The voice in competitive gaming: Jtan

The voice in competitive gaming: Jtan

480 times Written by: Reuben Soh on 2012-04-29

When you’re in the heat of battle and your heart’s racing, speech tends to become somewhat slurred. But for one individual, even when things get down and messy, he cannot afford to be tongue-tied. Delivering a rattling description of the events taking place, he doesn’t only narrate but provides insightful information and reasons for why and what’s happening, he is the voice in competitive gaming—the eloquent shoutcaster.

For the better part of the last 7 years, Joshua Tan, also known as Jtan, has been both a player and a spectator of competitive gaming. It wasn’t until 2009 when, after having discovered dotacast.com, the avid gamer took a liking towards shoutcasting. Jtan, now the official game caster for Rapture Gaming, fondly recalls the days he spent in awe and admiration of the very lucid shoutcasters on dotacast.com.

“I became hooked on to watching (DotA games) on that site [dotacast.com] that it literally replaced television for me,” relates Joshua. “I usually cast MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games like Defense of the Ancients and DOTA 2. What I enjoy most about casting those games is the non-stop action and breathtaking execution of strategies by players. There are times where I spend a whole hour casting one match, shouting until I get hoarse because of the intensity of the game.”

Joshua, who also admits to being a gamer and guitarist in his free time, concedes that the business of shoutcasting isn’t as easy as it seems. “The hardest part is educating your audience about the game while entertaining them,” explains Jtan, “there are people who watch because they are entertained by the casters while there are people who watch because they [want to] learn how to play the game better.”

“Hardware is also a major factor when it comes to casting,” he adds, stressing how a good casting career should be built on the foundation of a good gameplay capturing card. “A computer rig built for encoding and streaming live media is truly essential for any aspiring casters. A good broadcasting card is what we can consider the cream of the crop. The better the quality, the higher number of audiences a caster will have.”

However, having all the hardware and flair for sharp commentary isn’t enough if you lack passion and a humble heart. “Just love what you’re doing! You should always treat every single day as a learning experience,” states the veteran caster, “[However] invest in a good rig if you really want to take it up a notch. I suggest you start saving up for a broadcasting card to harness your passion in casting.”

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