FIFA Online 2 Hyundai Asian Cup Malaysia Qualifier

by TPK 31 May 2009





After [T2.WiNDs]ViN represents Malaysia for FIFA Online 2 in ESWC Masters of Asia, FIFA Online 2 community is handed another opportunity when FIFA Online 2 Asian Championship will be held in Korea for a chance to win a Hyundai Verna and a bragging rights for 2009 Hyundai Motor Cup


Therefore, 3 online qualifiers will be held to select the best 7 players that will face each other on 4 July 2009 at MOL iCafe to select the Malaysian representative to Busan to face the other champions for Hyundai Asian Cup

The online qualifiers will be held and the number of qualifiers as stated below:-

1 - 7 June = Top 2 players
8 - 14 June = Top 2 players
15 - 21 June = Top 3 players

For more details, click this link: FIFA Online 2 Malaysian Championship


Read more...

FOR LOVE OR FOR MONEY?

by Rinie Friday 29 May 2009



Recently, I had a discussion with some of my friends about the pro-gaming scene. Their question is simple, why waste time in something that doesnt give high profit?


Let us look back to the meaning of Pro-Gamers. The simple explanation is you get paid to play games competitively. But how much do you get paid to call yourself as pro-gamer? Does someone who won a competition prize of RM300 consider as pro-gamer too?

Apparently, if its according to the meaning itself, yup the person above is a pro-gamer. But to my own definition, I prefer to say that Pro-Gamers is you get paid to play games competitively and still manage to pay all the bills,foods and etc etc. Meaning you can live just by playing games. So does this group apparently exist in Malaysia?

I would say NO. We dont have this type of groups yet. Even if we heard some gamers get paid to play, well they still cant afford to live alone or live only by playing games. Its either they get some sort of support by their families or they have another normal job. I myself is in the later group. Or if you know anyone who actually fulfill the above requirement, please do let us know. We will be happy to be proven wrong ^^

But here is the catch; why do you play games? why do you want to be a pro-gamer? Is it because of the money? Is it because you wanna run away from the normal boring jobs offered in the market? Why do you want to be a pro-gamer?

Everyone has their own reasons. But i will tell you this right now, if you play games because of money, you will never be a Pro-Gamer. Even if you became a Pro-Gamer, you will not live a happy life. The reason is simple, its because your doing it because of the money, not because you like/love it. No matter what you do, be it you wanna be a doctor,engineer,lawyer,astronaut and etc etc, if the reason alone is because of money, you will fail.

Live is simple. If you want to do something, if your looking for the correct job, the best thing is to follow your heart. Never do because material things. I know we all like to be rich. But you can choose which type of rich person you wanna be. The happy one or the miserable one? Yes there is miserable rich people too. No matter what nothing can substitute eternal happiness and eternal love.

So i urge everyone,especially our readers who have this aspiration to be a pro-gamer to be honest and ask yourself 1st, why do you wanna be a pro-gamer?

No matter what your heart says, even if it hurts you, even if its hard to swallow in, always and always follow your heart~

So why am i still playing games? Its because i love it.

Read more...

THE GAMING TREND PART 2

This is the sequel to our discussion about the previous topic, the gaming trend. Here to discuss the way gaming trend works is Albert of FMJ|Asisoft.MY(Puggies) which once upon the time is one of the legendary clan in Counterstrike.




Rise to Popularity


Many popular games do not become famous overnight. They become a hit among gamers at first when the cyber café’s start installing them and when people start to play them in massive numbers. Albert however, has a different view.

“I suppose most games would follow the trend that you have set out. I however agree to disagree with that being how competitive games remain popular; there are a lot of factors to consider. I would normally gauge games played in CC's as more casual based, the more popular the game the more the casual base of gamers in Malaysia would play it.”

More Tournaments Hit the Streets


As games become more and more popular, there will be an increasing demand for tournaments for players to showcase their skills. Or brag about their recent success. Albert supports the notion.

“Competitive gamers on the other hand live and breathe for tournaments; it is the rush and the thrill of competition that keeps them coming back for more. Although after awhile most do give up or move on. Tournaments are vital for any game to be able to rise in popularity albeit driven by either the community or game companies themselves. Tournaments create a certain lore and mystique that will entice gamers to talk about the top team/player of the day and dispute on who the top team is at the moment.”

More and More Clans Emerge


To win the battles, you need to be with like minded people who are as skilled as you and can provide the training you need. The clans then emerge and compete with each other to achieve their intended goals.

“Games reach a high point when many clans emerge and start popping up trying to compete and take advantage of a new game’s release. However, huge bulk of these players lacks substance. They really do not care about e-Sports, community or recognition which most of us fight for. They really only care about how much money is able to go back into their pocket after Tournament 'X', which is pretty hard to fault as the saying goes money makes the world go round.”

Domination of a certain clans


Like sports (think Manchester United, Rafael Nadal etc), certain clans would prove better than the rest and the gap between the winners and the rest would widen. Albert offers a thorough insight about this issue based on what is happening locally.

