ewokskick Posted August 12, 2015 I thought I'd make a thread to share some pro gaming documentaries/videos I've seen and enjoyed and see if anyone else has any to share. Free to Play: Description: "FREE TO PLAY is a feature-length documentary that follows three professional gamers from around the world as they compete for a million dollar prize in the first Dota 2 International Tournament. In recent years, E Sports has surged in popularity to become one of the most widely-practiced forms of competitive sport today. A million dollar tournament changed the landscape of the gaming world and for those elite players at the top of their craft, nothing would ever be the same again. Produced by Valve, the film documents the challenges and sacrifices required of players to compete at the highest level." The Smash Brothers: Description: A 9 part series introducing the early competitive scene of Super Smash Brothers. The episodes tell the stories of the best players in the world including Ken, Azen, M2K, PC Chris, Mang0, and Korean DJ. An essential series for anyone even slightly interested in Smash and possibly enjoyable for those with no interest in Melee. D I R E B O Y S: Description: A look into EG's third place run at TI4. Mostly follows their captain ppd. eSports: Description: A Vice documentary that mostly follows LoL. It's kind of an outsiders view of eSports. http://www.vice.com/en_uk/video/esports-part-one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eRonin Posted August 12, 2015 Although I have been into Smash Bros since about 2006 and been aware of the competitive scene for almost just as long (used to watch early tournaments with Ken and Isai, etc.), it wasn't until I watched the documentary that I decided to invest myself in it. I've gone to a few tournaments now, mostly for Smash 4 because I'm better at that game, but I'm also practising Smash Melee in the background. I also enjoy watching Melee tournaments much more at the moment, though that may change if more and more people threaten ZeRo for the top spot of Smash 4. While I think most people here are aware of the eSports scene for PC gaming (DotA, StarCraft) and console games like Halo, I think the Smash Documentary is worth watching for anyone curious in how a party game became so popular as a competitive title, drawing in 200,000+ viewers at EVO and seeing how deep the game can actually be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewokskick Posted August 12, 2015 Anybody know of any anti-gaming documentaries? The Vice esports documentary discusses the risks of video gaming and internet addiction with a Korean neurologist. It's in part 2 if you want to skip just to that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewokskick Posted August 12, 2015 I was just joshing about, but that does sound rather interesting. I'm a bit weary of Vice documentaries though, a bit hit and miss, is it decent? It's decent. I don't think I can wholly recommend it. I can't put my finger on it, but it has the problem a lot of Vice Docs have where the filmmaker comes off as kind of self-involved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deadpan Posted August 13, 2015 Riot Games recently posted Live / Play, which looks a bit like the League of Legends version of Free to Play, except it doesn't focus exclusively on professional players, but also follows regular players from different parts of the world, a cosplayer and a crafter. I didn't have time to watch it yet. I imagine it's similarly saccharine, but like Free to Play, might still be interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mangela Lansbury Posted August 13, 2015 Did anything ever happen with that Artosis/Tasteless documentary? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick R Posted August 13, 2015 I don't know what you'd consider PRO (like, are most the competitors in Smash Brothers really professionals making a living?) but two other notable competitive gaming docs are King of Kong Mostly fictionalized in order to fit into an underdog sports movie formula, but it's an undeniably effective version of that. Probably the most successful mainstream competitive gaming doc. Ecstasy of Order Low-stakes Tetris doc reveals less of a competitive scene than a group of people who suffer from the same mania and come together to celebrate it. But it does all build up to a final tournament so I'd say it still fits the bill. Focuses exclusively on people obsessed with the Nintendo licensed NES version. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewokskick Posted August 14, 2015 King of Kong is a fantastic movie. I definitely think those belong. Regardless, I definitely don't want to police what counts as "real esports." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WickedCestus Posted August 14, 2015 Did anything ever happen with that Artosis/Tasteless documentary? Uh, yeah. It came out and was...okay. I liked it because I liked Artosis and Tasteless a whole bunch already, but as a documentary I don't think it's great, especially for people unfamiliar with the scene. I loved "The Smash Brothers" though, and it turned me from someone who didn't know what to think about pro Smash to someone who can appreciate it at least on a basic level. I watched my first tournament about a month ago (The Top 8 of EVO) and found it really fun and engaging. I consider "Smash Brothers" the high bar for e-Sports documentaries. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLastBaron Posted August 15, 2015 There was a really good Street Fighter II documentary called Bang the Machine I saw at EVO 04 that followed people and explored the East/West Coast rivalry and USA vs Japan. I guess all the original footage was lost in 9/11 and the cut that they had at the time used unlicensed music so they can't release it, but I believe it still gets screenings at events so if anyone gets the opportunity to see it you definitely should. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melmer Posted August 15, 2015 "FOCUS is a riveting documentary presented by G4 Films and directed by Steve Hwang. Follow a year in the life of pro gamer Mike Ross as he prepares to do battle at EVO 2010 in Las Vegas." https://archive.org/details/g4tv.com-video54396-flvhd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coods Posted August 17, 2015 Since there's no general esports thread: Would a smash bros thread with a introductory primer on the scene be of interest to anyone? Smash is super entertaining, sort of goofy and hilariously overdramatic. The documentary is fantastic, but only covers the early years of the scene in depth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremywc Posted August 17, 2015 Since there's no general esports thread: Would a smash bros thread with a introductory primer on the scene be of interest to anyone? Smash is super entertaining, sort of goofy and hilariously overdramatic. The documentary is fantastic, but only covers the early years of the scene in depth. Sounds good to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ewokskick Posted August 19, 2015 Thanks everyone who is sharing. I too would like a smash thread. It'd be great to have a primer and a place to talk about the scene. On that note, I have a fresh smash documentary. Well, it may be more of a video essay, but still. It's worth a watch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
