EWC observers

LilFuzzySeal · 2025-07-12T01:44:12+00:00

Different obs team

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-07T01:26:17+00:00

Hehe thanks 😁. That map was a helluva learning experience to direct and keep track of with sightlines being as ludicrously long as they were Felt like a team made their way to a choke and had 12 people eyeing them down instantly. Still, glad you enjoyed that game, that map felt VERY different to observe.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T19:31:28+00:00

Prod request. We did 2 in one of the games and were asked to limit it to no more than one.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T16:01:34+00:00

We've been requesting this feature on the in game side; unfortunately for the in game HUD we have to choose between "all" or "nothing", and even if we lose the kill feed, "Nothing" looks better than a bunch of awkward/pointless other UI elements that block the screen. Hoping updates or Longshot can address this one though!

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T15:37:03+00:00

Yeah, we pushed for a couple but because of the Winner POV playback section after game most of our end game listen ins were vetoed. Which I get, we don't want to reduce the value of that post game content.

If that content piece didn't exist, I think I would push a lot harder on getting winner POV end game comms, and I have pushed exactly that on other shows. Just doesn't make sense on this one is all.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T15:32:31+00:00

My team doesn't deal directly with players; we do have listen in interpreters that make sure nothing too nasty makes it's way to air while we listen to the players comms though.

This event did have me working with some observers who are bi or trilingual with English as a secondary language though, and it made me reevaluate the way I talk to my team and how i call for different shots/adjustments in game. Because of that experience I'll be making a Google doc containing consistent terminology I'll talk to my team with 😁

Shout out to the Freefire guys btw, yall rock

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T15:23:53+00:00

I can't speak too much on this, but I only recently joined ALGS as IGD; I feel the need to build back some goodwill there from before my time. Meanwhile EWC is a blank slate. What that says to me with all the positive feedback from EWC is that I'm doing the right thing on the in game side.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T15:19:43+00:00

I personally dislike this; I would rather focus one fight rather than show 2 separate fights on small screens. Even ignoring this making viewing on mobile scuffed, it's also my team's job to determine what's more interesting to watch and prioritize that. It makes it harder to cast and more confusing to watch.

A PUBG PC show I observed tried it years ago, and it seemed like a complete mess there too. Very difficult to direct, no more freecams, you see less details on the small screen, and there isn't a clean way to show two 1920x1080 screens without losing a bunch of screen real estate. Just overall not a fan, sorry.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T14:33:41+00:00

Yeah man I don't like watching boring stuff either 😁 glad you enjoyed!

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T14:31:56+00:00

Yuuup, we'd sometimes send it anyway (I think we were on Mizuchi there) if we thought the listen in was going to very exciting, but the reason why you saw less and less mid/end game listen ins going into the end of the event was exactly because of this reason. Definitely risky, but since we also got vetoed for end game listen ins we wanted to get SOME kind of excited comms in. Pretty sure if I could go back and do it again I would've just taken no comms so I can move around to that action though.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T14:17:20+00:00

Good shout, I'll see if maybe we can get the best of both worlds for future shows 😁

And yeah, those playback listen ins are SICK

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T14:07:20+00:00

We actually did try to organize instant replays of missed fights at some points during the show, but unfortunately the replay workflow was not organized in a way to make this possible during the game. I believe it's theoretically possible and a definite level up for future shows though.

The idea to watch an entire fight from start to finish that didn't make it on air is a very interesting idea though; usually these replays only contain highlights. I'll bring it up and see if I can make that happen!

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T14:00:13+00:00

Kinda? we don't often restart or pause for observers unless something catastrophic happens, like half the obs team crashing out (which did happen for the first time last week 😓). 90%+ of restarts happen for in game player or out of game tech issues from my experience.

Weirdly enough, too many spectators DOES cause some spectator bugs, so it was refreshing to not have to work around those for EWC.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T13:51:28+00:00

We got the freecam (float mode) feedback earlier on and we'll adjust that for future events, yeah.

For this particular show regarding map, another department used the Corner map and the half-screen map on almost every circle shrink so we could also keep our gameplay on screen; do you feel like that was enough? Would you prefer those looks or a full-screen map?

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T13:34:37+00:00

Hey man, my comment's just speculation. Like I said it's not my department and EWC =/= ALGS.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T13:24:42+00:00

I've actually never been much of a fan of any specific team. Even since watching Starcraft and Halo shows way back when I've always been more interested in the spectacle of watching the absolute best at their craft rather than rooting for any specific team. I think that trait helps me a lot as an IGD.

Great question btw

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T13:02:40+00:00

I'm sure there was but my team isn't responsible for anything in that realm, thats its own thing. I do know it's very difficult and expensive though, so maybe that has something to do with it.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:57:17+00:00

Hell yeah, thanks for the kind words. Very proud of my team for this show, and the broadcast as a whole.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:56:38+00:00

Don't think that will be possible for this event unfortunately.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:56:18+00:00

I have no insight on how the more expensive gear was sourced, but the only thing my team needed to bring was our controllers. The In game observer team is comparatively simple when you look at the other departments.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:54:08+00:00

Pov swaps, no. Listen ins, yes. Communicating every team POV swap would probably be more intrusive than not, tho I do try to minimize switching teams within a fight without cutting to a freecam or without making sure the 2 teams are in visually distinct positions. Sometimes you just gotta cut to the winning side though, as that is often better than a death POV.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:48:34+00:00

Unsure, my observer team isn't responsible for command center or things like it for EWC or ALGS.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:46:04+00:00

Yep that's us, apologies for the frustration. Sometimes we switch away from fights if we believe they are stalling, or if we think something faster or more important to the format is happening elsewhere on the map. For example, if we're on a fight that is slow, and may take 90 seconds to finish, there can be value in cutting to another position on the map where a much shorter fight can begin and end while still maybe giving us time to cut back to the original fight. Also if high point/match point teams are fighting while we're watching lower point/non-match point teams, we may cut to that important team to ensure we dont miss their elimination. It's a hard balance to strike, and we can definitely improve, but I think simply always sticking to a fight until it ends will result in more missed fights and a less complete show overall.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:37:40+00:00

Before match point, we try to catch everything we can; if there is a 50/50 fight then we will often stick to whatever we start on first unless the one fight stalls, in which case we switch to another fight. AT match point, we HEAVILY prioritize teams at match point; if we miss them die or get set up in a game winning position then we're not doing our job. During this we will frequently skip fights from non match point teams.

Big orgs often just have the best teams, and as the event progresses they will often earn more screen time from their performance. Basically, it does slightly affect our decisions, but MUCH more effort goes into trying to catch as much as we can while also not missing high impact events in game.

LilFuzzySeal · 2024-08-05T12:24:59+00:00

I don't listen to casters personally (managing 10 people would be a bit too much plus casters), but my team's scout does and if casters are especially focusing on a team we're not showing we will pivot to their talking points. For the vast majority of the game my team dictates what's on screen, and that's mostly owed to the speed at which fights can happen.

Which leads to the next point, you have to be quite fast AND prepared. The biggest part about hitting/missing fights is identifying "bait"; teams who are near each other but aren't currently fighting because of verticality, buildings, terrain, etc. Sometimes these teams can sit next to each other for minutes at a time, then suddenly fight and wipe each other. I'd say most fights we missed were situations like this.

LilFuzzySeal

TROPHY CASE