What Are ESports?

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Whether you play video games or haven’t picked up a controller for decades, there is a strong chance you have heard about eSports.ESports are hard to understand, filled with jargon,and not exactly like the sports you typically associate with competition on a global scale.If you’re looking to watch1be looking to do sth試圖找到做某事的辦法。it, understand it, or just get a better idea of what on earth it all means: this is your guide to eSports.

不管你是現(xiàn)在玩電子游戲抑或幾十年都沒有摸過游戲控制器，都很可能聽說過電子競技。電子競技很難理解，行話滿滿，完全不像你通常想到的那些全球性競賽。如果你想觀看、理解它，或者只是想更好地了解電子競技究竟是什么，本文就是為你準(zhǔn)備的電子競技指南。

What does ‘eSports’ actually mean?

“電子競技”到底是什么？

[2]Generally, the easiest definition is competitive gaming at a professional level.It only includes video games, but pretty much any game with a winner and a loser can be played as an eSport,although the bigger the player base and the more support it has, the better the competition.

[2]一般來說，電子競技最簡單的定義就是專業(yè)級別的競爭性游戲。它只包括視頻游戲，但是幾乎任何有贏家和輸家的游戲都可以作為電子競技來玩，不過玩家群體越大，它的支持者就越多，競爭性也越強(qiáng)。

[3]How that exactly works differs from game to game.The majority of popular eSports are team-based games played in leagues or tournaments throughout the year, culminating in one final event.Some of those leagues or tournaments are region-specific, meaning that,for most of the year, European teams will only play other European teams, North American teams will only play other North American teams, and so on.

[3]電子競技的運(yùn)作方式因游戲而異。大多數(shù)流行的電子競技是團(tuán)隊賽，有全年的聯(lián)賽或錦標(biāo)賽，最終一場決賽定勝負(fù)。一些聯(lián)賽或錦標(biāo)賽針對特定區(qū)域，即在一年的大部分時間里，歐洲賽隊只會對戰(zhàn)其他歐洲賽隊，北美賽隊只會對戰(zhàn)其他北美賽隊，以此類推。

[4]Some games are a head-to-head,one-on-one format, though.Fighting games such asStreet Fighter V, for example, orHearthstone, a card game where each player has a custom deck of cards that are played to defeat the opponent, without any team alongside them.

[4]不過，有些游戲是一對一直接交手的。例如，像《街頭霸王V》這樣的格斗游戲，或者像《爐石傳說》這樣的卡牌游戲?！稜t石傳說》的每個玩家都有一套自定義牌組，用于擊敗對手，而無須團(tuán)隊隨同。

What sort of games can be an eSport?

哪種游戲可稱為電子競技？

[5]The games themselves can come in a wide variety of formats, although there’s two main variants nowadays: first-person shooters, ‘MOBAs’.First-person shooter is self-explanatory, while MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena.

[5]游戲本身可以有各種各樣的形式，但現(xiàn)在主要有兩大類型：第一人稱射擊游戲和MOBA。前者一如其名，后者即多人在線戰(zhàn)術(shù)競技游戲。

[6]That’s the first bit of jargon you’ll need to know for eSports.Generally,MOBAs are all about two teams playing as heroes with unique abilities, strengths,and weaknesses.The goal is to kill the opponents to gain an advantage and destroy their base on the opposite site of the map.By killing opponents, they gain gold and experience, which can be used to improve the character.

[6]這就是首先要了解的一點點電競行話。一般來說，所有MOBA游戲都是兩隊玩家扮演具有獨特技能和優(yōu)缺點的英雄來互相攻擊。其目標(biāo)是殺死對手以獲得領(lǐng)先，并摧毀游戲版圖中對方的基地。通過殲滅對手，他們會獲得金幣和經(jīng)驗，可用以升級角色。

[7]League of legends and Dota 2 are the two biggest MOBAs, and have a recognisable top-down perspective.Firstperson shooters, on the other hand, typically swap between showing a player’s perspective and a flying camera when spectating.

[7]《英雄聯(lián)盟》和《刀塔 2》是兩款最大的MOBA游戲，具有可識別的俯視視角。另一方面，第一人稱射擊游戲通常在觀看時可在玩家視角和鳥瞰圖景之間轉(zhuǎn)換。

[8]In a first-person shooter (often referred to as an FPS), the goal can differ.In some games, likeCounter-Strike:Global Offensive, the goal is simply to kill the opposing team.In others, likeOverwatch, it can be a ‘king of the hill’mode, where teams fight over a location, the first team to control it for a set amount of time wins, or a ‘payload’mode, where teams take turns attacking and defending, fighting to push the payload to a final objective.

[8]在第一人稱射擊游戲（常稱為FPS）中，目標(biāo)可能各不相同。在一些游戲中，比如《反恐精英：全球攻勢》，其目標(biāo)只是殺死對方玩家。而在其他游戲中，比如《守望先鋒》，玩家可以選擇“占領(lǐng)要點”模式，為爭奪某地作戰(zhàn)，率先在規(guī)定時長內(nèi)控制該地的隊伍獲勝；玩家也可選擇“運(yùn)載目標(biāo)”模式，每隊輪流攻擊和防御，努力將運(yùn)載物送達(dá)最終目的地。

[9]Other eSports can be card games,sport games, strategy games, and fighting games.Sports games are generally the simplest, given they’re based on real-world sports, while fighting games are also accessible, given the more obvious back and forth of punches and kicks.

