What can we do to relax when we are supposed to stay at home? Game together of course!
With the restrictions on gathering offline, the only option we had for any activities was online. There were a lot of considerations and planning done to make sure if the events bonded the players meaningfully and of course very fun.
After much consideration and support from our partners #SGPlaysTogether (an initiative by SGEA) and The Gym, we decided to launch #SGPlaysTogether TeleMatch DOTA 2, an online community competition for casual DOTA 2 players. We managed to gather 10 teams and we even heard that one of the teams was formed via our DOTA 2 SOOS group! It was the first time that they played with each other and decided to make things work together.
To be honest, the major concern we had was whether there were casters for TeleMatch. We tried looking for aspiring casters and there were none! We were so close to streaming just the game camera when some of the participants offered to cast the games even though it might be their first time.
We only had three main rules for casting:
Be positive and encouraging. (If the caster has an opinion about the play, explain the situation and share how it could be improved)
Be yourself
and have lots of fun
And that was how we started with our #biasedcasters series! Surprisingly, many players tuned in to our Twitch channel, encouraging the teams and casters. We ended up receiving lots of requests from players if they could try casting!
Watch the VODs out below and see how the games and casting turned out! Check the scores of the teams here.
Group Stages: Group 1 on 30 May 2020
Group Stages: Group 2 on 31 May 2020
Semi-Finals and Finals: 6-7 Jun 2020
During the breaks of the semi-finals and finals, we invited professional casters to share more about what they do and give encouragement to aspiring players and casters. We also included interviews with both teams after the games are played.
Semi-Finals:
Finals:
Last but not least, to end with words of encouragement for the viewers! It doesn’t matter if they are aspiring casters or esports athletes, they always need encouragement and support. We had a short segment when all the viewers’ encouragement to the people in esports were read during the stream.
Facilitators Xing Yong, Ian, Poh Jin, Damian, De Wei and Chuen Yew who volunteered their time to prepare and marshal the games.
Casters Wilson “Sharmomi” Koo, Ernest “Kiseijuu” Chan, Chenkai “Fixers” Leow, Matthew “W@D3V3R” Lopez and Benedict “Memoria” Lee for stepping out of their comfort zones to help out in the casting.
Do you wonder why no matter how many times you kill the enemy in the laning phase, they seem to be able to end up as strong as you who have been farming?
During DOTA 2 Back to Basics Online Coaching Session 2, “Lane Management”, we covered what it means to win/ lose/ draw in lanes, strategies to get resources during laning and how to manipulate creep waves to your benefit.
To help you improve your laning, we decided to share some tips from our session.
Definition of Laning Phase
The starting phase of the game is when all heroes are at its weakest – referring to HP, skill and damage. This phase lasts for eight to twelve minutes – until the hero gets sufficient resources to move on to the next phase. The indicator is usually when the hero reaches level six and/or gets their first early-game core item.
In order to have a fighting chance past the laning phase, we need to know what is our “bottom line”, also known as our losing condition.
Losing Condition
How do we lose in the lane? Simple, by not gaining any resources, gold and EXP, during the laning. This means that by getting EXP during the laning phase, even though you are not winning but at least you are “not losing” the lane.
This applies to the enemies as well. Even if they die multiple times but end up getting EXP out of the lane, they are “not losing” because they managed to get some resources. That is why they can still keep up in the game despite the deaths in the laning phase.
Getting the Most Out of the Lane
With this in mind, here are three tips to help secure the lane:
Control the Creep Wave Make sure you keep your creep waves nearer to your tower. This way enemies will think twice before approaching the creeps. After killing your enemies, remember to pull back the creep waves.
Practice Creep-Pulling If you are playing at the side lanes, pulling neutral creeps (NC) is a good way to quickly pull the creep waves. However, if you miss the timing, you might end up pushing the waves instead! Practice pulling from both NC camps and not forgetting the double-pull.
Make Use of Creep Aggro When playing against a strong lane, try using creep aggro to attract creeps to yourself. This gives you a chance to get creeps nearer to you while resetting the creep wave equilibrium.
Remember to focus and prioritise on the resources your heroes need while keeping in mind the losing condition. With this, go ahead and win some lanes!
In a game of DOTA 2, getting resources is very important. How fast we get the resources determines our strength over the enemies and ultimately leading to our victory.
There are many ways to gain resources, but it all boils down to one key mechanic: last hitting. That is why in the first session of our DOTA 2 Back to Basics Online Coaching, we went in-depth with last hitting, explaining:
how it works,
why it is important,
and practical ways to improve this fundamental skill.
Last-hitting is so important that we have decided to share some tips here.
What is Last Hitting?
