Welcome to the #GamesNightViz Season 2 challenge !
I hope you are excited, because we are! As promised, for the first time we are showing you the entire roadmap for the year. We want you to viz what you love, so jump in anytime that topic interests you. After all, the best way to learn is to have fun 🎮
If you have been following the E-Sports scene, August is a pretty exciting month with EVO Fighting Tournaments, Pokemon World Championships, and the World Series of Poker. Not to mention, the World Series of Board Games is happening this month, as well as The International in mid Oct. But don't worry if you haven't heard of any of those...
What is E-Sports?
In E-Sports, players harness their strategic thinking, lightning-fast reflexes, and teamwork to engage in epic clashes across a multitude of game genres. Whether it's the precision of first-person shooters, the tactical depth of real-time strategy games, the finesse of fighting games, or the teamwork of multiplayer online battle arenas, E-Sports offers a diverse array of titles that cater to various playstyles and preferences. What sets E-Sports apart is its vibrant competitive ecosystem, mirroring that of traditional sports. Professional players and teams compete in prestigious tournaments, leagues, and championships, vying for coveted titles and substantial prize pools.
Some examples of E-Sports games are:
- League of Legends (LoL): A multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game where two teams of players compete to destroy each other's Nexus structures.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO): A first-person shooter that focuses on objective-based gameplay. Teams of terrorists and counter-terrorists compete in various game modes, with a strong emphasis on tactical strategy and precision aiming.
- Dota 2: Another popular MOBA game, where two teams of players battle to control a central structure called the "Ancient." Dota 2 features complex gameplay and a competitive scene with significant tournaments.
- Overwatch: A team-based first-person shooter with a diverse cast of characters, each with unique abilities. Teams compete to complete objectives in various game modes, making teamwork and strategy crucial.
- Rocket League: A unique blend of soccer and vehicular acrobatics, where players control rocket-powered cars to score goals on a futuristic arena. Its fast-paced gameplay has attracted a dedicated e-sports following.
- StarCraft II: A real-time strategy game that requires players to manage resources, build armies, and engage in strategic battles. It has a dedicated e-sports scene, especially in South Korea.
- Super Smash Bros. series: A series of crossover fighting games featuring characters from various Nintendo franchises. The competitive scene for Super Smash Bros. has grown significantly over the years.
- Street Fighter series: A classic fighting game series known for its intense one-on-one battles and iconic characters.
These events, often hosted in massive arenas or streamed online to millions, showcase the electrifying energy of E-Sports, where fans cheer and support their favorite teams with the same fervor as any traditional sports audience. (Think Tableau's IronViz)
The Datasets
We have curated some cool data from different websites and while this is not a 100% coverage of everything related to E-Sports, this should give you a good starting point to explore and unleash your creativity!
- 2023 Game Releases - List of all new game releases in 2023 by platforms and street dates
- Metacritic scores for fighting games - Contains data on the game scores and information on popular fighting games (from Metacritic)
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate Unit Stats - Contains the different attributes for each Smash Bro characters (from SSBU)
- Tekken 7 Stats - Contains match stats for each Tekken characters (from EventHub)
- Top 1000 E-Sports players - Contains the top 1000 players and their winning stats (from ESports Earnings)
- Prize Money by Tournaments - Contains the prize pool for each Esports tournament by year (from ESports Earnings)
Or choose one of the data sets from the #GamesNightViz Data Archive 💾
And of course, feel free to bring your own data! If you find anything interesting, we'll love to know about it too!
So what should you viz on?
Here's some quick ideas on starting your viz journey 😉
- What characters are popular in each game?
- Who are the characters with the best attributes?
- What are the match statistics and geographical makeup of the top 1000 E-Sports players?
- Which games have the highest metacritic scores?
Inspirations from the community
Here are some great vizzes from the Tableau community to give you an idea what can be done.
Bonus Free #GamesNightViz T-Shirt for the best work
Some of you might have gotten one from our free giveaway at #data23 Tableau Conference, but many were still bummed for not getting it. We hear you and we'll be picking our favorite viz and sending a free T-shirt of your choice! And if you wanna collect 'em all, you know what you have to do 😜
And of course, there has to be some judging criterion right? We took a page out of #IronViz and ran it thru ChatGPT. It looks great don't you think? There's 4 categories and this gives us 20 points (5 each) to score the vizzes.
Design
- Game-Themed Aesthetic: In addition to the general aesthetic appeal, the visualization should incorporate elements of gaming culture, such as game-like graphics, avatars, gaming terminology, or visual references to well-known games.
- Interactivity: Since games are interactive, the visualization should ideally incorporate some form of interactivity, allowing the viewer to explore the data or the narrative in a more hands-on way, like they would in a game.
- Usability in Game Context: The visualization should be intuitive and user-friendly, much like a well-designed game interface. The user should be able to understand the visualization without needing complex instructions, similar to how a game should be playable with minimal guidance.
Storytelling
- Game-Themed Narrative: The story or narrative behind the visualization should incorporate elements of gaming, whether that's using game mechanics as metaphors, drawing parallels to game storylines, or creating a gamified journey for the viewer.
- Engagement and Immersion: Just as games engage and immerse players, the visualization should draw in viewers and make them feel a part of the data story.
Analysis
- Game Data Insight: If the data is specifically about games (player stats, game sales, gaming trends, etc.), the analysis should offer clear and insightful interpretations about the gaming world.
- Game Mechanics: The analysis could consider incorporating game mechanics into the visualization. For example, if it's about player performance, it could incorporate mechanics like leaderboards or achievement systems.
Game Feel
- Fun Factor: Regardless of the seriousness of the data or the analysis, a game-themed visualization should have a fun factor. It should be enjoyable to view and interact with, just like playing a game. This could be achieved through humor, surprises, rewards, or other elements of fun.
- Gameful Experience: The visualization should evoke a sense of gameful experience. This might be through the use of game mechanics, playful design, or a sense of challenge and achievement.
How to Submit
- Deadline is midnight PST 🔔 30th Sep 2023 🔔
- Post your submissions on Twitter with the hashtag #GamesNightViz, and tag the team @WJSutton12, @covellicreative, @ninjavizlouis so we don't miss your great work!
- Submit your work the project tracker here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMRc4dJ089gPvHMtFVPZ7DVgcwrqqxkonffLF5apAZOzFX3A/viewform