[9]其他的電子競技包括卡牌游戲、體育游戲、策略游戲和格斗游戲。體育游戲通常最簡單，因為它們基于真實世界的體育運(yùn)動，而格斗游戲也易上手，因為一來一往的拳打腳踢更加直觀。

[10]Strategy games, likeStarCraft 2,are all about players building armies and trying to defeat each other with optimal unit movement, army composition, and tactical choices.Battles are won and lost of tactical choices and quick movements.Card games, likeHearthstone, challenge players to best one another with monsters and spells, the first person to lose all of their health loses.

[10]像《星際爭霸2》這樣的策略游戲，則是玩家建立軍隊并試圖以最佳的單位移動、軍隊構(gòu)成和戰(zhàn)術(shù)選擇來擊敗對手。戰(zhàn)術(shù)選擇與移動速度決定了戰(zhàn)斗的勝負(fù)?？ㄅ朴螒蛉纭稜t石傳說》，要求玩家用怪物和法術(shù)來互搏，首先耗盡生命值的玩家輸?shù)舯荣悺?/p>

What are eSports players competing for?

電子競技玩家因何而賽？

[11]The players themselves are generally then competing for both cash prizes and glory.International competitions can come with huge prizes, plus sponsorships deals for teams involved.Rick Fox, three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, made headlines when he took the plunge into2take the plunge into sth果斷行事，做出決定做某事。eSports and is now the owner of franchise Echo Fox.Echo Fox has teams forLeague of legends,Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, and more.

[11]玩家自己通常會為爭奪獎金和榮耀而賽。國際比賽可能獎金豐厚，參賽隊伍還會獲得商業(yè)贊助。曾三次隨洛杉磯湖人隊奪得NBA（美職籃）總冠軍的里克·?？怂构麛嗤渡黼娮痈偧?，一度成為頭條新聞，他現(xiàn)在是Echo Fox戰(zhàn)隊的老板。Echo Fox戰(zhàn)隊擁有征戰(zhàn)《英雄聯(lián)盟》和《反恐精英：全球攻勢》等眾多電游的團(tuán)隊。

[12]Many leagues now offer regular salaries and player rights.By remaining in competition, and not getting knocked out, players will receive a guaranteed salary, while winning competitions can earn greater rewards.

[12]許多戰(zhàn)隊現(xiàn)在都提供固定薪水和玩家權(quán)利。玩家若能在比賽中保持戰(zhàn)斗力而不被淘汰，便能獲得有保障的薪水，而贏得比賽能獲得更多獎勵。

Where can I watch all of this?

在哪里觀看電子競技？

[13]In-person, eSports tournaments are generally held at major arenas.In London, the Gfinity Arena holds regular tournaments, while the biggest events will be held are larger venues.

[13]可親臨現(xiàn)場觀看，電子競技錦標(biāo)賽通常在大型場館舉行。在倫敦，Gfinity競賽場定期舉辦錦標(biāo)賽，而規(guī)模超大的賽事將在更大的賽場舉行。

[14]Watching online, how you can watch these games differs from tournament to tournament, as some platforms get exclusive rights.The typical platforms are Twitch, a website where people stream themselves playing video games, and YouTube.Sometimes, ESPN will show a tournament on TV, and the BBC have dipped their toes in the water3dip one’s toes in the water小心嘗試，探索。in the past, but Twitch and YouTube are generally the platforms of choice.

[14]也可在線觀看，不同的錦標(biāo)賽決定了觀看平臺的不同，因為有些平臺擁有獨播權(quán)。代表性平臺有Twitch（玩家可將自己玩游戲的視頻上傳到該網(wǎng)站）和YouTube。有時候，ESPN（娛樂與體育節(jié)目電視網(wǎng)）會在電視上播放某場錦標(biāo)賽，BBC（英國廣播公司）也已嘗試過，但是Twitch和YouTube一直都是玩家首選平臺。

[15]Some tournaments will also have streams for those new to the game.Commentators (typically called casters when referring to eSports) on these streams will go into what each character’s abilities do, as some games have rosters of over 100 unique characters,each with 5 unique abilities.

[15]一些錦標(biāo)賽還會為游戲新手提供解說視頻。解說員（在電子競技中通常稱為主播）在視頻中會詳細(xì)介紹每個角色的技能，因為有些游戲有100多個獨特的角色，每個角色擁有5項特殊技能。

How can I know what everyone does?

如何了解每個角色的技能？

[16]This is a pretty hard question to answer, as it’s different for each game.In games with heroes or unique characters, the best way to work this out is through visual cues, or searching the character’s name.

[16]這是一個非常難回答的問題，因為每個游戲都有所不同。在有英雄或獨特角色的游戲中，最好的辦法是觀看視覺提示或搜索角色名字。

[17]Big, burly characters will often be‘tanks’, leaders that withstand damage and dictate the team’s movements.Those with large weapons will be damage dealers, generally called carries, and often characters with a staff or other magical equipment will either be a ‘support’,healing and enabling allies, or another carry, dealing damage with spells.

[17]高大壯實的角色通常是“人肉盾牌”，這些開路者可以承受傷害并指揮團(tuán)隊行動。那些擁有大型武器的角色將擔(dān)當(dāng)物理傷害，通常被稱為勝利引領(lǐng)者。一般情況，帶有小兵或其他魔法裝備的角色要么作為“輔助者”，治愈隊友和解除隊友控制狀態(tài)，要么就是另一個勝利引領(lǐng)者，擔(dān)當(dāng)法術(shù)傷害。

[18]There are huge resources online for what characters do, but learning to use the visual cues is the easiest way to understand.

[18]電競中的角色們都干什么，網(wǎng)上有大量資源可查看，但是學(xué)會使用視覺提示是最簡單的了解方式。