E-Sport Collection (Complete Edition) E-Book

Timo Schöber

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 555

Beschreibung

Based on published guest articles by the author Dr. Timo Schöber, the book deals with an immense variety of topics on e-sports. These range from popular sport and voluntary commitment, legal issues and political topics to economic presentations and definitional questions. The author's guest articles have appeared on leading platforms such as t3n, pro, MSN, My MMO, Gaming-Grounds and spielen.de. The book is especially interesting for all those people who are looking for sound information and sources on e-sports.

Leseprobe

E-Sport Collection (Complete Edition)

© 2023 Dr. Timo Schöber

ISBN Softcover: 978-3-347-93048-3

ISBN E-Book: 978-3-347-93049-0

Druck und Distribution im Auftrag: tredition GmbH, An der Strusbek 10, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany

Das Werk, einschließlich seiner Teile, ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Für die Inhalte ist verantwortlich.

Jede Verwertung ist ohne unzulässig. Die Publikation und Verbreitung erfolgen im Auftrag , zu erreichen unter: tredition GmbH, Abteilung "Impressumservice", An der Strusbek 10, 22926 Ahrensburg, Deutschland.

Table of contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

1. Foreword

2. Press Release: Personnel Change at Esportpedia

3. Press Release: Aimtalk - the New Podcast on the Topic of E-Sport

4. Fortnite and Its Success: Overview, Explanation and Lawsuit in the Usa

5. Schleswig-Holstein: Blueprint for State Esports

6. Announcement on Linkedin

7. Announcement on Linkedin (2)

8. Announcement on Linkedin (3)

9. Announcement on Linkedin (4)

10. About the Author

Esports Mosaic

1. Foreword

2. Arrived: Current Developments in E-Sports

3. A Very German Problem - Bureaucracy and E-Sports

4. E-Sports and Research: Status Quo, Opportunities and Potentials

5. Grassroots Sport as Esports Foundation

6. Germany and the Wrong Focus: Football Simulations as a Reference

7. Esport Lighthouse Schleswig-Holstein

8. China and E-Sports: from Underdog to Global Reference

9. German E-Sports - Much Older than Thought

10. South Korea: Pioneer and World Market Leader in Esports

11. Opportunities, Benefits and Risks of Associations in E-Sports

12. Quo Vadis, Esports- Germany?

13. Statement by Esports Nord E.V. on Yesterday's Edition of Deutschlandradio on the Topic of Esports

14. Esports Vs. Egaming

15. What Distinguishes Esports from Sport ?

16. Danger of Confusion: What Do Associations like Actually Do?

17. The Counter-Strike Debate

18. Is This Still Esports or Can It Go Away?

19. Germany - Pioneer of Modern Esports

20. "They're Just Playing on the Computer."