“Then there are the few who dominate, usually with the help and benefit of International experience. Teams / players often build up this ego that they are unbeatable, that they should expect to win, that the new kid on the block should be considered a noob. This is quite disheartening to most new comers and therefore a huge problem in the competitive scene here in Malaysia. Most competitive gamers and their community do not leave space for breeding of new talent. Coupled together with the fact that Malaysians also like to adopt the "if I can't win I better don't waste my time lah" instead of the "if you beat me this time I will practice harder and ‘tapau’ you next time" attitude, is it even a wonder why there are no professional gamers in Malaysia? The top players try to ‘lanci’ and the new players don't even bother trying.”

Dislike/Banning of Certain Clans


If a clan is proven to be too dominant, should they be banned? Just like how International Football governing bodies try to prevent the rich teams from becoming more powerful, can this be implemented in E-sports?

“Sure some teams are disliked; rivalry however is a good thing. Would Manchester United be anything if not for clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal? It is that intense rivalry that generates raw emotion that the viewing public can feel apart of. That is the essence of sport. The problem with this is that the teams / players in Malaysia are so blinded by their raw hatred and rivalry to the point that many don't even unite against a common enemy or cause. I mean Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez can call each other names until the cows come home, but when UEFA decides to limit teams from the EPL into the Champions League they UNITE together and fire UEFA. Time to wake up, stop being cry babies and blaming the establishment. Until the competitive scene can show maturity and UNITY only will things change for the better. Take for example if Tournament "X" is a load of crap but puts up a substantial amount of prize money and team "A" calls for a boycott of the tournament, I am pretty sure more than 90% of the teams will still show up instead of team A's protest. Less competition might mean a higher chance of winning to some of them. Stop selling ourselves short and stabbing each other in the back, aren't we in the end just shooting ourselves in the foot?”

Fewer New Faces Emerge


Many gamers who lack the confidence and courage to try would not participate in tournaments, they themselves have already written of their chances of success. In this situation, the popular games would be dominated by the same people year after year. Unlike Colborn, Albert agrees about this.

“It is pretty hard to blame that lesser new faces show up during tournaments, because as I said before there really is no breeding ground for new teams to play in. Take USA for example there are many faceted leagues from Pro to Amateur for players to join. Tournaments here in Malaysia mostly just cater to whoever wants to play and the only real figure that matters to organizers are how many teams actually show up. Until we can find a balance, this trend will just continue. Sure most top teams are the ones that receive the most publicity and fame, but the top teams need to realize that the only reason they receive so much fame or publicity in the first place is because there is a core community of new players out there that want to talk about, follow and support them. You are only a superstar if you have supporters and followers, without them you are just a have been hero or never was.”

Game Dies


All good things come to an end. Even the strongest Roman Empire shall falter, and the longest serving ministers will be replaced. Does the same apply in gaming? Would players get bored after a period of time and ditch the game completely?

“A game doesn't really die, it just loses interest from the the bulk of the community and when tournament turn out starts dipping; it eventually loses interest from the organizers as well. Of course most games don't create residual income for most game companies because once a game is marketed and sold there really is no real reason to continue marketing them right? With no backing from the game distributors and publishers, lack of interest from the organizers and lack of participation from the community, it just fizzles out. Korea is the exception with StarCraft, why and how? Is a question that still hasn't been answered clearly maybe most of the spotgamers readers would like to provide some feedback and opinion as to why that is?”

The say you can never stop learning, and Albert’s insights have certainly been a breath of fresh air. The gaming trend may change gradually depending on the market and popularity, but that does not stop us gamers from doing what is most important-Having fun.



Read more...

What is E-Sports?

by Han
published by Rinie Wednesday 27 May 2009

The Pinnacle Of E-Sports

E-Sports in General

Source: Wikipedia, Lowyat.net

Electronic sports, abbreviated e-sports or eSports, is used as a general term to describe the play of video games competitively. Other terms include competitive gaming, cybersports, cyber athletics (used by the CPL) and V-Sports (used by the GGL)




These games which are considered electronic sports normally belong to the first-person shooter, real-time strategy, or sports game genres. They are played competitively at both amateur and professional levels. Professional levels are played competitively at the professional league and tournament.


The Cyberathlete Professional League announced on March 13th, 2008 that they would cease tournament operations and canceled all 2008 events. The CPL cited the current fragmentation of the sport, a crowded field of competing leagues and championships, and the current economic climate as reasons for ceasing operations.


On 25 August 2008, the CPL announced that it was acquired by an investment group based in the United Arab Emirates. The investment group has stated that it plans to create a new company called "CPL, LLC" which will be located in the United Arab Emirates and will host video game tournaments around the world.


The easiest way to play an electronic sports match is over the Internet. General online play is subject to the lessened ability to detect cheating and the more unpredictable network latency not being the ideal environment for high level competition; however, due to its convenience, even players who are used to LAN games use Internet games for fun and practice.


Usually teams or clans as they are called; will need to contact each other prior to matches. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is very popular for doing this due to the ability for each clan, league, or other gaming related organisation to set up its own chat channel on the network, making them easy to find. IRC has become so popular among gamers that the largest IRC network is Quake Net, a network originally created for players of the first-person shooter Quake and now used by players of many different games. The matches are then carried out on the server according to the rules of the leagues the teams are familiar with.


The largest online gaming network on the PC is Battle.net, used to play Warcraft and StarCraft (two of the three oldest and biggest competitive games with Counter-Strike) online. It has over 12,000,000 active users with an average of 200,000 online at any given moment with peaks up to 400,000.


