[Sunset]

I’ll never be a progamer. That’s not me being negative, that’s just a fact. I’m slow, too easily frustrated and shiny things distract me. Because of this, progamers have always seemed somewhat otherworldly to me - intelligent, incredible problem solvers, disciplined to a point I can only dream of.

Like warriors wielding peripherals from their sponsors instead of the traditional swords and shields, progamers seemed untouchable. At MLGs, at Dreamhacks, they glowed with an aura (not to be confused with the much-talked-about ambient body odor), the power of hundreds of thousands of nerds compelling them.

Even when I see some give awkward interviews, I’d chalk it up as a quirk. “The brain only has so much space to fill, and it’s filled with delicious nerd power,” I’d think to myself, “There is no room for social sensibilities.”

I, like so many others, very much looked forward to the release of ‘Liquid Rising’. It seems camera crews from various productions have been following people around forever - Star Nation, EG, Tastosis and, of course, Team Liquid. The anticipation has been fervent.

I wanted a fly-on-the-wall view of dreams being realised or crushed.
I wanted tears, tantrums, laughter.
I wanted exclusive access to after-parties.
I wanted the TLO topless shot in the trailer not to be the pinnacle of smut, but only a taste of what was to come.

I didn’t get those things.
Probably for the best.

However, in return for my shiny Australian dollars, I got so much more than I expected.

‘Liquid Rising’ is not quite for people new to competitive Starcraft 2, and not quite for people who are well-versed in esports or Team Liquid specifically. It treads a sometimes disappointing line in that respect, and I have heard that in the documentary’s criticisms. Slightly extended player profiles, it seemed, with an insight into Liquid’s principles. Informative, yes, but perhaps not what was expected. It didn’t quite offer enough information for people new to the scene, nor did it offer much new information to those of us who are already here.

We humans love storytelling and ‘Liquid Rising’ lacked it. There was no solid narrative from beginning to end, and that clearly disappointed some. When the story of HuK leaving Liquid is briefly touched on towards the end, we feel as though we were pulled away too soon.

But if we step back from our fickle expectations (as well we should - as the first released SC2 esports documentary, we should allow ‘Liquid Rising’ a bit of breathing space), and keep our little nerd eyes and ears and minds open, we spot the flickers of humanity.

Sheth sharing the story behind his name, matter-of-fact, almost stoic - you watch his face, his eyes, waiting for the emotion to come, and you are shown nothing, except for a small lump in his throat, from which you are quickly whisked away.

Ret discussing his lack of results - “Having talent is nice. But when they say talent, what I think is ‘unused potential’...talent doesn’t really get you anything.”

The long shot of HerO losing to HuK, watching him slowly fall into disappointment before crashing at the bottom, juxtaposed with him being overwhelmed with emotion after winning Dreamhack.

TLO’s story of when he first met Nazgul, Nony discussing his depression, HerO’s lack of belief in himself...

These are just a few examples. The little windows into the players’ realities are unexpected, and something that could only be achieved through a film like this.

‘Liquid Rising’, in small bursts, brings its players down from their pedestals, but in doing so, lifts them to reality, therefore making what they achieve, despite their obstacles, all the more admirable.

We may not have our stories, our revelations, our strong narrative, our Team Liquid topless dance party, (...just me? Oh, OK), but what we do have is Nazgul’s humble passion, his belief unwavering, his goals set, and the deeply flawed yet hardworking, talented players who believe in the direction he is taking them.

‘Liquid Rising’ may not have been what you wanted it to be.
But it was a well-produced, well-thought-out, professional documentary,
that just so happened to make men out of gods.

Note to self: Stop ******* posting writing at 5am, you silly hipster bitch, get some sleep. Tomorrow self is very disappointed in your now self. VERY DISAPPOINTED.

+ [Added picture for thumbnail at bottom left] +

nirvana: Replace with whatever

Quick Comments

	TAEdgE:	totes hipster
	mGGDaedalus:	shirtless TLO is all that counts, right?
	Dox:	legendary
	xGKingdelete:	i am impressed, however
	dippa:	this post is 5am-worthy

[nirvAnA]

I loved liquid rising. the parts with nazgul talking were my favourite and he was so handsome back in the day!

Also enjoyed the TLO t-shirt story, ret's take on "talent" and the inside look in these players lives. Surprisingly many of the liquid players are so eloquent which made the watch enjoyable. TLO's last answer was perfect haha!

