Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players

Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by lotharbot on Friday September 03, 2010 @09:40PM (#1661720)

Mastering an extracurricular activity can be very good for your work ability. This article's list is StarCraft-focused, but similar lists could be made for several other games. NetHack taught me to type thousands of characters in a row without making a mistake or losing focus, and to use absolutely every resource; Descent taught me to visualize space and motion; Left 4 Dead taught me how to stay cool under pressure.

We need not limit ourselves to games, either. How many useful skills does one acquire in the process of becoming a quality musician, playing competitive sports, or raising a child?

I wouldn't advocate only hiring good StarCraft players, but I would advocate looking for people who are awesome at something.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by pclark on Friday September 03, 2010 @10:22PM (#1661814)

> We need not limit ourselves to games, either

I think the opposite - that is, why is it impressive that someone is a good piano player, whereas being a top Starcraft player, not so much.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by cageface on Friday September 03, 2010 @10:39PM (#1661843)

One cultivates the head and the heart, the other only the head.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by sprout on Friday September 03, 2010 @10:54PM (#1661868)

Which is which? I'm not going to beat a dead horse, you can look at my comments in the other thread for my thoughts on StarCraft itself, but I'm going to speak generally on RTS:

I look at RTS as a sort of dance that eventually becomes a contest to find the better dancer. Even so, the better dancer may lose, and the better dancer may dance better and lose simply because the dance was better losing than winning. A loss has no real-world consequences, and as such, the sort of person I'd like to work with has no fear of losing. Only fear that the game will be uninteresting. I play for war stories, not to win.

Of course, games where one gets trounced tend to be uninteresting, and as embarrassing for the victor as the loser.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by cageface on Friday September 03, 2010 @11:01PM (#1661872)

A really good pianist can literally bring me to tears with the skill and feeling of his art. No RTS player, no matter how brilliant, will ever do this. I admire Olympic athletes but an artist that can make me look at the world in an entirely new way or make me feel something I've never felt before is on a different level, IMO.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by Dove on Friday September 03, 2010 @11:35PM (#1661925)

Some of my most treasured memories, even years later, are epic games with friends at the peak of our skills. You may not see the art in it, but that doesn't mean there is none.

Some people juggle geese.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by cageface on Friday September 03, 2010 @11:54PM (#1661968)

I've had many of those myself, but the original question was why most people have more respect for pianists than gamers and the answer is that most people find the Moonlight sonata moves them in a way the goose juggler doesn't.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by blasdel on Saturday September 04, 2010 @03:17AM (#1662233)

Prepare to cry over a Starcraft2 endgame: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOY2ve7zHb4

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by pclark on Saturday September 04, 2010 @06:25AM (#1662449)

that is the greatest thing i have ever seen - literally laughing out loud.

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by pclark on Saturday September 04, 2010 @06:17AM (#1662441)

Video games can do this - Starcraft is a poor example of a video game with emotion, but they do exist. (Metal Gear Solid, for example)

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Re:Why Startups Should Only Hire Good StarCraft Players by psyklic on Saturday September 04, 2010 @12:55AM (#1662059)

Because most people enjoy practicing Starcraft, but few enjoy practicing the piano.

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