BEIJING, Oct. 10 (Zhongxin.com) -- "How has the development of e-sports changed in recent years? As a well-known e-sports streamer, Zhang Daxian, who has been rooted in the industry for many years, is deeply touched by this. In his story, it can be clearly perceived that e-sports is growing into the sun.
In the nearly one and a half hours of interview, Zhang Daxian once mentioned, "The outside world is gradually understanding e-sports, and finally waiting for this day." ”
"With the industry system becoming more standardized, you can say that I am engaged in esports, not gaming." When the mainstream perception of esports changes, it is the most tangible embodiment of the latter's justification.
After esports "entered Asia", where will it go in the future?
As night falls, the lights of the Hangzhou E-sports Center in China are lit up. Embellished with colorful light bars on the roof, the high-tech building resembles a giant interstellar vortex. In this so-called "starship" venue, the e-sports event ushered in its official debut at the Asian Games. At the Asian Games in Jakarta four years ago, esports appeared as an exhibition match.
E-sports "into Asia", this topic has been hotly discussed for a long time. According to the "China E-sports Industry Report from January to June 2023" released by the China Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association, in the first half of this year, the overall revenue of China's e-sports industry was 1.6 billion yuan, and the scale of China's e-sports users was about 759 million. Compared with traditional sports, e-sports are more favored among young people such as the post-93s and post-4s.
This time, Zhang Daxian served as a member of the China Mobile Asian Games Migu Guest Heavenly Group. When it comes to the story behind it, he chooses to portray emotions with anticipation and excitement.
"Thanks to Migu for providing this opportunity, I feel that their program effect and overall process design specifications are very high, and they have made sufficient efforts in the pre-warm-up session." Zhang Daxian was pleased to see that many media led by Migu were paying more and more attention to the e-sports industry.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, e-sports will produce 7 gold medals. From the initial lack of understanding to the gradual standardization of the industry, it is no longer a "fantasy" for e-sports to win glory for the country in the arena. Speaking of e-sports "entering Asia", Zhang Daxian hopes to use the Asian Games window to let everyone know more about e-sports.
This is the first time that Zhang Daxian has cooperated with Migu in the competition. Before the official start of the event, he participated in the recording of the Asian Games warm-up promotional film "Keep On Moving" produced by Migu. "There are a lot of traditional sports in the promotional video, which also reflects that esports is being accepted by the outside world."
Never say die, the spirit conveyed by Zhang Daxian in the Asian Games warm-up promotional video can be summed up like this. Four words are very applicable to the esports industry. "Our generation is very eager for positive feedback from esports in the mainstream discourse."
Recalling the interesting moments when shooting the promotional video, Zhang Daxian said with a smile, "Champion athletes also play games in private, which is very interesting. ”
"At the moment, a lot of people choose to enter the esports industry because of their passion." Compared with the current industry situation, specialization and internationalization are expected to become the future development trend of the e-sports industry. "I hope that students from the Department of Journalism, the Department of Film and Television and other majors can join in, and the participation of more professionals can take the development of the e-sports industry to a higher level." Zhang Daxian said.
Image source: Courtesy of interviewee
Survivorship bias for esports streamers
Survivorship bias, when the source of information is only from survivors, this information may be biased from the actual situation.
In the field of e-sports anchors, Zhang Daxian is undoubtedly successful, and the cumulative user attention of various platforms has exceeded 100 million. But when it comes to the long journey, he responds to outside evaluations with "survivorship bias". "I've come to this day, I've worked hard but I've had a lot of luck. We need to give everyone the right direction to think about, and you don't have to like to play games to engage in the esports industry. ”
Back in the first decade of the twenty-first century, Zhang Daxian showed his talent for games when he was still a high school student. At that time, DOTA and League of Legends were quite popular. After teaming up to compete in small-scale DOTA tournaments, he came to a crossroads in his life's decisions.
Continuing his studies and accepting an invitation to participate in e-sports full-time, Zhang Daxian who was only 18 years old at the time resolutely chose the former. "I finally decided to go to college and didn't have the courage to play esports full-time when I didn't finish high school."
At the 2013 World Electronic Sports Championship (WCG), Zhang Daxian participated as the champion team in Wuhan, making his international debut at the age of 22.
