It has been over a year since the creation of the *SCAPE Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Community. In 2019, *SCAPEesports organised Camps, Workshops, Viewing Party and Community Rallies as means of gathering like-minded youths that were interested in MLBB. The initial community started off with around 25 youths and has since grown to over 250+ in a year. The recent Community Rally which was held on *SCAPEesports Twitch saw a total of 35 participants and over 240+ unique viewers during the live stream.
Community is Inclusive
“Community is and must be inclusive. The great enemy of community is exclusivity. Groups that exclude others because they are poor or doubters or of some different race or nationality are not communities; they are cliques–actually defensive bastions against community.”
SCOTT PECK, The Different Drum
One aspect of the community that I learnt is that youths want to be included. What keeps youths coming back month after month for Community Rallies are the bonds and friendship that are forged. Through interaction with these youths during Community Rallies, I learned how the community is a space youths look forward to, as they do not face discrimination or feel excluded. The *SCAPEesports team noted this aspect of inclusivity and came up with ground rules for the community to ensure it was a safe space for them to pursue their interests.
Community is a Place of Growth
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much”
– Helen Keller
What the community provides to youths is a platform to grow. Community Rallies aim to provide youths opportunities to be a better player, try organising community events and even shoutcast. For one, Community Rallies is open to youths of every rank in MLBB and are matched up in teams at random. This creates an environment where higher ranking players are able to guide the lower rank players. Within the community discord, youths are able to reach out to better players as they explain the game’s meta, Heroes’ abilities, roles etc.
Community provides support in youths pursuit of passion
“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.”
—Sabrina Bryan
*SCAPEesports MLBB Community is the platform that gives youths the opportunity to pursue and explore their passion in esports. Through consistent programmes and collaborations with local esports teams, *SCAPEesports equips and educates youths while providing equal opportunities for them to be involved in the esports industry. Some of these youths have gone on to form teams with people they met through *SCAPEesports’ programmes. Others have volunteered in various community programmes.
It is never easy building a community. However, it is seeing youths getting their talents developed and given opportunities through the programmes. Being able to provide a platform for the youths to pursue their interest is an important mission to maintain this community.
If you are a youth that is interested in MLBB or have a passion in esports, do look out for *SCAPEesports programmes or join the *SCAPEesports MLBB Community.