21. From the Series "Unusual Games": Rainbow Six Siege

22. From the Series "Unusual Games": Hearthstone

23. 24/7 Esports Tv Channel in Germany

24. Blizzard Entertainment

25. The Cheater Epidemic - a Serious Problem

26. Earning Opportunities in Esports

27. From the Series "Unusual Games": Smite

28. From the Series "Unusual Games": Path of Exile

29. Club Homes and National Centres in E-Sports: a Plea for It

30. Wrong Decisions in the Choice of Business Models and the Consequences for E-Sports Using the Example of Pay Tv

31. Gaming and E-Sports as a Model for Peaceful Coexistence between Cultures

32. Confused Discussions: E-Sports Promotion, Yes or No?

33. System Error - E-Sports in the Political Spiral

34. This is What Has to Happen for E-Sports to Officially Become a "Real Sport".

35. Gaming and E-Sports in the Pillory - of Prejudices and Stereotypes

36. The Davids of E-Sports - Small Titles Big Time

37. There's Life in the Old Dog Yet - the Rts Genre

38. Sweden - the Esports Leading Wolf Europe

39. Nordish Gaming Convention: Large Lan in a Familiar Atmosphere

40. The Gaming Scene as a Scapegoat - Once Again L

41. Column: on the Importance of Esports Research

42. E-Sports: Structures, Associations, Politics and Recognition as a Sport

43. Column: the Everyday Life of a Committed Person in the Field of E-Sports

44. Esportpedia - the First Analogue E-Sports Encyclopaedia

45. The Misunderstood Sport - Esports and German Politics

46. The Political Year 2019: E-Sports and Gaming

47. Visit the Esl Pro League Season #10 Finals

48. How E-Sports Have Established Themselves as a Popular Sport

49. German E-Sports 2020: What Can We Expect in the New Year?

50. Esport in the North: Fifa- Schleswig-Holstein State Championship

51. Afterword

52. Book Tip: Screen Athletes

Esports Mosaic 2

1. Foreword

2. Foreword by the Editor

3. Fortnite and Its Business Model: Lawsuit in the Usa

4. Contextualising the Esports Stand of the Dosb (German Olympic Sports Association)

5. E-Sports and Non-Profit: on the Failure of Politics

6. The History of Modern Esports - When Did It All Start?

7. Can You Study E-Sports? You Should Definitely Take Note of This

8. Employer Branding: How Your Company Can Reach Young Talent through E-Sports

9. Esports Evolution: a Young Sport, but Less Young than Often Assumed

10. How Do Religion and Philosophy Fit into Esports?

11. Writing in E-Sports: Tips for Authors

12. Elo and E-Sports: What Doesn't Fit is Made to Fit ?

13. Construction Site German Esport - a Problem Analysis

14. E-Sport and Language - Opportunities and Problem

15. E-Sports and Corona: What Opportunities Does Electronic Sport Offer?

16. E-Sports and Intrinsic Motivation: This is What Makes Us Strong!

17. The Unity of E-Sports - Value and Risk Situation

18. E-Sports: the Misunderstanding of Mass Sport and Regionality

19. Intrinsic Motivation: Grassroots E-Sports and Benefits for Companies

20. What E-Sports and Traditional Sports Can Learn from Each Other

21. Field Report: the Unprofessionalism of E-Sports

22. Digital Heritage - What Happens to Us When We are Gone ?

23. Racism as an Ulcer of Society and Its Role in E-Sports

24. In Review: Gaming & Esports Summit 2020

25. World Science Day - Research in E-Sports

26. Column: Gesinnungskultur Im German E-Sport

27. The Usk as a Disadvantage for German E-Sports?

28. Esbd

29. Column: Schleswig-Holstein Esport Association (Shev) Becomes More Concrete

30. E-Sport - the Oversubscribed Market

31. Looking North: E-Sports Lighthouse Schleswig-Holstein?

32. Breaking a Lance: Warcraft 3 Reforged

33. Afterword

34. Book Tip

Esports Mosaic 3

1. Foreword

2. Foreword by the Editor

3. Fortnite and Its Success: Overview, Explanation and Lawsuit in the Usa

4. E-Sport and Politics: Classification and Evaluation of the Year 2021

5. E-Sports at State Level: Blueprint and Nationwide Reference Schleswig-Holstein

6. Criticism of the Saudi Deal: the Sell-Out of the E-Sports Soul E

7. E-Sport 2021: the Current Development in Germany Analysed

8. E-Sport and Recruitment: Opportunities and Potential E

9. Video Games and Politics: Instrument of Power, Propaganda, Ideologies

10. Deceleration in Terms of Esport

11. Something Thought-Provoking: Zeitgeist, Meritocracy, Status

12. Comment: Esbd Boss Moves to Esl

13. Entering E-Sports and Promoting Young Talent: How to Make Your Way into the Scene

14. Fortnite by Epic Games and Its Business Model: Presentation at the Annual Conference of Vhb

15. E-Sports as a Tool for the Trade

16. Gratitude: Why the Family is above All Things to Me

17. The Largest Gaming and Esports House in Europe: Road to Rcadia

18. Institute for Ludology: Classification of the Coalition Agreement 2021 with Regard to E-Sports

19. Yougov: Gaming Influencers Most Relevant among Young, Male Recipients

20. Dota 2 from Valve Corporation: the International 2021

21. Quo Vadis, Esbd - Esport-Bund Deutschland E.V.?

22. Character Development: Oleksandr "S1mple" Kostyliev from Natus Vincere (Na'VI)

23. Discrimination and Harassment in Online Games: Alarming Figures from Newzoo

24. The Failure of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (Dosb)

25. E-Sports and Popular Sports: Strong Growth in Germany

26. Oldschool is Dying Out: Hltv-Ranking

27. E-Sports and Inclusion: Hand in Hand

28. E-Sports and Studying: the Offer is Growing

29. A Legend on the Brink: the Decline of Blizzard Entertainment

30. Cs: Go: Prize Money Recovery in 2021

31. E-Sports and Real-Time Strategy Games (Rts): a Genre That is Disappearing

32. Matchmaking in Grassroots Esports (Solo Cue) and Gaming

33. E-Sport is a Team Sport, More than Ever in 2021

34. In Conclusion: Overview of Experiences That Particularly Stick in My Mind

35. Finally: Distribution of My Books

E-Sport Collection (Complete Edition)

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

1Foreword

35Finally: Distribution of My Books

E-Sport Collection (Complete Edition)

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eSports describes the competitive playing of video games in a sporting context on computers, consoles and other devices.

or smartphones

Timo Schöber

1 Foreword

This book offers a comprehensive overview of many publications by the author Timo Schöber on the topic of e-sports. Due to its depth, richness of facets and diversity, it can be seen as an outstanding source for approaching the topic of e-sports.

This book is a translation of the anthologies eSports Mosaik 1-χ by Timo Schöber into English. This has been supplemented by translations of other publications by Timo Schöber. The original works are in German. The translation was done automatically with the tool DeepL, errors are therefore reserved.

At this point, due to source work, it should be mentioned that the author Timo Schöber strictly rejects strongly subjective, arbitrary and erratic sources, such as Wikipedia, in any form.

2 Press release: Personnel change at Esportpedia

Co-founder Schaetzke and e-sports encyclopaedia go their separate ways

Flensburg and Berlin, 1ύ.oq.2o22

Against the background of the exponential growth of e-sports, Timo Schöber and Andreas Schaetzke set themselves the goal of creating an encyclopaedia on e-sports in 2o18. The encyclopaedia was to be well-founded, (popular) scientific and holistic, and to cover the topic of e-sports comprehensively. This resulted in the Esportpedia, the world's first analogue e-sports encyclopaedia.

So far, the project comprises four books. Different authors are involved in the project. These range from professors in the fields of marketing and games science, managing directors of e-sports organisations and scene experts to specialists such as law and sports science graduates. Thematically, the fields of athletes, popular sport, national level and journalism are currently covered.

The books are published by Meyer & Meyer Verlag, the most renowned sports publisher in the German and Englishspeaking world. The publishing house has around 2,ooo book titles in its range and publishes in 2o languages.

In the founding team, the tasks were clearly distributed. Timo Schöber acts as the writing and academic director and is responsible for the book quality, while Andreas Schaetzke has been responsible for the commercial aspects and marketing of the project.

Andreas Schaetzke, among others CEO of PENTA, will leave the project with immediate effect. The exact reasons are internal, but the co-founders are parting on good terms.

Timo Schöber, co-founder of the project, comments on the personal restructuring as follows:

"The Esportpedia has developed very well in 2021 and 2022 with two double publications. So a lot has happened on the book and author side. In addition, the author and project team comprises between 1ω people, so a lot has happened here as well.

