News: Jimmy Whisenhunt Joins PlanetSide 2 Team

[Hamma]

Higby - this one?

[SKYeXile]

Originally Posted by Higby

Guys he's not here to change PlanetSide 2 into CS, or make an eSport, he's here to help us make our weapons FEEL awesome, balanced and competitive. Having a competitive FPS player on the team is going to help us out a lot.

cool.

http://www.hltv.org/blog/5155-interv...unt-whisenhunt
As you are one of the most knowledgeable esports experts in the U.S., do you have any specific "road map" for the development of an esports game or community?

I wouldn't say I'm by any means an expert, but I'm definitely flattered! As far as a road map goes, I'd say there's a path for success, and it's very simple. For any competition to succeed it MUST have a high skill ceiling, and since we're talking esports it MUST have some sort of way to engage spectators, similar to how the CS franchise has done with HLTV and commentators such as myself. There are a million factors that contribute to a successful esports community or game, I would probably spend the next 173 pages ranting about the perfect scenario... So I'll just leave it at those quick points.

Sounds good then.

[Espion]

Originally Posted by Krishtov

I love PS2 and the dev team...but...

Seriously? You are going to bring in competitive CS players? Counter Strike plays NOTHING like Planetside 1 or 2. You at least could of brought in the top tier Battlefield players or something.

Or, you know, hire on some well known PS community members...

I rarely complain, this is a time I am doing so.

Higby wants this to be big in the spectator/esports scene. I can't see PS2 being very 'esports' at all, but it's possible that it could bring in a lot of spectators if the combat/specating is interesting enough, and that all still ties into the esports scene as far as broadcasting and sponsors go.

His purpose isn't going to be balancing the game, it's going to be presenting it as a viable spectator game. Having someone that is knowledgeable within the esports scene have a direct connection with the devs will do great things for the game, regardless of whether you've heard of them or not.

[Bags]

Originally Posted by Higby

We actually discovered him from his video talking about why the weapons in GO feel bad, check it out.

Awesome!

[Notser]

Originally Posted by Higby

We actually discovered him from his video talking about why the weapons in GO feel bad, check it out.

Well if he agrees that CSGO isn't adding dick to CS then I will give him a chance at least. I have always liked the feel of CS guns both from sound design and a recoil standpoint.

[Hamma]

Originally Posted by Roy Awesome

I found it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYeM6W_actM

Looks like there's more than one.

[Graywolves]

Well now I'm actually hoping you hired him for more than just seeing if the weapons 'look/feel' right.

[ODonnell]

Grats on your hire.

[Bags]

Originally Posted by Hamma

Looks like there's more than one.

Wow, small world I've seen that vid before.

[RNFB]

Originally Posted by Higby

Guys he's not here to change PlanetSide 2 into CS, or make an eSport, he's here to help us make our weapons FEEL awesome, balanced and competitive. Having a competitive FPS player on the team is going to help us out a lot.

I wouldn't consider somebody who has played literally thousands of hours of one of the worst FPS games of all time "competitive".

He doesn't even have any hours clocked in TFC, but over 100 in TF2, which just makes me super worried that he knows NOTHING about good FPS games.

I doubt he has even played Quake

[Bravix]

Originally Posted by RNFB

I wouldn't consider somebody who has played literally thousands of hours of one of the worst FPS games of all time "competitive".

He doesn't even have any hours clocked in TFC, but over 100 in TF2, which just makes me super worried that he knows NOTHING about good FPS games.

I doubt he has even played Quake

Ah yes, because if you haven't played Quake, you obviously know nothing about good FPS games

[Hamma]

Originally Posted by elfailo

Lot of jealousy in this thread.


Over it you must get.

yes we are all pissed they didn't hire us.

Thank you for contributing to the thread.

[Notturno]

It's actually a pretty brilliant move on SOE's part, or the PlanetSide 2 team if it was their call. You are gaining such a multitude of benefits from bringing on an individual like this into the team. If you look only at the surface gain, notably the individual's eSports history, you are missing the bigger picture that is starting to form with these hiring decisions. So, here's what I'm starting to hypothesize based on these hirings...

Gain #1: eSports & Community Background

The surface gain with this hire is you get Whisenhunt's background in eSports. The initial groans of "PlanetSide 2 isn't an eSports title" is merited; PlanetSide 2 just isn't the sort of game that caters to an eSports type of game. The large scale battles make PlanetSide 2 what it is, and minimizing the scale into eSports sized teams may not be feasible. While it is a potential outcome, I don't see it as a likely scenario. However, when you take an individual like Whisenhunt and look at his resume... well, you see someone who has an intimate knowledge of FPS gaming and team synergy.

