Democratizing Esports with MediaTek

Solution Brief:
Esports on a Chromebook

Website:
https://i.mediatek.com/chromebooks/education

Industry:
K-12 Education

Technology:
MediaTek Kompanio 500 Series

Executive Summary

There is no question that Esports programs exist in many schools today but for schools that have yet to implement an Esports program, it is almost certainly on their agenda for researching and evaluating how and where to begin. For many schools this can seem overwhelming and cost prohibitive. Esports programs can and do take many shapes and there is no one size fits all way to begin an Esports initiative. For many schools simply starting with a club vs. a formal team is a great way to allow for testing the water for student interest and kicking off an Esports pilot. The solution outlined in this brief details a very cost-effective approach for schools to follow if they would like to evaluate or introduce an Esports program in their school or district. We also highlight two schools who have begun evaluating this solution and we will learn from them the value they see with this approach.

Solution Overview

This solution brief describes how to use Chromebooks and Cloud Gaming to create a high-performance, cost-effective Esports solution. Chromebooks are ideal for Esports because they are affordable, easy to manage, and secure. Cloud Gaming provides the high-performance graphics and low latency required for competitive gaming and is scalable to add users as programs grow.

A school or district can pilot this solution to quickly and easily evaluate Esports to determine student interest. This approach can also be leveraged for budget constrained schools and districts to easily and affordably implement an Esports program and capitalize on all the great benefits of Esports for students and the community. By utilizing Chromebooks, a Cloud Gaming Service (like Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, and Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming), and free popular games, the cost to deploy or test an Esports program can be quite nominal.

Esports Benefits & Overview

Esports is a form of multi-player competition using computer games. The benefits of Esports in schools has been well documented and can include better student involvement in their school and community, experience with a team environment, improved success in STEM/STEAM coursework, increased interest in higher education, and exposure to a variety of new career paths. Participating in a team or club Esports program can also foster an atmosphere that reinforces positive and healthy lifestyle skills (beyond playing the game). Esports is also a great way to support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) amongst students since age, gender, and physical ability norms are neutralized. Additionally, schools can select to require that students maintain certain academic levels to remain active in the club/team or select to make the program reward based.

There is no shortage of information available to schools, administrators, or staff who are looking to begin their research, build a program framework, and understand what is needed to get started. Organizations such as the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations (NASEF) provide a lot of useful information that can be leveraged by schools and districts in their research around implementing an Esports program, why, and how to position to stakeholders. (Note - MediaTek is not affiliated with or otherwise sponsored by the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations). There are other national leagues you can seek out for further information and your state may even have an Esports League or resources to further assist you. One benefit of Esports being decentralized is that you are free to select the path and framework that works best for your school or district. If students are playing against each other in your school or district or other schools or districts on the same solution platform, the playing field will be even and fair.

As mentioned earlier, Esports programs can look very different depending on many factors, including how long the program has been up and running, student participation, school and district funding among other things. This paper will be focused on those wanting to begin an Esports initiative at their school or district but do not know how or do not think that they have the funding to do so. We aim to highlight a unique approach that can be deployed for likely much less of an investment that you think. Again, this approach would be most suitable for a school or district setting up a brand-new program. The intent here is to highlight a very cost-effective method that could be a game changer for allowing schools to jump into to supporting Esports and enabling all the above noted benefits for their school or district.

Computer - Chromebook, we tested on Chromebook devices powered by MediaTek Kompanio 520/528 processors. A minimum of 4GB of memory is sufficient but 8GB would allow for some headroom. If using 4GB it is recommended to close all other apps and tabs on the device. For screen resolution, HD (720p) is sufficient for this solution if you plan to use the display on the Chromebook device. If you plan to use an external display, please see below “Monitor” section.

Game controller

Headset

Monitor (optional) – while optional, an external monitor will enable a much richer gaming experience for students. A 24” minimum display is suggested and one that supports FHD (1080p), you could potentially repurpose the displays or use elsewhere when not in use for your Esports program.

Mouse
(optional)

Keyboard
(optional)

Internet Connection - minimum of 25Mbps, hardwired is recommended.

