[文章] Gosu编辑撰写:一封给魔兽争霸3的情书

来源：GOSU_Dota2网站

作者：Michael "Zechs_" Radford 

翻译：有道翻译+英文vs5的keke+如媚

校稿：如媚

本文字数：1366字

阅读时间：10分钟

Warcraft III was a great game in its own right, but its impact on the larger esports landscape is often overlooked. This week, I'm hoping to set the record straight.

魔兽争霸3本身真的是一个很好的游戏，但它在更大范围内的影响却往往被忽视了。本周，就让我来好好捋一捋。

Christmas and new year is a difficult time to be an esports hack. No matter what game you cover there is little to nothing going on. LCS is still a couple of weeks away, as is the CS:GO Major. Ironically, though, my favourite dead game actually did hold one of its most important tournaments of the year last week. TH000 defeated Moon in the NSL grand final, and gave me an excuse to write about my favourite topic: Warcraft III.

圣诞节和新年这段假期对于电竞写手真心难熬。不管你平时关注什么游戏，这段时间都没什么热点。英雄联盟LCS职业联赛还需要几周的时间回归，CS:GO Major也是。讽刺的是，上一周我最喜欢的deadgame举办了本年度最重大的赛事——在NSL总决赛中，th000击败了Moon，给了我理由来写写我最喜欢的话题:魔兽争霸3。

Now, I know that there is no audience for a proper post-tournament breakdown article. WC3 still shows signs of life in China, but to my target demographic the game is, if not dead, then abandoned in a care home and left unvisited. Instead, allow me a little self-indulgence. This is a love letter to my favourite esports game of all time.

我知道现在这么一本正经的赛后感悟可能没人买账。war3在中国仍有生命迹象，但对于我们这个网站的大部分水友来说，这款游戏正处在一个无人问津半死不活状态。可我还是想任性一下，写封情书给我最喜欢的电子竞技游戏——致 魔兽争霸3。

Warcraft III might be a minor player on the international esports scene nowadays, but there was a time when it was a much bigger deal. Before Twitch and Starcraft II, WC3 was a big fish in a small pond. It appeared at IEM, was televised in Korea and was an important part of ESWC back when that tournament was relevant. In fact, my favourite esports memory of all time involves a WC3 match at ESWC. During my previous stint at GosuGamers I wrote an article about it: being in the crowd for FoV vs Grubby was a moment which convinced younger me that esports can affect people the same way as regular sports.

当今国际电子竞技舞台上，魔兽争霸只能算是一个小角色，但他祖上也曾经阔过。在Twitch和星际2出现之前，war3还是圈内数一数二的大佬。它是韩国电视转播的IEM赛事项目之一，在ESWC还算牛逼的时候也是主打项目之一。事实上，有场ESWC的War3比赛使我难以忘怀，我以前在GosuGamers工作期间，还为此写了一篇文章:与众人一起观战FoV vs Grubby，那一刻我确信，电子竞技能够像传统体育项目一样深入人心。

I m not going to go on about then again, though, don t worry. I want to talk about how, despite WC3 being mostly irrelevant as a game today, its legacy is as important as ever.

好汉不提当年勇，我只想说，尽管War3现在已经跟主流扯不上关系，但它的遗产仍然与以往一样宝贵。

just take a look at the games we cover today on GosuGamers. Without WC3, our most popular title wouldn t even exist. Granted, DotA was originally a mod, but it was WC3 s groundbreaking hero system which inspired and laid the foundations of the entire MOBA genre. Maybe another developer would have come up with a League of Legends or a DotA by itself, but because of WC3 they didn t have t.

就拿今天我们在GosuGamers上的比赛报道来说，如果没有War3，可能也就不会有今天的头条（该网站的近期新闻都是关于DotA2的）。诚然，DotA最初是个mod，与主流的war3对战并不相同，但正是war3开创性的英雄系统启发并奠定了整个MOBA流派的基础。也许某个开发人员会全靠自己想出一个全新的英雄联盟或者DotA体系，但是有了War3，他们就不必从头开始。

Without this beautiful game, two of the biggest esports games in the world today would likely not exist. Just think about that for a moment.

