With video game sales skyrocketing in the past decade a new explosion has also set in — a world of competitive gaming. While most people stereotype gamers as computer nerds who stay in their rooms all day, people may not laugh them off as easily knowing that there is some money to be made in competitive gaming.
If a gamer is good enough to play at the national level and be signed with Major League Gaming (MLG) you can go on tour nation-wide like a rock star and get sponsorships like a pro athlete. Sponsorship is very important, and when playing at the national level it is not uncommon to get free stuff such as shoes and sound systems. The best teams can make up to $5,000 an event, but locally a gamer will get only about $200-$500, tops.
When referring to those stereotypes placed on gamers, Doc Ellis, a sophomore in First Year College (FYC) and gamer said, “The good players are all normal people and it’s all the nerdy kids that aren’t good.”
Ryan Moore, a junior in Law and Justice, used to be signed with MGL, and while he is no longer signed with them, he still works for them doing other things such as refereeing at tournaments.
“I was always in the top 32; it changed after every tournament,” said Moore. “I think I [got up] as high as 19.”
In terms of the tournament environment, Moore explains that the rooms are usually poorly lit, there is a high intensity level among competitors and trash-talk is very common. He says that teams are always trying to trade up and that sometimes people do that behind people’s backs.
“The first day there are anywhere from 500-800 people,” Moore said. “There are about fifty stations set up and people will be yelling and trash-talking and stuff.”
It is MLG that is responsible for putting on most of the events around the country. Ender Tran, a freshman in FYC and gaming veteran said that, for him, “The best thing about the game is the trash-talk.”
On MTV’s True Life series, they featured one episode called “I’m a Professional Gamer,” which depicted the growing popularity of gaming. The program showed national competitions and the huge array of television screens lining the walls of a crowded room; people seemed to be everywhere. It was a chaotic scene with people screaming and trash-talking one another. Between all the “bleeps,” it was obvious that cutting other players down to size is a big part of competitive gaming.
Tran found it interesting to see different players’ techniques. He said that one person he played held their controller like a keyboard. He found it entertaining to see how people come up with different methods of holding their controllers and playing the game.
Sometimes it can be hard for good gamers to find good competition locally and around campus.
“There’s nobody that can compete with [Ryan Moore and I] at NC State,” Ellis said.
The Wolves’ Den is a big hangout for those students on campus that want to play against other gamers outside of their dorm rooms. While competitively, Halo and Halo 2 are hands-down the most popular games, a game called Super Smash Brothers is also gaining a lot of popularity as well.
Just as in any type of competition people use objects as good luck charms. Moore said that he knows of one gamer who would wear his girlfriend’s underwear around his neck at every competition because he felt like it brought him good luck.
In terms of strategies, Tran said “You don’t want to think too much, ’cause you just want to focus on your own game.”
He explained that he started playing competitively when he realized that he was good at the game. He knew that winning meant money, and in fact he did make some money off of winning.
“If you’re really good you’ll admit that you’re bad, just to throw [your competition] off,” said Tran. “I’m pretty much retired [from gaming now].”
However, while he may not be active in the competitive gaming scene anymore, he has started to train people from his hall.
To test out their skills, gamers can play online and see how good they are. This can be a good indication that they are ready to play competitively.
Ellis and Moore explain that people don’t want to play with their real names. When competitive gamers play, they use aliases. “A lot of us know one another by our aliases, not by our real names,” Tran said.
He says he didn’t want to take gaming as seriously as some of his fellow gamers did. “I took everything as a joke. My team was called Teen Girl Squad.”
The sport of gaming is male-dominated. Tran jokingly said that there are definitely girls that play but that he does not know of many good ones, except for one 14 year-old girl named Zena.
While it may seem like all fun and games he said, “Halo brings out the worst in people, and breaks up relationships.”
The gaming veteran says he personally knows of couples that have broken up because of the game.
A Facebook.com group called “Girlfriends Hate Halo” is further evidence that the endless hours dedicated to Halo and other video games are not favored among gamers’ girlfriends. The group’s description reads “This group is for girlfriends who are tired of hearing ‘killing spree, kill-tacular’ and all of that ridiculous nonsense. We want our boyfriends back, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Halo 2 is now available. Boo to Halo!!”