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If you own an HTC Vive, you can jump into the game and watch pro Dota 2 like The International 2016, going on right now in an incredibly unique way. But Stunlock Studios, creators of Bloodline Champions and its upcoming spiritual successor Battlerite, has figured out a way to bring the benefits of VR spectating to those who don t have a headset, and I think it may be the future of esports broadcasting.
Battlerite, a PvP arena combat game that is launching in Early Access next month, will have a VR spectator and observer mode built-in. But unlike Dota 2 s VR mode, Stunlock Studios has also added a handheld camera for the VR observer to physically move around like a real camera. This isn't about watching esports from within VR, which I still question the practicality of. This is about how VR can make watching esports regularly better for everyone. The observer stands over the map in VR as a giant, and the camera has smoothing and stabilization, allowing for cinematic craning shots we don t usually see during live esport events.
Stunlock hasn t reinvented the wheel here, but it is the first time I ve seen the perspectives of VR camera operators being used for non-VR viewers without the jerkiness that comes from a VR headset view. The idea of putting a camera back into the (virtual) hands of a person trained to operate it is incredibly exciting to me. Top-level esports observers do amazing, under-appreciated work with a mouse and keyboard, but there s a whole lot of film technique that simply can t be replicated well with those controls.
VR camera operators definitely shouldn t replace regular observing entirely you still want an esports broadcast to look relatable to those who play the game but it could be a valuable tool even in games with larger maps than Battlerite. Having an observer stand over a miniaturized version of League of Legend s Summoner s Rift or CS:GO s de_dust to provide the occasional wide, craning shot would be incredible. Even top CS:GO observer Heather sapphiRe Garrozo is excited by the idea:
@TomRMarks I envisioned this a year ago! This is my ultimate dream. I'd love to see @csgo_dev & @htcvive make this happen!August 11, 2016
Of course, this is still sort of a proof of concept, as Battlerite isn t even out for the public to try yet. But if it ends up working as smoothly as it looks in the video above (or the example below) then I would love to see this capture method spread to the current major esports. VR headsets are still a niche product, and it s much easier for a tournament organizer to get one Vive to film with than it is for thousands of viewers to watch from their own, so it s at least more practical than Dota 2 s VR mode.