[eCKo`Switch]

I agree with all of these things. Also, shirtless TLO!

[Daboo]

Yeah it was okay,was really hyped up for it but I felt a little underwhelmed by it as sometimes I felt it was a series of interviews more than a produced documentary, but overall it was okay. I like the graphics in the movie, and also the little comic style scenes with the artwork by fishuu (he does artwork for the preview threads on TL), they were a really nice touch.

I guess the national geographic one will remain my fav sc documentary to date (maybe sons of starcraft and starcraft nation will change that ).

[MezjE]

I reckon for an eSports doco it is very good and a lot better than FRAG: The Movie for those who saw that, and it was made by Razer, you can find on CSN's channel.

Dox coming it at number 6 with a hefty $250 donation! Also EG donating $666 hehe^^

[UHF]

It's good for what it is - a history of Team Liquid & a rundown of the team. Production quality is top notch.

I must admit I was expecting something else, although I'm not quite sure what. Maybe a little bit more emotion, more footage from tournaments and the reactions of players. It would have been nice if it wasn't so scripted from start to end (so many questions/answers) and a little bit more footage of them just being themselves.

It's still great though and will go a long way for helping the eSports scene.

[inFeZa]

TL;DW for the Documentary.

Liquid has talent, but yet to show results. Hire Koreans Instead.

[Stoosh]

It was definitely a top notch production and I really enjoyed it, however I wouldn't really classify it as a documentary.

It was just a bunch of interviews put together (great interviews none the less). Personally I think it would've been great to get some footage of the oGs house plus more of a "day in the life of" at one of the larger events (MLG, dreamhack) following the players around from start to finish.

That aside, the semi readopted stance from the liquid guys (except for Nazgul) with HuK was really cool. I felt so bad for Hero when HuK beat him as he just sat in his booth with his head in his hand. And the story of how Sheth got his handle was super interesting as well.

[Zombie.]

I thought it was ok, and as a huge fan of TL I like it, but I did skips the interveiws I didn't want to watch as I only wanted to hear about certain players.

[Dox]

Loved it. People who are disappointed/underwhelmed are just victims of their own inflated anticipation.

[mOOnGLaDe]

I thought it was really well done, and each player has their own deep personality for sure, but i only found a few of them interesting, like ret, hero and huk (that lil part at the end) the players that seem to be really talented and still have the drive to succeed

[breadfan]

Very well done indeed. I actually enjoyed the bits about Hero, Tyler and Sheth most... The TLO segment I walked away from not really learning anything about him as a person I think, which is a shame because I really like the guy. Maybe he's just that sort of person though - the kind who shows his true personality on his stream, in his casting, etc. I did get the warm fuzzies from the t-shirt though.

I really enjoyed the HayprO segment as I didn't know much about him at all, and now he's someone who I actually want to root for. The Ret segment didn't really sit too well with me. I just got this feeling that he's saying what he's supposed to say, rather than being truthful, you know?

[Peleus]

I think it was really good. It felt more like a series of interviews rather than a documentary "in the life of" type of thing. I'd love to see the second but it was still enjoyable to watch.

Also prop's to Dox for being a boss and one of the biggest contributors to the vid.

[mGGDaedalus]

Originally Posted by Peleus

I think it was really good. It felt more like a series of interviews rather than a documentary "in the life of" type of thing. I'd love to see the second but it was still enjoyable to watch.

Also prop's to Dox for being a boss and one of the biggest contributors to the vid.

I guess the problem with 'day in the life' is most pro-gamers days consist of waking up, playing starcraft, eating and sleeping (for the most part, anyway). I personally loved the doco (Hero had some of the best comments, surprisingly), although it lacked a focus in it storyline at times and I don't think it would be ideal to show to non e-sports fans as it feels like more of a fan service.

As a follow up though I would enjoy seeing a more tightly focused doco on maybe only one or two players and tracking them through a period of their life with more candid footage (I assume this is what the tasteosis documentary is going to be like) to allow it to get more in-depth on a storyline.

[MooZfY]

Even a little one can be a big one

[Doghead26]

Win MLG? Or Jessica?

[ZiggyD]

It was good for what it - it wasn't what it could have otherwise been.

Very well written post Sunset.

[AxSGRiM]

I really liked the documentary and the segments about parts of people's live that we didn't know. I feel like Nazgul's opinion on each player was very instrumental to the success of the documentary and I think I almost cried when Sheth was talking about the reason behind his name and also TLO's youth story too.

if your mom says do it... do it