During college, he also teamed up with his classmates to participate in League of Legends College Tournament and City Tournament. Recalling his life during that time, Zhang Daxian chose to describe it as "inadequate". "We would be students with limited financial means. Usually the network fee generated by using the computer is a bit overwhelming, and the travel fee to go out to participate in the competition is a problem. ”
Image source: Courtesy of interviewee
Behind the scenes, this is Zhang Daxian's first job after graduation and the starting point of his esports industry.
With the rapid development of the Internet platform, Zhang Daxian, who has a soft spot for MOBA games (multiplayer online tactical competitive games), has also begun to test the waters in the anchor front.
But the development trend is somewhat tepid.
The glory of the king, affectionately known as "Teacher Wang" by Zhang Daxian. The emergence of this game made him "still stubborn in his heart" open the road to counterattack.
During the 2016 "Eleventh" National Day holiday, Zhang Daxian did not choose to rest, and he insisted on live broadcasting, and he became the first anchor in the platform king glory pendant category.
"I probably stream 360 days a year, and Chinese New Year's Eve am no exception." At the beginning of his career as an anchor, Zhang Daxian has maintained this rhythm. He likened live streaming to running a marathon, and once you stop, the start is tougher.
"I wake up at 10-12 a.m. and write live broadcasts and video program scripts until 6 p.m. After that, the live broadcast will start until 12 o'clock at night. After editing the live video until 2 a.m. and completing the maintenance of various platforms, it was basically dawn when I went to bed. ”
Image source: Courtesy of interviewee
When asked about the schedule of the initial live broadcast, Zhang Daxian told without thinking. More often than exhaustion, excitement dominates his inner emotions. During that time, his fan base grew by about 200 million almost every month. Open the background page, and the data bar will always be filled with "99999+". "The fan data has been growing, paralyzing the feeling of fatigue."
Looking back, Zhang Daxian defined his live broadcast style as: from technical to effectual. In the early days, he would edit clips after the live broadcast and put them on the platform to observe the effect, "this kind of review is constantly correcting his own style". Today, he has already practiced the ability to check comments "one eye and ten lines" during live broadcasts, giving viewers a more sense of companionship.
Step out of the "comfort zone" and constantly explore the direction of growth in development. In the field of anchors with a faster replacement speed, this is one of the reasons why Zhang Daxian can continue to maintain competitiveness.
Esports players, pick one in a hundred
Before the Asian Games, Team XYG successfully entered the spring tournament of the 2024 KPL (Glory of Kings Professional League), and the founder of XYG Esports Club is Zhang Daixian.
"Now the level of professionalism of esports clubs is increasing, and everyone is very 'rolled'." This time the team won from the qualifying round, Zhang Daxian couldn't help but feel the cruelty of e-sports.
"Casting dreams on the team", in part, is his original intention to form the team three years ago. "My generation didn't have the concept of esports back then. After becoming an anchor, you can clearly understand its development trend. ”
Image source: Courtesy of interviewee
"Esports has the Olympic DNA of 'faster, higher, stronger, more united'". In order to allow more people to participate in the e-sports industry and feel its charm, Zhang Daxian chose to establish XYG Club.
What are the criteria for becoming an esports player?
On many occasions, this is a concern for gaming enthusiasts. Now that he runs an esports club, Zhang Daxian has a deeper understanding of this.
"For minors, under the premise of completing their studies, they can reach the top 2 level in <> hours a week, and they can consider engaging in e-sports." Regarding the word "talent", he defined it this way.
When it comes to how to guide teenagers to treat games correctly, Zhang Daxian's words are quite philosophical: I am most afraid of putting the name of playing games on the name of e-sports and then avoiding school.
Image source: Courtesy of interviewee
In the spotlight, esports teams work together. Behind the glamorous is the trial and error practice of professional players against a single game hero tens of thousands of times in the game, and training a hero for more than 10 hours a day has long been commonplace.
At that time, the club organized youth registration and selected hundreds of players from the "passerby king". After the mixed points format, in the end, our team only left two people, which can be described as one in a hundred. ”
"A thousand cups are not drunk, only I wine sword fairy." Zhang Daxian's name is taken from the classic lines of the wine sword fairy character in the game "The Legend of Sword and Fairy". With this, he sent himself "a thousand games of happiness". Looking to the future, Zhang Daxian is eager to improve his live streaming business capabilities while growing every day, "I hope I can be the best myself. (End)