Lawrence Tabak's Blog - Posts Tagged "computer-gaming"

The terrific documentary Free to Play about the $1 million first-place 2012 International Dota2 tournament was released March 19, 2014. You can watch it on YouTube.

In many ways Seth Gordon, the main character of IN REAL LIFE, could have been featured in this film about aspiring pro-gamers.

Watch it and if you find these backstories intriguing, mark IN REAL LIFE as a "want to read!"

The International Dota2 tournament to be held July 18-21, 2014 in Seattle now has a purse of $10.3 million. This is larger than the men's tournament at Wimbledon, or the Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby combined.

Here's the current (July 3) breakdown of the prize pool -- keep in mind that the teams have at least 5 players. Note the cruel drop from #8 to #9 -- not sure why this is so. Anyone out there know? Anyone?

1. $4,740,174 (46%)
2.$1,391,138 (13.5%)
3.$978,949 (9.5%)
4.$772,854 (7.5%)
5.$618,284 (6.0%)
6.$618,284 (6.0%)
7.$489,474 (4.75%)
8.$489,474 (4.75%)
9.$46,371 (0.45%)
10.$46,371 (0.45%)
11.$36,067 (0.35%)
12.$36,067 (0.35%)
13.$20,609 (0.2%)
14.$20,609 (0.2%)
15.$0 (0%)
16.$0 (0%)

Was excited to watch my homeboy Saahil "Universe" Arora and his Evil Genius teammates roar through their quarterfinal match against Far East champs DK. The worst they can do now is finish 4th with some $750,000 in cash -- but they are red hot and top contenders for the $5 million top prize. Competition continues tomorrow, July 19.

For a comprehensive review of the pro-gaming world that is the backdrop for my YA novel, IN REAL LIFE, check out this feature from last Sunday's NY Times. This story was front page, above the fold, with a huge picture from The International Dota2 tournament last month in Seattle.



tinyurl.com/m97jlo4

Mike Mullin, the author of the terrific Ashfall trilogy, has a great interview at Boston Tech Mom: Mike Mullin interview

"Q: What book recommendations do you have for the tech savvy teen?

A: There’s a great new book by Lawrence Tabak called In Real Life about an American teen trying to make it in the big leagues of Korean e-gaming. It reminded me of Cory Doctorow’s work, all of which would also be great for tech savvy teens."

From a review on Kultscene.com, http://kultscene.com/ya-e-sports-nove...

"The novel is about personal growth, but also about cultural differences and the shocking life of eSports athletes in South Korea. Seth isn’t exactly a trainee, but is brought on Team Anaconda almost immediately, but his lifestyle is reminiscent of the infamous lifestyle of K-pop trainees. Every moment of his life is practically planned for him, and when he gets caught in a scandal, there is outrage from his handlers.


Yes, handlers.

In Real Life shows the shocking divide between fantasy of going to South Korea to be an entertainer (because that’s really what professional athletes are) and the reality of being a professional there. I don’t want to ruin anything for readers, but Seth’s story is both illuminating and a tale of caution about the life of foreigners in Korea."

The Wisconsin State Journal ran a nice column on the book and the gaming backstory:

http://host.madison.com/news/local/columnists/doug-moe/doug-moe-in-video-gaming-art-and-life-intersect/article_d0126ea0-513d-58a1-bbb3-790192304288.html