Did you miss all the excitement along the first season of NASL? If so, EG will make sure to provide you with insights from their very own player and NASL staff member Geoff "InControl" Robinson, who shares his thoughts on the better part of the starleague, addressing non-NASL issues as well.
Right off the bat, InControl comments on the gigantic hype around NASL just prior to its release and also along its run, generated mainly by his words and teasing "announcements". The gap between promises and actual results is also addressed.
- "It was a learning experience in the sense that I was the voice to the community on things that didn’t necessarily come to be, so I became the focus of all those unfulfilled expectations," says Robinson. "In the future I think I’ll be a lot more cautious with my words because as you’ve seen elsewhere, it’s easier to be conservative and then surprise people than it is to announce the coming of a new era and then try to meet that expectation."
InControl then goes through several queries regarding a topic that has gathered quite a bit of head - the numerous problems and active fan criticism that accompanied NASL along its journey. Robinson comments on his casting (part of it together with Gretorp) saying that he "was much more rough around the edges in the beginning, compensating with one area over another, so it was creating imbalances in [his] commentating". The issues of general and technical origin are also being addressed and according to Robinson "all criticism is valid, it just depends on how you go about voicing those concerns."
Of course, the phenomenal NASL grand final match soon comes to attention. Regarding the way the series turned out, InControl is thankful of how things finally ended.
- "To have such an amazing, high-level final is in part luck, and we’re all fortunate for it. Obviously in working for the NASL it was good to have that happen as a commentator, but just as a spectator and fan of Starcraft I was exceedingly happy with how it turned out--you couldn’t have scripted a better final set."
During the grand finals at Ontario, many viewers have been raising concerns about Lindsey Sporrer - an actress without any StarCraft background that has been taking care of in between games interviews. InControl straightforwardly justifies her appearance as her being someone who adds different perspective and breaking the set traditions of the ways such events are usually approached.
- "I honestly take more offense at people coming from other sports just to make money in Starcraft II--someone like TotalBiscuit," adds Incontrol. "I take less offense to someone like Lindsey, an actress and a model, getting hired for a gig and she says yes not because she’s looking to get rich but because it’s a good job doing what she enjoys and she’s dedicated to doing it well."
With NASL being an international event, InControl also shares his opinion on the skill gap between Koreans and foreigners.
- "I think the skill gap will always be there; the ability to play with so many other extremely high-level players is still head and shoulders above the rest of the world. But it’s becoming more feasible for non-Korean pro-gaming houses to appear which will begin the process of the foreigner scene catching up. Will that gap disappear? No I don’t think so, but for some I definitely see it shrinking."
Read the full interview by following the link below to read InControl's thoughts on the coming MLG Anaheim, if casting helped his performance as a player and if he is looking forward to going back to commentating.
Links
MyEG.com - Source