There are a number of titles that have a professional gaming scene. The top players can make a living playing the games on the marketing value they gain as a result. Hundreds, thousands and even millions of dollars in prize money are turned out each year for competitors in these titles.


The main medium for electronic sports coverage is the Internet. Electronic sports websites generally focus on professional tournaments and the top level amateur games, leaving the other games to be covered by the leagues themselves or smaller game-specific community websites if at all.



E-Sports in Malaysia



Unfortunately, E-sports is growing slowly in Malaysia, as the lack of sponsorships and attention is given to this industry. Also, the idea of having the ambition to become a professional gamer would sound silly to many parents, thus forcing players to play the game only part-time. The lack of tournaments and revenue also contributed to the lack of growth of E-sports.


Besides that, the lack of media coverage indirectly caused the lack of attention of the general public towards E-sports. When the newspapers report about E-Sports, they utilize at most 2-3 pages for that section. The media usually interviews highly successful gamers or make a report at major events only. Thus, the lack of coverage by the media attributed to the lack of interest of the general public towards E-Sports. If the media could pay more attention to this, there is a chance that E-Sports might grow in Malaysia.


However, for avid gamers out there, there is still hope for Malaysia. Last year, our (former) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took some time off his hectic schedule to meet the Kingsurf dota team and wished them luck for the up coming Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC). It is refreshing to see that a leader of that stature actually paid attention to the progression of E-Sports in Malaysia, and his words would have certainly been an inspiration to all gamers out there.

He Actually Pay Attention!

The future of E-Sports for Malaysia looks bright, with many gamers already making a name for themselves on the international scene. It can be improved if the necessary media coverage, sponsorships and public awareness are given to the local E-Sports industry.

Read more...

Does Good Gaming Gears Improve Your Gaming Skills?

by Han
published by Rinie Tuesday 26 May 2009

Razer Tarantula

Gaming gears are everywhere. From the latest controllers, high performance mouse, sound proof earphones, sophisticated keyboards to the smoothest mouse pads, they are readily available for gamers to purchase. The big question is, with so many interesting gadgets out there, are they really worth the money? Do they really improve our gaming skills?

The truth is it does, in a way. However having the right gaming gears does not instantly turn you into a pro if you do not have the skills in the 1st place. For example, having Lee Chong Wei’s racquet won’t make you play like him if you do not have the talent or years of hard work through training. Also, buying Ronaldo’s shoes do not mean you are going to slalom on the pitch past helpless players.

So how does gaming gears improve your skills? We take a look at how does it work in First Person Shooter games. For the record, a spending on a good mouse is not a waste of money if you want the extra advantage over your rivals. Having a mouse with high DPI means great precision. Higher DPI means greater precision/smoothness for your mouse movement. This can help you grab that crucial headshot before your rivals start to react. Also, having a better mouse pad can also prove decisive. Most of the time the mouse pad doesn't make or break anything like other things can, but finding a comfortable, smooth surface CAN make a difference. This might be the edge you need over your opponents.

Logitech Rumblepad 2

Just to further illustrate my point, we take a look at FIFA. Most casual gamers prefer to use keyboard as it is convenient and readily available for them to play with. But most pros prefer to use the gamepad. Why? Because gamepad provides the advantages a keyboard do not. Such as better angles and better player movement control. Start searching through the shelves for the right gamepad if you suddenly realize what you have been missing all this while.

In a nutshell, gaming gears are proven to give you a slight edge if you do know how to use them. If you think the slight advantage is worth the money, go ahead and get the gears you would need that might be the difference between victory and failure.


Read more...

Why Online Games Is The Way To Go

by Han
published by Rinie Monday 25 May 09

Maple Story

As we have highlighted about online games last week, we continue our discussion about the reasons online games are the way forward for gaming. With online games becoming so popular, we are about to analyze the reasons why it is the future for gaming.



1st and foremost, the main advantage online games have over other games is because it is easy to reach gamers. Online games like Maple Story, Fifa Online 2 and World of Warcraft have a huge fan base, thus when there is any breaking news and updates available for the game, they can be readily available at the gamer’s fingertips through the internet. The online platform of such games allows the players to discuss or exchange information real-time, a feature that normal computer games lack.

We’ve talked about how online games becoming popular with its multiplayer features being an important element. As normal games lack this, it has been becoming less and less popular. This is the reason why many retail games are trying to add online and multiplayer features for their games. Take for example Valve created Steam for L4D and TF2. Those games are packed with single player features, but the ability to play with friends make the game even more popular. And that is probably the reason EA created Fifa Online 2 as well.

Also, traditional MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) used to require a lot of our time by forcing us to farm and level up our characters. Many players who lack the patience eventually quit their respective games. However, retail games are now online, and such elements are getting reduced. Though some games still require us to farm and so on, the new games now remain to their core value, with excitement and skills very much on the agenda.

Sometimes It Makes Me Wonder If MMORPG Were Trying To Promote Agriculture(Farming)

Our government has been fighting piracy for years now (to no avail). Online games maybe the answer fighting piracy when it comes to gaming. With games available online, there is no use for criminals to make multiple copies of games as they are readily available online. With games available for free, almost nobody would spend money on games that they can obtain easily. Plus, game developers can get the revenue they deserve through sponsorships or advertising within the game.