Space - Dedicated space is ideal (with room for 4-8+ players optimal) for team collaboration, practice, and competitions. However, one benefit of this solution is that dedicated space is not a requirement. School rooms not in use can be utilized for gameplay, but dedicated space may not even be required for schools at capacity since this solution is cloud based.

Coach/Advocate - A school administrator or instructor to act as the club/team leader and primary representative for the Esports club/team. This role is critical to help establish Esports within the school or district and define the goals and operating parameters for the club/team. This role will also be important to the set up of the Esports site facility (hardware, gaming accounts, and location). This role will then also administrator club/team practice and assist with overseeing matches and competition scoring.

Access to Games

- Many free games are available on cloud platforms and the first item to determine here is which cloud service you will use. There is a very useful site that can help you determine where the games you are interested in using are available from the various cloud services, it can be found here. Note that you will want to select games that allow for setting up private matches and games, as it is critical for security and student protection. Additionally, another benefit of cloud gaming vs. PC gaming is that you need not manually update each game saving time and complexity.

For the purposes of our brief, we will focus on Nvidia GeForce NOW. The cost for their mid level “Priority” access is $9.99/mo. or $49.99/6 mo. per account. There are three levels of Cloud Gaming service offered by Nvidia, Free, Priority, and Ultimate. The Free version is limited to a session length of 1-Hour and you may need to wait in a queue before beginning gameplay. Priority level (the mid-tier offering) is suitable for the solution highlighted here as you gain a number of benefits over the free level, including priority server access, up to a 6-Hour session length, and up to 1080p resolution as well as up to 60 FPS. The “Ultimate” (top-tier offering) provides exclusive access to the highest end servers, up to an 8-Hour session length, and up to 4K resolution as well as up to 120 FPS.

Here are a few examples of popular game options that are available free.

Rocket League is one such FREE game and is immensely popular. It combines soccer and cars and is rated E for Everyone. To begin gameplay, you will need to create an account with EPIC Games here. Instructions for how to play Rocket League on a Chromebook can be found here (additional video’s can be found here and here). For gaming competitions, there are max limitations on the number of players of a 4 person x 4 person team, but smaller teams are supported if you have less players. If you need to play beyond the 4 x 4 maximum, multiple private matches may be needed.

Instructions for how to create & join a private match in Rocket League can be found here. Voice chat can be used in Rocket League so students can communicate with each other in their private game, details can be found here & here.

Fortnite is another FREE game option and is rated Teen. To begin gameplay, you will need to create an account with EPIC Games here. Instructions on how to create and join a private match in Fortnite can be found here. You can play Fortnite as player-versus-player (solo), as duo, trio, or as a squad (usually consisting of three or four players) and details can be found here.

Solution Benefits

Once you have determined the Esports Coach, Administrator, or Educator Champion, Space, and Internet connection, you will be left primarily with procuring the hardware required and Cloud Gaming access. The table below provides an estimate for what a robust 10 student Esports lab could cost and you can easily scale this estimate up or down as you determine the size and number of stations you would like to start with, what hardware you may already have to leverage. You can then compare this to the cost of a dedicated Esports gaming PC and see that it could easily cost less than half the cost. If you select to use the Chromebooks already issued to students, this solution could be deployed for about one-fifth of the cost of that of a gaming PC scenario. If you choose to use the display on the devices and you have some of the hardware to repurpose, you can deploy this or begin testing Esports within your school or district for a very nominal cost.

Equipment Needed²	Scenario 1 -Leveraging Existing Chromebooks	Scenario 2 –Purchasing New Chromebooks	Scenario 3 –Purchasing New Gaming PC’s
Chromebooks Recommend Acer C723, Lenovo 100e/300e	$0	10 x $300 = $3,000	N/A
Gaming PC Workstation	N/A	N/A	10 x $1500 = $15,000
Game Controller steelseries Stratus Duo	10 x $60 = $600	10 x $60 = $600	10 x $60 = $600
Gaming Headset steelseries Arctis 3	10 x $70 = $700	10 x $70 = $700	10 x $70 = $700
Monitor Acer Nitro 23.8” FHD 165 Hz	10 x $150 = $1,500	10 x $150 = $1,500	10 x $150 = $1,500
Gaming Mouse steelseries Rival 3	10 x $30 = $300	10 x $30 = $300	10 x $30 = $300
Gaming Keyboard steelseries APEX 3	10 x $50 = $500	10 x $50 = $500	10 x $50 = $500
Total *All individual items & totals are estimates	~$3,600	~$6,600	~$18,600

