Keywords
Overwatch, esports, expertise, games, video games
Abstract
eSports is a rapidly growing phenomenon in competitive gaming. Expertise is an interesting topic to study in relation to eSports, as eSports athletes are considered among the most highly-skilled players of their particular games. Examining expertise not only advances the understanding of what skills compose professional play but enables a deeper study of learning in games; before learning processes are studied, it is important to detail what learning these processes should produce. This study examines expertise through the application of thematic analysis to a series of interviews with professional players of the eSports game, Overwatch. The goal of this study is to identify which skills are perceived to be important to professional-level play by professional players. Two overarching themes were identified, game sense and mechanics. A number of sub-themes were identified as important, including survival, anticipation / prediction, communication, thoughtfulness, aim, ability usage, movement and positioning, and team-based mechanical synergies.
Publication Date
2018
Document Type
Paper
Copyright Status
Publisher retained
Publication Version
Publisher's version
STARS Citation
Fanfarelli, Joey R., "Expertise in Professional Overwatch Play" (2018). Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 769.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/ucfscholar/769