Spectator Mode Of My Dreams

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Blizzard has done an incredible job with Hearthstone, I want to thank them and offer my 2 cents on how to make Hearthstone the best E-Sport it can be!

I watched the first IHearthU King Of The Hill between LS and STRIFECRO. It was entertaining, informative and shows the potential of Hearthstone as a viable E-sport. I believe the most important thing we could do to help foster Hearthstone as an E-Sport is to add a ‘spectator mode’ that focuses on making the game accessible to new players. A robust spectator mode with a few tweaks to the game board would make watching Hearthstone more educational and exciting to both casuals and pros.

Many people don’t know that professional Texas Hold ‘em tournaments have been televised since the late 1970s, but poker did not become popular as a spectator sport until 2003 when the poker tour adopted lipstick cameras and televised the World Series Of Poker Cinderella victory of internet sensation Chris Moneymaker.

A legendary moment in poker history, Moneymaker’s victory initiated a surge of interest in the sport of poker, based on the egalitarian idea that anyone—even a novice—can learn Hold‘em by watching and become a world champion over night.

That’s the kind of exposure that Hearthstone needs: spectator capability, novice education, and the ability to witness the first young amateur champion take down some of the pros.

Here’s what the Hearthstone ‘spectator mode’ of my dreams would look like:

1. Show players cards in hand on the perimeter of the board like hole cards in poker. This will allow commentators to discuss and predict plays.
2. Give the casters access to deck lists to discuss how the player’s decks match up before each match. Seeing the decks lined up next to each other, as was done in the IHearthU King Of The Hill match and having the casters discuss them was incredibly cool and informative. It also set the stage for what the spectators can be looking out for.
3. Either identify the player who’s turn it is by highlighting their deck (see diagram), or as the King Of The Hill did it, by rotating between players.
4. When rotating players I think its important to slow the game down a bit to give the caters time to discuss the game and fade the camera from one player to the other so the spectators have a moment to adjust.
5. Always show both players mana bars
6. Shrink the on-board minions by a little bit so the board feels less claustrophobic.
7. Give access to win/loss stats for each player by match up on battle.net so spectators can review their history while the players are introduced.

Lets brain storm and discuss. Beta players and casters, what do you think?

Glhf,

][{obayshi ][/][aru

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ALSO: Watch the IHearthU King Of The Hill between LS and STRIFECRO