eSports: More than just gaming

SHANNON KING | Digital Marketing & Communications Officer

eSports is a growing industry giving passionate gamers a competitive arena in which to demonstrate their talents. We chatted with Robotics and eLearning Coordinator Meg Foley about the new eSports program at St Peters and the myriad career paths eSports provides.

What is eSports and how is it different from gaming?

eSports is a formal program run by coaches, with training and competitive game opportunities. eSports is a competition where the athletes are human competitors, but the field is an online arena. Just like ‘sport’, eSports has many different genres of games. eSports gamers are athletes, just like other professional sports people; they need to have the same focus and discipline. The games are the basis for a lot of learning and skill acquisition. As well as collaborative communication, problem solving and improving perspective taking; gaming has been shown to support learning cooperation, navigating social interaction, improvement in selective attention and enhanced functional connectivity in the brain. Physically, it improves dexterity and spatial awareness. Longitudinal studies have shown that spatial reasoning skills are a strong predictor of fluency in STEM subjects. One of the sessions that will be run at lunchtime with Mr Gallagher is a Stories and Strategies workshop, which will take the form of a 'Video Game Book Club'. This will sometimes include a discussion around the narrative and characters in games, themes and gameplay design and perhaps even the game’s status as a work of art.

Tell us about the St Peters eSports program.

eSports started as a trial in Term 3, 2021 with the help of Computer Alliance, who loaned us 10 gaming PC’s. We started with invitation only to 10 students and have now grown to over 80 students, with six different leagues offered. We are excited to have joined the QUT eSports program this year, as it provides opportunities for face-toface competitions, practice matches with training, eSafety training and access to their labs. QUT is one of the leaders in offering eSports as a diploma (scholarships available). St Peters has such enviable opportunities for students interested in Music and Sport; so the introduction of eSports at St Peters allows for students to acquire skills that may help them in their career pathways into a Digital, Gaming, Marketing or Design industry. One of the goals for the St Peters eSports program is for it to cover digital wellbeing, respectful communication and general healthy habits.

Why did St Peters join the league?

After seeing a number of students in Robotics coding their own games, I realised that there was a gap for students who want to pursue their talents and skills with gaming. It is a multi-billion-dollar, growth industry, with opportunities spanning design, game development, marketing, graphic and audio engineers and many more career areas that will apply the skills learnt through participation in high school leagues. eSports also offers an opportunity for students who may have difficulty in social situations; they are often more confident to interact and communicate; often even becoming captains or team leaders. It has been gratifying being able to offer this opportunity which values students' skills and allows them to have their gaming talents recognised, that they can receive formal training and also connect with other like-minded students. We have some incredibly talented coaches, including teaching staff who are experienced gamers themselves.

How many students are currently involved?

This year we have signed up over 80 students, and will also offer students from Years 5 and 6 to join in from Term 2. There is always scope to grow, and many students have contacted with requests for new games to be added. We hope that once we are properly established, we can cater for those requests and for more students to be involved.

eSports also offers an opportunity for students who may have difficulty in social situations; they are often more confident to interact and communicate..."

What games are the students competing in?

Students can compete and take part more informally in Rocket League, Overwatch, Valorant, League of Legends, and a number of games on the Nintendo platform. We are also excited to offer a ‘book club style lunchtime group’ - Stories and Strategies.

What learning outcomes will students gain from the eSports program?

Students will upskill in the technical side of gaming, develop their strategy and communication skills. Opportunities are also available for students to be commentators, moderators and streamers at Inter-School Competitions. As mentioned previously, we also want students to learn about digital wellbeing, being healthy and respectful in their interactions.

What possible career pathways stem from involvement in eSports?

The eSports and gaming industry in Australia is growing quickly. It might be small compared to hubs in other parts of the world, but it’s still worth over $3 billion to the Australian economy. Just like other professional sports, there are the athletes themselves, coaches, journalists, photographers, commentators, analysts and many other roles. All those careers and more exist in the eSports industry including software engineers, video game artists and designers, competitors, and marketing.

What would you say to students thinking about joining up?

Come along and give it a go! You don’t have to be good at gaming to start. We have teams that will be competing and others who are learning.

We thank the College, the P&F and the Robotics (Digital) Parent Support Group for supporting this initiative. We are so grateful to Computer Alliance for their generous offer of loan computers to get our program started.

For more information about the St Peters eSports Program email Meg Foley, Robotics and eLearning Coordinator, at m.foley@ stpeters.qld.edu.au.