For those who might be new to the game, last hitting is the key in-game mechanic when the hero receives the gold bounty from dealing the finishing blow to enemy creeps. Specifically in DOTA, you are allowed to "last-hit" ally creeps, also known as deny. Deny is important as it denies the enemies from the bounty, hence its name, and provides you with 20% of the bounty starting from the 7.20 game patch.
Why is Last Hitting Important?
At the start of the game, every hero is at its weakest, with minimal damage and "expensive" skills - they cost mana and have a cooldown. This means you have to rely on your "right-click" last hits to gain resources. Once you have significant higher damage compared to your enemies, you can get the last hits/denies more easily while posing as a threat to your enemies in the same lane.
Case reversal, if you are weaker in last-hitting: your enemies will outlevel and overpower you at the start. This forces you to either leave the lane or wait for an opportunity to last hit as there is no way for you to trade hits or compete for last hits. This is the position you would want your enemies to be.
Even if you have a hero with skills of high damage, low mana cost and low cool down (for example, Zeus' Arc Lightning), you are not going to secure any gold without knowing how to last hit with your skill. Worse still, if you are unable to get the last hit, this provides the enemy with a higher chance to deny you.
Last Hitting and Support
Last hitting is also important for supports. Many have the misconception that since you would not be touching creeps in lanes, it is not important to last hit well. Actually it is precisely this reason why you need to last hit even better.
A support needs more resources because a huge percentage of your gold does not go to stats e.g. Smoke of Deceit, Sentry Wards and early Tango for mid-laners. You cannot be a threat to the enemy if you remain weak. It is even more disadvantaged if you become a potential victim. Finding resources is challenging, as all lanes are dedicated to your cores while you are unlikely to be strong enough to jungle on your own. That is why you cannot afford to miss opportunities such as:
last hitting Neutral Creeps (NCs) after you have pulled the creeps,
denying/hitting the creeps that your core/enemy is going to miss,
and when there is an opportunity to stand in the lane while waiting for your cores to return.
Remember every creep counts, such as getting your boots as early as possible. Buying team items such as Sentry Wards and ganking for the team should not be your excuse to be under-farmed.
Common Problems Faced and How to Handle Them
Inconsistent Last Hits It is advisable to warm up in a lobby before finding a game to make sure you get used to the hero. You want your last hitting to be accurate and instinctive.
Distracted by the Last Hits You Have Missed Remind yourself that everybody misses last hits, including the pros. In every game, it is always important to focus on what to do next rather than the mistakes that just happen. Last-hitting helps to train our focus, which will affect how you play the game as well.
Facing Opponents Who Can Last Hit Better Than You To improve, it is important to practice last-hitting with the heroes that you are going to use. Different heroes have different base damage and last hit timings due to their attack animation. For a start, you can practice in a lobby with heroes who have low base damage and slow attack animation as this requires you to plan your last hits carefully. Allow yourself to only use 1 hit on each creep to practice your accuracy. If practicing alone in the lobby is boring, find a friend to practice last hitting/denying with you in a 1v1 lobby.
Apply what you have learnt about last-hitting and see your games improve!
There was a lot of excitement and anticipation heading towards the world’s first Mobile Legends World Championship (aka M1) held in Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur from 15 to 17 November. Despite having a number of gamers attend the MPL – MY/SG S4 Playoffs held in October, we managed to have 4 gamers join us for this TeleTrip!
We took the afternoon ride up to Sri Petaling a day before the tournament and managed to have a tour at Pantheon, an esports arena, and experience the VR machines.
Highlights of TeleTrip
It was amazing that within a 4D3N trip, we could accomplish so much! We managed to:
Catch the opening/closing ceremonies
Collect the exclusive ML merchandise with our gold tickets
Watch hype matches (e.g. 10 Seconds Gaming+ vs Todak, which was a nailbiting series)
Go for a mini food hunt, such as trying out Chrysanthemum & Cham Soft Serve @ Soft Launch, self-cooking skewers @ 360 BBQ and Mala Steamboat @ Chill Chill Steamboat (and won a plate of meat patty)
Order bubble tea from a petrol kiosk
Sing our hearts out at a Karaoke place MusicWorld
Played board games till late
It was a great way to relax and bond through our love for the game. As the matches were cast in Malay, we were thankful to have Nishamm with us to translate.
Even though it was the first time meeting each other, the jokes and conversations made everybody feel as if we had been longtime friends. The experienced gamers also took the time to breakdown the drafts made by the professional teams to the less experienced gamers. It was really sweet for them to also explain patiently what was going on to make sure we were keeping up.
Other than memories, the gamers also brought home backpacks (courtesy of Aftershock) to bag home all the merchandise.
M2 2020?
Towards the end of the tournament, it was announced that the next world championship will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia. This got the gamers excited and hoping for a TeleTrip Indonesia to watch the ML World Championship there while making more friends who love the game.