Andreas and I developed the ideas for an analogue encyclopaedia together. I therefore wish him much success in his new tasks and undertakings.

Whether and how the Esportpedia will continue will be decided in the coming weeks. Talks with the publisher are pending. With regard to commercial project tasks, there is follow-up work to be done, as well as an almost completed book project to be discussed. Since my time allotment is limited, it is not yet possible to make a prognosis on the project at the present time.

Many thanks to all the authors and the project team for the exciting time and collaboration."

The publication of a marketing book as part of the Esportpedia is planned for the year 202χ.

3 Press release: aimTalk - The new podcast on the topic of E-Sport

Foundation of aimTalk by Phillip Ebben and Timo Schö- ber

Flensburg/Süderbrarup, χ o .o8.2o2o

The landscape of German e-sports media has been enriched by a new attraction. With aimTalk, a new podcast sees the light of day that focuses one hundred percent on the topic of e-sports.

Targeted. Informative. Critical.

The podcast will deal with a variety of topics related to e-sports. Guests will be invited, with whom the aim is not only to conduct interviews but also to engage in constructive debates. Hence the name: The podcast will deal with specific topics that will be critically examined and informatively prepared.

The podcast team consists of Phillip Ebben and Timo Schöber:

Phillip Ebben

• IT Officer at PARITÄTISCHEN Wohl- fahrtsverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V.

• Technical Director of eSports Nord e.V.

• Digitisation expert

• IT consultant and expert

Timo Schöber

• Author of non-fiction books, guest articles and scientific papers

• Head of the Esportionary e-sports think tank

• Lecturer at two universities

• Head of Communications of eSports Nord e.V.

The aim of the podcast is to offer a platform that is not afraid to deal with controversial topics and to stimulate discussion in the field of e-sports in Germany.

In addition to general e-sports content, this also includes content that deals with politics, science and sometimes difficult situations in e-sports Germany.

Timo Schöber is looking forward to the new project:

"Podcasts are a great way to place topics in e-sport. Those who know me know that I am not afraid to address critical and controversial topics. Openly, constructively and, if necessary, with a certain clarity.

With Phillip, I have someone at my side who has already become a real buddy in the e-sports sector. That's why I'm looking forward to the coming period in this respect as well.

Phillip Ebben is also positive about the future:

"There are not yet that many podcasts out there that focus only on e-sports - and the few podcasts, several of which are extremely good, we would like to supplement with our offer. In doing so, it is also important to put our finger in the wound from time to time.

I am particularly pleased to be able to start the project together with Timo. His expertise speaks for itself and we have a friendly relationship. So I'm also looking forward to the future with the podcast."

The podcast has also set itself the goal that everyone can participate. Therefore, the podcast is open to suggestions for topics and also to guests. Anyone who would like to participate can contact [email protected].

A new issue of aimTalk will be published every fortnight on a Monday. Since both founding members work full time and this is a free service, it may happen that (not often!) an episode has to be cancelled.

The project is planned for the long term and the first guests have already been invited. The whole thing will start with a short introductory podcast on χo.o8.2o2o.

4 Fortnite and its success: overview, explanation and lawsuit in the USA

unpublished

The Battle Royale game Fortnite is by far one of the most successful video games of recent years. This success is easily measurable: over 1.6 billion euros in sales in 2o1ύ and more than χωo million players. Fortnite has also not only arrived in e-sports, the competitive form of gaming, but has taken off. Although the game was only released in mid-2o1ϋ, it is already one of the top χ games in e-sports, with around 1oϋ million US dollars in prize money. Fortnite has thus overtaken e-sports giants such as League of Legends (LoL) and StarCraft II, both of which have been on the market much longer.

But why is Fortnite so successful when many other games with similar principles have failed? And why do US consumer protection agencies see a great risk for children here?

The game mechanics of Fortnite

The video game belongs to the so-called Battle Royale genre. A large number of players land on an island with a parachute. Here, randomly scattered items such as weapons, armour and healing packs can be found. In addition, raw materials can be mined in Fortnite to build structures and constructions, for example to overcome obstacles or to protect themselves.

The objective of Fortnite is to be the last player to survive and thus achieve an "epic victory".

The battles on the island become increasingly intense, as the playable map becomes smaller at fixed intervals because a poisonous fog appears.

Free-to-Play (F2P): Free of charge and still profitable

Basically, Fortnite can be downloaded, installed and played for free. It is therefore a F2P game. This business model has become quite popular in the video game industry. Epic Games, the publisher of Fortnite, is in good company here. Publishers such as Hi-Rez, Blizzard Entertainment, Valve and Riot Games also use F2P models for many of their titles.

However, publishers are not non-profit organisations; they want to earn money. In F2P video games, this is usually done through so-called microtransactions. Players can purchase virtual items in an in-game shop. These are mostly of a purely cosmetic nature. You don't get better by buying something, but only change its appearance. These cosmetic changes affect, for example, one's own game character, the avatar, which can be changed by skins (uniforms). But the appearance of weapons or the parachute (glider) with which you land on the island can also be changed, for example.

But if several publishers work with such a business model, why is Fortnite particularly successful?

Fortnite business model pattern: Many paths to success

In order to make Fortnite profitable despite its fundamentally free cha- racter, Epic Games is working with a whole range of business model ideas. The economists Prof. Dr Georg Stadtmann and Timo Schöber from the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) have shed more light on this in a study.

While playing Fortnite is free, additional premium content can be purchased for real money in a shop integrated into the game. It is therefore a freemium business model that consists of free and paid content. In order to buy virtual items, players must first purchase the Fortnite currency, the so-called V-Bucks.