So there you have it, the reasons why we at Spotgamers believe that online games maybe the way forward. We welcome other suggestions and constructive criticisms if anyone have another opinion.


Read more...

WORDTHY: LEFT 4 DEAD

by Han
published by Rinie Thursday May 21 2009



As a blog which focus on gamers i think no matter what, we cant neglect and avoid talking bout the hottest game in town. So therefore for the 1st time, we will try our best to make a review of selected games which is WORDTHY to be played. But of course the best way for you to know if the game is good or not is to played it. Thats why we will just gonna make our very own review short and simple.

So to start it out, here comes the zombiehhhhhh~


Spotgamers: Left 4 dead is a refreshing game that differs from other first person shooter games thanks to its brilliant graphics and gripping game play. Awareness, reaction and teamwork are very much on the agenda, which is fundamental in all good game titles. Best played with friends, but equally exciting when going solo, this is a game that can promise hours of fun. Certainly a game that is worthy of all the hassle required to play it.

IGN: The game is paced almost perfectly so that you're always pushed to the edge. You'll run low on health. You'll run low on ammo or you'll run out entirely, requiring you to rely on pistols, which have unlimited ammo but aren't as effective as shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns. There are pipe bombs and Molotov bombs that you can scavenge, and you can turn propane tanks and gas canisters into weapons. The latter are particularly useful in the many "crescendo" elements in the game. These are points where you must initiate an action in order to open the way forward like having a van drive through a steel fence to open the route. The kicker is that the moment you initiate the action the zombie horde are going to come down on you like a tidal wave. The good news is that you have time to prepare and place down fuel canisters and discuss the battle plan. If a player falls victim to the zombie menace, a respawn mechanism reintroduces them back in the action as another survivor who has been found (though don't ask why the new survivor is exactly the same as the old survivor).

This Is Only A Game.. Only A Game... Only A Game...

ExtremeTech: Great graphics and game play, and most importantly, little or no story at all, meaning that you jump into the action right away. It's also very easy to get the hang of. There are four weapons, four people, and after you know the ground rules of what you can do and what you shouldn't do, you can easily adapt and have fun. Games like Crysis felt a little gimmicky with all those fancy bells and whistles (character abilities) which really confused me more than entertained me.
Just remember to keep a safe distance from the witch and don't set off car alarms. You'll learn the hard way otherwise.

Kotaku: Substance And Style: The game's deep well of replayability clinches Left 4 Dead's spot on the list of best multiplayer games of the year. It's arguably one of the best multiplayer games of all time. I'm longing to end writing this review and play some more. The game is as pretty as it is playable. Well, it's pretty in its ugliness, with dirty, dark visual effects and gorgeous, understated design. The Source engine may be getting a little long in the tooth, but Valve has tweaked it and polished it to stay graphically competitive.


Gamespot: Left 4 Dead stars four charismatic survivors whose appearances and personalities add an immersive element to the game. They each banter in appropriate, often amusing ways when healthy, and they become more subdued and anxious when injured. The character models are top-notch, and there's nothing quite like looking at the macho biker when he is injured and seeing fear creep across his face as he begins to doubt that he'll survive. Seeing the relief on his face when you heal him is almost as satisfying as the relief you'll feel when your AI allies heal you. Their team spirit doesn't stop there: they'll shout out when the find ammo or health, and, crucially, will pick you up when you've been incapacitated by an enemy.


So there you have it. Remember, our words is just merely guidance but the true way to know the game is to play it. So take your guns and wish you were not the last man standing.

Read more...

THE GAMING TREND

by Han
published by Rinie Wednesday May 20 2009

Ups And Downs

Many games come and go. Some become an instant hit among gamers; while some games which were less popular may not be able to enjoy the success of other games. Here we chart the rise and fall of the gaming trend when a typical game became popular, through the eyes of a DOTA analyst, Underminer.


Rise to Popularity


Many popular games do not become famous overnight. They become a hit among gamers at first when the cyber café’s start installing them and when people start to play them in massive numbers.Underminer agrees.

“In the case of Dota, the game came out of nowhere. At the beginning, the game will be played as a “side game” for players in CC after “real games” like Counter Strike, Warcraft and Fifa were played. When people found out that there is a competitive side to it, much like the games I mentioned above, people start to play it more and hence contribute to its development, competitively and popularity.”

More Tournaments Hit the Streets


As games become more and more popular, there will be an increasing demand for tournaments for players to showcase their skills. Or brag about their recent success. Underminer agrees.

“As more and more people start to play a certain game, organizers of tournaments (CC owners mostly) will foresee an opportunity to promote their services/premises to the gaming audience by organizing tournaments. Event organizers would take the opportunity to attract crowds for their sponsors by casting popular games in their events for media cash in advertisement.
From a gamers’ point of view, tournaments are means to meet up with like-minded people who loves the game as much they do to actually take time off their lives to play competitively. The interaction between high level pros is something incredible to the gamers and audiences were top quality games between top pros were played out”

More and More Clans Emerge


To win the battles, you need to be with like minded people who are as skilled as you and can provide the training you need. The clans then emerge and compete with each other to achieve their intended goals.