His background in FPS gaming means you gain an outside consultant who can analyze PlanetSide 2's gameplay from a competitive perspective. His analysis will likely be invaluable to building a game that can deliver a solid product that is friendly to the massive community that this game appeals to, as well as facilitate the creation of in depth mechanics necessary to create a high skill ceiling. Both of these are features you see in many successful titles in today's market; League of Legends, StarCraft 2, Counter-Strike... all of these games are accessible at a general level, but they also provide such complex features that the game's skill ceiling is infinitely expanding.

On top of this, you have someone who is knowledgeable when it comes to communities and team dynamics. Take a look at this quote from his about page...

Our second show that will premier soon is going to cover how to become an in-game leader, taking on a very challenging roll of the strategic mind behind a team of motivated (and sometimes overly ADD) group of gamers.

He's essentially working on a show that will help build strong, lasting communities. If these successful outfit communities are built within PlanetSide 2, you will have a healthy player base that is invested in your game. You essentially have someone facilitating the creation of lasting outfits, which in turn creates a stable player base for the team to monetize.

Gain #2: Casting Experience

If Whisenhunt has been doing casting and play-by-play for years, you have someone who is a very confident speaker. Being this sort of caster also requires intimate knowledge of a game, and the ability to break it down into simple terms for an audience. This is a talent not many individuals possess, and it's a very valuable skill for a company looking to appeal to a broad audience.

But wait a minute... didn't SOE just hire another caster? TotalBiscuit.

Think about the possibilities here. You have someone like TotalBiscuit who has an extremely wide appeal for a variety of reasons. He has a very likable personality, which is evidenced by his massive YouTube following and hugely popular streams. TotalBiscuit is also very easy to listen to; he asks the right questions that gamers want to know, he has a great casting voice, and is very in touch with the gaming community at large. Plus, we've seen he is flexible about who he works with. Remember at E3? He was able to cast with PurrfectStorm and Arclegger, and had great synergy with both of them.

Think about the casting duo SOE has just created. Boom, explosions, excitement, oh man I just got super excited.

You have TotalBiscuit as your "every man" of sorts. He's your play-by-play caster who is calling all of the big action and asking Whisenhunt about the more complex mechanics in action. You also have TB steering the conversation towards relevant topics, and creating an accessible experience for new viewers. You then have Whisenhunt acting as your color commentator; he's the one breaking the fights down after the fact and talking about what just happened at a deeper level of analysis, as well as pointing out the right and wrong plays. Whisenhunt is able to create an in-depth analysis for experienced players, while TotalBiscuit breaks it down into simple terms.

You just created an all-star casting team who can truly showcase the brilliance and beauty of a game like PlanetSide 2. Are you excited? You damn well should be, because that's going to be the most exciting web cast you will ever watch in your lifetime.

Gain #3: Exposure

So now you need to get PlanetSide 2's name out there. Whisenhunt is able to lend competitive credibility to a game like PlanetSide 2 with his extensive background in the competitive FPS scene. He is also able to help the game reach a mechanical level that is necessary to build longevity and high skill ceilings. This is giving your game an inherent appeal and level of exposure you would not gain without someone like Whisenhunt. PlanetSide 2 can now boast that they are trying to build a game that is able to appeal to a very large base of players, but it also has the tools there for sophisticated, competitive-level players to dig their hands into.

Essentially, this is giving PlanetSide 2 credibility as a game that isn't about zerg fights.

Excited Yet?

Yeah, this is a massively awesome addition to the team, and everyone should be super happy to hear about something like this. I think at this point you can assume there will be regular casting events where you have two expert commentators breaking down the major fights in the game, and showcasing the best players this game has to offer. You will have the ability to potentially be an internet star, with TotalBiscuit and Whisenhunt on a stream watched by thousands of people talking about how awesome your outfit is.

You also have someone's personal expertise with FPS games critiquing game mechanics. He's essentially going to help create a game that's going to not be about luck, or who has more players, or some other random element of the game screwing you over. He obviously has the background necessary to help create a game that, while it may not be an eSport, will have the mechanics familiar to competitive players.

Or, I could be completely full of crap and off base. I hope I'm not, as I think there's a lot of awesome things they could do with Whisenhunt. Either way, it's a cool hire.

EDIT: Well Higby replied while I was writing, curses. So apparently I was only partially right. Oh well!

[Hamma]

Still not a bad post!

[p0intman]

More catering to traditional FPS players.

STOP DUMBING THE GODDAMN GAME DOWN FOR FUCKS SAKE.

There, needed to get that out. But seriously, WHAT THE FUCK?