Players can then use this Fortnite currency to go shopping in the in-game shop. The shop offers a variety of cosmetic content, such as skins or weapons.

Epic Games uses different variations for these items, specifically vertical and horizontal product differentiations. On the one hand, skins and other items are offered with a different value, for example "limited", "epic" or "ordinary". On the other hand, items can be purchased that are of equal value, but differ in the colour of the skin or the gender, for example.

In addition, packages of virtual items are also offered, often only at certain times, so that players are put under a certain time pressure.

For example, if you want a skin that is only offered for the October festival, you have to buy it at that time. The shop does not say when or if the skins on offer will appear again.

In differentiating and offering certain products, Epic Games relies on the so-called "Keeping up with the Joneses" effect. This is named after a comic strip in which the Joneses' neighbours constantly compare themselves with them and try to keep up. Epic Games specifically works with this effect in Fortnite, namely that people compare themselves with each other and try to be better, richer and more recognised than the other person. In a British study, a ten-year-old girl expressed that she was "rubbish" if she played with the default skin in Fortnite. Epic Games wants players to model themselves on others in order to acquire additional content.

Epic Games' business model for Fortnite is not only based on status symbols. With the pattern of the so-called "multisided platforms", the publisher is fetching content from outside into the game. A well-known example is the concert given by DJ Marshmello in Fortnite. Players were teleported to the concert and could thus participate in a community event. At the same time, Epic Games offered special items associated with the event, such as a Marshmello skin. Recently, the US singer Ariana Grande also organised a similar event in Fortnite together with the publisher. In this way, Epic Games can attract new players to Fortnite and sell items, while the artists make their music better known. Other companies and individuals are also working with Fortnite in this regard, such as Disney with its Marvel and Star Wars adaptations.

But that is not all. Epic Games also uses the "open as a business model" principle. With the Creative World, players can design their own content for Fortnite maps. If these are good, they are integrated into the official Fortnite world by the publisher. Epic Games thus uses the swarm intelligence and creativity of numerous people free of charge and effectively. At the same time, Epic Games also uses the ideas of other publishers that have proven successful. One recent example is the surprise hit Among Us. The new Impostor mode in Fortnite is more or less a copy of the game in a new guise.

Important building block for success: V-Bucks

As described in this article, Epic Games uses a virtual currency called V-Bucks in Fortnite. Players first convert real money into V-Bucks before V-Bucks can be used to purchase items in the in-game shop.

Fortnite does not offer V-Bucks "somehow", but against the background of two effects. The currency is sold with a conversion rate above "par", which means that the number of V-Bucks you receive is higher than the number of euros you spend.

must. Thus, 1,ooo V-Bucks cost around 1o euros. In addition, the more V-Bucks you buy, the cheaper they become, whereby the conversion rate becomes much more complicated. Thus, with a larger package you get 1,ooo V-Bucks for 8,ύχ euros and with an even larger package V-Bucks then cost ϋ,q1 euros per 1,ooo V-Bucks.

In this way, a so-called money value illusion is created. Players no longer convert the V-Bucks rate into real money when they buy virtual items in the in-game shop. Because of this, as well as the offer of V-Bucks above "par", players spend more money in the in-game shop than if they were to spend real money directly. On the one hand, it is difficult for them to convert the exchange rate in their heads; on the other hand, the players think that they will be able to buy items in the in-game shop particularly cheaply because of the exchange rate.

These effects particularly affect children and adolescents, as young people often have a particularly hard time with such things.

Lawsuit in the USA: Consumer advocates go to court

Based on the study by the European University Viadrina, consumer advocates in the USA have filed a lawsuit against Epic Games. The background to this is the illusion of monetary value, which the university's study was able to prove for the first time in Fortnite. Children in the USA sometimes spend considerable sums in Fortnite because they often do not understand that there is real money behind the V-Bucks.

Furthermore, Epic Games does not check who spends money in the in-game shop. The publisher thus applies business model patterns in its video game without checking whether they entice minors to make unwanted purchases of virtual items.

Conclusion

Epic Games has made Fortnite successful because the game combines many different business models like no other title. This is also transferable to other industries, especially in the digitalisation segment. Think, for example, of e-sports leagues or gamified products in the field of personal marketing. Here, the business models could be used, for example, to make it easier for users to design individual profiles or to make the successes achieved more visible.

Epic Games is therefore doing a lot right. At the same time, it would be desirable for the publisher to pay more attention to ensuring that the target group for its own product knows exactly what they are getting into when they buy virtual items.

5 Schleswig-Holstein: Blueprint for state eSports

unpublished

Current figures show that Schleswig-Holstein is serious about eSports. Since the beginning of state funding measures, more than one million euros have flowed into eSports projects in the north. Among other things, this has financed a regional centre in Kiel (LEZ SH), a performance centre on the Danish border in Flensburg and numerous eSports facilities in traditional sports. By the end of 2022, a total of almost 1.ω million euros will have flowed into North German e-sports.

The spider in the web: The National Centre for eSports

The prestige project of the committed in the Land between the seas is the LEZ SH. More than χ00,000 euros have been invested in the State Centre. Not only the state supports this project, but also the city of Kiel. The city has also provided funds for e-sports. The LEZ SH has been in test operation since the end of last year. The renovation measures took about two and a half years, which is much longer than planned.

However, the sponsorship and project management of the LEZ SH are not entirely in the hands of Schleswig-Holstein. The project management does not come from the northernmost federal state. In addition, the federal association, the eSport-Bund Deutschland (ESBD), is part of the LEZ SH's supporting association. However, both of these things are to change soon according to the wishes of the state's politicians. In the course of the upcoming state elections, the Greens write in their election programme (p. 8χ):

"We support the establishment of a national association for e-sports and will work to ensure that the sponsorship for the national centre for e-sports is transferred to the national association."

eSports Association and other measures

The political e-sports representative in the far north is the e-sports association of Schleswig-Holstein (EVSH). It was founded in 2021 as one of the first two state associations for eSports in Germany. The association acts as an interface between state politics and the eSports scene. In addition, the organisation of official state championships is planned.