“As the competitive scene increases, more and more individuals who love the game try to become the best in what they like. Where more clans are formed to compete in tournaments, the impression of the public will seem that the scene is huge will lead to more sponsor money being poured in to attract the public’s attention. More and more clans provide the bedrock for competitive ideas to be tabled out and put to test. This indirectly increases the competitiveness of our local teams. For the game of Dota, the collective competitiveness achieved along the years allowed the local Dota scene to win honours and respect internationally.
More and more clans increase the chances of the clans being sponsored by various sponsors for advertisement purposes. In the case of Dota, cybercafés seeks to attach their names in tags of better teams to promote their premises to a wider elite audience”.

Domination of a certain clans


Like sports (think Manchester United, Rafael Nadal etc), certain clans would prove better than the rest and the gap between the winners and the rest would widen. Here is how Underminer views such an incident.

“When the competition went up a notch like what Kingsurf did to the local Dota scene, teams which normally can get by with 1 or 2 less committed players just cannot do that any longer. Merges appear and teams will more dedicated individuals started to grace the scene to even the odds of domination of a certain team. This creates a skill gap between the top 1% and the rest where we can see the contenders for all open tournaments will be among the top 1% (or even 1 or 2 teams).
This is not a necessary a bad thing and should not be the reason of the decay of the game. Note that badminton itself faces the same problem where only 1 player in Malaysia Male singles is currently the best of the crop and is considered “dominating”. This does not kill off badminton, in fact it serves a good yardstick for everyone to improve and did not kill off but actually promoted the casual badminton players interest in the game. I believe the same should hold true in truly great E-sport titles.”

Dislike/Banning of Certain Clans


If a clan is proven to be too dominant, should they be banned? Just like how International Football governing bodies try to prevent the rich teams from becoming more powerful, can this be implemented in E-sports?

“This is not something I cannot agree fully nor can I agree whole heartedly to. Where it is of some argument that banning certain teams in tournaments will improve the chances of unknown teams in the competitive circle, the fact still proves that they are unknown for a reason.
The famous Dota player from Penang, NZ.K1ng once told me at an SMM Grand Final, he believes what you work for is what you get. Players and teams who work hard to be good will come good and if your effort is not there, you will, well…. Lose. This is meritocracy in its brutal(est) form and organizers who seeks to reward complacency really goes beyond my understanding.
Unless there is a certain series of tournament where past winners individually will not be eligible for the next tournament of the series (much like the amateur series and SMM qualfiers), banning certain teams that are strong or even worse, banning teams based on the organizers liking will only kill off the scene."

Fewer New Faces Emerge


Many gamers who lack the confidence and courage to try would not participate in tournaments, they themselves have already written of their chances of success. In this situation, the popular games would be dominated by the same people year after year. As ever, Underminer has a different view to this.

“The situation may not be as gloomy as you see it is. Back to the badminton scenario, we can only see Lee Chong Wei dominating men’s singles tournaments in Malaysia where no one can come close to dethrone him for the past few years. It will seem that less and less new faces emerge from the badminton scene. But did badminton die? No. In fact it could be argued that his domination inspires a whole new generation of players to take up his mantle once he retires from the game.
The point of that example is when the E-sport is good enough to endure, new faces always will appear, for them to reach the kind of heights of their dominating predecessor requires time and effort. For that new faces which will not be apparent until after the older generation retires.”

Game Dies


All good things come to an end. Even the strongest Roman Empire shall falter, and the longest serving ministers will be replaced. Does the same apply in gaming? Would players get bored after a period of time and ditch the game completely?

“The game “dies” when no one is playing it anymore and the game itself will not be able to generate any sponsorship money. Much like Warcraft 2 “dies” when “Warcraft 3” is released. I believe an enduring E-sport title will survive and not technically “dies” unless a clear successor to it in the form of a sequel replaces it in the gamer’s heart.
The long term strategy is to get the mainstream media involved and make it something like in Korea, where the interdependency of Starcraft stakeholders just will not allow it to die off.”

The Spotgamers team would like to thank Underminer for his time and effort in conducting this revealing and thought-provoking interview.



Read more...

PATIENCE,HOPE AND FAITH

by Rinie Tuesday May 19 09

Suddenly This Sign Post Fit So Nicely In My Writings

How many of us are willing to wait for 4-5 years just to be the champion of a tournament?

I did.

I've been in the competitive gaming scene for almost 7 years now. I've witness so many things, had experience so many situation and had undertake so many struggles in my journey for my dream. In this 7 years, i've started out as a gamer, had tried to play a role as an organizer, as a teacher, as a clan vice leader, as a friend, as an enemy, as a loser, as a champion, as a spectator and now as a media. It all started back in 2002 when my friend Ibrahim(i've to keep on mentioning his name everytime i look back lol) introduce to me FIFA WC2002 and WCG02. But because i was still young and naive, i didnt dare to join WCG02 coz i feel there are just too many pro players out there. But how wrong could i get when Ibrahim became the champion of Pahang. I regretted and vow to join next year, and so i did and thats how it all started.

From just a personal glory, my dream evolve into a national glory because it was through gaming i became matured and understand how important it is to have E-Sports in our country. Unlike what majority people think that playing games make you stupid, but i guess that wasnt true in E-Sports for it has the same core values as any other sports trying to promote. But this article is not about that. Its about PATIENCE,HOPE AND FAITH.

