DBD's FAILED eSports Scene

Summary

The Dead by Daylight (DBD) 2018 tournament, intended to kickstart its esports scene, quickly became a cautionary tale of poor planning, mismanagement, and amateurish execution. With flawed rule sets, bad production quality, and unprofessional casters, the event's problems were compounded by illegal gameplay practices and questionable outcomes. The tournament's failure led to a massive backlash against both the organizing team, Space Esports, and Behavior Interactive, who misjudged their readiness. Ultimately, this event marked the collapse of Space Esports and highlighted the importance of proper preparation and expertise in esports.

Takeaways

• 😀 Behavior and Space Esports partnered to organize a *Dead by Daylight* esports tournament in 2018, which ultimately failed due to poor planning and execution.
• 😕 Despite the massive $115,000 prize pool, the tournament faced severe logistical problems, such as an overwhelming number of teams (174) signing up for only 16 spots.
• 📜 The tournament rules were unbalanced, with no restrictions on perks, items, or add-ons, leading to repetitive gameplay and undermining the competitive integrity.
• 🔄 The 'all skill' mantra was quickly undermined by unregulated strategies like face-camping, which were allowed under the tournament rules.
• 🎮 The lack of variety in maps and specific role restrictions made the matches predictable and hindered competitive diversity.
• 🎙️ The tournament's broadcast was plagued with poor audio and visual quality, including lagging streams and glitchy graphics, damaging the overall viewer experience.
• 🙅‍♂️ Casters frequently made incorrect gameplay commentary, such as misidentifying a character's abilities and making unrelated references (e.g., 'Valhalla').
• 🚫 The final match included allegations of lag switching, and despite clear rule violations, the affected team was allowed to continue.
• 🔒 In a controversial decision, the hatch standoff rule was disregarded in the final, leading to an unfair point award for the Survivor, despite the rules stating otherwise.
• 🏆 Despite the tournament's blunders, Space Esports and the winning team managed to secure the victory, but their success was tainted by the numerous illogical rulings in their favor.
• 📉 Space Esports faced intense backlash after the tournament, resulting in negative reviews, social media criticism, and ultimately the organization's shutdown by 2019.

Q & A

What was the main issue with the Dead by Daylight tournament in 2018?

The main issue was poor tournament organization, lack of proper rules, unprofessional casting, and technical issues. These led to confusion and disappointment among players and viewers, causing the event to be considered a failure.

Why were 158 teams excluded from the tournament despite signing up?

The tournament only had 16 available spots, but there were no qualifiers, so the remaining 158 teams were simply excluded without any chance to participate.

What was the controversy regarding the hatch mechanic in the tournament?

The controversy arose when Marth (the killer) found the hatch first, but the point was awarded to the survivor. The hosts ruled that a hatch standoff wasn't official until the hatch was open, which led to confusion and inconsistency in the tournament's rules.

What was the role of Space Esports in the 2018 Dead by Daylight tournament?

Space Esports was responsible for organizing and hosting the tournament. However, their lack of experience in managing esports events, coupled with unprofessionalism, contributed to the event's failure.

How did the tournament organizers handle technical issues?

The tournament suffered from severe technical problems, such as lag and glitches, but these were not adequately addressed, further frustrating the viewers and players.

Why were the casters criticized during the tournament?

The casters were criticized for making frequent mistakes, such as misidentifying killer abilities, calling the hatch mechanic incorrectly, and using irrelevant jokes. Their unprofessional behavior diminished the quality of the broadcast.

What was the issue with the rule banning perks, items, offerings, and add-ons?

The rule was overly simplified and left out important details, leading to confusion. Only items found in the game were allowed, but this exclusion made the gameplay feel less dynamic and didn't align with the expectations of competitive players.

What impact did the tournament have on Dead by Daylight's esports future?

The disastrous handling of the tournament significantly hurt Dead by Daylight’s chances of establishing itself in the esports scene. The negative reception and failure led to a loss of credibility in the competitive gaming community.

What was the controversy surrounding Space Esports' use of artwork in the tournament?

Space Esports used stolen artwork for the stream's visual design without the artist's permission or credit. After public backlash, they were forced to acknowledge the issue, but the damage to their reputation had already been done.

What led to the eventual shutdown of Space Esports?

Space Esports was heavily criticized for their poor handling of the Dead by Daylight tournament, which led to a barrage of negative reviews and comments. After facing public backlash, they deleted their social media and shut down in 2019, marking the end of their operations.