The next step in the support measures will be the creation of regional eSports centres. These are to be created following the example of the performance centre in Flensburg. This was established by eSports Nord e.V. with the help of subsidies and on its own initiative. The clubhouse is the first e-sports facility in the state to officially open for business. Further such centres are planned. These are to be set up in different regions of Schleswig-Holstein, for example on the west coast and in the Hamburg area. In this way, eSports will be offered nationwide. Investments of 20,000 euros are planned here.

State elections and the attitude of politics

This year there are state elections in Schleswig-Holstein. It is remarkable that almost all parties have more or less extensive sections on e-sports in their election manifestos. The CDU writes (p. 6ϋ): "We continue to contribute to the strengthening of e-sports and gaming in Schleswig-Holstein. We are planning an e-sports academy and support major esports and gaming events in the state." The SPD, on the other hand, states (p. ύ1): "We will promote the development of e-sports in Schleswig-Holstein. However, public funding must also fulfil further criteria.

We will be guided by the Danish e-sports code." Denmark is considered an e-sports stronghold worldwide.

Denmark's pioneering role in eSports can also be seen in the election programme of the Südschleswigsche Wählerverband (SSW). The SSW is the party of the Danish minority in Germany. The SSW is clearest of all political representatives on the subject of e-sports in its election manifesto (p. 6χ): "We want e-sports to be recognised as an official sport in order to pave the way for funding and the development of professional structures. The definition of esports should follow competitive criteria and not the claim of a simulation of established sports […]". In addition to the commitment to funding measures, the SSW also brings the sports debate back to the negotiating table.

The FDP had already dedicated a strategy paper to esports in 2o1ύ. They want to make Schleswig-Holstein the number 1 e-sports state. Among other things, it states: "We want to support the connection of eSports to traditional sports clubs and thus establish comprehensive association and league structures for eSports. In this way, we strengthen eSports and clubs alike.

Next steps and conclusion

In many respects, Schleswig-Holstein can be seen as a blueprint for eSports at the state level. This is not only due to the proximity of the state to the eSports giant Denmark, but also to the political will and a broad-based eSports scene. The numerous projects that have been created with the help of the funding measures in the state between the seas are proof of the success.

This has already attracted new projects to the state. For example, GAMEVENTION, Germany's second largest gaming event, will take place in Schleswig-Holstein.

6 Announcement on LinkedIn

Consolidation completed: Less is more - no further selfactivity in the form of posts and articles on LinkedIn

In the past weeks and months, I have ended many memberships and projects in the field of e-sports. I was able to complete around ϋo% of my activities in this area and significantly reduce my responsibilities in the sector:

 No acceptance of new orders via schoeber.net

 End of authoring under own name via Book creation

 Inactivation of Esportionary

 End of active participation in Esportpedia

 Resignation from the editorial team of Gaming-Grounds.de - Das Spielemagazin

 Resignation from IFgameSH e.V.

 Retreat from Mentor Lane

 Resignation from recently started editorial work at kicker Resignation of the Scientific Advisory Board of the E-Sport Association Schleswig-Holstein (EVSH)

 Resignation from TSV 186o Munich

 Withdrawal from writing guest articles for tχn Ma- gazin, mein-mmo and others.

I will continue to be active in the e-sports and gaming market on a part-time and voluntary basis. This mainly concerns ongoing projects and a few selected requests. Beyond that, I will work more in the background from now on and only appear in public very rarely.

Besides two main jobs (writing, also outside e-sports, and HR), the over-

This was one of the reasons for my decision in the last few years. It has always been my ambition to complete every project on time and in the best possible way - which I hope I have succeeded in doing. Before I can no longer live up to this claim due to time constraints and the "inconsistency" of the e-sports market, I prefer to set the right course beforehand.

In future, I will be handling the writing via TS Writing & Ghost- writing. I am particularly looking forward to my new tasks in the HR area. Here I can be active in an innovative, regionally anchored, digitally affine and holistic environment - and that too in a top team.

For the time being, this will be my last LinkedIn post (article, contribution) that I publish on my own profile. Of course, I will still be active on the platform. But there will be no more announcements/changes on my own behalf.

Many thanks to all who have positively enriched the past years. You are great!

#writing #hrm #esports #esport

7 Announcement on LinkedIn (2)

(Temporary) end of the Esportionary and Esport- pedia projects (on my part)

As already announced, I am withdrawing from e-sports for a while. The main reason is that from June 2022 I will be much more active in my main job (HR, personnel). For further reasons, please see the following article at Gaming-Grounds.de - Das Spielemagazin:

https://lnkd.in/dU-2Q_WN

While I have already put my self-employment with schoeber.net and Book creation on hold, two other projects of mine are also being put on inactive status. This concerns the following projects, where I was allowed to be active as founder and leader:

1. #Esportionary - Think tank on e-sports

In terms of research, e-sports is still a relatively unexplored field. That's why we decided to found a think tank just under three years ago: https://lnkd.in/deQBKxRR. The result was Esportio- nary, with which we have been active more in the background.

Many thanks to all project partners, colleagues and scientists. If you are interested in e-sports research, I recommend taking a look at the Esports Research Network. Esportionary is inactive until further notice.

2. #Esportpedia - First analogue e-sports encyclopedia in the world

There are many databases on e-sports, but unfortunately most of them are only available online. That's why the idea for E- sportpedia was born in mid-2018, which is now published by Europe's largest sports publisher (Meyer & Meyer). Here, I was allowed to supervise the first four volumes as the author and academic director.