It was encouraging to see how much the gamers enjoyed TeleTrip and looking forward to bringing more gamers overseas to experience their local version of gaming, events, and culture.
Throwback to November 2019, we had our first private TeleTrip Campus for Temasek Polytechnic’s Game Design & Development (GDD) students on 4 November! We are grateful for the overwhelming support from 40 students who signed up with us.
Due to connectivity issues, there was a slight change to the format and rules of TeleMatch: Single-Elimination 1-v-1 mid. Each team had to send a player to compete while using the same character. Each player is only allowed to play once, so teams have to plan who to send forward and how to win their opponents. The winning teams of each round will proceed until a TeleMatch winner emerges.
Massive Introduction
As usual, we started ice-breaking with self-introduction during TeleTalk. Even though most of them have been course mates for a year, the students were surprised to find out that these course mates play League of Legends. They also got to know more about their new teammates of the day.
Planning to Win
With only 15 minutes to plan for their games, it was interesting to see how each team prioritized their discussions. Some focused on drafting and champion pool, while others focused on getting to know their new teammates and their playstyle preferences.
Positively Dealing with Unforeseen Circumstances
While the teams were looking forward to executing their strategies against their opponents, we faced an unforeseen challenge: latency.
We continued to try various methods to solve the issue but to no avail. After much deliberation, we decided to change the format from a 5v5 to a 1v1. We are encouraged to see the students stepping up to offer solutions and accommodate the potential solutions (such as playing in different rooms). Some students even took the time to teach their teammates who were new to the game on how to play certain roles!
Cheap Thrills: Watching a League Match in the Classroom
The students adapted to the new format and rules of TeleMatch and another round of discussion began. They cheered for their friends who were playing and even commented that “this is the first time we gotta watch a game openly in school”!
Even though it was a 1v1, no teammate took a backset. During each match, the teammates of the representative continued advising and sharing information (which was allowed in TeleMatch).
We loved how the students reacted to the situation and challenges positively. Well done everyone!
Prize Presentation
We had five TeleTrip Campus winner tags for the winning team. There were prizes for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-placing teams as well. The winning team received an Aftershock mouse each. 2nd place received a Ezreal Pulsefire figurine each, 3rd place received a Tryndamere figurine each and 4th place received an Aftershock Sliver Mousepads each.
Shoutout to the lecturers Douglas and Malcolm, and vice-president of TP GDD Special Interest Group (SIG) Kristy for their tremendous help and support in making this TeleTrip Campus possible!
And also special thanks to our facilitators!
Pizza Party
We officially ended the day with Pizza Party and are glad that the students loved the pizzas from De PaStar!
Thank Yous!
Thank you Temasek Polytechnic for providing the venue for TeleTrip Campus! Appreciate the support from all our partners, AftershockPC, SCOGA and De PaStar in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to the TP lecturers: Malcolm and Douglas, TP GDD SIG vice-president Kristy, and our facilitators: Jun Wei, Chris, Alan, Hakim and Zhi Chun for all the help. Last but not least, to the students who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^
Every TeleTrip is akin to a reunion dinner; reuniting with TeleTripers while getting to know new friends. This time, we had 30 players join us at TeleTrip Campus JCU – Mobile Legends on 30 Nov 2019. We are thankful to Mobile Legends once again for providing in-game diamonds to the players. All the players’ efforts are greatly appreciated for joining us and sharing about TeleTrip to your friends and gaming groups!
Getting Cosy
Players registered early in the morning and got to meet their new teammates for the day! No one could tell that it was their first time meeting each other from their conversations.
Fighting Neck-to-Neck
It was an intense day of play as every team was putting in their best effort towards victory. Like every TeleTrip, it was a round-robin best-of-two series. Many teams ended up drawing, making it difficult to predict which team was going to emerge as the winner.
It was amazing to see how every team adapted to the feedback and taking the initiative to discuss their plans ahead. It was common for players in each team to have a limited hero pool, which can be a challenge. To overcome this, the experienced players took up the responsibility to guide these players and even led them to victory! It was a joy to see how the players rise up to the challenge while having lots of fun together.
Well done to all six teams!
For those who want to know what’s the final score:
Prize Presentation and Pizza Party
We had five TeleTrip Campus winner tags for the winning team. We had additional prizes for the “Most Improvement Team”, “Best Teamwork”, “Most Spirited Team”, “MVP” and “Best Support” as well. The winning team received an Aftershock mouse each. “Best Teamwork” received Aftershock backpacks and “Most Improvement Team” received Aftershock mousepads.
Additional prizes:
TeleMatch winners received 500 diamonds per player
“Most Improvement Team” and “Best Teamwork” received 300 diamonds per player
“Most Spirited Team” received 120 diamonds per player
“MVP” and “Best Support” received 150 diamonds each
All participants did not go home empty-handed. Those who were not awarded prizes received 60 diamonds each.
