Capstone Students Tackle Esports and its Place in Indianapolis

by Geoff Sherman

At the beginning of the semester, I was tasked with teaching a course that I had not even thought about teaching during my time at IU Indianapolis. A senior capstone course was not anywhere on my list of things to do, but I was asked to lead the fall 2022 capstone course. The only problem was that I didn’t have a project or a community partner.

I had developed an interest in Esports during the COVID-19 pandemic and had just completed a Sports Innovation Podcast with Chris Scroggins on the topic. So, naturally, my mind went to Esports as I asked the question: what is IU Indianapolis doing with Esports and, furthermore, what is the city of Indy doing?

The NBA 2K League was in Indianapolis and Jeff Hintz, vice president of innovation at Indiana Sports Corporation and executive director of SportsTech HQ, was leading the efforts there and I decided to get in touch with him. So, after a short conversation, we embarked on a semester-long project that focused on the question: How might we make Esports part of the Indianapolis events community?

DISCOVER

Understanding – Become the Expert

Students followed their observation with a pair of assignments focused on becoming the expert in the Esports industry. They were each, in a duo, assigned a Podcast to review and analyze as well as a journal article researching the Esports industry. They were asked to provide a short synopsis both on paper and in a presentation that the duo had to collaborate on in class.

This approach provides students context for better understanding of the Esports industry, its scope, function, and weaknesses.

Observation – Empathy

The most significant portion of the course was empathizing with users. With the NBA 2K League just finishing up at the beginning of the semester, we were able to head to the Pan Am Pavilion in downtown Indy to observe what was happening around the event and venue. In an effort to empathize with users, the students were assigned a series of questions to gauge, through observation only, how people were interacting and what was happening as the event was happening.

Interviews – Empathy

After developing an understanding of the industry and physically seeing a tournament/event in action, the students were asked to conduct interviews with stakeholders in the Esports industry. We were lucky enough to have 13 industry professionals join us to develop a better sense of where Indianapolis sits on the Esports continuum when it comes to mega-events like FNCS, RLCS, and LOL Worlds.

Executives from Twitch, Esports Engine, Epic Games, South Bend CVB, EA Sports, the NBA 2K League, Indiana Sports Corporation, Efuse, and BELONG Gaming Arenas provided much needed context to what it takes to host a major Esports event and where Indianapolis is on that continuum of major event bid contenders.

DEFINE

During the discovery phase of the students’ analysis, they found a variety of issues that appeared to be common among the interviewees as well as during their observation.

Observation

1. Weak culture surrounding Esports in Indianapolis.
2. Lack of fan experience at the event.
3. Lack of attendance at the venue.
4. Lack of awareness for the event around the city.

Interviews

1. Not a “desirable location” for Esports competitions.
2. Weak culture surrounding Esports in Indianapolis.
3. Lack of understanding surrounding player bases.
4. Misconception linking Esports with “laziness” and a “lack of ambition” … “a stigma”.
5. The cost of labor unions make it prohibitive to stage a competition in Indianapolis.
6. Lack of a grassroots plan surrounding Esports and competitive gaming.

Each group selected a problem and defined the problem by using a “How Might We …” statement to conclude each of their problem statements, which defined the problem in the most succinct way. Below are the statement starters they developed based on the insights they gathered:

• How might we develop a gathering place for the community to build a gaming culture in Indianapolis?
• How might we further educate the community to gain an understanding of gaming as a culture?
• How might we create an Esports community/culture through Esports and Esports education?
• How might we leverage the benefits of Esports to kick the stigma surrounding gaming?
• How might we build an Esports grassroots foundation to grow the future of Esports in Indianapolis?
• How might we bring in large tech companies/publishers to expand the footprint of Esports in Indianapolis?
• How might we unify Esports organizations to change the public’s perception of the industry?
• How might we create opportunities within the school systems to build a solid gaming community and culture in Indianapolis?
• How might we overcome the negative stigma of Esports and value the positive aspects of gaming as a lifestyle?

Numerous iterations of their problems statements resulted in strong problem isolation and guided the students into ideation quickly.

DEVELOP

Ideation

After defining their problem spaces, the students embarked on the Ideation phase where they utilized Google Jamboard to create ideas for their spaces. They were encouraged throughout the process to incorporate quantity over quality before drilling through their ideas to get the highest quality idea that could lead to an innovative solution.

Once they created their list of ideas, they utilized the Rose-Thorn-Bud method to sort through their ideas and create a Concept Map to conceptualize the process of their ideas.

After selecting their ideas, the students were then asked to provide a deliverable to the class and Indiana Sports Corporation. To close the semester, the students presented their refined ideas to industry professionals who chose to join our class and our partner, Indiana Sports Corporation.

DELIVER

The ideas ranged from a ground-up model for Esports in general to a grassroots, school and recreation center-based program to build the Esports community. A committee of community leaders appointed as part of the ISC, a series of gaming centers to build community around Indianapolis and a gaming league with a staggered approach to levels of play were just a few of the ideas that were delivered in pitch and presentation form.

RESULTS

A new topic that is fresh for students was difficult for them to accept. Being that it was a topic we haven’t discussed much through their careers, it provided a large challenge for the class. They delivered some strong presentations even though it was a new and difficult topic for them.

However, they were able to take away how a problem impacts a community at large and the process for solving those problems is extremely taxing and difficult. A commitment to the topic and development of solutions is vital in this type of course. But, the iterative learning with assignment after assignment being revisited as part of each new assignment is the type of non-linear learning this class provides.

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