“If You Build It, They Will Come”: An Open Letter to the Artifact Community

“If You Build It, They Will Come”: An Open Letter to the Artifact Community

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Ah, a classic test of narcissism: who is the “you” in that statement? Is it Valve? They built a game. It seems good to great to me. Artifact is certainly a better value than most of games I’ve paid $20 for in my Steam library. Still, the game is lacking features the player base sorely wants and subsequently has suffered a precipitous drop in user base. A lack of meaningful ranking system hamstrings those seeking to be Artifact professionals and turns away even casuals who just want to see how they compare.

Now, consider: is the “you”, well, you? Don’t we as a community have some role in establishing a competitive scene or ranking system? Dota and Counter-Strike are legendary in the esports scene. I played CS and DoD when they were still just HL2 mods. The competitive scene did not just get handed to us. Ranked mode wasn't even a concept that existed inside video games beyond arcade leaderboards. It took people like Clinton “Fear” Loomis, grinding away at some shitty desk for years, knowing that one day Dota was going to be a thing. It took people like Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski giving up “regular” work, believing he could support his family by one day competing in Counter-Strike.

These kinds of people are out there in Artifact, grinding away right now. Players were putting themselves out there on Twitch on Christmas Day because they love the game and can’t get enough. I know. I’ve seen them, even talked to some of them. There are great players and personalities out there who want to compete at this game of cards we all find so irresistible. Yet, when they open the game client to do so, all they can really do is compete at how many hours they have grinded through the skill rating system, if it can be called a system. The social tab is painfully empty. It feels like a giant competition with players from all over the world and a giant venue but the organizers did not spend any time or money organizing the actual event.

We, you, need to build the community if we want to see our own great esports events and competitive scene. Liquid can’t do it if no one else is trying to do it too. We all need to get shaking and moving together if we want a deep community to thrive and be an exciting scene. Otherwise I suspect the few Artifact interest groups that exist right now will wither away while we wait for Valve to “fix” a game that is fundamentally sound.

If you are an aspiring pro, keep on playing, the work will show.

If you are a Twitch viewer/donator, consider visiting medium or small Artifact-focused streams.

If you love the game, ignore the haters. It is a brand new year, carpe diem!

I would like to take a moment to commend Stancifka for carrying on the competitive spirit of all sports by putting his money on the line. He is the greatest Artifact player right now. Do you think you are better than him? Prove it, go take his money.

-Opsy

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