Greg Timmermans chose MMORPG ArchLord to be a virtual hero in Nic Balthazar’s movie BenX. In real life, he endured bullying and constantly sought an escape route.
However, Bathazar’s teenager is not unique in finding a world within the real. Youngsters round the globe are hooked on video gaming, for various reasons and many times for the love of thrill in virtual reality, and taking it to another level, e-sports.
Gaming, though not on the conventional list of sports, is fast becoming professional with regular tournaments and hefty cash prize. India, which is slowly opening up to the e-sports, has no dearth of gamers.
Shillong too has seen a steady rise in the number of gamers, who are between 12 and 40 years of age. There are about 700 who actively visit gaming parlours and there is no estimate of those “who play online at home”, says 23-year-old gamer Paul Lyngdoh.
Though the new-age sport is not widely accepted, this hardly dissuades the local gamers’ brigade to give up their passion.
Dean Osmond Iangrai says he started as a casual gamer when he was 6 but gradually grew an interest in it. His interest turned into addiction and later passion. The 24-year-old gamer says he does not mind making small sacrifices like skipping meals and procrastinating work to avoid disturbing the pace.
“I always told myself… I would grow out of the gaming mentality. It’s funny how it stuck to me and it actually turned the tables. Gaming is now a priority. To many, this would seem like a bad situation to be stuck in. But I don’t think it is,” he says.
An escapade
There are several factors governing the “turn-table” situation of youngsters like Dean, Paul and their likes. Many youngsters choose video game to divert the mind from teenage lures and negative thoughts. The most reclusive of the people are dedicated gamers, observes Paul adding, “They are almost always introvert, slightly depressed and running from something. The gaming cafés are kind of safe houses for them.”
Alfred Rani, an avid gamer, while describing his Timmermansesque life says, “It’s hard to imagine what would have been if it wasn’t for gaming. I was the skinny kid who was always bullied in school and it was gaming that made me like I have some control over people or that I’m better than them. It was a fantasy I would relive again and again.”
The 21-year-old Edmundian slips into his virtual world where he is a smart strategist, an action hero or a racer. “But I’m mostly drawn to the strategy part of gaming with a mix of even FPS (First Person Shooter).”
Some gamers, like Ratul Hajong, say video game sharpens their creativity. Hajong claims he writes better music after a session of serious gaming.
Also, “when I’m playing World of Warcraft, a really massive game where millions of players can play together simultaneously, helping each other complete difficult quests and missions or trying to kill each other in Player vs Player zones. I feel powerful taking the role of a Shaman or a paladin or Monk”, says the 26-year-old professional.
Like social media, gaming is also a medium of communication. An otherwise introvert person gets introduced to like-minded gamers in the virtual world and finds a comfortable way of opening up to the entity. “It is like we’re someone different when we play,” says Keddie Diengdoh, another gamer who can play continuously for 13-14 hours and sometimes even skips sleep.
“Working together with 20 other people to clear out raid bosses for rare loot and equipment. It’s like putting on a second skin and living a second life having a second family with your guildmates,” says Mayborn Lyngdoh, a 20-year-old gamer.
The management of Plug N Play, a local cyber café, explains why many teenagers get into online playing. He says cinemas and restaurants are expensive options for students and college goers. “Gaming is the kind of entertainment that brings people together. You make friends instantly because of your same taste or opinion about games. It is also something which has no age barrier,” says a member.
“Gaming gave me hope to live,” concedes Arwanki.
Gaming & e-sports
Gaming is a generic term while e-sport is the professional part of it. In many western countries, competitions are organised and millions of dollars are given in prize money. Many players on the top 100 list prepared by US-based e-sports Earnings are teenage millionaires.
But the e-sports scenario in Shillong, and in the rest of the country, is yet to get professional. “Gaming is mostly a hobby since most of our parents don’t allow us to pursue it professionally,” says Dean.
Some cyber cafes do conduct tournaments but at the local level and the prize is also a paltry amount when compared to the world tourneys. Nonetheless, these meets and local competitions appreciate the young gamers’ efforts and encourage them to pursue their passion.
Many young gamers in the city have already participated in competitions though most of them are local challenges or in the North East.
Games they play
There is an array of video games of all kinds in the market. In Shillong, the kings of the virtual gaming world are DOTA, or Defence of The Ancients (a gamer is of the view that the game is so popular that only a nincompoop has to be told its full name) and Counter Strike. Many among them have started with NES consoles.
Local players are also into multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG), which is played with other people around the world.
“For me, it all started with a joystick, a Nintendo N-64 and what seemed to be the coolest and popular game at that time, Super Mario Brothers,” says Dean.