As i said,i've seen many come and go. What worried me is the current trend that we have in our gamers generally. Im gonna put this in a simple example:

A new game start to bloom and became popular. More and more people trying it out thus more and more competition organize out of nowhere. Then there will be this regular group of clans joining competition. At 1st, it was a healthy one with no clear winner. But as time goes by, suddenly there is this 1 particular gamer/clan that will start to dominate any competition joined. Because of the domination,slowly and slowly less and less people starting to lost interest in competing anymore. In the end, with no good basic and with no new faces the community gone in the wind and became another fairy tale to tell.

There are a lot of other reasons actually that we can find. But rather focusing on what we cant control, i prefer to address problems on what we ourselves can do about it. Many of us rate how good a gamer is base on his achievements. Of course that is the most logical way to rate. But we often forget that the only thing, the only one that can measure our success.. is one and only...

TIME

Time is the true measure of someone success. Even if you lost 2,3,4 or more than 5 time, that doesnt mean you are a loser. Always remember that failure is the 1st step to success. Believe it or not, the more you lose the closer you are to success. Haih. But unfortunately, not all of us has this kind of mind set. Usually when we lost more than 3 time, we just quit. Because we feel its impossible to win especially if "that guy" joined the tourney. So whats the point joining the tourney?

Believe it or not, that thinking above is one of the main reason why we are not going anywhere. Thats the reason why we cant compete with international players and thats the reason why E-Sports wont come true in the future. We are scared of competition and worst we are scared of losing. We often measure our own success by the number of trophy in the cabinet rather than measuring our true inner ability and self confidence. So how does time became the true measure of success? Here are the examples:


Si_Jali

If some of you guys follow my gaming history, i started out in WCG03 and break the record in WCG World Final in 05 with no.4 in the world. It was the highest achievement. But do you know, that i only won my 1st Malaysia tournament in 2007? It took me 4 years to win a title! And since then i've won 3 Asian Champion title and 4 Malaysia Champion title. In 7 years i only won that much. Thats why when people talk highly about me i felt a lil bit shy because the truth is.. i dont win that much. Isk.. Malulah~


Forza & H3av3n


I cant really remember when he actually started out but i can roughly say it was around 2004-2005.Back then, Luige a.k.a CK was dominating the NFS scene. It was pretty hard to overthrone his grip on the title. But Forza was never disheartened. He believed the same concept we all believed in, that time will proved everything. In the end, he won his 1st title in WCG.MY06 and has been dominating the NFS scene until now.

H3av3n is another perfect example for this case. Tell me, how many times everyone can remember he lost to Forza? I cant count. After years and years of trying, in the end he won WCG.MY 08 beating Forza in the finals. Wasnt that a sweet victory? Whoever sit on H3av3n shoe at that time will feel how satisfying and worthwhile for all the struggle for the victory.


Tun Dr.Mahathir

What more can i say about our ex-PM? Do you know that during Tun early tenure as PM, many people opposed his decision to create highways in Malaysia saying its a waste of money? Now tell me, which of you doesnt enjoy the smoothness travel between our states? Tun was a visionary, and time was the measure of his success.


Manchester United & Sir Alex

Before all you MU haters say anything, let me remind you of the wisdom Sir Alex possess. After he sold Beckham, he bought Ronaldo. During Ronaldo early days, they were not really consider as title contender, especially with Chelsea and Arsenal domination that time. But he was patient. He value education more than winning, so he prefer to wait and lose and bank all the knowledge in the future.

And now, MU won so many titles including reached the same record as Liverpool since Ronaldo joined and is still in the CPL Final. Though i am a Chelsea fan, i personally wish MU will win the cup.


As you can see, success doesnt come just like that. It was all determine by time. If we all can understand this recipe to success, nothing can stop us.

Now my question is this, are we willing to change our perception of success? Are we willing to be PATIENCE, to keep HOPE and have FAITH? If you do, how long? 1 year? 2 year? 5 year?

Whatever your answer will be, only time will tell truth of it.

Read more...

INDIVIDUAL VS TEAM

by Han
published by Rinie Monday May 18 2009

INDIVIDUAL GAME VS TEAM GAME

There are many different games on the market. Some are individual games, for 1 player, like The Legend of Zelda. Some are for multiplayer like Counterstrike, where team work among the players is very important to achieve the game objective. So which type of game is better? Team or individual games?



A person who plays individual games is more likely to be introverted. They would prefer to work on their own to achieve their gaming objective. Single player games would usually have interesting storylines or graphics and media output that would keep the gamer thrilled for hours. Also, they like the fact that they are in control of their own destiny. For games like Need for Speed, the gamer is in complete control whether he wins or loses the race. If he were to lose the race he can have no complaints. However, in team games, the gamer may be highly skilled but may lose out in competitions in the end due to the incompetence of his/her team mates.

You're The Reason Why You Lost!

For team games, the key word to success is co-operation. Co-operation among gamers is vital in team games if success were to be achieved. In team games, 1 man is an island. No matter how skilled or capable he is, he cannot win the war on his own. However when teamed up with equally skilled players, they can work together to achieve their objective. Games like this are the same as sports, major companies and organization where team work and co-operation at all levels is required for success. Then the method of delegating the gaming responsibility, such as which player does what at which time, will be decisive in team games.

