Here are the four kinds of video games where players go pro

I was a junior in high school when Barack Obama was elected president. But there are plenty of things that make me feel old: if we're being real here, eSports was on that list for a long time.

I had tons of questions. Are "pro gamers" even a thing? Why would anyone get paid to play video games? Wouldn't watching a match be like being the fifth kid on a four-controller couch?

But, like it or not, the future is coming. Here's what you need to know to be a part of it.

Multiplayer online battle arenas are the team sports of pro gaming

The biggest tournament in gaming this month is The International 5. It's got $18 million riding on the outcome of clashes between teams of "DOTA 2" players. The whole thing is streaming live on Twitch.tv.

"DOTA" (excuse the alphabet soup) is a MOBA – or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. MOBAs, in general, work like this:

• 1) Two teams of players choose characters with specific roles.
• 2) Each team has a base to defend, and attempts to destroy the enemy base.
• 3) Most of the action occurs along "lanes" linking the two bases.
• 4) Computer-generated players spawn and fight alongside player characters.
• 5) Players view the game from a top-down perspective (seen above).
• 6) Often, defensive towers along the lanes form additional obstacles to assaults.

The arena gameplay produces the same kind of coordinated team strategy and drama that makes major team sports so compelling for fans. Just like soccer, football, basketball, and hockey have the same fundamental rules (put ball/puck in opponent's goal) but wildly different styles, so too do MOBAs: They function based on like principles but play very differently from one another.

"DOTA's" sequel, "DOTA 2", carries the torch for the franchise and has a serious pro circuit. But "DOTA 2" isn't even the biggest MOBA around. "League of Legends" holds that title.

Here's part one of Tech Insider's "League of Legends" documentary series, called "League of Millions":

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You can watch part two here, with part three coming soon.

Real-time strategy games that require insane speed and mental effort

That screenshot may not look all that different from "DOTA," but it's another thing entirely: a real-time-strategy (RTS) game. Specifically, it comes from "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty." 

In an RTS players control many more units than the single characters ("heroes") of MOBAs. Often, you control whole armies. The "StarCraft" series dominates professional RTS play.

All of the units on both teams can move and battle at the same times. This means a great "StarCraft" player is more Bill Belichick than Tom Brady, keeping track of broad goals many moves ahead even as they micromanage every detail of the game.

Pro-level "StarCraft" players manage a couple hundred distinct actions in a minute – or several per second. Here's one in action:

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"StarCraft" is mostly a big deal in South Korea, where thousands of players line up to watch major tournaments. This isn't altogether different from "DOTA 2" tournaments in the US, though eSports are very much a part of the popular culture in South Korea. (That unfortunately doesn't stop Americans from writing about it like some strange, particularly Korean national insanity.)

First-person shooters are always on the edge of breaking through

First-person shooters — despite being among the most popular games on consoles, and despite being full of standardized maps and objectives — have struggled to grow audiences for professional play. But first-person shooters are difficult to watch for precisely the reason they are so fun to play: their engines put you in the middle of the action.

MOBA and RTS are played from a top-down view that closely resembles the perspective you might have on a professional sport. A first-person shooter, though, has a far more limited perspective – the rapidly shifting point of view of a single player swinging her weapon around.

Sure, it can be cool to watch sports that way:

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But imagine keeping that look for a whole broadcast. It'd make you ill.

First-person shooters may be on the verge of a huge breakthrough though. Microsoft announced plans on Tuesday for a "Halo World Championship" with a million-dollar prize. "Halo" is a massively popular franchise with an ocean of ridiculously talented players ready to compete, so it's already ripe for professional competition. The most salient part of the pitch though? The new "Spectator Mode" intended to improve viewers' experiences.

Still, the footage is pretty dizzying:

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It's hard to get a sense of the overall game from that perspective (or hold on to your lunch).

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