8 Announcement on LinkedIn (3)

Anticipation: Lectures at the Hochschule der Me- dien Stuttgart start next week

From 1ω.oχ.2o22 I may teach again on Tuesday evenings during the summer semester on e-sports.

In the summer semester of 2o21, ϋ female and 6 male students successfully completed the e-sports module at the #HdM. One student then decided to write his master's thesis on the topic of e-sports. I am allowed to be the second examiner here.

I am very pleased that Prof. Christof Seeger has again brought e-sports onto the curriculum in Stuttgart this year. Thematically, the following topics will also be covered in 2o22:

 Introduction and basics

 Genres and disciplines / E-sports in figures

 Organisations and structures

 Physical e-sports and tournaments

 E-sports and politics

 E-sports and society

 E-sports as an opportunity and dark side

 Professional e-sports

 E-sports as a phenomenon / The e-sportsman: Who is he?

It's wonderful that the German university landscape is becoming more heterogeneous and broader in terms of e-sports.

9 Announcement on LinkedIn (4)

Career change: More HR, less e-sports

From June 2022, I will focus much more on my main job in the HR environment and be much less active in the e-sports market. That doesn't mean I'm turning my back on esports, but I want to be more active in my full-time environment (details will follow in due course, but e-sports will play a small role here as well).

I am writing this text because I am ending my selfemployment with schoeber.net in order to have more time for HR work. It goes without saying that I will complete assignments and projects that I have already started, but I will not accept any new offers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my numerous project partners, such as Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, Fachhochschule Westküste, EuroFH Europäische Fernhochschule Hamburg, PENTA, Esportpedia, WE LOVE ESPORTS GmbH, TSV München von 1860 e.V., Heel Verlag GmbH, Meyer & Meyer, Gaming-Grounds.de - Das Spielemagazin, tχn Magazin and many others. I am also ending my work as an author (book creation) for the time being, as this is very time-consuming. Many thanks here especially to Prof. Dr. Jens Junge. However, I will still write guest articles from time to time.

My lecturing activities for the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), the Institute for Ludology and the Stuttgart Media University will remain unchanged, as the time commitment here is manageable. The joint research with Prof. Dr. Stadtmann Georg will also continue, of course. The same applies to our own start-up lvlup!HR (Frank Simoneit, Nick Wichert, Phillip Ebben). Anyone who would like to think in the context of e-sports HR is welcome to get in touch.

[…]

My voluntary activities will remain as far as they go, especially those for eSports Nord e.V. - but all somewhat reduced.

In 2018, we set ourselves the goal of

10 About the author

Dr Timo Schöber, born 1ύ8χ in Flensburg, graduated from high school in 2ooχ. This was followed by the successful completion of a diploma degree in business administration with a focus on human resources/organisation and health management as well as a minor in English. Timo Schöber then completed a dissertation. In addition, he was awarded a doctorate summa cum laude from the Viadrina in 2o22. He has published over 2o books, more than 6o articles and over 1o scientific papers.

In addition to his job as an employee in the human resources sector, he writes books and texts, mainly in the field of non-fiction. The focus of this work is on philosophy, theology, politics, poetry and e-sports. His books "Himmlisch kleiner Schein" and "Bildschirm-Athleten" have reached bestseller status, this also applies to a book he published under a pseudonym.

In his philosophical and theological works, he deals mainly with existential and religious philosophy, proofs of God, political concepts, the Bible and human misconduct, for example lies, and in the process also holds a mirror up to himself, since he himself (of course not always!) acts incorrectly as a human being and due to other factors.

He also advises organisations, companies and individuals on e-sports, with a special focus on business models, scientific aspects and the general explanation of the topic. He gives workshops, lectures and appears in panel discussions. He also conducts research on e-sports in particular and gaming in general, among other things as head of the think tank Esport- onary.

In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, handball, video games, chess and tabletops, reading a lot and walking on the Baltic and North Sea beaches. He runs the tabletop club Caelesti with great pleasure and zeal. He used to be successful in several of his hobbies at a competitive level, but has been practising them for a long time just for the fun of it.

Timo Schöber is a devout Christian and has been practising conscious renunciation in many aspects for many years. This includes not only worldly possessions, but also positions, offices, successes in competitions and the like. For example, he has consciously turned down offers of shareholdings in companies and high offices. In addition, he is involved in animal welfare, social issues and intercultural communication. He grew up in a very loving home and his family is the most important thing for him, next to his faith.

eSports Mosaic

About the author - more at: www.timoschoeber.com

Timo Schöber (*1ύ8χ) is a former e-sportsman in the genres of real-time strategy games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). In 2018, he published the book Screen Athletes, the first comprehensive non-fiction book on the topic of e-sports. He also acts as an advisor for various organisations, including the German top clan PENTA and TSV 1860 Munich. He is a member of the eSports Nord

e.V. and responsible for press relations at the Berlin Institute for Ludology. Together with Andreas Schaetzke, he is the founder of the analogue eSports encyclopaedia Esportpedia.

eSports Mosaic

Introduction to the many aspects of eSports

Timo Schöber, Jens Junge (eds.)

Bibliographic Information of the German Library

The Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliogra- fie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the internet at http://dnb.ddb.de.

This text may not be scanned, copied, translated, reproduced, distributed or used in any other way without the consent of the author, not even in part: neither in printed nor electronic form. Any infringement violates copyright law and may be prosecuted.

Images were available royalty-free at the time of use for this anthology, primarily via the website unsplash.com. The author of this book is not responsible for any linked content mentioned in this book.

