MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/39119995 ]The world is going mental and this, in particular, makes me feel old. [/url]
[list][*]Diet: "You're never going to operate well if you're living off junk food and sleeping five hours a night."[/*]
[*]Have fun: "Even though the job is very professional and there's lots of responsibilities as a team, it's always a blast."[/*]
[*]Fitness: "The image of the unhealthy gamer in his room at night, it's kind of not true for professional gamers because you actually need a good work ethic."[/*]
[*]Focus: "Most people tend to be a bit ragey, but you should try to hold it and focus on yourself."[/*]
[*]Dream big: "At first my parents weren't too supportive, they didn't understand what it meant to be a gamer, but they quickly understood it could be a real career for me."[/*][/list]
So, does anyone compete in Esports? Or do you just really play computer games?
I came third in a cat C race on zwift once. does that count?
I could have made it as a professional Candy Crush player if I hadn't suffered that tragic paper cut which ended my career.
Is Esports something that a fat Yorkshireman remembered doing at school?
IGMC
So, does anyone compete in Esports? Or do you just really play computer games?
If I knew it was going to be one day a thing to earn a good living from then I would have given it a go.
I could have made it as a professional Candy Crush player if I hadn't suffered that tragic paper cut which ended my career.
I nuked & restored the missus' iPhone after she had somehow managed to brick it, there were a couple of videos of our daughter at 3months that hadn't made it to a computer and several hundred photos, but no the one reason she didn't talk to me for weeks was the 3 years of Candy Crush she had lost.
I used to compete in Clanbase and ESL (European Leagues) back in the noughties. Was good fun. The game I used to play held a competition in the States and the winner ended up with $100k for his toubles. That was back in 2007, since then prizes have got greater and sponsorship revenues make pro gaming a real career option for some kids.
The Southern Yeti - I think you should divulge that your Zwift profile is set up to be a 40kg, 15 yr old girl thus ensuring some category wins.
*cough* E-sports doper! *cough*
😉
A friend of mine played Starcraft professionally for a while some years back. He was (is) the most focused, dedicated person I've ever met. He got out of it in his early twenties as he said it was extremely stressful & no fun plus he felt his reaction speed had dropped which is what that particular game is all about (apparently).
The games arcade (remember them) next to Central Station in Glasgow ran a competition on Ferrari 355 Challenge - £100 prize for the fastest lap each week.
I won it 3 weeks in a row. They cancelled the competition and my brief career as a professional gamer came to an abrupt end.
So, does anyone compete in Esports? Or do you just really play computer games?
I can certainly say I used to compete at a fairly high level in a few games, but never quite good enough to win any money, or really make it to the very top.
I've always been quite good at computer games, and was lucky enough to meet a skilled american player who put me in touch with some of his friends in Europe.
Over the last 10 years, i've been lucky enough to play along side some excellent players that have won ESL cups, and even in one case have a pro contract for a short time.
Every player has certain skills, and genres of games they are better suited to than others, but these guys can pretty much pick up any game and within a very short time will be performing better than 95%+ off the player base.
Playing at a high level certainly requires more than just playing the game, you really have to learn it (most high level players are smart, well educated guys). Some will even spend time doing drills specifically to work on their reactions etc.
I guess the biggest surprise is how relevant gaming can be to real life. Most people think of gamers as geeks stuck in a basement with no grasp on reality. But at a high level identifying behaviour patterns, and appreciating the outcomes of applying pressure to an opponent are quite important, and apply equally well to real world scenarios/sports.
The highlight of my esports career was winning a "10 free pint" tournament playing Goldeneye against fellow pissed students at the Nursery Tavern in Sheffield 18 years ago.
Sadly retired after that but now kicking myself after reading that article.
I guess the biggest surprise is how relevant gaming can be to real life. Most people think of gamers as geeks stuck in a basement with no grasp on reality. But at a high level identifying behaviour patterns, and appreciating the outcomes of applying pressure to an opponent are quite important, and apply equally well to real world scenarios/sports.
