Chapter 1 : How I got into the game.
. I started playing computer games from the age of 9; and like most, I began with MapleStory.
. At age 11, a girl recommended me SuddenAttack.
. She thrash-talked me
. I got furious and started honing my skills
. 6 months later all my friends quit and I was pretty much the only guy from my school still playing the game
NOTE :- That girl started off my gamer path.
Chapter 2 : Introduction to competitive gaming.
- An amateur player, Ting "Zaakuro" Feng, spammed the Singapore server lobby with invitations to his newly formed competitive team
- I took the opportunity and gave him my phone number
- Our first team training was held at Tampines and back then I lived in Bukit Panjang
- 2 weeks later, the team fell out.
- One of the team, whom I know as "Chaofan", realized my potential and brought me into one of the highest ranking squads of all time, Team Mind Gamers (TMG)
NOTE :- . Don't do what I did
. I was only lucky it wasn't some sort of kidnapper
. Lucky I wasn't some spoilt brat
Chapter 3 : My first competition
- I joined TMG around the year end, when the biggest annual competition was about to take place in a month or so
- Chaofan and I grouped up 3 other players and registered for it
- I was nervous as shit, and our first round was against a bunch of koreans called 30.4
- I shocked everyone with my newbie's performance because everyone thought a small little guy (aged 11 during then) like me couldn't play well
- That day's performance brought a lot of attention to me, and hence my competitive career lasted from 2009 ~ 2013.
Chapter 4 : The ugly side of competitive gaming
I played as a competitive gamer for Sudden Attack from 2009 - 2013, and I have seen many things.
. Match fixing (in which the results of a match is determined before the game)
. Violence (fighting over a match)
. People with no sportsmanship (people refusing to shake hands after a match)
. Gamer girls merely playing for attention, not because they love gaming
. People with relationships that start off from the game itself... bleh.
Chapter 5 : The fun side of competitive gaming
Hell, it did cause me my PSLE results but it was hecka fun, and i'd do anything to relive those moments.
- At the competitive scene, people know you by your in-game nickname, not your real name
- No one called me Aaron, everybody called me xaoN (sa-on)
- A primary school kid like me was given a chance to form tactics for the whole team to use
- Among the general Sudden Attack community, every single competitive player was famous, and that includes me.
- At 2012, I left TMG to form my own team, along with Disney's Park "FaiLxPinK Sung Joon. I wanted the chance to be a leader, and a commander.
- It was nowhere near the standard of TMG, but we won many teams we did not expect to win, and it felt sugoi.
Finally, what I wanted to point out the most, was this.
Chapter 6 : The effects of competitive gaming
- I joined gaming in search of fun and friends. But slowly after time, I realized the competitive nature in me started to get out of hand
- I didn't enjoy gaming anymore, all I wanted to do was win.
- Being the commander and leader of Fiore, I made many team decisions on my own, changing the team's roster, changing the team's tactics, all because I THOUGHT they were best for the team.
- I started using a lot of profanities, against my comrades and enemies
- But still I will never fail to shake my opponent's hands after a match
Over the course of 4 years, the innocent little sniper has turned into a bossy hot-headed toxic player.
It wasn't that bad, but it was bad enough.
I realized I had to stop, so I took a break from SuddenAttack and joined League of Legends (which i quit also lol)
Then finally,
Chapter 7: What made me quit ( if you're an addict, this will help. )
- Take a good look at your shitty academics and reflect for a good number of hours.
- Gaming is more addictive, and it requires energy depending on the genre you play. Watching TV is a lot less harmful to your grades. trust me.
- Pick up a new hobby (i took up a time-consuming, energy-consuming, blood-consuming one, breakdancing)
- Don't let your friends get the better of you. "just one more match" "you sure won't quit one" "want go this year's grand finals?" are just temptations you CANNOT succumb to.
- Find someone to motivate you.
- I have my non-gamer friends around me, and just by comparing their fitness with mine gave me a SHITLOAD of motivation.
- The girl I like is a studious... hard-working... student. Totally opposite of me LOL. If I continued this path, I know I wouldn't stand a chance.
- Lastly, become an otaku. ( i watch like 9 different animes at once ) I PRACTICALLY HAVE NO TIME FOR GAMING!! :D
