Conventions Within eSports: Exploring Similarities in Design

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
The study identifies five shared structural characteristics across successful competitive eSports, using League of Legends and CS:GO as case studies: a Match Based Structure, a Player Evaluation System, Explicit User Interfaces, Player Performance Feedback, and the Game Client.
02
Both games use head-to-head matches with automated matchmaking that places players only in new matches, though their rules differ, such as base destruction in League of Legends versus thirty three-minute rounds in CS:GO, where draws are possible only in the latter.
03
Both titles rank players by skill, with rank changes driven by win and loss records, and present gameplay information clearly through their interfaces.
04
Both games provide in-match and post-match statistics and graphs, such as post-death damage breakdowns in League of Legends and respawn-time graphs and accuracy or K:D metrics in CS:GO, but leave interpretation to players without offering corrective suggestions.
05
Developers use the Game Client to maintain balance through updates at intervals of no more than two weeks, with detailed patch notes issued in advance.
06
The authors argue that the presence of these structural features matters more than the specific method of delivering them, framing them as conventions of eSports design rather than guarantees of success.
07
The analysis is limited to two titles and a focused set of features, based on over 40 hours of play and a comparative interface analysis using the MDA framework, so its conclusions are narrow in scope.

Summary

"Conventions Within eSports: Exploring Similarities in Design" investigates whether successful competitive electronic sports share recognizable design characteristics, using League of Legends and CS:GO as its primary case studies. Drawing on a comparative interface analysis grounded in the MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics) framework, based on more than 40 hours of play, the authors argue that the two games converge on a set of structural features that may contribute to their competitive success. The paper situates its inquiry within prior literature on match structure, competitive balance, and continuous content updates as candidate success factors.

The study identifies five shared characteristics: a Match Based Structure, a Player Evaluation System, Explicit User Interfaces, Player Performance Feedback, and the Game Client. Both titles use head-to-head matches and automated matchmaking that places players only in new matches, though their specific rules differ, such as base destruction in League of Legends versus thirty three-minute rounds in CS:GO, where draws are possible only in the latter. Both games rank players by skill, with rank changes driven by win and loss records, and present gameplay information clearly through their interfaces.

Feedback systems are a central finding. Both games provide statistical data and graphs during and after matches, including post-death damage breakdowns in League of Legends and respawn-time graphs and accuracy or K:D metrics in CS:GO, yet they leave interpretation to players without offering corrective suggestions. The authors further observe that developers use the Game Client to maintain balance through updates at intervals of no more than two weeks, accompanied by detailed patch notes issued in advance. The authors contend that the presence of these features matters more than the particular method of delivering them, framing them as structural conventions of eSports design rather than guarantees of success. The analysis is limited to two titles and a focused set of features, and its references span scholarship from 2008 to 2015.