细细想来，如果没有这款出色的游戏，LOL和DOTA这两个世上最大的电竞项目可能就不复存在了。

Legacy

遗产

Like many older esports games, WC3 paved the way for future advancement in many ways. The WC3L was one of the first esports tournaments to use a proper league format and promoted team play in a game which mostly focused on individual players. Many organisations found success in WC3 and translated it into other games. SK Gaming might be best known for its history in Counter-Strike, but it also had a WC3 team to be reckoned with, which improved the prestige of the SK brand, helping it to attract talent in other games.

像许多古老的电竞游戏一样，War3为未来的电竞发展铺平了道路。WC3L是最早使用正规联赛赛制的电竞锦标赛之一，并在一个注重单打独斗的游戏中推广了组队对抗的形式。许多支战队在War3中获得成功，并将这份经验与模式复制给其他游戏。SK战队的CS项目可能在其建队历史上更加知名，但它也曾有一个非常靠谱的War3团队为其提高了品牌声誉，帮助它吸引到其他游戏的人才。

Speaking of talent in other games, WC3’s legacy also includes many popular figures in the current esports landscape. RIOT Games commentator and head memelord Phreak cut his teeth as a semi-pro WC3 player and analyst. SC2 commentators ToD and Rotterdam were both WC3 pros, though ToD was by far the most successful of the two, and DeMuslim was also a high tier Warcraft pro towards the end of the game’s glory years. Grubby - arguably the most famous WC3 player of all time - is now one of the most  popular HOTS streamers and still dabbles in WC3 but Warcraft’s roots spread further than just RTS and MOBA games. Hearthstone’s Seatstory Cup, based on the original Homestory Cup would likely never have existed if not for former WC3 payer Take. The German was quick to pick up SC2 and hosted one of its most successful tournaments, but back in the day he was one of the most successful European Human players.

谈到为其他游戏输送人才，WC3的遗产当然还包括在目前活跃在电竞一线的许多身影。RIOT游戏解说和首席运营官Phreak刚出道时是War3的半职业玩家和分析师。星际二的解说ToD和Rotterdam都是War3前职业选手，尽管ToD在这2位选手中更为出名，但不可否认，Demuslim（即Rotterdam）在war3衰落以前也是个高手。Grubby ——他可说是有史以来最著名的War3玩家——如今是最受欢迎的风暴英雄主播之一，也偶尔回来War3玩玩票。魔兽的影响还远不止于RTS和MOBA游戏，如果没有war3玩家Take，Seatstory Cup炉石比赛(前身是Homestory cup)就不可能办得起来，他很快又转投SC2，并举办了迄今为止最成功的锦标赛之一。想当年，他也是欧洲顶级的hum选手。

Like modern esports, WC3 had its drama. Dodgy contracts and even dodgier management was as commonplace in the early-to-mid 2000’s as it is today. There was controversy when Meet Your Makers enticed the game’s most successful player, Moon, to join its roster with a contract which, at the time, was outlandishly expensive. In the current era of NBA owners, Moon’s contract was probably laughable, but it started an upward swing in the value of star power which has yet to stop.

与其他时下流行的电竞项目一样，War3也不算太平。在本世纪的头几年里，和今天的电竞圈一样，不稳定的合同与混乱的管理都是司空见惯。比如，MYM战队对史上最出色的选手Moon许以重利，天价签约费在当时饱受争议。放到现如今财大气粗的NBA老板的视野中，Moon的合同看起来可能会很可笑，但以此为起点，选手身价逐步提升成为趋势，直到今天都还在继续。

Gone(ish) but not Forgotten

往事不可追 今夕犹可忆

Warcraft III was pivotal in creating the esports landscape we know today, but often goes forgotten by people who weren’t involved in its community. The fact that it is still played at a relatively high level, and is somehwat poular thanks to Back2Warcraft after years of neglect is testament to what a great game it is. You gave me some of my favourite esport memories, WC3, and you even keep my three-month old son quiet when little else will. For that and so much more, thank-you.

今天我们能看到这样一个电竞格局，《魔兽争霸3》功不可没，但时过境迁，它往往为未能身临其境的后人所遗忘。魔兽的竞技水平直到今天依然很高，也多亏B2W(欧洲war3电竞组织）数年来的推广，它仍有不少人气，力证着这是一款多么伟大的游戏。war3，你带给我的是最美好的回忆，甚至是为数不多能把我3个月大的儿子哄老实的游戏之一。为了这些以及那么多那么多过往，真挚的说一声，谢谢你！