Now Do You Get It? No Solo-ing Pls!

For me personally, i prefer both individual and team based because both has it own unique and advantages between each other. If i wanted to be *uhukGoduhuk* i will play individual game where else if i wanted to be *uhukHerouhuk* i will play team based game with my *uhukNoobuhuk* friends. But there is no right or wrong choice of which game to play, but a matter of preference. Therefore dear readers, which types of games do you prefer? Is it individual games which you are in control of your destiny; or team games where you learn the art of communicating and co-operation?

Read more...

INTERVIEW: THE SECRET GROWTH OF FIFA

by Han
published by Rinie Wednesday May 13 2009

VS

The Malaysian FIFA community seems to be growing year by year. Therefore, we have conducted an interview with the top 2 clans in Malaysia to ask about their opinions, views and insight about this development.


W|nDs representative: Loonatic
MyFES representative: Warrior


Q1. How does your clan justify growth in the Malaysian Fifa community?


WINDS: Our clan had been doing well in the FIFA scene since 2003 (where I was still not in the clan yet), and the major changes is when in 2005, Nigel personally recruited 8-10 new member and 3 of them ended up as the top 4 in the following WCG. Starting from the year 2005, there are more and more tournaments in the scene and having seeing only W|nDs winning those tournaments, I think that is what makes MYFES comes into the scene with the objective to stop W|nDs. MYFES did a very good job by giving us a hard time and that is where it motivates other FIFA players to form a clan. Our clan also had been very friendly to other clans/FIFA players and this is also one of the reason the community can grow so fast.


MyFES: For my clan personally, MyFeS was established in the year 2006 and since then till today, we have seen a very fast/major growth in the FIFA community. During 2006, W|nDs was the only competitive clan that time as far as we know, then MyFeS came into the community to give them a run of their money. Today, we have more clans in the community like Tornado,[DRG] and few more clans. Furthermore, the number of participants for each FIFA tourney has increased as well. I guess that showed how big the FIFA community now in Malaysia is.

Q2. How do you think the community has grown throughout the years?

MyFES: Great! i think my comment above answer you this question as well

WINDS: The community has grown very well throughout the years. From only one FIFA clan in Malaysia, now we have like 3 to 4 FIFA clan. And the most grown clan, MYFES had been giving us tough time in every FIFA competition. Even the FIFA league also improved from only organizing in a forum to organizing in a proper website. Although we still have not gotten any medal in WCG @ World Finals, but I think it is just the matter of time where we can prove something there. We came close in the year 2005.

Q3.What do you think can be done to improve and increase the numbers of the community?

WINDS: To improve the numbers of the community, I think more BIG tournaments should be held regularly. Instead of the players keep aiming for CELGAMES, WCG and WGT, there should be other big tournament to be held. Also the period between Novembers to the next year's May should have some tournaments to keep all the FIFA community active.

MyFES: Personally I feel getting those newbie’s into a clan can help them stay and grow or in other words play competitively in the gaming industry. Tournaments for the newbies can be use as well as a method to give them more confident in competing with those pro players

Q4.Does your clan prefer FIFA 09 or FIFA Online 2?

MyFES: We have not tried FIFA Online 2 before but we heard this version of fifa is going to be very big this year! Who knows we might end up giving a try in FIFA Online2. For now, we are more into PC version as well as PS3 version of FIFA.

WINDS: I personally prefer FIFA09, but my clan plays both FIFA 09 and FIFA Online 2. We have big and talented team members to be active in both games.

There you have it! This insights from both of the big clans in Malaysia is very hard to get and very valuable. Hope that it will inspire more clans and other gaming communities to bring up your own as well. We would like to thank both W|nDS and MyFES for their generous support.

Read more...

WHY ONLINE GAMES?

by Han
publish by Rinie Tuesday 12 May 2009

According to Comscore, there are a total of 217 million people playing online games worldwide. Does it ever puzzle you why online games are so popular among casual gamers? Do you know the reason? What is the secret of success for games like FIFA Online 2, World of Warcraft and so on? Today we are about to find out.



We conducted our investigation by asking casual gamers what kept them addicted to online gaming. John, who plays FIFA online 2, says the element of surprise in the game such as obtaining player cards makes him want to play the game more. After each match, he has no idea which player card he will receive. Therefore he just tries his luck and hope for the best, which is a really fun part of the game.

Another gamer, Shaun, says online games allow him to play with his friends, a feature that other normal computer games lack. This allows them to interact and have a good time together. Plus they can discuss and work out strategies, which can sometimes help strengthen friendships.

Besides that, online games have been popular because they are easy to learn and play. You do not need hours of guiding or teaching to learn how to play online games. All you need is some patience, some time to spare and good concentration and you have just learnt how to play a new game! Plus most online games are easy to play, but difficult to master…

And finally, Kelvin believes that the addictiveness of the game play makes him and his friends continue to pursue the World of Warcraft, despite its hefty costs. They believe the money spent is worth it if they get tons of fun from they game.