A token of appreciation to our facilitators Freddy and Derrick, and also to the JCU e-gaming society president Zhi Chun.
We also managed to celebrate the birthdays of Joseph and Dosen. Wishing the November babies a happy and blessed birthday!
Irfan, our reigning fastest pizza eater at our first TeleTrip Campus Informatics – Mobile Legends, also initiated a pizza eating challenge! He managed to retain his title, this time at 44 seconds! Watch our Instastory to see how crazy the pizza-eating action was.
Thank Yous!
Thank you JCU for providing the venue for TeleTrip Campus! Appreciate the support from all our partners, Mobile Legends, AftershockPC and De Pastar in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to Freddy, Derrick and Zhi Chun for all the help. Last but not least, to the gamers who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^
TeleTrip Express 2019 – DOTA 2 was an exciting TeleTrip not just for the players, but also for the facilitators and organisers as well! We witnessed how the players and facilitators bonded and overcame challenges together as a community.
Start of TeleTrip Express
After many rounds of TeleTrip Campus, we finally returned to playing on computers at the newly opened Bountie Arena with 25 players.
Challenge 1: Getting 4 More Players
Unexpectedly, we have missed out one player, which meant that until we found four more players to complete the team, he could not play during TeleMatch. It was indeed a tall task to get players to come down as most of their friends were either not awake in the morning as expected of gamers or had prior engagements.
Despite the low probability, everyone tried calling everyone they knew to ask if they wanted to join us so that the player could play at TeleMatch. We crossed our fingers while we continued with TeleTalk.
After TeleTalk and the team discussions, with everybody’s combined efforts, we managed to get the last four players! Two players arrived before the first game while the other two players joined us at the second game. To start TeleMatch, our facilitators JJ and Xing Yong played the first game.
Challenge 2: Overcoming Delays
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to wait for lunch. Instead of complaining, the players and facilitators took the opportunity to discuss the games! They chatted with one another and their constant offer to help us out deeply touched me.
During lunch, every player was well-fed with a bowl of Indomie, a cup of Bountea and lots of Chitato potato chips (yum)!
Challenge 3: Trying to Win at TeleMatch
The games were extremely fun and exciting as all the teams were playing neck-to-neck. This time, we had players with MMR ranging from 2000 to 8000. Every team was balanced with skilled players to lead and hold the teams together.
The facilitators gave their best to provide every team with effective feedback to improve on. The teams were constantly discussing and reviewing their games in preparation for the next game. It was amazing to see how “tryhard” they were while enjoying themselves.
Pizza Party & Prize Presentation
After a whole day of intense TeleMatch, the players munched on the delicious pizzas during Pizza Party!
As usual, we celebrated the birthdays of our October babies, Jasper and Jin!
We had five TeleTrip Express winner tags for the winning team. There were prizes for the “Most Improvement Team” and “Best Teamwork” as well. The winning team received the newly released Aftershock Hero-1 Keyboard. “Best Teamwork” received an Aftershock mouse each and “Most Improvement Team” received Aftershock mousepads.
…and not forgetting to recognise the “Best Support” with our limited edition certificate!
We also took the opportunity to appreciate our facilitators with a mousepad each!
For those who did not win a prize, we had a ball pit treasure hunt, where the prizes were thrown into the ball pit and anybody who found them can bring them home. Just when we were wondering who would be the first to get into the pit…
Full footage available below!
Sharing from Players and Facilitators
It was encouraging to hear from the players that they felt TeleTrip Express 2019 was one of the most enjoyable TeleTrips they attended so far. The facilitators also shared how much they have learnt from the players.
Below are some of the key takeaways from the facilitators and players!
I was excited to experience Teletrip as a facilitator instead of a player this time by helping out at TeleTrip.
I noticed that in each team there was always a leader that does the shot-calling and a motivator who keeps the team spirit high. All the teams played their hearts out and play with what they had. The better players learned how to play around their team’s weaknesses while less experienced players learned how to play better. This is an invaluable experience as DOTA 2 will only match you with people around your skill level. With this format it really test your skills. I’ve heard many comments from better players that were shocked that the low MMR players played at a higher level.
There were also cases where a better-looking team gets owned by an underdog team. The games were unpredictable you never know who will win. There were games were it was back and forth.
Poh Jin/ "Skinny"
Facilitator for TeleTrip Express 2019 - DOTA 2 5 Oct 2019
It was amazing to see how the teams regrouped to strategise even after facing a devastating loss, especially Team 6. They lost one-sidedly in their second game and instead of tilting and blaming their teammates, they encouraged each other and had many close games after that bad game. They even manage to take a game off one of the stronger teams in TeleTrip! They truly deserved the 'Most Improved Team' award.
