On Cheating (Supposedly)

It seems lately that it is difficult to have a single "major" tournament go by without accusations of cheating. I think that this is due to the rise in video coverage. It happened at Adepticon 2010 and Adepticon 2011 and now at the NOVA open. I'm sure that there are more examples, but I'm just a part-time player and I don't spend very long on the web looking up tournament coverage. One thing I did notice is that at my backyard con, War Games Con, I didn't see an outcry of "Foul." I personally believe that this is because there wasn't structured video coverage of the con.


Now personally I like the video coverage. It is something I like to have on in the background while I paint, along with Warhammer/40k podcasts. As I think about this, I think the problem isn't so much the video itself it is how people use it. Now I look back at some of the problems from Adepticon 2010 (here, here and here) and really I say to myself, "huh?" because I think I need someone to point it out to me. To a casual eye it is invisible. To others, I'm sure it is a sore thumb. But it seems to me that even with a proper set up like The Independent Characters guys have, it is hard to follow the game on video. The commentary isn't 100% and this is not a dig at he Independent Characters. To get to 100% I think they would have to be sitting on the player's choices, put a mic on the players and have them stop and explain each and every move, which I hope never happens. I think the coverage as it is is perfectly fine. It shows us basically how the game goes. Not quite as good as standing table-side, but I don't have the cash to fly out to Virginia to go to the con, so I am quite happy with over the alternative.

I wish we could has some sort of waiver that everyone must sign before watching video coverage. It would be pretty simple.

I solemnly swear that I understand that watching a video is not the same as being there. I understand that even though something may look one way on video, I am not getting the full picture of the game, and I should not jump to conclusions. I promise to give people the benefit of the doubt and to not accuse a perfect stranger of something based off of something I have watched and rewound a thousand times in an attempt to be sure of something I thought I saw. I promise to pull out some paint or clippers and participate in the hobby as I watch others participate in it. 

Anywho, that's it.