eSports: more than gaming

Did you know that an international esports competition will attract more viewers than the American Superbowl and that universities are now offering scholarships in esports or that in the future those with the skills that esports develops will be able to get a job faster than anyone can say ‘metaverse’? You might be a Mario Cart marvel in Year 5 but the strategic, computational, and high cognition problem-solving skills that esports will develop can lead to jobs with the government in cybersecurity, online forensics, even ASIO, and a whole host of careers not yet fully crystallised. Even within the industry itself, there are jobs for graphic designers, animators, voice over artists, coders, music producers … the list goes on. Some predict that by 2024, the eSports market revenue worldwide could be 1.62 billion US dollars.

In 2022, eSports enters its third year as a St Margaret’s sport, complete with inugural captains Eleanor Jewell, Elizabeth Hancock and Jessica Roberts, who will steer the sport as interest and enthusiasm for it grows. The captains encourage girls to come along and give it a go. Eleanor said: ‘Some girls think it’s a bit scary and they have to be experts to join, but it’s a really chilled environment, a lot of fun, and girls can just observe for a while if they prefer to see what it’s all about.

‘Everyone has your back and girls from many different year levels come along.’ As captains, the girls are keen to grow the sport across the different games, promote the fun and safe environment in which the sport is played, and balance this with bringing a focused mindset and skills improvement to the competition environment. Jessica said one of the key skills learned is communication.

‘Teamwork is an important part of the game, so you have the chance to practise and hone your communications skills, which is a really transferable attribute to all aspects of your learning and your life.’ The girls agreed the other fun thing about esports was that it’s a great game to play with your friends at school and remotely. In 2021, St Margaret’s Dragons esports teams competed in three competitions. The younger students from Year 5 competed in the FUSE Cup, which focuses on the Nintendo Switch platform, playing games such as Mario Cart, Super Smash Brothers, Rocket League and Just Dance. ESports coordinator Kerry Daud says this level is a whole lot of fun, students enjoy playing in a team, it’s very user friendly, and they are picking up valuable skills they are probably not even aware of. Students in Years 9 to 12 competed in the Anglican Schools’ eSports competition, pitting their strategic gaming skills against nine other schools across Queensland, playing Rocket League, Overwatch and League of Legends, while the QUT Tiger Academy competition involved two full-day competition rounds, rotating across the three gaming platforms. Ms Daud says that as players mature in their gaming, the ability to problem solve at a high level is probably the most profound skill esports enthusiasts develop. She also notes a long list of production skills they gain, such as sports commentary and hosting; multimedia, lighting, sound, and broadcasting production; livestream moderation and social media; officiating esports events – standards, competition styles and reporting; and wellbeing and online safety skills. ‘Research has also shown that esports is associated with higher intellectual functioning, increased academic achievement and a lower prevalence of peer relationship problems,’ Ms Daud said.