JJ/ "Lubby"
Facilitator for TeleTrip Express 2019 - DOTA 2 5 Oct 2019
Importance of Communication - I remember when Team 6 played their first few games, they struggled with coordinating badly! By as each game progressed, they started to open up and share whatever information, thoughts or plans they had, even if they were far from perfect. But gradually you see the team make better decisions, not because they had perfect plans, but were simply executing as a team, in both good and bad decisions. Eventually went on to impress us so much and win the most improved award!
Importance of Self-Belief - Personally when I had to play the first game for Team 6, I was full of self-doubt and already wrote the game off as a loss, given that I haven't touch DOTA for years! But through the entire process, my team kept supporting me while talking and drafting as if I was going to play at the expected level. For example, 'If I give u this hero, can u win that hero? What kind of support u need to succeed'. Honestly, I was embarrassed that they believed in me more than I believed in myself. During the match, I manage to let go of whatever self-doubt and tried to play to their expectations, fighting the mid as if I was on an equal level with him. I even managed to kill him! The quote 'biggest enemy is not the opponent, but ourselves' is really apt.
The Power of Community - I guess this is the thing that struck me the most, that each participant really felt a sense of belonging and cohesion with the people there. Even as they were playing, together or against each other, you could tell they were genuinely having fun and treated each other like family.
Xing Yong/ "Apeshit"
Facilitator for TeleTrip Express 2019 - DOTA 2 5 Oct 2019
I think it’s amazing how creating a platform for a similar hobby/interest can bring together a group of people from different walks of life in a heartbeat. Even if they may have different characters and personalities, it’s pretty awesome seeing that they could come together to communicate and connect over a game. After the matches ended, I observed that some of them had bonded with one another and formed friendships over a day event.
While I was observing the matches, I noticed that the boys displayed sportsmanship, when some of them came over to watch the other teams who were still playing and cheered them on and even gave some tips to help some of the players. Despite being a competition, no one became toxic and competitive towards others in order to win. In fact, a lot of them displayed good and positive attitude towards one another, creating a really nice environment for everyone.
It was nice to see the boys going out of their comfort zone to participate in an event with people that they may or may not know. Having a common interest can really bring people together. Rather than seeing the game as a potential to cause addiction, games can create a platform for people to form connections and go out of their comfort zone.
Jean/ "Jayelpeaeff
Facilitator for TeleTrip Express 2019 - DOTA 2 5 Oct 2019
I found it fun to play with players from different MMR tiers while competing with other teams. Everyone was very keen on playing and were highly engaged during the discussions. It was also fun because despite having a team of low and high MMR players, every team was balanced to the point that we all had an equal fighting chance.
At TeleTrip, I felt that the players gained a different experience of playing in a positive and competitive-like environment, which they can't get from playing pubs at home.
Everyone at TeleTrip was friendly. It's best to join with a friend because you get to have the chance to defeat your friend and boast about it 🙂
Last but not least, I felt that I learnt what DOTA was actually about in the first place: playing with people and having fun.
Yaowen/ "Tudi"
Participant of TeleTrip Express 2019 - DOTA 2 5 Oct 2019
It's not always easy to find a large group of people who share your interests, especially an activity as isolating as online video games, but good thing that there's always TeleTrip!
Jin/ "His Father"
Participant of TeleTrip Express 2019 - DOTA 2 5 Oct 2019
Thank Yous!
Thank you Bountie Arena and your wonderful team for all the support before and throughout TeleTrip Express. Appreciate the support from all our partners AftershockPC and Indomie in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to Poh Jin, JJ, Xing Yong and Jean for all the help. Last but not least, to the gamers who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^
At long last, we have our first TeleTrip Campus for League of Legends at James Cook University on 20 July. It was amazing to have 20 players joining us!
The format and rules of TeleMatch were kept simple: Round-Robin Best-of-2. To keep the games exciting, the team with the most kills will also win a prize, alongside other team and individual prizes.
Different Nationalities, One Big Community
Interestingly, about half of our players are Vietnamese, and each team had a mix of Singaporeans and Vietnamese. Despite coming from different countries and culture, no one could tell the difference. Everyone was chatting and having fun like a big family, even with the occasional Vietnamese conversations. The players lent one another their game accounts without hesitation when they realised some of the other players could not enter the custom draft lobby due to differing account levels.
Conversations were not limited to the games as they continued them through their lunch: fragrant chicken rice and nasi lemak for the Muslims. This helped the players concentrate on improving their strategy during lunch without interruptions.
Below are key lessons learnt from each team.
Team 1: Assess and Adapt to the Situation
It was a wild roller-coaster ride for Team 1 earlier in the day. Two members only managed to arrive before the game commenced, leaving the team with no time to know each other or do up their game plan.