Timo Schöber

Jens Junge (Ed.)

eSports Mosaik

Dollerup: Flying Kiwi Media GmbH 2020

ISBN ύϋ8 χ ύq0ύ8ύ χύ 0

Flying Kiwi Media GmbH

Schulstr. ω- 2qύ8ύ

Dollerup Tel: (0 q6 χ6) ύϋ

68 2ύύ Fax: (0 q6 χ6) ύϋ 68

2ύ8 Email: info@flying-

kiwi.de www.flying-kiwi.de

Esportionary.net - We think eSports!

www.esportionary.net

[email protected]

Institute for Ludology

c/o SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences

Berlin School of Design and Communication

Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz

www.ludologie.de

Prinzenstraße 8q.1

10ύ6ύ Berlin

Dedication

Dedicated to my parents.

Dedicated to all those who are committed to eSports and uphold the fundamental values of electronic sports, such as cultural diversity, a sense of unity and fair play: Cultural diversity, a sense of unity and fair play.

eSports describes the competitive playing of digital games in a sporting context on computers, consoles and other devices.

or smartphones

Timo Schöber

1 Foreword

This anthology gives an overview of guest articles and social media contributions that I have written on the topic of esports.

The articles I have written as a guest or freelance author for certain platforms have been published and distributed in many places, for example at spielen.de, e-Sports.com, escene.de, gaming-grounds.de and eSport-por- tal.net.

Therefore, the spelling of e-Sports differs depending on the platform for which I created the post or social media entry. Also, please note that the posts were published on a certain date and new developments and changes in eSports may have occurred since then. The sorting in this anthology is not chronological.

I am pleased that my articles on e-sports have been published in many places, as I can continue to promote the topic of electronic sports by spreading it as widely as possible through many different channels. Especially in Germany, we still have a lot of catching up to do.

Everyone interested in the topic is an asset for e-sports as a whole.

In this respect, I wish you and yours much pleasure in reading.

Foreword of the Editor

Cats play with a ball of wool, dogs dash after a thrown ball, dolphins seem to leap out of the water with joy of life, only to be

to land in it again. Animals play, nature has implemented a play instinct in many a creature, which already fascinated the psychologist Karl Groos (1861-1ύq6), one of the first play researchers. In his book "Die Spiele der Tiere" ("The Games of Animals") from 18ύ6, he advocates the practice theory.

Animals have to prepare themselves for survival in the wild; hunting and running is the basic prerequisite for many animal species to obtain prey in order to be able to eat their fill. Fighting must also be practised; being able to defend oneself skilfully against natural enemies or to flee in time can be decisive. In herds and flocks, the strongest animals prevail in the fight against their conspecifics in order to be allowed to become the leader or also in the competition for a reproductive partner.

Yes, by playing, young animals and humans can simulate and train future situations, they can expand their behavioural potential, they are more capable of variation, they develop. But the question as to why old animals and adult humans also play falls short of the training theory. This purely rational reason for exercise, this purposefulness, the search for a meaningful use in play seems to be neglected. Where is the joy, the fun?

Ever since man settled down and the first religions emerged in the various cultural regions, there have been board games that embody spiritual statements. The Royal Game of Ur from Mesopotamia, Senet from Egypt or Pachisi from India (which we know as Mensch-ärgere-Dich-nicht) are running and betting games whose aim is to symbolise life, the path of life, and to arrive on this path in eternity, with the deities or in painless Nirvana, to free one's pieces from the arduous life with all its rebirths. This path is sometimes more or less driven by fate, by chance, by the dice that indicates how quickly we will reach the longed-for paradise, salvation.

We are not sure whether we will be allowed to travel and whether we will reach this goal faster in competition with other players or not.

Board games have meanwhile lost this sacred aspect. What has remained in games is the definition of a playing field, the game objectives set by the game designer, a feedback system that continuously communicates the game status of the individual player or the team quantitatively, qualitatively, visually or auditorily. The strategic board game of chess was first mentioned in documents around 600 A.D. in Persia, where two rulers met with their respective armies in order to checkmate, eliminate or kill the opposing king?

This elementary competitive character has been adopted in all sports where victory or defeat is at stake. The basic idea of having people compete against each other in teams and not just individually was, for example, the central idea of the North American natives when they came up with the idea of no longer having direct tribal wars, but only having the strongest boys compete in teams against each other in a ball game (lacrosse). They called this game

"Baggataway" or "Tewaraathon", which meant something like "little brother of war". Winners and losers subsequently took the result of the competition seriously and accepted it as God's judgement. British colonial rulers developed these team-oriented ball sports further, football, basketball, ice hockey, handball etc. have remained the little brothers of war to this day.

Why this long preface with all these historical mo- saic stones? eSports disciplines are actually not new. Their game mechanics and concepts are ancient, they appeal to primal ways of thinking and behaving, which is why they are so successful.

On a playing field, mostly teams with playing figures compete against each other according to defined rules and game objectives.

which have different characteristics. While in chess there are physically only six different pieces with different abilities (runner may only run diagonally, rook only linearly, knight must jump, etc.), a digital game offers numerous other possibilities, e.g. to focus on one's own style of play from a pool of over 1q0 champions. The complexity of digital games has increased enormously and the crowds in the stadiums and halls murmur with honour when the League of Legends teams choose their champions before the start of the game.

For very traditional people, this phenomenon e- sport may be new, because they are not yet familiar with the digital, competi- tive game that has become sport. And anything new is quickly met with rejection because it brings about change. This book with the texts of Timo Schöber, a proven eSports expert, wants to illuminate some facets, some mosaic building blocks with different perspectives that should contribute to the understanding of the cultural phenomenon eSports. The discussion on the social acceptance of these forms of games and sports has only just begun. This book aims to provide suitable, stimulating contributions to this discussion. We look forward to your feedback.

