Doublelift sits at a desk in a disorganized room filled with
empty Coke bottles and discarded clothing. Light glares through the curtains
behind him, shining in on what little we can see of Chauster, who toys with a
new soundcard while hunched over his computer. Random chatter can be heard from
his CLG housemates in the background, and the ever-present sound of frantically
clicking keys.
Doublelift winces as his video begins. “It’s just another
boring me talking to the camera thing,” he sheepishly admits, rubbing his chin
with a selection of ‘um’s’ and ‘so...yeah’s’ while dishing out the mundane details
of his day.
It’s a common scene in player’s vlogs, those little video slices
of life that every pro is doing. Most of them are awkward at best, with
uncomfortable hosts staring at the camera, straining for something to say. Even
Meteos, so well-known for his fun banter during his streams, is often left
speechless. “I don’t like vlogs,” he mumbles apologetically to his viewers.
“They’re so hard to do.”
But whether it’s Zuna cooking chicken strips at four in the
morning or LemonNation getting a haircut, dedicated fans can still be counted
on to watch them. Daily vlogs can boast over 30,000 views, with some of the
more infamous of them garnering 150,000 views or more.
Normally, vlogs are just a few minutes of unscripted
rambling, with the pros touching on things like what they ate today or commenting
on their performance in a game, followed by a quick shout-out to sponsors. Doublelift
talks about everything from setting up their new televisions, to his Ashe play,
to going to the gym with his teammates.
“Yeah, like you work out,” his landlord interjects from the
hallway.
Doublelift glances over his shoulder. “I was going to work out.
I was going to...!” he shouts back, his cheeks turning two shades of red.
While not always that entertaining, vlogs give you a pretty
accurate view of a player’s world outside the game, proving that their daily
life is just as humdrum as our own. Tours of their environments reveal unmade
beds and dishes piled in the sink, or grumbling teammates half-asleep in generic
hotel rooms. It’s a world not unlike that of any gaming nerd, and it’s a comforting
affirmation that we’re not alone.
Once in a while though, vlogs can be incredibly poignant or insightful.
Memories of Xpecial’s heartfelt confession, “we’re having a bit of a rough
patch,” readily come to mind. It was an honest bit of soul searching that
resonated with its viewers, followed by over two-thousand replies of (mostly)
encouraging words.
As hard as it is to see distress on a player’s face, Esports
fans are notoriously drawn to team drama. Elementz, often the whipping boy in
r/leagueoflegends, received an outpouring of support after he posted a gut-wrenching
vlog where he addressed his trash-talking teammates. Dyrus got an earful of armchair
counseling when he asked his fans to drop their attacks on Reginald, and CLG gained
a ton of renewed fan love when the normally arrogant Hotshotgg humbly choked out,
“the way things have been going, I’ll be left with nothing.”
Moments like that stand out all the greater when you've seen
these players on an ordinary day, sharing a meal with their teammates and
smiling at each other’s jokes. Because you've been made a part of their private
lives, you experience the emotions with them, and it ties you to them on a very
personal level.
No other sport asks its players to make vlogs, but it’s
fitting for a game whose main fan base is online. Internet audiences are used
to having that kind of intimate connection. And on a map where players are
represented by digital champions, it’s nice to be reminded they’re still human.