The challenge was elevated as there were four Vietnamese in the team who naturally spoke to one another in Vietnamese, leaving their sole Singaporean player out of the conversation.
Surprisingly, things started to change during Game 1. With a majority of the team made up of Vietnamese, the conversation should continue in their native tongue. Yet they started speaking English to provide information. By the end of the day, they were communicating fully in English. So what brought the change?
It turned out that the team realised how strong and efficient the Singaporean player was. They then decided to play around him. In order to do so, they put aside their language preference and used English to discuss their strategies, define their roles. All these to make sure that the Singaporean player had all the resources he needed in the game.
The team ended up being so comfortable with each other that they managed to win all their games and become the eventual winners of TeleMatch!
Team 3: Breaking the Ice
How do you behave when it is your first time playing or knowing each other in a team? Speak politely and keep your cool even if the game situation is not ideal. But for Team 3, it was a different case.
During Team 3’s initial games, every member made sure to be polite to each other. But the facade couldn’t last long as games got more difficult and the team’s morale dipped.
Instead of staying nonchalant, two of the members who were really polite during the initial games, started to raise their voice and cheer at every team kill. It was so abrupt that the other three members, who were more reserved, started loosening up and joined in the cheer as well!
Team 3 had so much fun and started playing as a team. They won the Best Teamwork prize!
Team 2: Never Say Die
It is easy to lose your fighting spirit when placed last, but not for Team 2.
From start to end, Team 2 was constantly planning and communicating on how to improve from the previous game. They made it a point to not blame each other for the losses but to speak objectively with regards to the mistakes made in the previous games.
Even though they lost five games and were heading towards their final game, the team did not give up and continued strategising on how to get as many kills while minimising their own deaths, with knowledge that the team with the most kills could still win a prize.
Unfortunately, Team 2 did not manage to get enough kills or wins to be in the running for the prizes. But their efforts and never-say-die attitude were acknowledged and celebrated!
Team 4: Playing Your Part and Doing Your Best
Team 4 had an experienced player and was accompanied by three players who were less experienced. Some even had a limited Champion pool.
Instead of throwing in the towel, the experienced player started sharing tips and strategies for winning the game to his teammates. The less experienced players also started to step up by suggesting what they could do given their limited skills.
For example, they prioritised the picks for the player with limited Champion pool and made sure everyone understood how to hold on during the early game phase so that they could play the late game, which the team is better at. The team even managed to take a game off Team 3 despite losing quite badly in the first game.
So amazed and humbled by all four teams. Good job guys!
Prize Presentation and Pizza Party
We had five TeleTrip Campus winner tags for the winning team. There were prizes for the “Most Improvement Team” and “Best Teamwork” as well. The winning team received a Ezreal Pulsefire figurine and Aftershock mouse each. “Best Teamwork” received a Teemo plushie and Aftershock backpacks each and “Most Improvement Team” received Aftershock Sliver Mousepads.
Additional prizes:
“MVP” and “Best Support” received a Rammus Hat each
All participants did not go home empty-handed. Every player returned home with a Hextech Mystery Emote!
Also, a shoutout to the president of JCU’s Gaming Society Zhi Chun and facilitator Alan for helping out at TeleTrip!
Thank Yous!
Thank you James Cook University for providing the venue for TeleTrip Campus! Appreciate the support from all our partners, Garena, AftershockPC, Kangaroo Nuts and SCOGA in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to Zhi Chun and Alan for all the help. Last but not least, to the gamers who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^
Our second TeleTrip Campus for the DOTA 2 players happened at TeleTrip Campus SUTD – DOTA 2 on 29 June 2019. So glad to see familiar faces. This time, we had 15 participants!
Serious Business
This time, we changed the format of TeleMatch to round-robin, which provided the players an opportunity to play against every team! When there is a tie-breaker, the winning team will be determined by the total number of kills earned during TeleMatch. With the number of kills taken into consideration, the teams must now think about how to secure kills and reduce casualties in every match, increasing the challenge of TeleMatch!
During TeleTalk, the players were introduced to roles, teamwork, and effective communication so that the teams are aligned. With that being set, the teams then proceeded to strategise their draft based on their strengths and weaknesses. It was interesting to find out what were the teams’ priorities and considerations during their discussion, such as kill potential and how to create combos out of their hero pools.
Keeping Our Players “Farmed”
As games and discussions can get really intense, we provided snacks and drinks for the players to perk themselves during the games (shoutout to Kangaroo for the tasty nuts).
To help relieve the burden of thinking about meal options while planning for the next game during lunch break, we went out to get tasty chicken rice for the players!
When it was lunchtime, both Team 1 and Team 2 were still in their games with no sign of ending. Team 3 ended early and had the option to have their meals first. Instead, they decided to watch the ongoing match and waited until both teams ended their games to have their meals together. It was really nice to see how the players were willing to wait for each other.
