Sports and Esports

A Related Ritual

Sports and Esports: A Related Ritual is an installation that takes the form of a living room space. This living room is home to a fan’s place of watching their favorite game live from the comfort of their homes surrounded by other fans and décor that shows their interest in the sport. While society looks down on esports wanting gamers to go outside and play something, the same could be said about physical sports. These two worlds may look different on the outside, but on the inside, it is the same.

Image Credits: Red Bull

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Alvin Pascua

UCSD ICAM Class of 2019

Born and raised in San Diego, Alvin Pascua has been fascinated by video games at a very young age starting with the Nintendo 64. Coming from a large family of gamers, Alvin was exposed to the competition that video games has to offer. Specializing in media installation, Alvin’s works embodies the topic of his pieces, one of which includes a tribute to Dr. Seuss.

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Why

There has been a debate on rather or not esports can be considered a legitimate sport. In 2015, a Sweden Smash Bros professional William “Leffen” Hjelte was denied access into the United States on the grounds that the game he plays is not considered a true sport. This is one of the many sparks that ignited the topic of esports’ legitimacy. An article from Forbes mentions that esports does not have to be in the same realm as traditional sports, but it can be considered its own thing. The idea behind this article is to demonstrate the ever so growing spectatorship of esports.

CRT TVs are being used for this art piece for two reasons: one being a nod to the father of video art Nam June Paik and another being a throwback to when gaming used to be played and is still being played on old CRT TVs. On the CRT TVs, I am streaming instances of traditional sports and esports in the same domestic space to show how, despite the different showcase, how we spectate both is the same.

Image Credits: Red Bull

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How

The Story

The living room is created from what one found in their own living room: a couch where people would sit to enjoy the festivities, a coffee table with items of interests that will help them with the viewing experience, and a media center where the CRT TVs will be housed to project the videos. In total, there are four CRT TVs, two will be used for traditional sports and two will be used for esports. On one of the CRT TVs, footage of action or gameplay will be projected will the partnering CRT TV will show the live audience that one would see if they were to experience the events up close. This shows spectators at home how real the experience is that one would not normally have.

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