for us to interact outside of the classroom. My friends actually got me into the competitive side of video games...Video games allow you to meet people whom you otherwise wouldn’t have met. And the relationships you form are often not just limited to video games. For example, at Cal Women in Gaming, a lot of the members are CS majors, and we sometimes work together on CS homework.
Alex: Certain games like League of Legends have a reputation for having toxic communities. Is it just because people want to win so badly? Where does this toxicity come from? [The term 'toxic' is often used in gaming circles to describe negative behavior like putting down one's teammates for performing poorly.]
Tiffy: People love to blame others for their failures. Like you will find full-grown adults blaming little kids on their teams if they lose just because they’re kids. They don’t want to take any of the responsibility for their mistakes.
Alex: Who do you think should be responsible for trying to make gaming communities less toxic? Is it on the players, or on the companies like Riot and Blizzard to monitor things and make sure that people are not being toxic?
Tiffy: The companies definitely should play a role in preventing their games’ communities from being toxic because this has a huge effect on the success of the games, especially early on. But I think at the end of the day, the players also should be mindful of how they behave.
Alex: Last question: Do you consider eSports to be a sport? Why or why not?
Tiffy: I think it depends on the definition of sports. Most people think sports is limited to physical activity, which would make eSports not qualify. That being said, I think eSports is definitely something that’s competitive and definitely a form of entertainment. As eSports becomes more and more mainstream, I think the definition of sports will grow to include it.
Works Cited
“Cal Esports Community Center.” Berkeley Rec Sports, https://recsports.berkeley.edu/cal-esports-community-center/.
Cal Overwatch Team Winning Second Straight National Championship. ESPN, ESPN, 18 February 2018, http://a3.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2018%2F0217%2Fr329673_2_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg.
"First Person Shooter (FPS)." Techopedia, techopedia, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/241/first-person-shooter-fps.
Heroes of Overwatch. Geek Girl Authority, Overwatch, https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/overwatch-character-extras/.
IGN. “12 Minutes of Overwatch PS4 Gameplay - 60 FPS.” Online video clip. YouTube, 29 March 2016. Web. 31 October 2018.
Lee Sin. Wallpaper Memory, Wallpaper Memory, https://wallpapermemory.com/desktop-backgrounds/gaming-video-game/league-of-legends-lol/lee-sin-league-of-legends.
PlayOverwatch. “Developer Update | Overwatch Anniversary 2018 | Overwatch.” Online video clip. YouTube, 15 May 2018. Web. 31 October 2018.
Refurbished Nintendo 64 System Video Game Console N64. Walmart, Walmart, https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-Nintendo-64-System-Video-Game-Console-N64/134247106.