Are you interested in experiencing what the daily life of a young professional gamer in eSports looks like? Or would you like to find out how your life might have looked if you had played more games earlier? With “eSports Life,” you get a step closer to that experience!
Note: We discuss the new single-player game “eSports Life” for PC as it touches on the relevant topic of eSports for us and our readers.
The Dream of Becoming an eSports Star
Professionals in eSports earn their money by playing video games professionally. Like “real” athletes, just with a mouse and keyboard. They live the dream: they have made gaming their profession. However, it is not that simple.
In “eSports Life,” you build a life like that. Most of the time, it’s not just about gaming but everything surrounding it. The life of a professional gamer is not just about playing and collecting money. Our author Benedict has put the game to the test!
What is eSports Life?
The goal of “eSports Life” is to become a notable figure in virtual sports. This means: a professional gamer. In the game itself, it’s less about gaming. It’s much more about establishing an existence as a pro and managing your life along the way. This includes:
- A good relationship with parents.
- Good grades in school.
- Relationships with friends and true love.
- Leisure and stress management.
- Becoming known by streaming on “Mirch” and posting photos on “Photogram.”
- Training through playing and watching streams to improve.
- Competing in tournaments and climbing the rankings.
“eSports Life” is being developed by U-Play, the creators of Youtuber’s Life.
The Spark Ignites
First things first: Character creation is remarkably diverse for a relatively small-looking game. I can choose my gender, body shape, and even my personality. The personality determines which position I can play best.
After starting the game and creating a character, of course named after my gamer tag, I realized that he had no idea about gaming. The first event in the whole game invites me to an eSports event nearby by my childhood friend Mike.
At the event, I quickly realize that the game is bigger than I thought. A huge Diablo stands in the middle of the event hall. The first people Mike and I talk to are the famous cosplayer Julia Nigri and the eSports veteran John Malatute.
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- Sogar die Halle des Events besticht mit Nerd-Kultur.
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- John Malatute, eine eSports-Veteran, gibt mir einige Tipps auf dem Event.
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- Julia Nigri ist eine Ikone in der Szene – und so berühmt, dass Mike die Stimme versagt.
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- Der erste Blick meines Charakters auf ein eSports-Event.
After the event, which leaves my character in a waking dream, reality hits again: Mom wakes me up and reminds me that I have to take out the trash and go to school.
The Cornerstones of Virtual Life Are Built on Real Life
From here on, the exhausting and somewhat chaotic management of a professional gamer’s life in its early stages begins. Step by step, I learn that it’s not enough to just “sit down and game.”
More important than dropping everything to become a pro gamer overnight is the life around it. To ensure this, my mother reminds me that pro gaming is just a dream. A dream that I want to make come true.
To avoid getting stuck in a cul-de-sac, should I stray from my path, I have to keep endless things in balance. I find new friends, study for tests in school, go out with friends, and look for a girlfriend (or boyfriend).
The Ground of Reality: Family
Furthermore, I must also make sure that I do not neglect my family. If I help too little around the house or sleep too much, there are complaints. Even if I play late into the night, watch “Mirch” (a kind of Twitch), or stream myself, there are issues.
Only with enough good reputation with my parents do I receive pocket money. I can exchange this again for “reputation,” which is a nice idea to ensure a small income permanently.
The Beginnings of eSports Life
All of this shows that: Without a functioning social life, the gamer life doesn’t work either. Even my best friend Mike makes it clear to me. He advises me to talk to people when I’m too stressed.
But Mike is also the one who teaches me everything I need to know as a gamer. He treats me to my first gaming session at the eSports café and shows me what I can learn from streams. The mini-games for both are very simple: Click on the right spot on the screen.
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- Zocken im eSports-Café.
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- Streams gucken im eSports-Café – auf Mikes Kosten!
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- An diesen Tischreihen werden Turniere bestritten. Sie sind aber auch zum trainieren da,
I should focus on one of the two currently most popular games: The MOBA “Masters of Champions” or the shooter “ShooterStrike,” which is mostly referred to as “Overshoot” later on.
I chose “ShooterStrike.” However, there aren’t major differences. Both games play out identically in eSports Life. Only their popularity differs, as well as the reach one can achieve as a professional player and the prize money awarded.
The Rising Star
With that, I have almost the entire foundation for everything I need to build my career. So I just have to juggle school, friends, gaming, parents, romance, and earning money – all in 24 hours a day…
Especially at the beginning, all of this is hard because I am constantly being invited to new things that interrupt my activities. Additionally, I am frequently offered new opportunities to handle stress, exhaustion, or training.
The introduction culminates in the fact that the school bully Russel steals my friend Mike’s laptop. I challenge him to a match at the eSports café, needing to gather my team – which I don’t have yet.
My First Team and the Start of My Career
Throughout the game, I meet new members of my team, who become more and more like friends. Once Russel is defeated, they even gift me my first own PC with gaming and streaming accessories.
Moreover, Malatute has taken notice of us. He offers to coach us once we become good enough. His manager shortly thereafter explains to me how important reach is as an eSports player and streamer, and refers me to Photogram, which I should maintain with as many photos of myself as possible.
Because of this, I rarely get to actually game. More important is passing the tests, satisfying my mother, and improving my equipment. There is also training, which I complete by playing myself and watching streams to get better.
With enough practice, I can eventually integrate tournaments with my team into my everyday life – yet another thing to juggle. Because if I play too many tournaments back to back, my team becomes exhausted and non-productive.
Sooner or later, I manage to have Malatute take me under his wing and guide me on the way to the top. Or I get lost in the chaos of real life and remain the eternal casual. I am curious how far I can go!
Benedict’s Conclusion
I didn’t expect it to be this hard to manage a life as an aspiring pro player. Balancing the life of a teenager with a career in eSports is exhausting – as “eSports Life” impressively demonstrates.
That, however, has driven me to keep playing. The simple gameplay keeps leading me to finish just one more task, just one more day.
Because in “eSports Life,” my character doesn’t just sit in front of the PC to game online and occasionally grunt into the webcam when he needs more money. It’s much more about getting life in order while becoming famous.
“eSports Life” is available today on Steam as Early Access.
Here’s the link to the Steam page of “eSports Life”
Disclaimer: Mein-MMO owner Webedia is involved as a partner with Raiser Games, the publisher of Esports Life.
