Interview: “Artosis” Dan Stemkoski

The Ghost of eSports Yet to Come.

The name Artosis rings familiar to nearly each and every Terran, Zerg and Protoss playing the game today. Is there a voice more recognizable in all of StarCraft? While an argument for the Plott brothers might be made, Dan Stemkoski is the voice of Brood War today and, all things considered, an essential voice always. And yet, like the many of us, he is preparing to leave the game of StarCraft behind both personally and professionally.

“I will switch over completely to StarCraft 2 as soon is possible,” says Artosis. “As soon as the actual game is released, I doubt I will continue to cover Brood War in any way . . . I am unbelievably excited for the beta. I can’t properly describe to you how excited I am.”

He speaks for thousands of us. And as he made clear when I talked to him, it isn’t because switching is going to be the easy thing to do. In fact, the coming of the much hyped sequel brings numerous obstacles for eSports in Korea and abroad.

“[After StarCraft 2 is released,] There will certainly be more money in Brood War than in SC2,” says the old school American Terran, “at least to start in Korea. The pro-scene is really deeply rooted. Many, many people make a living off of SC1, and its fan base is huge. SC2, over time, may become bigger, but most certainly not to start.”

The challenges for the sequel run deeper than a firmly entrenched Brood War culture. Each party with a cent to gain is positioning itself to grab every dollar (and euro and won) possible upon the release of StarCraft 2.

“KeSPA has run StarCraft on television for years, making a nice big profit,” says Artosis, an employee of International E-Sports Group Inc. “Blizzard wants some sort of payment for StarCraft 2. KeSPA and Blizzard disagree over the terms of this payment. The problem is at a standstill. No one really has any idea when or how it will be solved. No real plans can be made until KeSPA and Blizzard come to some sort of agreement. Right now there are only ideas about how the merging of SC1 and SC2 can take place. Nothing definite will be decided upon until the disagreements between the two companies have been solved.

“I know both sides of the argument quite well,” he continues. “Korean culture is different than western culture, as are the laws. I think the only way to truly solve this issue would be for KeSPA to accept that there must be some sort of fees paid to Blizzard to use StarCraft2 on TV.”

With the possibility of a lack of StarLeagues as we know them today, the prospect of the Battle.net ladder being the most prestigious competition in all of StarCraftdom comes with its own innate trouble.

“I think that Blizzard can certainly keep on patching the game to keep hackers at bay, but they will have to do it quite a bit. There are lots of hackers out there just waiting to try and destroy SC2′s competitive play. As for balance, including different and new maps, that will be a bit harder. I don’t suspect the game will be balanced as well as SC1 for some time. Especially considering the fact that they are planning 2 expansion packs – probably within the first three or so years of release.”

But, problems and opportunities in tow, StarCraft 2 is coming. After three years, it has finally begun to materialize. As he prepares to transition, Dan Stemkoski’s life continues as normal – or, as normal as life can be for a young e-sports professional living in the mecca of his industry. Artosis has called it a gamer’s paradise and this is what it is like to work in paradise:

“I wake up on weekdays at about 8:45. Take a shower, eat, whatever. Get to the IEG office at 9:20. Get online, check what happened in SC since the last time I was online. At this point I will either watch some interesting matches I missed, edit videos, or work on some other sort of e-sports related stuff.”

“If I’m not doing any of those things, I normally make some content for the community. Sometimes its an eSTRO showmatch, sometimes an interview, sometimes a tour, sometimes the weekly news, just about anything available or that comes to mind. Depending upon what videos I’ve made or edited, I’m normally done with work by about 6:30pm. Then I go to the gym, or hang out with some friends, or my girlfriend. Sleep when I’m tired. Rinse and repeat.”

Not too bad.

Though he is in a committed relationship and counts many professional gamers and notable foreigners as close friends in Seoul, the single person he sees most in Korea is Hwanni, the eSTRO manager. They are very good friends, says Artosis, they work together and live very near to each other. “Tasteless” Nick Plott and his girlfriend are also close by “a ton.” Prominent community members such as LilSusie, Midian, IdrA and others are reliably consistent figures in the 26-year old’s day-to-day life.

“Oh, Seoul is absolutely awesome at night. It absolutely never closes. The clubs are great, the bars are great, the drinking culture here is second to none. If you want to go somewhere that you can have fun at night, Seoul is that somewhere.”

Not too bad at all.

For better or worse, as you switch from a Firebat to a Reaper, a Dragoon to a Stalker, a Defiler to a Roach, the constant will remain the voice – and, more and more every day, the face – of Dan Stemkoski. His ubiquitous presence can be felt far from the many commentaries he lends his voice to. His most valuable contribution, his most unique ability is his level of access in the high levels of Korea and the worldwide community alike.

As millions of new eyes turn to StarCraft 2 and the community braces for an influx of gamers the likes of which it has never seen, Dan Stemkoski is working to make the StarCraft world smaller and more tightly woven. He is succeeding.

Photo Credit: NeverGG, www.nevergg.net

Thanks to Dan Stemkosi for giving me the time so early in his day. You can find him at SCForAll.