leileilol wrote:

going to a university to get better at a freaking recreational hobby is a very stupid idea

Hence, it will be implemented sometimes. Some kinds of sport were recreational hobby too. Many arts - similarly.
I find it rather stupid to watch how 20 men kick a ball for an 1 hour from one side of a field to another one, but there MANY who watch this.
There are today people who get money for people watching just how they play: youtube, twitch, etc. It's still not millions like footballists get and they still don't get doctor degrees like ex-sportmen on trainers job do. Still.. wait for a couple decades and you may see kind of computer gaming faculties.

The only genre where it could really solidly apply is fighting games

At least may fit any genre where are competitions or just what people like to watch.

degree in playing videogames won't get you a long-term career either 😀

Say this to professional sportsmen with >$100k per year wages. And to other people in show bussiness.

Yasashii wrote:

Yeah, ok I give up. Another one of my "brilliant" ideas turns out to be something that's already done, only differently. Next time, Yasashii, write a goddamn memo.

Already giving up? Maaaaan. That's lame 🤣

You got to have a vision and passion. I really like the idea. Doesn't have to me a university. But something like a club with membership fee. Getting access to pro gamers tips. Something like that. Online academy with tasks that make you a better gamer.

Tertz wrote:

Say this to professional sportsmen with >$100k per year wages. And to other people in show bussiness.

Sports keeps a body active.

Sitting on your ass playing videogames does not.

Professional sports wear bodies out BTW.

There are many tutorial websites for various games. For AOE2 there are many training and real time pro play observation opportunities for example.

Yasashii wrote:

So I've had this idea on my mind for quite some time now: how about we make it real via internet? What if there was a website called Video Game University which allows you to get into contact with a gamer good at a particular type of game willing to teach you? The website would have to be a kind of a social network kind of thing. You'd sign up, choose your type-of-game of choice, and you'd be assigned to a teacher who would then tell you via Skype, TeamSpeak or whatever how to get better at it.
Tell me.

This is happening in any good clan/community. People who want to get better will find their teachers.

At first I thought OP was about game making, too. Game mastering/leveling up skills with the help of a coach (of sorts)/teacher would make more sense for the professional player-to-be, although some free protips would be cool for the average player. I think it's a bit hard to do since games change constantly, having only a handful games that keep through times (mostly RTS and CS).

leileilol wrote:

The only genre where it could really solidly apply is fighting games only because the games became a bit convoluted in their variances of concepts of combos, zoning and resets, etc. and I refer to Vampire Savior, not Smash.

I would have thought flying and aerial combat sims.

philscomputerlab wrote:

I really like the idea. Doesn't have to me a university. But something like a club with membership fee. Getting access to pro gamers tips. Something like that. Online academy with tasks that make you a better gamer.

And maybe access to a "beginners" server where the other players try to teach you rather than killing you off as fast as possible.

There are plenty of community colleges that teach classes like "Photography" and "Music Appreciation" to people who are only interested in them as a hobby and will never make a career out of them. So why not a "gaming" class?

Huh... turns out there are people who see potential in the idea.

Goodie, so let's try and do it. What's there so lose? Here's what (I think) would be needed:

- A website or a forum. Or both.
- A scripted form designed to automatically assign a student to a teacher. Alternatively, one could simply be manually assigned by posting their gaming preferences and info on a forum and the administrator would then send the person the contact info to their assigned teacher. But... a form would be nicer and more professional.
- A standardized means of communication with the teacher. Preferably something like Skype or a TeamSpeak server or something.
- Lots of teachers good at specific kinds of games. And a recruitment system.
- Game servers. For the most part popular third-party servers would do fine.
- Advertising.

Now, most of the above can be done fairly easily. At least in a primitive, forum-based form as a start. The advertising, though, I have no idea about. And nobody's going to take interest in the whole project if they never find out about it. If you know how to advertise a project of this kind, taking into account that it is, at least for now, something that doesn't actually have any budget, please contact me.

If you want to help in any other way, please do contact me as well.

Somewhat related:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYlpxFWXCM8

Good stuff. Let's face it: esports will eventually be considered equal to other sports. It's happening. And if there are schools for professional athletes, we may very well live to see the day on which a school for gamers opens. God knows I will sure be cursing myself for being born too early that day.

My idea for a virtual gaming school might very well be a precursor to something much bigger. Damn, I really want it to work out now...

Yasashii wrote:

Good stuff. Let's face it: esports will eventually be considered equal to other sports. It's happening.

Naah. No more than competitive chess, or ballroom dancing, or spelling bees, or other boardgames. Or more obscure stuff like competitive typing. In the end, they simply do not have enough appeal for the casual observer beyond time-filler on ESPN2, at best. (Then again, they've had Starcraft matches on cable television in South Korea for a while now – but that's South Korea.)

My idea for a virtual gaming school might very well be a precursor to something much bigger. Damn, I really want it to work out now...

I rather suspect someone's thought of the idea before – surely you've tried Googling around already? – and that it ultimately failed for that recurring reason that People Are Terrible. Inevitably there will be terrible mentors who, however skilled, will be bad at communicating their knowledge, or people who are terrible but who are sufficiently eloquent that their advice, however devoid of substance, will be greatly sought after. And then there will be many people who hope to learn but then abruptly realize that upon applying themselves to serious study and self-improvement, their hobby stops being fun, and their attitude will drive away even the willing teachers.

But what do I know? Perhaps this is an ingenious transformative concept and we sand on the cusp of a glorious revolution and the world will be forever changed, etc.