Yeah that's what I told my mum when she moaned I'd been on it too long 😆
Yeah that's what I told my mum when she moaned I'd been on it too long
If you'd have played a bit more then you'd have identified your Mum's behaviour patterns...
"The idea is to bring the club to a large number of people who don't know anything about football."
Just invite some women?
Some years ago (about 12 IIRC) a colleague played online games then sold upgrades etc that he'd won to other gamers - not enough to live on, but he did make a nice bit of treat money out of it – so clearly it isn't that new a thing.
That sounds like my idea of hell. Even when I was a kid in the early 80s, when my friends wanted to play Donkey Kong and Frogger for hours, I would get bored after about three and half minutes.
*Spending more than a Boxing Day afternoon with a warm fire in the stove and a game on the screen would exceed my annual in-built gaming quota.
*I've never actually done this, because I don't have a machine that plays games, but I like the image.
So you don't just whack all the buttons as quickly as you can then? Theres actually skill involved!
Edit: 😉
So you don't just whack all the buttons as quickly as you can then? Theres actually skill involved!
always been a hit with the ladies? 😉
😆
Like playing games but turning it into a profession isn't what I'd want to do. Can't say it's any more strange than crap, hand\eye co-ordination "sports" like golf or darts.
somebody on here is / was a game reviewer for some magazine or website, I think
I played starcraft 2 casualy for a bit as I love a good RTS.
However, getting good at it is stressful, if you don't get your build order perfect and in response to what tech tree the opposing player is going for, you're toast.
Trying to expand your base with perfect timing as resources are collected whilst scouting what the enemy is upto when one wrong click can mean disaster wasn't my idea of fun.
Guy I work has a son in his mid 20s who makes around £35K pa on top of what his proper job pays. 8)
Hell no, lol, there's no way you can get good at sc2 without doing it full time.
My 15 yr old son frequently tells me how big esports is.
I think his generation see it like wanting to be a professional footballer or tennis player. Highly unlikely to happen but not something to be sniffed at if the opportunity arose, and requiring dedication to attain.
Regarding transferable skills a. cool-rectal surgeon I know told me that people who've played a lot of Xbox make very good laparoscopic surgeons due to their ability to control something with their hands whilst sat looking at a screen....
It is very much like being a pro footballer, short careers for most and you have to be in the top 1% to make any money. Otherwise your looking at Sunday league.
I once came second in the UK Tetris championship. The winner got an all expenses paid trip to the world championship in the US, which would technically have made me professional. I also came 19th in a U.K. pacman contest.
I think it's odd that folk want to watch other people playing video games, as much as I enjoy them being a spectator seems about as dulll as ditch water.
Never mind esports, the guys who churn out minecraft videos on Youtube for youngsters to watch are making a killing. Mine don't do CBBC anymore...
If its what folks did in ibiza 20 years back ....
I think it's odd that folk want to watch other people playing video games, as much as I enjoy them being a spectator seems about as dulll as ditch water.
I say the same thing about watching snooker or mountain biking videos, haha! 😉
But then I think that about all sports. Why differentiate video games?I think it's odd that folk want to watch other people playing video games, as much as I enjoy them being a spectator seems about as dulll as ditch water.
Never mind esports, the guys who churn out minecraft videos on Youtube for youngsters to watch are making a killing. Mine don't do CBBC anymore...
Yes, and thanks to them we now have to listen to a running commentary everytime my 10'year old plays a game
Redbull.tv has some eSports documentaries. Quite an interesting watch - the one about StarCraft is good (link below). Basically once you hit 18, it's time to think about retirement as your reactions are too slow for tournament play.
https://www.redbull.tv/video/AP-1JYCWMN6H1W11/momentum?playlist=AP-1JYCWMN6H1W11
But then I think that about all sports. Why differentiate video games?
i suppose if darts and snooker are going to be considered sports then the skill level is about the same for video games
It's probably just the newness that makes it seem odd like when you see university students playing ultimate frisbee in the park and you want to shout "get a ball" at them.