Below are some key events that happened to each team.
Team 3: Youngest Player with the Most Experience
Even though bots games sounded like a no-brainer to most players, two of the teams were shocked to find out that Team 3 achieved 312 kills in 30 minutes. As a comparison, the other two teams only managed to reach their highest of 152 kills and 134 kills in 30 minutes.
So what’s the secret? It turned out that during the bots warm-up game, Team 3 found out that their youngest player, 15 years old, understood how the AI-controlled heroes react to their actions and which strategy would be best to get as many kills. So how did he actually know this? It was revealed during the pizza party that he would play a game with bots during his free time in school due to unstable internet connection. He would then constantly try to find out how to improve his strategy to kill them and end the game faster by observing the bots.
Team 1: Win as a Team, Learn as a Team
Even though Team 1 managed to win games convincingly and lose games which were close, they always took the time to reflect on what could be improved after each game. They noticed that for the games they lost, they communicated less which might have greatly affected their chances of winning. It was amazing to witness how quickly they learnt that communication was a key to winning and every teammate had a part to play in this.
Team 2: Learning through Difficult Situations
During TeleMatch, it was obvious that Team 2 was struggling to play as a team. The primary reason was that none of the players had experience in leading a team. Instead of shying away from the problem, they stepped up to take on the team roles that were lacking, such as the captain and shot-caller. Despite playing out of their comfort zones, they were able to take a lot of good team fights that required coordination.
Even though they did not manage to win a game against the other teams, their determination as a team and growth as players during TeleTrip was astounding.
Good job to all three teams!
Prize Presentation and Pizza Party
We had five TeleTrip Campus winner tags for the winning team. There were prizes for the “Most Improvement Team” and “Best Teamwork” as well. The winning team received a Tecware Keyboard each. “Best Teamwork” received Aftershock mouse each and “Most Improvement Team” received Aftershock backpacks.
…not to forget the “Best Support”, George!
Also, a shoutout to our facilitators JJ and Wah Yi for helping out at TeleTrip!
During the Pizza Party, we got to surprise Wilson, whose birthday was just a few days after TeleTrip!
Like always, we had a chit-chat session with the players over pizza. It was memorable as our facilitator JJ, who is a competitive DOTA 2 player, shared his experience which includes the struggles and how the team overcame their circumstances. It definitely served as an encouragement and a reminder that everyone, not excluding stronger players, faces similar roadblocks. The most important thing is how we overcome them.
Had lots of fun with you guys, hope to see you at the next TeleTrip Campus – DOTA!
Thank Yous!
Thank you SUTD for providing the venue for TeleTrip Campus! Appreciate the support from all our partners AftershockPC, Kangaroo Nuts and SCOGA in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to JJ and Wah Yi for all the help. Last but not least, to the gamers who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^
It was our second TeleTrip for the Mobile Legends players and so glad to see familiar faces again at TeleTrip Campus SUTD – Mobile Legends on 15 June 2019. We are thankful to be part of MLBB Esports for Everyone Project once again, which allowed us to award in-game diamonds to the players. All the players’ efforts are greatly appreciated for joining us and sharing about TeleTrip to your friends and gaming groups!
Fired Up
It was amazing to see how energetic the players were in the morning! While some players came in an hour early and some came straight after work, their energy to chat with each other, to focus during TeleTalk and to discuss the game was constantly high. This time, we had a room full of (mythical) stars and even players with age ranging from 13 to 38 years old!
As usual, we started with self-introduction to warm up with each other and to understand our opponents. Without any delays, everyone shared their in-game name and favourite heroes. The players made sure that the facilitators and organisers introduced ourselves too!
Based on the previous feedback from TeleTripers to have a chance to play against every team, we decided to change TeleMatch format to a round-robin best-of-two where the winner is determined by the most number of wins. To spice things up, in a case where there’s a tie-breaker, the team with the most kills wins TeleMatch. This encouraged the players to not only think about winning but also to play more carefully and strategically.
It was a privilege to watch the players overcome their circumstances as a team throughout the day. Below are some key events that happened to each team.
Focus: 1. Communication – how it greatly impacted their games positively
2. Teamwork – one for all, all for one – staying together through the bad weather (or cold aircon and unstable data connection)
3. Objective-gaming – to play on own team’s strengths & objectives and not react to the opponents’ strengths and movement.
Keeping Team Morale High: Team 1
In their first game of TeleMatch, Team 1 lost badly to Team 2. Some of the players were affected by the loss. At this moment, some of the older players took the initiative to encourage the team and focus on their game plan. This little action went a long way as Team 1 managed a comeback and took game 2 off Team 2 convincingly. Throughout the day, the older players kept the team morale up while the younger players kept the energy level up through the wins and losses.
