Well, look at you Mr./Mrs. competitive gamer, you’re a big shot now, aren’t you? Yeah, I saw that victory of yours, impressive. What else have you done? You won this tournament and that tournament? Ok, cool, what else? Nothing? Then why do I care?

Ladies and gentleman, I am here today to tell you that as a competitive gamer skill and achievements are not enough. This is the way I see it, as an observer and casual gamer looking into the mystical crystal ball of competitive gaming. If you’ve done nothing but compete and win as a competitive gamer then what good are you? To me, those are just statistics. I don’t really care. In the realm of competitive gaming you need to do more than just win. You need to add value to a community and eSports as whole, and then I will care about your accomplishments.

Before we go any further, if you haven’t read my article on Geek to Me about the importance of a community, then stop right now and read it before continuing forward. And look how nice I am, I’ll even provide you the link!

Be a Better Gamer: Join a Guild

Go above and beyond the call of the competitive gamer. If you’re a true competitive gamer and competitive gaming is a lifestyle as well as a career, you need to do more than just win. Joining a community is the first step. Find a way to add value to it besides just victories and help the community grow. From there, you can start to make a difference.
If you’re serious about competitive gaming, then you have to add value to the bigger picture. You have to add value to eSports as a whole and help develop it. You can help shape the future of competitive gaming. That is part of the power you hold as a competitive gamer. Now that is something to be known for. But that’s the problem with eSports right now, there aren’t enough people pushing competitive gaming in the right direction and instead are holding it back.

How can you, the competitive gamer, help develop eSports? I don’t have all the answers and what I do know is not definite. But here are a few ways for you to mull over in that noggin of yours.

Get involved! Don’t just stay inside practicing all day up until the next competition. Go on-line and promote eSports, write articles, gaming testaments, add various other forms of content such as a competitive gaming podcasts and video interviews, spam the fuck out of how awesome being in eSports is for you and why everyone should get involved, even if they don’t plan on playing on the competitive level. The real people that are out there helping eSports by adding value are making posts every day and communicating with other gamers and non gamers about all things competitive gaming. We need to keep these communication lines open with everybody. There is no need for petty gaming drama between gamers and organizations, eSports is bigger than that! Yes rivalries we need, it’s a part of eSports, but that doesn’t mean it has to be constant flame wars. If you get on sites like GB, that’s a lot of what you see, constant flame wars between wannabe gamers that are doing nothing for eSports as a whole and are more concerned how big their gaming dick is compared to other gamers.

Keeping with the idea of communication, help other gamers, organizations and events. You don’t always have to keep your strats and your thoughts about a certain game a secret. You are a better player and add more value if you help other players by training them and giving them advice. You were in their position at one point in time, so why not extend a helping hand? You don’t have to give all your time to them, you do need to focus on your competitive gaming career as well, but you can balance your time and spare an hour or so to help teach, whether if it’s through practice scrims or written tutorials or video tutorials.

If you are a gamer with a fare amount of intellect, challenge the way we compete in games and how can we make it a better process. Create systems that players can use to help each other more efficiently. Find ways to improve how tournaments are run. If you’re not happy with the competitive games that are out, write to the developers; find creative solutions to their problems that can enhance the gaming experience.

To get anywhere in competitive gaming, it is important for the competitive player to rise above the high school drama and do something important to grow eSports. Promoting eSports through writing, video or word of mouth and keeping an open line of communication to other gamers and non gamers that may need a helping hand, are but two ways to do something to help evolve eSports past its current position. A lot of gamers can talk to talk, but like most cases, it’s a lot harder to walk the walk. You need to think, what am I doing in competitive gaming for myself and how do I best utilize that want and develop eSports as a whole, because if you’re a competitive gamer not helping completive gaming grow as a whole, then what good are you?