So, I wanted to start my writing stay here at Expansive with an introduction to myself and also to the new MMORPG from Perfect World, Neverwinter. With the news of Greg “IdrA” Fields being released by the Starcraft 2 division of team Evil Geniuses, my first foray into writing for this place is going to be skewed towards that.
With that in mind, I did want to introduce myself. My name is Josh. I’m 27 years old and I’m an avid PC gamer from the United States. I’m currently employed full time by a big name independent publisher in a job that I enjoy very much. I play a lot of League of Legends and other assorted PC games. I don’t really know why I don’t play as many console games anymore, but I just don’t take the time to, I guess. It’s not a preference thing or the standard “oh he likes PC games what a snob” thing, it’s just how things have played out for me.
Anyway, to get on with it. I’ve been following the eSports scenes for both Starcraft 2 and League of Legends quite a bit, and that’s something I’m hoping to be able to explore here on Expansive.
For those of you who don’t know, Evil Geniuses is a very, very old brand in the eSports game. They have a division for several different games, genres spanning from fighting games to RTS games to MOBAs, but most people would probably remember them for their Counter-Strike team. They originated in Canada, and have been growing their brand name for the past 10 or so years.
Greg “IdrA” Fields is an extraordinarily polarizing figure in the Starcraft 2 community. To put it nicely, he’s extremely free spirited when it comes to how he handles himself in public, and as a result he’s earned some extreme love from people who embrace that kind of rebellious activity. On the opposite end, he’s earned some extreme dislike from people who believe that the way he acts and goes about his business is detrimental to the growth of eSports as a developing industry.
I believe that people should be free to be how they want to be, within the confines of professionalism. Once you sign a contract to represent a brand, in this case the Evil Geniuses brand, its then your responsibility as an adult to represent this brand with the utmost care and professionalism. That said, EG gives their players a great deal of leeway when it comes to the way they act in public, and IdrA was no exception to this rule.
Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson, recently a guest on State of the Game went on to explain on the May 9th edition of State of the Game that IdrA had been given many, many warnings as to how he was carrying himself in a public way. It was mentioned that a recent outburst by IdrA on the Team Liquid forums was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It’s not for me to say how this should or shouldn’t have been handled. Obviously if you are working at a job and you get warned for the same thing over and over again, eventually you will be let go. Fortunately for IdrA, he’s amassed quite a following and should be able to pick himself up and carry on, if he so desires. Additionally, Geoff Robinson stated that team Evil Geniuses would be assisting IdrA with his living expenses so as to facilitate IdrA’s transition into eSports free agency.
It’s hard for me to criticize a brand that would go that far for a former employee.
To wrap this up, I recognize that this may be somewhat of an unorthodox way to introduce myself to new viewers, but with news this juicy, the opportunity was hard to pass up. I’m still planning on doing an article about Neverwinter, but that’s on hold until the weekend or sometime next week.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to being able to dig a little deeper here at Expansive and am very glad for the opportunity that Mr. Willmott has presented. Take it easy!
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