Learning to Accept Each Other: Team 2
Team 2 was made up of players with very diverse personalities. Some players loved chatting and hyping the game up while some players preferred the peace to focus on the game. Although they had their own preferences on how the games should be played, they decided to complement each other’s weaknesses with their strengths and even ended up scoring the most kills, winning the Most Teamwork Prize!
Playing According to the Team’s Strength: Team 3
Team 3 was a team with good communications and teamwork demonstrated even in the warm up round, almost as if they were playing together for a long time. They won their games until they met Team 4, who was a strong contender. In their first game against Team 4, the game was really close and a slight mistake was all it took for Team 4 to win. The second game went badly for Team 3, which left them to think if they got figured out.
Turned out that Team 3 was distracted by Team 4’s drafting and tried to counter them instead of focusing on their own strategy and strengths. After discussing with the team and reflecting on the game, Team 3 managed to continuously refine their team plays throughout TeleMatch.
Effective Communication: Team 4
During the warm up game, it was quite obvious that Team 4 lacked communication due to the silence. Although they won the warm up game and their first game at TeleMatch, most of them were playing silo.
In order to improve communications in the team, players who were playing in the same lane sat beside each other. This gave the opportunity for them to nudge each other physically for responses. They learnt to call out their targets during a team fight so that they knew who they were planning to take down first and coordinated their fights better.
Team 4’s communication improved significantly throughout the games and ended up winning all their games.
(An interesting note about Team 4: Their team was so close that they decided to move out of the room during gameplay when some of the players were feeling cold and came back into the room during the break as a team)
Trying Their Best No Matter What: Team 5
Team 5 had an interesting situation: they lacked a mid player and had a limited hero pool. Despite this, they tried their best in every game. It would be easy to give up and blame their circumstances. Instead, they did not complain and focused on the small goals of 15 kills that we set together. Once when I passed their team, they looked at me and said “we reached 15 kills!” cheerfully. With such sportsmanship and determination, it was no wonder that Team 5 ended up achieving the Most Spirited Team award!
Objective Gaming: Team 6
Team 6 had a player down due to flu and had to be replaced with one of our facilitators after their warm up game. Despite the player swaps, they were determined to focus on the next game. They discussed intensely with Freddy our facilitator, after their games, focusing on in-game objectives. Even though the first few games were rough, the team managed to improve and proved that they were the team to beat, resulting in the Most Improved Team award.
Even though they won all their games, the team remained humble and still continued to reflect on what could have been improved after every game. Truly deserving of their winner title!
Really impressed with every team’s progress during TeleTrip. Great job guys!
Prize Presentation and Pizza Party
We had five TeleTrip Campus winner tags for the winning team. We had additional prizes for the “Most Improvement Team”, “Best Teamwork”, “Most Spirited Team”, “MVP” and “Best Support” as well. The winning team received an Aftershock mouse each. “Best Teamwork” received Aftershock backpacks and “Most Improvement Team” received Aftershock mousepads.
Additional prizes:
TeleMatch winners received 1000 diamonds per player
“Most Improvement Team” and “Best Teamwork” received 500 diamonds per player
“Most Spirited Team” received 200 diamonds per player
“MVP” and “Best Support” received 300 diamonds each
All participants did not go home empty-handed. Those who were not awarded prizes received 100 diamonds each.
Also, special mention to Nafeeq who really wanted his friends to experience TeleTrip and was even willing to cover their costs, only to realise that they could not make it last minute. We are unable to refund him as part of our policy. To appreciate his heart towards TeleTrip and as a form of encouragement, we decided to award him a token of appreciation with the diamonds that his three friends were supposed to receive, a total of 300 diamonds. Double-win for him as he ended TeleTrip as a victor with additional diamonds!
With six June babies in the midst of us, we decided to celebrate the birthdays of Bryan, Ye Man, Caleb, Brian Gabriel, Calvin and Jayce! As this was a surprise, they did not know why they were called out until the cake appeared and we sang the birthday song. Happy blessed birthday!
After stuffing themselves with pizzas, it was time to bond during the pizza party. What better way to bond other than playing the game we love together? We ended up forming random in-game parties to play the different modes, including the facilitators and me! It was really heartwarming to see everybody having lots of joy and laughter while playing the game, despite our different ranks, experience, and age.
I am so glad to see how excited and bonded the players were after TeleTrip and to the point of asking when the next TeleTrip is! We all stayed in touch via a WhatsApp group and till this day, we’re still gaming and chatting with each other.
Thank Yous!
Thank you SUTD for providing the venue for TeleTrip Campus! Appreciate the support from all our partners, MLBB Esports for Everyone Project, AftershockPC, Kangaroo Nuts and SCOGA in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to Freddy and Wah Yi for all the help. Last but not least, to the gamers who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^
