Talking

GAME-SPECIFIC PREPARATIONIf you are attending an event where you haven’t covered the gamebefore, you will need a lot more preparation, but it’s specificallylearning the game and the community.I’ve developed something of a regime which allows me to get abasic underlying understanding of the game in question. It alsoallows me to then use my experience to complement it, and oftenmeans I can commentate on almost anything to a reasonable standardright off the bat. Practice makes perfect, though, and we’ll talkabout that soon, too, but for now, concentrate on the following ifyou want to learn a game to the point where you can commentateon it.PLAY THE GAME!Depending on the depth of the game, learn as much as you canabout it - maps, champions, units, heroes, etc. Read up and watchtutorials to help you learn them faster and make notes as you goLearn the strategies and try them out for yourself against otherplayers. You aren’t expected to be a top player within a few weeks,but you need to understand the playsGet involved in the community. Find out where people hang outand talk about the game, and in particular the esports part - officialgame forums, community websites, Reddit and Twitter are particularlygood for thisHow long this will all take depends on how deep the game is andhow long it’s been around. If you suddenly decide to get involved inan existing game like StarCraft or Dota 2, it will take you a lot longerthan a new game that just came out. You will have to invest hun-26