So there you have it, a few practical reasons given by our fellow readers and gamers about the reason why online games are getting more and more popular. Do you have other reasons? Feel free to write in or leave a comment.



Read more...

WHAT STOPPING US?

by Rinie

Monday May 11 2009






Its been awhile since I type on my keyboard for serious writing. But it has been in my mind since then to write about it but couldnt find the perfect timing. Now i've learn there is no such thing as perfect timing, its all about if I wanted to do it or not.. and so I did!



I believe everyone as gamers,be it casual gamers or competitive gamers would like to see E-Sports grow in Malaysia. Im not talking about the same old small tournament here and there which always base on popularity or trend of a certain game, im talking about the true E-Sports; Having our own national gaming league irregardless to games popularity and trend, E-Sports as a career and most importantly, E-Sports as a national sports.


So what stopping us? We have the numbers, we have the quality, we have tournaments every now and then, so what stopping us?


This question seems to amazed me everyday. Because as I go deeper,more and more theory pop up out of a sudden. It can even confused you which is the correct path and which is not.


But from all the path, everything share a common and main reason of it success. It is

UNITY

Scrap all those bullshit talk about no financial support, no government support or what ever brilliant excuses many had think of. The only reason why we are still nowhere is because we are not united enough. We brag about how good are our popular game is and look down on the rest. We ridicule those who think are playing unrealistic game and talk about the awesomeness gameplay of our sacred game. We envy other communities success and giving out excuses of why they can do it but not us. We even form up our very own group of haters to justify our low IQ thinking and to.. well to hate other games! What the hell?


Scrap this. Scrap that. Scrap it all! Scrap all of this gamist nonsense!


How can we be united when we find reason to divide among ourself? Why cant we just live in peace? All of us want E-Sports to be true in Malaysia. We all have the same dream. So why should we fight among each other?


As what my mom perfectly summarize it to me

“ We shall not envy others ability. We shall thank God that God has blessed us with great abilities and God shall blessed us more when we learn to appreciate ourselves and OTHERS. Coz God loves us all and hate to see we fight among each other. For that is the devil's plan”

Think for a moment now. Are we matured enough to form our very own E-Sports?



Read more...

W|NDS ANNOUNCE [W|NDS.YA]HANG GRADUATION!

[W|nDs]Hang Crown Champion At ESWC ASIA MASTER Singapore Qualifier

W|nDs, the big kahuna clan in Malaysia just announced that [W|nDs]Hang has now graduate from W|nDs Youth Academy and is now an official line up in W|nDs.



Speaking to W|nDs "taiko" [W|nDs]Loonatic, he said:

"We do monitor his progress from time to time,this time for the FO2 game, he really did very well. Im pleased with him and very happy that there is a non-malaysian's YA did so well because our team from Malaysia did not put so much focus there"

When ask either he had contribute to the success of the Youth Academy, he told us that it was a collective effort by the whole clan, especially [W|nDs]Marko and [W|nDs]Gel:

"It is also the efforts from Marcus and Nigel who had been giving him support and advices there"

At the moment, only 2 gamers from the Youth Academy who manage to graduate, which is [W|nDs]Rei and [W|nDs]Hang.

W|nDs is planning to have a clan war with MyFES in the future. Most probably MyFES will be the host for the 1st clan war this year. More updates can be view at their official website soon.

We would like to congratulate [W|nDs]Hang on his achievement and all the best to W|nDs.


{Source: W|nDs Clan}


Read more...

ESWC ASIA MASTER: KOREA DREAM GONE

If you guys have been wondering how is our FIFA boys in Korea doing, base from our sources from W|nDs clan it seems that [W|nDs]Vin, [W|nDs]Hang and [Titans]Xtr3m3 didnt qualify from their respective group stage.



We were told that the server use in Korea was totally different from the Singapore server. Infact everything was in Korean and they couldnt understand. Worst still, most of the Korean players level were 400-500! It seems there is some sort of balance issue going on there. We will try to get more valid sources when we manage to talk with the players themselves.

Nevertheless, it was a good try and we hope that one day we will again have the chance to prove that we are as good as all the rest!



Read more...

DRG CUP SEASON 3

It seems like the FIFA 09 season is starting to roll baby. With previously announce SPOTGAMERS CUP by MFL(Malaysia FIFA League), our young local clans DRG is holding up their very own DRG CUP which is now in their 3rd season.



In the previous season DRG CUP was a private event but after they have learn the fundamental of organizing a tournament, they decided to make it big and invite everyone to join as well. They even tie up G-Arena cybercafe as their venue sponsors too. For a clan that consist members in the range of 15 years old, i can say they are not your average gaming clan.


So if your a FIFA enthusiast, get your gears and show off your skills at DRG CUP SEASON 3!

For more info check out their website at http://www.freewebs.com/drgclangamers/




Read more...

Indie Youth Fest 2009

We just bump into ESWC Malaysia blog and saw this announcement which was posted today.

Despite the changes announced by Games Services, Go International Group is still keen to support the electronic sports fraternity by organising an e-sport tournament at its annual INDEPENDENT YOUTH FESTIVAL at 1 Utama from 29 July - 2 August, 2009. Be there to witness KL folks in a DIGITAL DELIRIUM!!!

We just have to wait for any further announcements from Go International Group. Stay tuned for more updates
Read more...