If you've been following this comic close enough, you know that almost every time I talk about a video game, I link to the Giant Bomb wiki page. (Realistically, if you're following the posts that closely, we have a job for you). This is no accident. Giant Bomb is my goto site for information about video games, and they manage to do things I think no other major games journalism site is doing. I've been following them for years, and they keep me coming back by so obviously doing things they want to do, instead of things that are expected of 'serious games journalists'. 

Case in point: Spelunkin' With Scoops. Spelunky is a game like so many that we feature here, a game that so very much wants you to learn its systems. Of course, it wants you to learn those systems over hours and hours of play, almost to the point of insanity. But if you force yourself to learn from the sure-failure that Spelunky presents, you will notice yourself getting better and better. There is something so intensely gratifying about getting to watch Patrick 'Scoops' Klepek spend an hour or so every weekday playing the game. I feel his pain when some tiny slip-up or moment of hubris ends his avatar's life forces, and I feel empowered to accomplish my own goals as he picks himself up from failure, learns what there is to learn, and tries again. His victories are all the more worthwhile because of the time he has spent getting to those moments. 

I think e-Sports have started taking off because the generation that can really appreciate them has come of age. We watch masters of Spelunky, or DOTA, or Starcraft achieve excellence, and we applaud and cheer and are uplifted because we can recognize the time and dedication it took to get to that point. If we are lucky, it encourages and empowers us to realize our failures are just steps to something else.

Thanks,

Philip