Jens Junge, Editor

Director of the Institute for Ludology

Berlin, spring 2020

2 Arrived: Current Developments in e-Sports

s

(published at spielen.de)

Until a few years ago, the competitive playing of video games was considered something strange by the masses of society, practised by outsiders who sit in front of the computer in the basement all day.

While this prejudice was only a prejudice at the time, the perception of e-sports in society, politics and business has changed significantly in the meantime.

This change is characterised by a variety of aspects. The major leading media in Germany now report in a very differentiated and objective way about e-sports, also including know-how carriers who are usually active in esports themselves. If you look at the media reports of the past few years, you will notice that a large part of them focus on electronic sports.

sport in a very positive way, without forgetting to point out the risks and dangers. Today, we see a differentiated and holistic media treatment of e-sports.

Something similar can be seen in politics. Schleswig-Holstein is a beacon in the political discourse on e-sports. Here, e-sports are debated very openly and with the involvement of all interest groups, including in hearings in the state parliament in Kiel. Recently, half a million euros were made available by politicians in Schleswig-Holstein to promote e-sports in the state. What is meant here is not professional e-sports, where millions are already on the market, but popular sports and research.

The aim is to enable e-sports clubs and classic sports clubs to create appropriate premises for e-sports as socialisation points so that players can meet and play together directly on site. With eSports Nord e.V., an association is based in Schleswig-Holstein that is already working very concretely on the creation of the first pure e-sports clubhouse in the northernmost federal state. A state centre for e-sports is also planned in Kiel, as well as an e-sports academy in Heide at the West Coast University of Applied Sciences. The latter would push scientific processing and research on esports and raise the sport as a whole to a new level when it comes to structures for comprehensive recognition.

Research is a good keyword: Bachelor's and Master's theses, as well as dissertations, are increasingly being written on the topic of e-sports. Esportionary.net, the first German e-sports think tank, recently opened its doors. Research is important above all to objectify the image of esports and to identify potential for improvement.

The focus of the economy is primarily on professional esports, which used to be called "pro gaming". The e-sports market is growing steadily and has a huge base of fans and amateur athletes who finance professional sports by buying tickets to events, supporting crowdfunding projects, subscribing to streaming services, purchasing merchandise or buying special e-sports hardware from sponsors, such as mice and keyboards. Current forecasts assume that the pure e-sports market, i.e. the one without gaming in general, could already break the two billion US dollar mark in 2022. Growth continues to be strongly exponential.

Popular sport, research, media, politics and professional sport are jointly responsible for the fact that the social acceptance of e-sports is constantly increasing. In the personal and family environment of e-sports fans and players, most people now know what e-sports is and are far less sceptical about the phenomenon than they were perhaps just a few years ago.

The references in terms of e-sports are still South Korea, China and the USA. For Germany, however, we can also state that e-sports has arrived: e-Sports has arrived - and in all aspects of our society, from classic sports, science and politics to the living rooms of many people. It is very likely that we will see many more positive developments in the German e-sports landscape in the future. I personally am looking forward to it.

3 A very German problem - Bureaucracy and e-Sports

(published on gaming-grounds.de)

Many people are certainly familiar with this from everyday life or from situations that occur regularly: The German bureaucracy madness. Tax returns, applications in building law, insurance matters, pension insurance, health insurance, child benefit, citizens' bureau, political games and so on. There is no country in the world with more directives, laws and regulations than Germany. In German law there are more than ωω,000 individual norms, there are almost 2,200 federal laws with around qω,000 paragraphs. In addition, there is EU law and other norms.

Braking block for e-Sports

While entire e-sports cities are being built in China at a cost of several billion US dollars and several dozen countries worldwide have fully recognised e-sports, Germany is struggling to make headway in mini-steps. This is tedious and exhausting, and every hour that passes increases the gap between Germany and the many other countries that promote e-sports.

While we thankfully already have excellent structures in professional e-sports with clans like SK Gaming, PENTA Sports and mousesports, as well as with the ESL, the typical German bureaucracy holds many obstacles, especially for amateur and popular sports.

Risks for associations

More and more traditional sports clubs want to integrate esports sections into their structures. This is important for the e-

This is a very positive development for both e-sports and traditional sports, as synergy effects can be used. For example, while e-sportsmen can use sports facilities for equal sports, young people from sports clubs can learn from e-sportsmen when it comes to media skills, addiction prevention or general youth work in the digital field. At the same time, e-sports holds enormous potential for sports clubs when it comes to attracting young talent, who could then in turn engage in classic sports alongside e-sports. This would be a win-win situation for all involved. Especially in mass sports, such concepts are trend-setting. In addition, purely grassroots e-sports clubs are being founded all over Germany, which in turn often cooperate closely with traditional sports clubs in order to be able to use the aforementioned synergy effects.

Furthermore, e-sports clubs offer the opportunity for new investments to flow into traditional sport, for example when they set up in stadium premises or sports facilities as a supplement to existing sports structures.

What could be so beautiful is massively hindered by the bureaucratic juggernaut in Germany. Superficially The main problem here is the lack of recognition of e-sports as a sport. As a result, all classic sports clubs risk their nonprofit status if they include e-sports in their portfolio. Pure e-sports clubs, on the other hand, operate on a non-profit basis, especially in popular sports, but are not recognised as such. This not only results in tax disadvantages, but also damages public perception and prevents potential cooperation in many places. At the same time, e-sports clubs have a hard time if they try to get into public premises in order to establish a clubhouse there. Such facilities would function as socialisation points and also facilitate the work of the clubs in terms of youth protection, addiction prevention and the teaching of media skills. Due to the lack of recognition as a sport, however, there are considerable hurdles for e-sports clubs, as such loca- tions are usually only available to recognised sports clubs.