How people's eyes can be opened...

mewso

For crying out loud Kharn. You'll never get them in bed with chat-up lines like that. Then again I might get away with saying I'm the best UT player in Ireland as long as Spoon, Gold, Levz, Fury, the rest of DzR etc. aren't in earshot

ThrAx

hehe, kewl, I've noticed quite similar things among ppl I hang around wiv in skewl. They all think playstations are superior and all that bull and laugh at the idea of pro gamers. They aren't annoying about it now, they take me more serious then they used to due to the fact that they know know about the fact that u can win money from pro gaming (CPL etc) and after seeing a real life game of cs in clan video they realised that it was a lot more complicated than a game of crash bandicoot on a greystation, and saw that the quality of these more realistic games can be appreciated as a sport. I also showed them an article in pc gamer about how seriously on-line gaming is taken in korea, i.e StartCraft scores shown on TV along with regular sports results.

More eyes need to be opened to the fact that as a sport the latest online games can be accepted socially if they are understood by more ppl and not seen as a childish recreational device (most online gamers and console gamers in fact, are in their 20's or late teens, most of whom have grown up with ancient consoles e.g nes, c64, etc and moved on to the pc as a more superiour and upgradeable gaming platform).

Spread the word, open their eyes...

WhiteWashMan

i suppose by that theory i must be in the top 7 in ireland for UT instagib

didnt i do some serious damage to your **** when i came top of our group kharn!
kharn...
kharn?
hello?!
dav!!!!!

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Your Imps Demand Cable...

Shiminay

/me slaps Eamo on the side of the head trying to understand what he said.

but I think my point has been missed somewhat. I think I was talking about how fickle people can be and quick they are to change when they realise that there's something to be gained other than personal satisfaction.

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All the best!
Dav
@B^)
So Bob Hoskins was about to roll a spliff when in walks Dana with her 3 foot Bong
[honey i] violated [the kids]
When the Beefy King arrives, I shall be paying homage with Puunack The Receiver in a haze of green curry.

Shinji

In my experience most people - even people who play lots of games - think the idea of playing games professionally is nuts. Playing competitively for a laugh, sure, but pro-gaming? Naah, it'll never catch on.

Actually, I agree with them. Competitive gaming on the level of sunday morning soccer or whatever is one thing, competitive gaming on the level of the premier league is another thing entirely.

bugler

None of my friends know I play as much online as I do... /me looks over his shoulder suspiciously.Still, I suppose I could deal with the abuse.

Only one thing remains to be stated:

I WANT KHARN'S AUTOGRAPH

bonkey

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Shinji:
Actually, I agree with them. Competitive gaming on the level of sunday morning soccer or whatever is one thing, competitive gaming on the level of the premier league is another thing entirely.</font>

I think that the tech has to progress a bit, but within a short time-frame it will have the ability to become a pure spectator sport.

Just like Digital TV gives the F1 viewer so many possibilities (directors shots, in-car from specific cars, blah blah blah), we will soon be at a point where virtual games can be "directed" for viewing to the same degree as most real sports.

Add to that some increased prettiness which is inevitable as pcs get more complex.

You then end up with a good-looking, easy to view system, which can portray "sports" which would never be acceptable in the real world (i.e. shoot-to-kill based games).

It is several years away, but I can honestly seeing it becoming a serious spectator sport.

Once that happens, theres serious cash in it. I do think, however, that the current pro (or semi-pro) competitions are a bit premature.

jc

Greenbean

With those weird instruments that they used on yer man in clock work orange when they gave him shock therapy. He couldn't even blink!

To avoid being a troll I'll extoll an opinion. Yes it may become a spectator sport, but it will never gain the respect of most other sports in the next 25 years.

DadaKopf

With matches!

Shiminay

First of all, the background...
Myself and Lucutus were drinking pints last night and we were waffling on about something game related. Anyway, there was a young lady there and she heard me saying something like "There should be more female computer gamers" and she said she played Play Station but we told her what we meant (REAL gaming - professionally). She naturally started laughing at the thought of people playing computer games professionally. We explained that as of the last Quake 3 CPL qualifiers we were 2 of the highest ranked players in the country (a stretch of the truth - there were ony 16 people at the thing, so we must have been in the top 16 in Ireland ). We also explained that the top prise of that particular competition was €10,000 and her jaw dropped.

*there's a point emerging*

She went away and myself and Tony were having a bit of a giggle at the thought of us being some of the top players in the country and we both realised we had told the same story to our "non-gaming" friends.

My mates at home in Castlebar are not into computers in any way as much as me, so they sometimes gave me grief over it. And it did bother me, becase they just wouldn't accept that it was something I loved doing and will hopefully continue to do for years to come.

So they were bl33ting on at me and one of them said "So if you practice so much, how come you're not the best?"
"Well, I'm in the top 16 in the country and I've got a reasonable chance of getting an all expenses paid trip to Amsterdam to go do it."
Suddenly, things were very quiet in the room as they all took in what I'd said.
"So you're telling us that you could be going to Amsterdam to play computer games and you won't have to pay a penny?"
"Yeah"
"Cool"

The point...
How people change...
...Money!

A rather negative statement I guess (and in hind-sight, maybe not a great reflection on my mates), but it does seem to be an equalizer of sorts.
You tell people you're doing something that isn't considered the norm and they laugh.
You tell them you're doing it and earning money/material goods and the'll rally round you and spur you on.

Has anyone else come across this or do they see many flaws in my point?

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All the best!
Dav
@B^)
So Bob Hoskins was about to roll a spliff when in walks Dana with her 3 foot Bong
[honey i] violated [the kids]
When the Beefy King arrives, I shall be paying homage with Puunack The Receiver in a haze of green curry.

Red Moose

Yeah, just wait until 15 years time when clans will be buying and selling top players for cash like soccer! hehhe.

Also, given that it is the newest entertainment industry by far, it will be pushed and pushed with such decent cash prizes by big business so that they can get in at the ground floor.

R. Daneel Olivaw

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">If guys write computer software for their own pleasure, they are nerds. If they do it for money, then are normal.</font>

I think that takes it too far. Computers are really just the modern hobby, years ago it might have been tinkering with cars or radios or whatever. I don't write software at all, but I think that no-one really writes software for "their own pleasure"; at most if it is of the free (as in money) or free (as in GNU/beer) it's more for respect or status is the community.

Paladin

Well Kharn, it demonstrates a simple social mentality (your story Im talking about).
Playing a computer game competitively for fun is nerdy. However if its for money, then your motivation isnt nerdy, its the same as every other capitalist (almost everyone really).

If guys write computer software for their own pleasure, they are nerds. If they do it for money, then are normal.

If you make model airplanes you're a nerd, but if you sell them you're normal (I might be stretching this but you get my point).

Basically money makes the world go round, and as long as the money is right people will see it as justification for whatever it is you do, whether its running in circles around a track, dancing naked in a bar, or even sitting in front of a computer clicking a mouse.

[This message has been edited by Paladin (edited 14-07-2001).]

solo1

I don't know. Garth Brooks is a multi-millionaire and I still think he's a loser.

Gerry

Aontaím leis an thuarim sin.

Gerry

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by R. Daneel Olivaw:
I don't write software at all, but I think that no-one really writes software for "their own pleasure"</font>

I think a lot of people would disagree with that. A lot of people like writing their own programs, even if nobody else will ever use that program.