mattsince87

These are my thoughts...

[mattsince87]

2015 RoundUp

It’s been a long freakin’ year! It’s been absolutely packed with ups and downs but those ups have by far outweighed the downs i can tell you. I’ve had the pleasure to meet some incredible people. I’ve been able to build relationships and friendships with those i’ve met along the way, that will last for years to come. I even got to meet one of my oldest friends get married to his beautiful bride! Congrats again mate! ;-)

So i’ve been attending Esports events (mainly CSGO) all year, i’ve witnessed the epic Major events in Cologne, and Cluj-Napoca. I’ve seen the the phenomenon that is DreamHack Festival (both Summer & Winter events), and let me tell you; they are absolutely massive, freakishly fantastic and brilliant all rolled into one.

I’ve moved my life from the UK to Jersey and it’s likely i’ll move it back again in 2016. I’ve been working my ass into the ground to deliver a super cool announcement next year too so stay tuned! 2016 will see some of the most dramatic changes in Esports history, with 2015 raising the bar further than anyone could have seen.

But most of all this post is really to say thanks to some of the fucking awesome people i’ve met this year. Some of those will remember me and to some ill just be a faded drunk memory. But to all of you, truly i say this; thank you! Esports is life <3

[mattsince87]

Looking Back on Cluj-Napoca

People often ask me “what is Esports?”, and i continually try to reinvent that answer. I try to use videos, stats, pics but all i really need to do is ask them back a simple question... “Have you ever played a computer game with a friend and wanted to win?”.

It’s a predictable response when i ask the question, the person looks at me with a slight grin and says “of course...”. Well then you’ve answered your own question.

Esports is competition, it’s the adrenaline of wanting to win, wanting your favourite team to win, waiting for your favourite player to do something inhuman with skill only they possess. Esports is this.

This weekend just gone, i had the incredible journey that many Esport fans and enthusiasts dream of. I visited the biggest Major event to date in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. I spent the best part of that weekend in the company of one of the most prolific names there is (and undoubtably ever be), Ninjas in Pyjamas.

The atmosphere was intense, the venue was massive, the production was visually stunning. The competition.. i have no words for how this made me feel; all i can do is tell you almost every time a player took our their opponent i was on the edge of my seat jumping and shouting out random words of encouragement.

I recommend anyone who is competitive, who enjoys watching tennis, football, hockey, formula 1 should start following Esports today. 

As i relentlessly grow older and with it my reactions and desire to remain seat in front of my computer dwindles a little bit more each year, i have never more so than right now, wanted to follow, support and feel at the centre of the most explosive industry on the planet. I’m yearning for the day i can take Saturday off, go down to the pub early evening and watch Esports on the TV with a cold beer in my hand. oh wait... you already can in Sweden.

[mattsince87]

looking ahead of Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca...

It’s Tuesday and i fly half way (or all the way) across Europe to one of Europe’s previous Capital of Culture cities; Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Why you ask? All in the name of Esports. 

Esports has been an explosive industry growing by the millions each year for the better half of a decade now, and it’s getting bigger. I feel extremely privileged to be a part of this industry and to be working within it is extremely humbling.

Most recently i have attended ESL Cologne 2015 jsut 6 weeks ago, and i have to say... wow. I’ve attended titanic Champions League fixtures in the past, i’ve attended Rugby World Cup clashes at Twickenham and witnessed Stanley Cup History at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, but the sheer size, atmosphere and energy i felt at the LANXESS Arena in Cologne was on another level.

I’ll make a short write up during and after my experiences at DreamHack this weekend and post it here to follow up.

[mattsince87]

Menus Extended Aimation

Here’s a throwback post to just over a year ago when i was practicing UI Animations in After Effects. I never got round to writing a tutorial for these sorts of animations but will do when i have less work on.

[mattsince87]

Animated SnapSVG Path with Jquery

Since before Christmas I've been working on a small animation for a website I'm currently building. The animation needs to have a paper airplane, follow a dashed path from a form button to an illustration (done in CSS3). In the example i've provided, i've used a CSS3 Circle rather than an illustration.

If you have any questions regarding SnapSVG, Jquery or CSS3 then please don't hesitate to ask in the comments or via Twitter!

SnapSVG

SnapSVG Documentation

Jquery

See the Pen Animated Resposnive SVG Path by Matt Litherland (@mattsince87) on CodePen

[mattsince87]

Smooth Anchor Scrolling with Jquery

In only eight lines of code, I have managed to recreate a usable and suitable substitute to any smooth scrolling plugin. You may check out the code on CodePen and it is free to use.

See the Pen Smooth Anchor Scrolling by Matt Litherland (@mattsince87) on CodePen