L. Hollingworth School for the Talented and Gifted

This Fall, the L. Hollingworth School for the Talented and Gifted in Toledo, Ohio began a pilot test of this solution. The pilot was led by Rachel Gerwin, College and Career Readiness Coordinator/IT at Hollingworth. Rachel had wanted to explore Esports and provide a program option to Hollingworth students as a reward for completing their studies as well as foster teamwork. This solution was a perfect fit for what Rachel was seeking, a low cost and sustainable approach, was easy to set up and so she could quickly evaluate student interest and the effects of such a program.

Rachel began by taking the lead as the Esports Administrator Champion. First, Rachel secured space for a small Esports lab and obtained the necessary hardware (as detailed in our “what is needed” section earlier) for five student gaming stations. Rachel was even able to secure five gaming chairs to make the space feel very authentic. Next, Rachel signed up for Nvidia GeForce NOW Priority level access. Rachel selected to begin testing with Rocket League and was able to set up the needed accounts, create a private match, and allow students to compete against each other in teams of 2 x 2 players. The interest from students in this Esports pilot has been very positive. Hollingworth students participating in this pilot have reported high praise for the gaming experience with this set up.

While Hollingworth serves students from Pre-K through 8^th Grade, Esports testing was focused on grades 7 and 8¹ . Rachel does hope to evolve this program and offer regular competitions as part of an Esports Club. Ultimately, she envisions, being able to compete against other schools willing to deploy this solution. Rachel has also been focusing on her own education for Esports and has reached out to a local University that deployed a sanctioned Esports program and found a warm reception and offer of help sharing knowledge and best practices. The university also offered for Rachel and Hollingworth students to visit their campus and tour the Esports lab. This would not only allow for Rachel and Hollingworth students to expand their knowledge around Esports in general but also for the students to see firsthand the potential to pursue competitive Esports into college and beyond.

North Ridgeville City Schools

This summer, North Ridgeville City Schools in North Ridgeville, Ohio (NRCS) also began testing the solution outlined in this brief. Their testing, which was led by NRCS IT Director, Paul Hieronymus also included students working over the summer in the district’s Tech ER program. North Ridgeville did not have an active Esports program in their district and this solution piqued Paul’s interest as a feasible way to introduce Esports as a club for students and do so in a very affordable and sustainable manner. NRCS was also lacking space for a full blown and dedicated Esports lab so housing dedicated gaming PC’s was not a viable option. Paul loved the potential to be able to deploy this with the students own issued Chromebook devices which would minimize further the required budget and required space but still enable him to offer an Esports program to NRCS students.

Paul and the Tech ER students began by setting up the solution step by step as detailed in this brief. They found that the set up of accounts (for the Cloud Gaming service as well as the game companies) was straight forward and simple. The results from their initial testing confirmed the viability of this approach as they were able to set up matches as described. For this initial testing, the students set up a private match of Rocket League. We heard directly from the students who participated in this testing, and they were very pleased with the gaming experience they had. Game play was very smooth and consistent with surprising high FPS’s. Overall, this solution far exceeded their expectations. The students are looking forward to further testing and Paul is looking to discuss with his district peer’s as he viewed this solution as working so well that it would be a terrific option for a club or intramural program within NRCS.

Takeaways

MediaTek has a long and rich history of democratizing technology, it is part of our DNA. With the solution outlined in this document, MediaTek hopes to broaden Esports access to more schools and students and provide a more equitable playing field for students to be able to experience Esports and the positive benefits it can have on not only them but also the school, district, and community.

By leveraging this solution, schools and districts need not wait for large budgets or think there is only one path forward to begin testing Esports or offering students access to an Esports program. Schools and districts can tap into the benefits of Esports and enhance student engagement and interest with this very cost effective (up to one fifth the cost of a typical PC installation) and sustainable approach.