Many like 20-year-old Bryan Marshall Laloo got into gaming with Mario and Contra. Laloo, who is a passionate gamer and plays up to 12-13 hours a day, says while he plays CSGO professionally, DOTA2 is “just for fun”.
Mayborn estimates that there are over 500 players engaged in various games. “But if only DOTA2 gamers are considered then there are over 250. I am a regular DOTA2 player. There is a Shillong chat channel where over 100 players gather on a daily basis,” says the gamer.
Though not quite well-equipped, the numerous game parlours in the city allow youngsters the gateway to the virtual world.
But of the gaming centres, Plug n Play does things “professionally”.
“All in all, the gaming cafes in Shillong to me are like a buffer to help some cope with realities and others to have fun,” says Mayborn.
Parallel life
While most parents think gaming is waste of time and affects studies and health, their wards say it is wrong to think with such a conventional mindset.
Almost every gamer that Sunday Shillong spoke to also denied that gaming in any way damages their studies. “I wouldn’t say gaming directly affects my studies in school. I had been gaming for about three hours daily in the past two years but my CGPA is 9.4 so I can’t say gaming affects my studies right now in college. I just had to make a bit of time for both,” he says.
Bryan Marshall Laloo admits that his studies are affected but “I have to manage both.
Laloo, however, is among the lucky gamers who get support from family.
“But most parents think this is a waste of time which I disagree with because if you can be good at football and cricket why can’t you be good in gaming and get the same respect,” he says.
Some die-hards like Arwanki follow a different strategy to keep studies going at the same time. Gaming, he says, would be his reward for studying. “This way, I create a balance. Good grade plus good games = Happy college life,” he quips.
Promoting gaming
Plug n Play, or popularly called PnP, is the only gaming parlour in the city that holds regular tournaments. The expansion of the parlour over a decade is testimony to the growing popularity of video games.
PnP started in 2007 with only four computers and one Xbox. This increased to 20 and now there are 62 computers.
There are three categories of players at PnP — the kids, youths and the working people.
“We do not get any sponsorship from the government or private entity. In fact, we sponsor the gamers who come and play here for tournaments outside the state. If we see the potential and the passion we send them for tournaments. If we see the youths have so much interest in gaming we try to promote it. Even gaming is a sport but because no one is taking any initiative to promote it, it is stuck in one place. Everyone is not educated, so gaming is something that shows the potential and capabilities a person has,” says the PnP management.
In 2016, the game parlour sent a group of players, Grim Reaper, to Mizoram for a tournament and they won the second prize. In January, there will be a tournament at Kaziranga University and PnP is trying to send another team.
Virtual reality
There is no doubt about the fact that the popularity of video game is increasing. But the reality is also that Shillong is lagging behind cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai in creating a platform for young players.
Paul, who started playing at the age of 14, is among those gamers who feel the prospects of video-gaming are stagnating. “It was developing quite a bit… We were a dedicated bunch and we were receiving sponsorships from PnP to participate in tournaments outside the state. Now that we have all outgrown that phase, it’s as though there is no talent or dedication put in by the current gamers for cafes to invest in them,” says the player and adds that in western countries, a DOTA tournament would fetch around $27 million prize money for winners.
In fact, he wonders why the parlours in the city are not taking gaming to a different level by developing a gaming house and investing in a team. “Preparing them for a month for a tournament and see how it goes from there. I can’t blame them (video game parlours) too though. It’s going be a large investment and the prize money offered in India is barely enough to cover it, but if they really cared for the development of the exports scene in Shillong, they’d at least try,” he observes.
Dean explains the scenario in Shillong more clearly. He says e-sports in the city will not earn one’s livelihood and it is therefore useless to strive for it.
“We do have good gamers here but the gaming industry is not big enough for players to make a living out of it. The downside to gaming in Shillong is purely the fact that we won’t earn enough if we solely focus on it. The upside, however, is that I don’t think it’s going to die out anytime soon. In fact, it is pretty imminent that it’ll grow. It might take time but Rome was not built in a day,” says the 24-year-old.
PnP too hopes for the good and says it is committed to taking the sport further.
“With our small initiative, we hope that gaming continues and that there will be some kind of sponsorship or initiative taken. Gaming is in its nascent stage in Shillong and we will take it further more,” she adds.
Inseparable
For these young gamers, the virtual world is a whole new discovery and a coveted comfort zone. Despite objections from family or lack of opportunities, they continue to strive because “we all make choices but in the end, our choices make us”.
They are confident and determined but are waiting for the right platform to show their mettle. Mayborn says to make gaming more popular in Shillong, sponsorship is imperative to conduct e-sports. It is also necessary to help these players keep up the momentum with the evolving global gaming arena.
