Esports vs Gaming: Key Differences & How to Start a Career in Either!

The growth of technology with easily accessible internet has led to us studying, working and gaming differently. At the forefront of this change has been technology. Today the video gaming industry and esports games has seen a massive growth and continues to do so. The demand for good video game developers and designers along with creativity is in high demand and the career opportunities are vast. 

Added to this fact is that now with limitless access to internet, taking up online game development courses or game design certification courses or learning game development online has become extremely easy.

Another emerging trend in this industry is the development of esports and gaming. This trend continues to grow and is here to stay. 

To many esports and gaming mean one and the same thing and are often integrated with one another , but there is a difference. Though both originate from gaming there is vast variation in between these two terminologies. 

Esports is a competition that is played to win, by competing against different teams and at the end you will have a clear winner. This includes playing in tournaments, leagues and other competitions. The earliest esports tournament can be traced back to 1972. 

Gaming just refers to playing games through your phones or using controllers and other instruments. Gaming is done to relax, rejuvenate or just as a hobby for some. These are often referred to as video games in layman’s language. 

Esports and gaming have been around for quite some time know though their popularity has skyrocketed in the recent past.

Today with a variety of courses available online ranging from online game development courses to online game certification courses anyone who is interested in this field and wants to build a career here can try the online courses to upskill and upgrade their resumes. 

Let’s now look at what distinguishes eSports from Gaming and how they are different. 

eSports 

When it comes to esports, this is designed and structured to feel like any other sporting event. Where teams come together, strategize, practice and algin on how to best position themselves in order to win. 

The esports athletes are trained systematically like in any other sports, where they learn their weaknesses , strengths, best defense strategy and how to attack and be in a position where they win.

Esports also is a high-stake event, where the prize money is quite high and it is a profession. These events also get streamed online and there is a lot of money involved. Like any other sporting event it involves sponsorship and investment. 

Gaming does not involve such high stakes, this is just played for the fun of it, to relax and destress after a long day of work. Its purely for entertainment purposes.  It does not involve any planning nor is not a team-based sport. 

Strategizing and planning 

Gaming does not involve a depth know how of the game or to plan and structure on how to win or what strategies should be used. It just simple clean entertainment. On the other hand, esports requires their players to practice together have a plan in place and prepare for an all-out competition.

How to plan a career in esports 

Getting into the world of esports is not an easy feat. Not only will you need to have large number of skills, but you also need the grit to succeed is this highly competitive segment. The journey and foray into this world will be paved through blood, sweat and tears and the core of it being your perseverance 

With that out of the way, let’s look at some of the essential skills you need to have 

Critical thinking 

The most important and vital skill set is critical thinking. In a match you will need to be able to not only understand the moves being made in the game, but also predict, attack, counterattack and be intuitive of how, where and what reactions your actions might have and what would be the best possible scenario for you. 

You also would have to make quick decisions and cannot leave anything to chance. You should be well versed with the game you are participating and changing strategies on the go if required. 

Communication 

A must have skill in the esports zone is communication. You should be able to communicate well to your team members. It should be concise, effective and the message should be such that there is no room for misinterpretation. 

As one misstep or miscommunication can cost you your whole tournament. Synergizing and coming together has a cohesive unit are extremely important factors to win in an esports tournament. 

Communication is not only verbal, but understanding the non-verbal aspect, being intuitive about your team will also go a long way in not only bonding you with your team members but will translate in your games. 

Research 

Knowledge is your biggest weapon and gives you an edge over the other athletes. The more understanding you have of the game, the better your chances at winning. 

You should also know what your blind spots are, which members are good at what and how to incorporate their strengths along with improvising their weakness will go a long way in the odds being in your favor. 

Multi-tasking 

You have to be good at multitasking, you need to be aware in a number of things right from the plays to the strategies, to focus on how your other team members are performing and what is the next move and how to overcome any challenge thrown at you. 

Where you could improvise better and what looks like it could lead to a failed outcome, all these thoughts and how to action them to give you an edge over other teams need to be sorted and actioned upon. All this will need to happen simultaneously as these games are intense, you need to be good at multitasking.

Determination and Grit

This skill will set you apart from a causal player. Like any sport you need to stick with it despite your setbacks. You need to put in the time and effort to see the results. You need to accept your failures and celebrate your victories. 

Determination is also the need to keeping going on days when you don’t feel like. You also need to always keep learning and upscaling yourself. This can be achieved through taking up online courses to understand the video games better. 

When compared to gaming, esports is a more intense and passionate. Gaming is something you do for fun and relaxation, or way to bond with family and friends.

While gaming maybe for fun, the people who develop and design these games are extremely talented, focused and driven. These games are what is played in esports tournaments. 

How to get started in eSports and gaming?

Today there is no dearth of online courses available to us. You can access online course for video gaming, game design certification and courses for competitive gamers. 

Some of the skill sets requires to start your career in gaming development are:

1. Communication
2. Creativity and Vision
3. Programming 
4. Story lining 
5. Time management 

You can always access online courses to understand the nuances of game development and game designing. Our courses are structured and programmed in such a way that not only it teaches you the theory but enables you to convert this into practicality. 

After the recent pandemic, the gaming industry has seen a steady rise and continues to grow, with this in mind taking up online courses will help you understand the trends what the future looks like with AI and VR coming into play. How AI and VR are going to impact and change the gaming industry once again. 

More to come

This is just in the beginning and there is more to come. With esports growing and expanding there will always be a more need for athletes and players who are looking to make a career in it. 

Upgrade your career video game design, video game development, eSports, and more with the Hero Vired Certificate Program in Gaming and eSports, offered in partnership with NODWIN Gaming.

Gaming and esports have so much to offer be in terms of content and career. We have seen how technology has taken the world by storm. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are now becoming a vital part of video games. 

Today audiences and end users have become intelligent and thus you need to deliver quality and enticing video games. Hence you need good developers and designers to deliver this. Today big companies are using esport competitions to market themselves. 

This is also one of the reasons why today gaming and esports is becoming a viable and lucrative career option. The future scope and growth options are looking up day by day in this segment. 

As the pandemic changed the way of working and studying, you can now have access to our courses to give you the competitive edge and help build, sustain and grow your career to the next level.