Six Milestones for Project Development in Mobile Esports

Taylor Sollazo
Aug 31, 2018 · 7 min read

The grind, grit and determination to see a vision executed from concept proposal to stage show is the unattractive and often unexplained component critical to a product development in esports.

Arena of Valor Finals @ E3 2018 — ESL ARENA

Esports is to some, the mysterious new market “making stars of our children” for an audience that communicates and digests information in ways large non-endemic brands often misunderstand and miscalculate. To others, esports is the new media, a longer term marketing tool, an engagement platform, or a way to showcase a brand new product to a massively growing audience.

Often what we only see are the fantastical stage shows with hundreds supporting from behind the scenes, behind black curtains, illuminated by the soft glow of program monitors and encouraged by the passionate cries of fans and clients alike. But getting to the point of a stage show or studio production from the pages of a PowerPoint or PDF presentation is not as romanticized and perhaps rightfully so. Its long hours in the dark, where the night time cleaning crew is more familiar with you than the friends and accomplices you see on the weekends, its the determination and belief that a few extra hours in silence, grinding away on excel or google sheets, drafting emails and building project trackers will lead your team to the glory of a satisfied client, player base and passionate crowd.

Surely you’d guess that motivation and discipline are required in any field of work and esports is no different, but the world of gaming and esports isn’t labeled the wild west because of the freedom gained by being a trailblazer, but by the simple fact of there being few before you that have achieved something similar. The unique challenges that come with esports and production and the marriage of the two are true challenges to any would be project, product or client manager.

Mobile esports the newly emergent vertical within esports takes the widely accessible mobile market and provides an opportunity for any competitive person to become a star. Its not as defined as Riot Games League of Legends, where the climb to the top is often mired by difficult challenges of being at the right age, having considerable time to invest into “getting good” and finding the right sponsors within the scene to climb. The ultimate goal of moving on into a farm level team with the hopes of joining a team on the pro circuit such as the LCS (League of Legends Championship Series).

Team Yakuza’s First Place Win at the Guns of Boom European Invitational — Katowice, Poland July 2018

Capturing moments on mobile is just as complicated as any other PC / Console production requiring dedicated staffing, producers and line managers able to administer a team that is the most prepared to handle the technical hurdles involved in providing a quality and unforgettable experience. But getting to the point of a stage requires a few key milestones.

  1. Aligning the Vision
  2. Project / Product Developement and Management
  3. Adjustments and Working Within a set Budget
  4. Talented and Creative Staff
  5. Communication
  6. Event Execution

While extremely high level, these six key milestones are found within every production from the highest level events such as PGI Invitational (PUBG) or ESL One (DOTA 2 / CS:GO) to the new titans entering esports like Arena of Valor (Strike of Kings) from Tencent Games and Guns of Boom from Game Insight.

Team Queso Player Arena of Valor Kick Off Gamescom 2018

Aligning the Vision

Perhaps the most difficult component of any esports production or product, is finding the vision, focusing said vision into attainable goals and working with internal and external partners to move to event execution. Working as vendor in the esports space limits some of your initial creativity, simply because the product or IP is not your own, but this doesn’t limit any ability or motivation to execute rather hones your creativity into a finely tuned projectile designed for success. Its about compromise from the vendor and partner to design the best possible outcome. Often this means changing and aligning the vision. For example, a partner might ask for a stage show inside a massive consumer trade show granting the opportunity for hands on experience and conversion of new users. But what if the venue’s demographic isn’t a mobile audience, just because almost every person in developed countries own a smart phone capable of gaming does not mean you are guaranteed new users. The need to define program KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) and the placement of the product in the market are crucial to defining a vision.

Backdrop for Team Allegiance — E3 2018

Project / Product Development and Management

The long hours, detailed emails, conference calls between vendor and partner stakeholders and the further refinement of the vision all happen within this milestone. This is an on-going process that is never truly finished until the months after an event execution. This milestone is the most rewarding portion of a vision’s development but also the most demanding. Challenges will arise — Do you have enough staff to properly execute? Is your Social Media team prepared to handle the day to day structuring of engagement of the audiences? Is there enough lead time between the pre-determined dates to properly execute a high quality program? These are but a few of the challenges that arise during this milestone, an on-going battle of grit and determination.

Promotional Social Media Post — Guns of Boom

Adjustments and Working Within a set Budget

“We need to first be limited in order to become limitless…” “If you treat the problems as possibilities, life will start to dance with you in the most amazing ways.” — Phil Hansen

Sometimes you will be forced to work within a box set by both internal and external stakeholders, but don’t let this “limitation” bring fear into your ability to be creative. Knowing that you have to get to the moon with a paper airplane may seem physically impossible, but the metaphor implies that out of the box thinking and strategic employment of valued resources is often rewarded with continued success for you and your partner. The budget limitation also grounds you to the best or top ideas, essentially forcing a laser focus to cultivate the most cost effective programs.

Talented and Creative Staff

Following limitations set by either budget, expedited timelines or a mix of both require a certain mental fortitude and quick wit this industry treasures. Thankfully, those who work within esports and have made a living doing so, are among some of the most talented thought producers across any vertical. You alone are not expected to know all of the answers to all of the problems that will onset any esports program. Utilize the team you have surrounded yourself with, or have been grouped with, to drive creative solutions to problems, develop inspiring programs and provide for a community hungry for competitive opportunity.

Communication

Typically the key to success is how well you convey goals, KPI’s, or project tasking to the rest of the team. Often times I’ve been told I operate as “an Island” its both empowering and limiting. When you take every task or obstacle internally you unnecessarily bog yourself down in tasks that can be handled by someone more experienced or more sensitive to that task. The idea here is to communicate, talk daily to your team members, managers and skip level boss, it leads to valuable inter-company networking and allows you to build a rapport with the rest of your team or company. Take on the tasks you know you can handle and never be afraid to take on a little more than you think you can handle, but know when to delegate and when to lead. Daily status emails to stakeholders, clients, and bosses go much further than sitting at your desk, head buried in your hands, crushed under the weight of 85 un-read emails. Most importantly, ask for help, its never a sign of weakness to admit you don’t know something, how to reach someone or when you need a little executive muscle. Your managers lead to serve you, not the other way around.

Guns of Boom EU Invitational — Katowice, Poland 2018

Event Execution

This is where all the Lego pieces snap into place, countless emails and internal meetings, client calls and late nights come to fruition. This is the moment you have awaited on your production or tasking calendar. The cameras are properly aligned with the lighting package, the stage has gone from render to reality, the players have arrived and the stream has attracted thousands of passionate fans. Your job isn’t over just yet, but relish in the fact that you’ve gotten to this point, a few toes stepped on, a few heated debates, and a lot of determination got you here. Don’t doubt this point, you are just starting your journey in esports and its a glorious unforgettable path of grit and passion.

Most importantly, shoot to win.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade