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#902, 9th Floor, 250-15, Sangamdong-Gil, Mapo-Gu, Seoul, Korea, Phone : +82-2-3153-2694 FAX : +82-2-3153-2696 COPYRIGHT Š 2013 International e-Sports Federation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

IeSF News Inside IeSF

IeSF 2013 Asia Conference to be held during 4th AIMAG - International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) announces that IeSF 2013 Asia Conference will be hosted at Incheon city, Korea.

By Alex Lim / Editor at International e-Sports Federation

A s informed via G&e for several times, 4th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) which is hosted by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will be held at Incheon from 29th June until 6th of July. e-Sport is included in this mega-sport event as one of official sport disciplines, and IeSF is taking role of the official

The following is details of the conference: 1. Time and Period: 14:00 ~ 18:00 (for 4 hours) on 2nd of July, 2013 2. Venue: Room # 107, Songdo Convensia, Incheon, Korea 3. Agenda

supervising organization as an international federation with recognition of OCA. Subject

Detail

Time

As maximizing the efficiency of this opportunity, IeSF has decided to host IeSF

Introduction

- Introduction of Attendees (NFs / NOCs / Other VIPs) - Promotional Movie - Introduction of General Businesses of IeSF - Progress of IeSF 2013 World Championship

1hr

Sport Accord

- Vision of IeSF’s affiliation to Sport Accord - Progress of Sport Accord affiliation project - Cooperation with other International Sport Bodies

1hr

2017 AIMAG

- Operation strategy for 2017 Turkmenistan AIMAG - Operation plan of e-Sports Game titles - Necessary support of NFs NOCs

1hr

Asia e-Sports Confederation

- Strategy for establishment of Asia Confederation - Schedule for future steps

1hr

2013 Asia Conference during the period of 4th AIMAG. Distinguished from the conferences in the past, the list of attendees is remarkable.

Basically, the representatives of all IeSF’s 12 Asian member National Associations will be participating in 4th AIMAG as officials: either team leaders of each nation’s e-sports delegation or Juries for e-sports competition. Officials of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) related to IeSF’s member associations will also attend the conference in company with the representatives of member associations.

IeSF will send out RSVP for other NOCs who are interested in e-sports as well as RVIPs from international sports governing bodies such as EOC and OCA. With approximately 80 attendees, diverse important issues related to e-sports scene in Asia will be handled at the conference, and it is planned to be broadcasted.

Total

4hrs

Opening the Door of Anti-Doping in e-Sports - As adopting WADA Code and International Standards for Doping Control, International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) is one more step getting closer to the Global Sport Society.

By Alex Lim / Editor at International e-Sports Federation

A s one of its major tasks, International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) is keeping its all staffs busy with wrapping up the Sport Accord membership application in order to raise the status of e-sports as one of official sport discipline with recognition of global sport society.

Then, as one of the requirements for the application, IeSF has faced issues to become an Anti-Doping Organization (ADO) as an international sport governing body and to get recognition of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Now, IeSF is one more step closer to the global sports society as following its standard, and will keep endeavoring to make e-sports as one of the official sport discipline with its recognition.

All materials related to Anti-Doping program will be disclosed after they are finalized with the evaluation of WADA.

In furtherance of its role, IeSF started dedicating its efforts to ensuring that the spirit of Fair Play prevails in e-Sports, and takes measures with the goal of preventing endangering the health of e-sports players. Therefore, with the consensus between IeSF’s mission and the requirement of Sport Accord membership application, IeSF decided to accept the World Anti-Doping Code and its International Standards, and to lead the fight against doping in e-sports.

In a bid of answer to this issue, IeSF Secretariat has established the IeSF AntiDoping Regulations and IeSF Doping Control Guide Book. First drafts of all necessary documents and structures are finalized, and have been sent to WADA for its evaluation and feedbacks.

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

2

WORLD REPORT Russia

TECHLABS CUP RU 2013 - On 23 March, the Moscow final of TECHLABS CUP RU 2013 took place. TECHLABS CUP is the annual International cyber-culture festival, which includes e-sport competitions, videogames presentations, overclocking contests, competitions for radio-controlled cars and hosts a bright, interactive show.

By Nina Shetciruli / PR Manager at Russian E-Sports Federation

T ECHLABS CUP – is one of the biggest e-sport

in Germany, France, Sweden and other countries.

organized. For this competition, organizers used cars

events in countries of CIS. Traditionally, this

More than 1 000 000 fans were watching the online

Mini-Z, and the competition was held on a specially

festival takes place in four countries: in Russia, in

broadcast of the competitions.

appointed road. Everybody could try to win the prize.

This year the main games in competition were

Traditionally one of the brightest components of the

CS:GO, Dota2, World of Tanks, StarCraft II and a

festival was the exhibition of IT-brands. During this

new game with fast growing popularity - Shadow

festival,

Company. Many famous teams like NiP, ESC-

technological news and visited the stands of partners

There are many participants in e-sports in Russia,

Gaming, Virtus.pro, NaVi, Empire, THE RED,

of this event, where they got the opportunity not

along with several important e-sport events that take

RoX.KIS took participated in the final competitions.

only to test the newest games and devices, but to

place in Moscow. For this event alone, over 25000

And there were more than 3000 players in the

win unforgettable prizes. Everybody could take part

lovers of videogames, overclocking competitions

qualifying round..

in these interesting and exiting contests.

Belorussia, in Ukraine and in Kazakhstan. Moscow is the first city among these actions, the place for the RU-part of the festival. This is the fifth year TECHLABS has taken place.

the

viewers

could

acquaint

with

and radio-controlled cars came to Moscow.

Official videos from the TECHLABS CUP RU are available at: http://www.youtube.com/user/techlabscuptv.

The Festival in Moscow is over, but the next championship, TECHLABS CUP, will be soon. It will take part 18 May in Minsk. After it, TEСHLABS CUP will be on 27 September in Kiev, and on 23 November in Almaty. This year there was planned the fifth concluding event - TECHLABS The members of the teams communicate with The organizers chose the main hall of the one of the largest Moscow retail parks for this venue. During the rest of the year, there is a skating rink there.

However, just for this event the ice was melted away,

viewers with pleasure. And several teams were so

CUP Grand final, which will assemble the winners of fourth national stage.

popular that fans didn`t give them time to pass, with crowds of people followed them, taking photographs of these cult figures, asking them to give autographs.

and 3 grandiose stages were placed there with several foot-bridges, stairs, chairs and platforms for

On the over-clocking stage showcase, the best

viewers.

masters of nitrogen, analyzer and other devices proved that the computers were be able to work

Two of these stages were for e-sport disciplines and

better and faster than anybody could imagine.

the third one was for an overclocking competition.

Much of the event was broadcast to the Internet from each stage. The guests saw exiting showmatches of famous sportsmen, displaying of the games on big screen, and also the professional speeches from experts in cyber-culture.

The Moscow final interested an incredible quantity of viewers – thousands came, including many children. Even the organizers didn’t expect the same influx of visitors. Thousands of people all around the world were watching the live stream-broadcast,

Besides the usual videogame disciplines and

which was organized on popular game web-sites not

overclocking competition, for viewers of the festival

only in Russia and in countries of the CIS, but also

there was a championship for radio-controlled cars

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

3

WORLD REPORT South Africa

Team South Africa’s Nations Cup Dream - South Africa’s national Battlefield 3 PC team has displayed incredible dedication and talent, going up against the best international teams on the scene. They’ve played their last game in the Nations Cup and are now ranked in the top eight best teams in the world.

By Mind Sport South Africa

T he Nations Cup - Team South Africa’s first match was against Russia, where

Team South Africa’s stay in the top eight

they gave them a good run for their money, but unfortunately lost the game due to a ticket difference. Both teams won a map, but Russia managed to have the better

Just getting to the top eight of this cup is an

score. The second match pitted our team against Spain, where the team proved why

incredible achievement in itself, being

they deserve to be in the tournament with a very convincing victory. After

ranked higher than countries like the USA,

Indonesia forfeited and dropped out of the cup, Team S.A had Bulgaria lined up

France, the Netherlands, and Italy. 28

next, not losing any momentum, they went on to dominate them, securing their

teams started out in this cup and only the

second win in the cup. This win secured our team an already impressive third place

best of the best got past the group stages.

spot in their group.

Our team was one of those “best of the best”.

Team Captain “Barry Louzada”

Our first seed in the top eight was no joke; we were seeded against last year’s second place winners and current best ranked infantry squad in Europe: Finland.

No matter what the odds were, Team S.A gave it their all, but couldn’t beat this incredibly skilled team. This is what Team S.A’s Captain Barry ‘Anthr4xZA’ Louzada had to say about the match: “…We played a 50/50, which means we played one round per map on either server.

We started with Damavand nice and strong and really played well to hold them back for a first round win. We then moved to the Finnish server where they managed to show us why they are the best infantry team in Europe and took a loss by tickets.

The next match was not going to be an easy one; S.A had to play Germany, the

Moving onto Caspian, we started on the Finnish server where lessons of what it is

undefeated team in their group. Even though they gave it their all, they lost the

like to compete with the cream of the crop followed.

match after a very intense battle. Picking themselves sup and dusting off the hard loss, they went into their game against Italy full throttle, even though they outcome

We may have gotten raped on Caspian, but we played better on that map than we

would not prevent them from going through to the top eight stages, Team S.A was

have against any of the other teams so we are improving amazingly. I am really

determined to stay right on the winning path. After beating Italy, S.A were to

proud of my team. In the words of the German,Finnish and Russian team captains

progress to the to eight on a high note, but not after some accusations from the

‘You have NOTHING to hide from, you have done your country proud’…”

Italian team captain, furious that his team had lost, he started accusing our team of hacking, and just about anything else he could think of. There was nothing to his

And that they have. This team has come a long way and made a great name for

accusations though, our team played completely by the book.

themselves on the international scene.

Team South Africa

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

4

WORLD REPORT Korea & Turkey

Tekken League is back to Korea - Tekken League is coming back to the scene of Korean e-Sports with Nicegame.tv..

By Alex Lim / Editor at International e-Sports Federation

T ekken league which disappeared in Korea with the end of Ongame.net’s “Tekken Busters” is rising from the ashes as the name of “Tekken Strike” featured by Nicegame.tv.

Tekken Strike which will be operated with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will be running until April 2014 for 4 seasons. Also, at the end of the 4 seasons, Grand final will be held with the best players for the year competing each other.

Especially, as distinguished from other Tekken leagues in the past, local preliminary tours are planned for players resident in local area. Thus, it is expected to be positioned as whole new concept of Tekken league.

The old fashioned Tekken leagues hosted by MBC Game and Ongame.net were operated as 3:3 team matches. However, since Tekken Strike is planned to be operated with 1:1 individual matches, it is expected to provide distinguished entertainment to the e-sports fans.

Tekken Strike Season 1 is planned to be on-air from May 11th, and is receiving applications at Nicegame.tv website (http://nicegame.tv) and via e-mails (albatiny@nicegame.tv) until April 17th.

For more details, it may be referred to Nicegame.tv website.

April’s Turkish e-Sports Highlight - Go4LoL Turkey 14-15-16-17

- 11th Conventional SilverSoldier CS1.6 Tournament

- Riot Games Spring Season Tournament

- 15th Conventional 4Fun CS Tournament

- SteelSeries LoL Tournament

By Furkan Faruk AKINCI

L eague Of Legends

Riot Games Spring Season Tournament Spring season tournament of Riot Games started on March 9, 2013. Grand Final

Go4LoL Turkey 14-15-16-17 were held The Turkey division of Go4LoL, very popular online weekly tournament series in Europa and America, is at full steam. With is prizes, including plenty of Riot Points

will be on April 27-28 and among 8 teams, which will succeed in their local finals and online tournaments. The prizes will be 200.000 Riot Points and 27.500 Turkish Liras as cash.

and 450 Turkish Liras as cash, the tournament witnessed tough rivalry. Teams were awarded with Riot Points and money. After the tournament that will be held

SteelSeries League of Legends Tournament

between 8 teams, which gained the most points in March, 1100 Turkish Liras will

On Sunday, March 17, the winner HWA team were awarded 7240 Riot points and prizes from SteelSeries during the tournament which was held in the popular tournament venue, Gameekstra.

be given out.

Counter Strike 11th Conventional SilverSoldiers CS 1.6 Tournament The last leg of the Counter Strike prize tournament, a conventional tournament of Gameextra, was held on March 10, 2013. The winner team was Team of Revolutions and they were awarded prizes from SteelSeries.

15th Conventional 4Fun CS Tournament The last leg of the Counter Strike tournament, which is a conventional tournament of Gameextra and appeals to little teams, was held on March 31, 2013. The winner team was '3Harfli'.

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

5

NEWS BOARD Headline News

GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE 2013 - GDC 2013 (2013 Game Developers Conference), the world's largest and longest-running event for game professionals, was held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center from 25th~29th March, 2013.

By Sophie Jeon

M any people said that every game industry is on the wane, but GDC 2013 contradicts the bias showing ‘Game industry is exceptional and promising’. The host of GDC, UBM Tech Game Network, announced they drew 23,000 industry professionals.

The 2013 conference kicked off with two days of tutorials and summits focused on specific emerging platforms and topics: a newly introduced Free to Play Design & Business Summit, the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit, and the Independent Games Summit.

The show featured hundreds of roundtables, panels, workshops, and lectures covering every aspect of the industry, from game creation to monetization. GDC also ran a show floor with 350 exhibitors, as well as a Career Pavilion.

All game related professionals participated in the various sessions sharing ideas and opinions for the bright future of game industry. GDC 2013 suggested not only general discussion but also the new release of blockbuster games like Team Portress 2, BattleField 4, Destiny and World of Tanks General etc. It was also a big year for independent developers and ThatGameCompany's Journey sweeping the Game Developers Choice Awards.

Let’s look into the new release of blockbuster games first. #Highlights of Blockbuster Games at the GDC

“League of Legends hit a new milestone, now regularly exceeding five million peak concurrent players globally.” (www.riotgames.com) At GDC2013, Riot Games opened 4 sessions: It’s raining new contents: Successful rapid test iterations, The science behind shaping player behavior in online games, Counter-play and team-play in multiplayer game design and Both sessions of the game design panel: Riot Games tackles this significantly compressed QA cycle problem with a three pronged approach: utilizing our specialized skills and knowledge, having diverse and frequent feedback loops, and automation in the QA track.

From the player-driven Tribunal to the Honor Initiative, Jeff Lin talks about how science can reform toxic players, and reinforce positive player behavior in the design track. This lecture discusses how single-player design approaches must be modified for multiplayer experiences by including the creation of counter-play and team-play in the design track. Additionally, intensive two-day workshop explores the day-to-day craft of game design through hands-on activities, group discussion, analysis, and critique.

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

Patrick Miller, an editor from game developer magazine, shows his opinion on the Gamasutra.com that competitive games are blowing up thanks to a wider global audience and easily-accessible live video streaming tech or that Riot Games' careful nurturing of League of Legends's competitive community was integral to its success over the last few years. But he said that he felt something missing as he heard more people talking about e-Sports at the tech shows.

Wargamingnet which is famous for MMO strategy game developer and publisher introduced the latest version World of Warplanes, an action MMO game dedicated to the golden era of military aviation.

World of Warplanes will include military vehicles from several key periods in the history of aircraft from 1930s era biplanes to the jets of the Korean War.The game will allow the player to choose from three basic classes of vehicles: fighters, the most effective in dogfighting; heavy fighters, multiengine aircraft with a more powerful armament; and ground-attack aircraft, the main hunters of ground targets. For each type of aircraft, there will be several types of weapons and a variety of options for the airframe and engines available. The games entered closed beta testing.

World of Tanks Generals, free-to-play collectible card online game, focused on World War II gameplay. Being browser-based, World of Tanks Generals doesn’t require installing a game client.

Simultaneous strategies as well as collectable card gaming can grant the player a new dimension of strategy to game play..

They released the newest version World of Warplanes, World of Tanks Generals and 8.4 version of World of Tanks at GDC 2013.

#GDC Awards: 15th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) &13th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCAs)

GDC 2013 hosted the 15th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) and the 13th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCAs) on the evening of March 27. Cart Life creator Richard Hofmeier won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize award at the IGF and its associated $30,000 grand prize, as well as the award for Narrative and the Nuovo Award.

At the GDCAs, thatgamecompany's emotionallycharged Journey won six of the evening's eleven main awards, including Best Audio, Best Game Design, Best Visual Arts, Best Downloadable Game, the Innovation Award, and the coveted Game of the Year Award. ThatGameCompany's Journey won six awards among eleven main awards, winning more than half of the main GDC Awards given out this year: Best Downloadable Game, Best Visual Arts, Best Game Design, Best Audio, Innovation Award and Game of the Year.

Best Downloadable Game: Journey (ThatGameCompany)

#New Release of High Tech Engines’ Festival

Audience Choice Award: Dishonored (Arkane Studios)

Havok released the end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine, Project Anarchy. It includes Havok's Vision Engine, Physics, Animation and AI tools, game samples and tutorials and will be free on a number of leading mobile platforms. Havok's tech can already be found in some of the AAA titles, including Halo 4, Assassin's Creed III, Guild Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls V and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Best Narrative: The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)

Kojima Productions revealed Metal Gear Solid 5, showed off its photorealistic FOX engine, and confirmed a brand-new game development office in Los Angeles. Mozilla has revealed a partnership with Epic Games, which will bring the latter's Unreal Engine 3 to web browsers very soon.

Innovation Award: Journey (ThatGameCompany)

Although it seemed that the next installment in the Battlefield series would use DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, the company has revealed that the Frostbite 3 engine will debut later this year.

Additionally, several exciting video game hardware debuts were shown off at this year’s event, like the Oculus Rift VR headset, PlayJam’s GameStick and the Ouya (both Android-based game consoles), and Sony’s PlayStation 4 next-gen console.

Best Visual Arts: Journey (ThatGameCompany) Best Technology: Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft) Best Game Design: Journey (ThatGameCompany) Best Mobile Game: The Room (Fireproof Studios) Best Audio: Journey (ThatGameCompany) Best Debut: FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games) Game of the Year: Journey (ThatGameCompany) GDC 2013 left hot issues and shows us the very promising future. We can expect 2013 will be the next golden age of game industry again. Next year's Game Developers Conference will see the show return to the Moscone Center for March 17-21, 2014 Quotes: http://www.gdconf.com/ http://gamasutra.com/ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/ www.riotgames.com http://na.wargaming.net/ 6

NEWS BOARD Games & e-Sports

Path to Pro

T he

2013 Path-to-Pro will be wrought with cut-throat competition as teams

battle for the ultimate prize: a spot in the League Championship Series, a Riot

BLIZZCON® 2013 Tickets on Sale

Massive Warcraft® , StarCraft® , and Diablo®

community gathering coming to

Anaheim Convention Center November 8–9

salary, and realization of the dream to play League of Legends professionally.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced that tickets for its seventh BlizzCon® gaming convention will go on sale in two batches on April 24 and April 27. Set to tear through the Anaheim Convention Center this November 8 and 9, BlizzCon is a thundering celebration of all things Warcraft® , Diablo® , and StarCraft® . The annual two-day community gathering features in-depth discussion panels with Blizzard developers, hands-on play time with the latest Blizzard games, and tons of other exciting events and activities. As announced earlier this week, BlizzCon 2013 will also host the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals—a high-stakes showdown where the top pro players in the world will battle for the right to be crowned StarCraft II World Champion.

“We love having the opportunity to hang out with our players at BlizzCon, and it’s always awesome to see the greatest gaming community on earth swarm The beginning of the LCS saw challenger teams rise to compete on the world-stage.

Anaheim,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.

This split, ambitious teams have had their eyes on the prize while competing at

“We look forward to delivering two full days of gaming, activities, and other

Challenger Series events and rising through the ranks of the NA and EU ladders, all

entertainment, and we can’t wait to show some of the exciting projects we’ve

the while the professionals have been waging war in the limelight.

been working on.”

The mid-season break threatens to bring an upheaval to the league. With the 7th

Tickets to attend the convention will be priced at $175 USD each and will be

and 8th place teams automatically forced to compete in the Promotion/Relegation

available for purchase from the official BlizzCon website (www.blizzcon.com) in

tournament to maintain their spot in the LCS, the 3rd through 6th place teams will

two separate batches. The first batch goes on sale Wednesday, April 24 at 7 p.m.

compete in a brutal tournament series, with the bottom two joining the 7th and 8th

Pacific time, and the second batch goes on sale Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m.

place teams in the Promotion/Relegation tournament. This win-or-go-home

Pacific time.

tournament will pit the four LCS teams against four challenger teams, with the winners earning qualification for the second half of the LCS season.

Tickets to the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner, which include admission to BlizzCon, will be priced at $500 USD each, with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital of

But before LCS berths are put on the line, the best eight challenger teams in Europe

Orange County (http://www.choc.org). Taking place the evening of November 7,

and North America must battle each other in a tournament to decide who gets the

this exclusive event offers guests an opportunity to /eat, /drink, and /lol with

chance to take down the best.

Blizzard game developers, community managers, and other folks from Blizzard before the show. Approximately 200 tickets to the benefit dinner will be available

In Europe, Alternate and Meet Your Makers qualified directly to the

for purchase beginning Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. Pacific time through

Promotion/Relegation Tournament through the LCS Roadshow in Lille, France

www.blizzcon.com.

with convincing performances. Another two teams will be decided via an online competition hosted by the ESL .

Gamers from the far reaches of Azeroth, the Koprulu sector, or Sanctuary looking to enjoy BlizzCon from the comfort of their own home will once again have the

In April, four more EU teams will qualify through a European online tournament

option to order a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, offering comprehensive live coverage

held by Riot Games, bringing the total pool to eight. These teams will finally

of the event via a multi-channel Internet stream. Further details on the Virtual

compete against four EU LCS teams on May 3-5.

Ticket, including pricing, availability, and programming information, will be announced at a later date.

In North America, Quantic and Velocity e-Sports qualified through thrilling victories at MLG Dallas. The conclusion of the tournament in replacement of the

As BlizzCon draws closer, more information about the show will be posted at

now-defunct IPL6 will occur at the NA LCS studio on April 11-12, bringing two

www.blizzcon.com. To keep pace with the continued growth of World of

more qualifying teams to the fray. The final four teams will be decided through a

Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the

future online Challenger tournament. The North American online tournament will

company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on

determine the four teams that face the NA LCS teams on May 10-12.

available career opportunities can be found at jobs.blizzard.com.

Quote: http://na.lolesports.com/season3/split1/articles/path-pro

Quote: http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/press/pressreleases.html?id=9425561

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

7

NEWS BOARD Games & e-Sports

TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT™ takes the fight to the streets - NAMCO BANDAI Games’ free-to-play cross-platform card battler out now for Smartphones, Tablets and Web Browsers, Physical Cards in stores soon

NAMCO

BANDAI Games Europe took the wraps off TEKKEN CARD

TOURNAMENT™, the first ever free-to-play game based on the TEKKEN universe offering explosive cross-platform online play. .

In TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT, players will customize their decks, use the fusion system to create new cards, then strategically chain Focus, Strike and Block moves to take down opponents with blistering KO combos. Train in solo play then challenge matched opponents around the world to climb the global rankings, with extra rewards to be won in themed contests and weekly battles.

Have you got what it takes to become world champion?

Bringing real-world crossover to the online gameplay, physical booster packs of TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT Game Cards will go on sale in stores in early summer. With a total of 191 to collect, each card will feature a unique QR code to let the player instantly add the card to their digital in-game deck. Using the app on portable devices, players will be able to scan the character images to unleash Augmented Reality effects and bring the characters to life, with the ability to take cool snapshots.

The card-based battler is available now as a free downloadable app from the following stores: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id596424376 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.namcobandaigames.tekkencard The game is also available for instant free play in web browsers at http://www.cardtournament.com/tekken.

The seamless cross-platform play of TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT lets fighters challenge each other online no matter where they are or what device they’re using, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. The game features the amazing 3D visuals players expect from TEKKEN, with electrifying turn-based card battling that’s fun right from the start and loaded with satisfying depth.

TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT for smartphones, tablets and web browsers is available now via https://itunes.apple.com/app/id596424376 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.namcobandaigames.tekkencard http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C4FS5E2 http://www.card-tournament.com/tekken.

Physical booster packs of TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT Game Cards are set to arrive in stores soon.

For more information on the TEKKEN universe, please visit: http://www.namcobandaigames.eu or http://www.tekken.com.

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Tekken or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN

Story of EVIL GENIUSES: Suppy to South Korea - Conan “Suppy” Liu takes his journey to South Korea.

Conan “Suppy” Liu has been on plenty of exciting trips since he joined EG last

That being said, a trip to South Korea is an intimidating prospect. Suppy, like

July. His most notable adventure, when he attended the 2012 Battlenet World

any foreigner facing his first stay in a Korean progaming house, could be excused

Championship in China, was a tremendous success: he finished 5th-8th, the highest

for feeling a bit of apprehension. But if the young Zerg has proven anything, it’s

of all the North American contenders. Along the way, Suppy did the impossible,

that he thrives off of adversity. Expect to see Suppy take South Korea by storm.

holding off then-Startale ace PartinG’s infamous Sentry/Immortal all in. That performance earned Suppy international acclaim.

Suppy expressed his feeling about this opportunity, “I’m very excited and nervous at the same time. First and foremost I think this is a once in a lifetime experience,

This summer, Suppy is set to embark on another voyage, this time to the EG-TL

and really the best chance for me to see where gaming is going to fit into my life.

house in South Korea. There, he will train alongside the EG-TL Proleague team,

That said, going to Korea could be a complete success or a complete failure, and

further honing his already impressive skills. While the trip will only last five weeks,

of course I am quite scared of the latter. Many people have gone to Korea before

it will be a rare chance for Suppy, an entirely home-grown talent, to immerse

me with mixed results. Everyone says it’s hard. Stephano recently talked about

himself in training with EG’s world-renowned StarCraft division, including top

how difficult it was with the language barrier in particular. I’m hoping that I can

players like Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong, Kim “Oz” Hak Soo, and Han “aLive” Lee

take the opportunity to learn a little bit of Korean and some of the culture, while

Seok.

experiencing what it’s actually like being able to devote 100% of my time to Starcraft. The stay is short but I hope to make the most of it!”

The trip comes at a fortuitous time for Suppy, who is working on balancing

Quote: http://evilgeniuses.gg/suppy-to-south-korea/

his course load at UC Berkeley with the brand-new StarCraft II expansion Heart of the Swarm. Transitioning to the new game has been tough for everyone, but particularly tough for those who can’t afford to play Heart of the Swarm full-time.

In Korea, Suppy will get a chance to do just that. It’s exactly the opportunity North America’s most promising up-and-comer needs to take his game to the next level.

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

8

NEWS BOARD Global Tournaments

WCS America Season 1 - Operated by Major League Gaming (MLG) - Major League Gaming has released details for Blizzard’s WCS America Season 1. Season 1 includes: Qualifying Tournament, Premier League, Challenger League

WCS America Qualifying Tournament:

WCS America Challenger League:

Registration opens Friday, April 12 at 5pm ET.

The format of the WCS America Challenger League is very similar to the Code A

The WCS America Qualifying tournament on April 20 and 21 will feature 256

format popularized by GSL, with a Single Elimination Bracket followed by a

players competing online in a double elimination bracket.

Group Stage. The Challenger League provides Players with the opportunity to qualify for the WCS Season 2 Premier League. The Challenger League will

Registration:

include 40 players - 16 from the Qualifying Tournament and 24 Players who drop

Players worldwide can register beginning Friday, April 12 at 5pm ET online.

out of the Premier League. All Matches will take place online and be best of 3

Registration will close on Friday, April 19 at 5pm ET.

games.

Prizing:

WCS America Season 1 Broadcast Schedule:

Top eight players earn a spot in the WCS America Season 1 Premier League.

All broadcasts begin at 8pm ET at http://www.majorleaguegaming.com

A second qualifying tournament will be held to determine the 16 spots in WCS

and http://www.twitch.tv/mlgsc2 and will be cast by Axslav, Axeltoss and special

America Season 1 Challenger League. Details will be released soon.

guests. The broadcast schedule is available at www.majorleaguegaming.com/schedule Broadcast Schedule:

WCS America Premier League: The format of the WCS America Premier League is very similar to the Code S format popularized by GSL, with two Group Stages followed by an Eight-Player, Single Elimination Bracket called the Regional Finals.

The Premier league will include 32 players – 24 invited players and eight players

Monday, April 22 - Thursday, April 25: Qualifying Tournament Monday, April 29 - Thursday, May 2: Premier League, Group Stage 1 Monday, May 6 - Thursday, May 9: Premier League, Group Stage 1 Monday, May 13 – Thursday, May 16: Challenger League Bracket Monday, May 20 – Thursday, May 23: Premier League, Group Stage 2 Monday, May 27 – Thursday, May 30: Challenger League Bracket

advancing from the WCS America Qualifying Tournament. Players will be divided

Weekend of June 1 – Premier League Regional Finals (details TBD)

amongst eight groups with four players in each group.

Monday, June 10 – Thursday, June 13: Challenger League Group Stage Monday, June 17 – Thursday, June 20: Challenger League Group Stage

Group Stage 1: Players will compete online.

Stay tuned for additional updates regarding WCS America Season 1.

Group Stage 2: Players will compete LIVE, in-person from the MLG Studio in New York City. See schedule below.

WCS America Premier League Regional Finals: Players will compete LIVE, in-person the weekend of June 1. The top five finishers will advance to the WCS Season 1 Finals. Additional details will be provided soon.

DREAMHACK: Official Tournaments & New e-Sports Arena - DreamHack announced the first official e-Sports tournaments at DreamHack Summer 2013. The World’s largest digital festival is back in Jönköping, Sweden 1518 June to show some of the very the best tournaments in the world. .

DreamHack has already announced its International championship DreamHack Open 2013 in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm that will have its’ second tour stop

All e-Sports fans can stay there and both enjoy live matches in the tournament areas, and also see amazing production on two different stages.

of five at DHS13. And they also have presented the Swedish Championship, ESPORTSM featuring 4 games that will have the Grand Finals of the 2012/2013 Season at DreamHack Summer 2013. Now, DreamHack just announced five additional official DreamHack tournaments for DreamHack Summer 2013, including Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth and Super Street Fighter Arcade Edition. Detailed information about registration and tournament format will be released in the upcoming weeks.

The only exception will be DreamArena Extreme that will stay at its classic location, said Tomas Hermansson, Head of e-Sports at DreamHack The area includes two giant audience stands, featuring 850 seats each. In front of these giant stands it’ll have two stages, which will have a seating capacity of 1,0001,200 people each. Adding this to the already existing and classic eSports arena DreamArena Extreme with a 1,100 seating capacity, this gives DreamHack Summer a total seating capacity of around 3,500 – every event day.

This summer, in the newly built expansion of Hall B, DreamHack will build a new and improved e-Sports area covering 4000 square meters, including all tournament

“This is definitely the biggest change in the lay-out of our eSports Areas since

areas, stages and stream locations. This will give all visitors a better experience on-

DreamHack started to produce their own professional e-Sports tournaments,” said

site since people will find all e-Sports action at one single place.

Hermansson.

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

9

GAME LIFE Jay’s Game Analysis

Jays’ Game Selection of April: Need for Speed

By Jay Shin / Editor at International e-Sports Federation - My Game Selection on April is “Need For Speed” (NFS). Although few e-Sports tournament based on Racing Genre, NFS has been selected as one of the official titles in 2013 Asia Indoor & Martial Arts Games e-Sports discipline. Keeping up with this, I hope to investigate the history of NFS series and why NFS series are regarded as unchallenged racing game. Getting information of NFS series, I was quite surprised at its number of series. So, I will divide the column about NFS to 2 parts.

Need For Speed Series NFS is an Arcade Racing Game, developed by EA and has been published with PC, Console and Mobile version. Since 1994 when the 1st content was released, there have been 21 series. As I could not play 21 series all and acquire the information of games, let me introduce some parts of series which were landmarks in NFS history with support of Korean NFS online community. What made me interested was that developers of each series were different. Because these difference, there were gaps in game engine, and it drove competition to them.

1. Road & Track Presents : The Need For Speed (1994) / Need For Speed II (1996) Road & Track Presents The Need For Speed / Need For Speed II

In 1994, the 1st series of NFS, Road & Track Presents : The Need For Speed (TNFS) was released, developed

by Pioneer Productions. TNFS was highly popular to game users, regardless of DOS base, with high quality of graphic and simulation factor. In fact, what made users excited was its video clips (considering the era) rather than game itself. NFS II released in 1996 was based on Windows, not DOS and expressed better effects on racing. However, most of users were complained to its excessive specifications to play compared with its contents.

2. Need For Speed III : hot Pursuit (1998) Need For Speed III : Hot Pursuit (NFS 3), released in 1998 was regarded as a product which marked an era by adopting “car chase” (Hot pursuit) and applying Direct 3D. In Chase mode, there were “Being pursued” as well as “Pursuing” mode. NFS 3 guaranteed a fantastic graphic (considering the era) with the 3DFX emulator.

However without the emulator, users can not play the game at all. Opening video clip, one of the enjoyments

The Need For Speed (1994)

of NFS series, was combined between game scene and actual image, but it was evaluated less impact compared to previous series. The NFS 3 was a monumental product which led next NFS series.

Need For Speed II (1996)

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)

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GAME LIFE PC/Online Game Zone

3. Need For Speed : Porsche Unleashed (2000) In 2000, departing from dream car racing, Need For Speed : Porsche Unleashed (NFS PU) was released. In this game, users could see only Porsche. It applied a full 3D point of sight which described driver’s hands. Unlike previous series, NFS PU had a physical engine highly closed to “Servey Racing Game” which was the 1st attempt in NFS series. This factor often made players who were used to simple physical engine of previous series feel difference, but this factor also made NFS PU evaluated as one of the masterpieces. NFS PU is often played until now.

4. Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)

Need For Speed : Porsche Unleashed

In order to boost up NFS series, EA Seattle released Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit 2 (NFS : HP2) with crowd of dream cars. EA Seattle produced games for PS2, XBOX, PC and Nintendo Game Cube platforms. PS2 version was only product which developed by Black Box, others were produced by EA Seattle. However, there was big gap between PS2 version and others in play mode and graphic, enough to consider they are different games. In PS2 version, players excited its brilliant light effect and this effect made users who played other version depressed. After Black Box produced this NFS : HP2, Black Box was taken over by EA and full responsible for producing next NFS series. From this series, famous music of big celebrities were used for BGM in NFS series 5. Need For Speed : Underground (2003) / Need For Speed : Underground 2 (2004)

Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit 2

In 2003, Need For Speed : Underground (UG) hit again treating the “Street Racing”, getting out of Super Car System which looked fixed model in NFS. It seemed to be effected by movie – “Fast & Furious”. UG showed various game methods such as drift and drag and it does not look old fashioned until now. The motion blur was first adapted in the game so that provoked better graphic.

In 2004, UN 2, sequel of UN was released. “Out-run” mode based on Free-Run system which had been a requirement of UN version as well as replay mode was applied.

Need For Speed : Underground & Underground 2

6. Need For Speed : Most Wanted Need For Speed : Most Wanted, released in 2005 received fervent response, applying Super Car System again. NFS Most Wanted was developed in various factors compared to previous versions. Drift and “Out-run” mode were deleted, and “Speed Breaker” system which made game scene like slow motion was adapted. Also, “Challenge Series” mode was added so that users can enjoy the game after watching ending scene.

Pursuing Mode was also enhanced. In fact, lots of fans were confused if NFS Most Wanted is a game or movie while they were playing Pursuing Mode, giving police’s pursuer the slip with Speed Breaker in the game. As the storyline of the game was to be No.1 in illegal street racing, there were some funny modes such as breaking as many patrol cars as possible and being caught by speed camera as much as possible.

With these kinds of reasons above, Most Wanted is one of the favorite versions in whole series.

Need For Speed : Most Wanted

(To be Continued in next volume…)

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

11

INTERVIEW Focus e-Sports Star

Vietnamese Team “Freedom” - Although the team has just formed and gathered players from the previous most famous teams, but Team ‘Freedom’ playing Cross Fire did not show nervous or difficult at all. Conversely, this team has quickly upraised its name and class by winning, and has many titles both the domestic and international tournament. .

By Pham Van Thanh /Vietnam Recreational eSport Association

T eam “Freedom” won the champion in Vietnam

Q: Time to live and play in WCG2012 is probably

gamers’ consciousness and form the spirit in

eSport Championship (VEC) in 2012, and after

the most unforgettable day. What could you say

competition. I think the standard and skills of

short- time, they won overwhelming victory and bet

about your feelings at that time?

Vietnamese gamers are not lower than those of

a

gamers from eSport developed countries.

The First in playoff battle to have a chance to represents CrossFire Vietnam's participation in the

Freedom: when we beat the Russian team in the

e-Sports world- World Cyber Games (WCG) 2012.

Semifinals to go to the final, the team was really

Q: Could you share with us your plans and goals in

excited. Goal to win a medal become true. Before

2013?

Team Freedom goes to Kunshun in China, they as a

Chinese team- they are very strong but we keep our

representative Vietnam CrossFire and Freedom guys

mind comfortable and fight my best. There is little

really make international friends to change their

regret when we lose in the final, but stood on the

look of the Vietnam eSport generally and Vietnam

awards podium, waving the national flag and hear

CrossFire in particular.

commentators promote Vietnamese name is feeling which difficult to express in words. Finally, the flag

Having the spirit increased from match to match,

of Vietnam has representatives the eSports Vietnam

Freedom consecutively overcome other teams to

can fly with six flags of other countries in e-sports

reach the final match, and after that, finished a

festival World Cyber Games (laughs).

successful tournament with the runner-up title after

Freedom: Definitely, we have to pay attention and do our greatest efforts to be the team that represent for all Vietnamese “to revenge” upon the Chinese and “change the color of the medals” so that Vietnamese eSport can be named as a greatest eSport over the world. Besides, we are happy to share our experience and skill to other gamers for a better Vietnamese Cross Fire community.

Q: What do you want to do to contribute to the

Chinese team – IG.

development of CF in particular and Vietnamese eSport generally?

We have a short conversation with the typical CF team and hear them share about their future plans.

Freedom:

Gamers,

who

want

to

become

professional, are all happy when receiving attention Q: Hello Team Freedom, 2012 was a memorable

from authorities and community. VTC Game is now

year with Cross Fire to you. You can share a little

striving to make the tournaments and others

bit about the memories in the past year?

activities become perfect. We hope that, with our greatest efforts, the Vietnamese eSport, along with

Freedom: 2012 was a very memorable and

The team decided to change color of medal at WCG

successful year for us in particular and the

Q: Could you leave us a few comments about the

nation. Our team also hopes that CF, in the future

Vietnamese community Cross Fire in general. It was

recent status of the eSport in Vietnam as well as the

can be an official eSport subject of competition like

a very exciting year with a lot of different

opportunities and challenges for the problem of

FIFA Online 2. Hope that Vietnamese eSport will be

tournaments and thus Freedom has achieved success

worldwide assertion of Vietnamese eSport?

interested

in the big arena in the last months.

other sports, can contribute victory and glory to our

and

develop

to

provide

a

good

recreational entertainment environment for gamers Freedom: Through the WCG 2012, I saw a lot of

community.

opportunities for development as we have a large scale of community with enthusiasm, passion and victory desire. It is absolutely an advantage of Vietnamese team we saw after experiencing previous friendly matches. However, the most difficult factor that prevents the Vietnamese eSport from the development is the lack of professional gamers. We are now doing great effort to overcome this situation by organizing tournaments, for both amateur and professional participants to raise

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

12

INTERVIEW Zoom In Global Sales& Marketing Vice President, Havok

Interview with Brian Waddle

By Sophie Jeon - SAN FRANCISCO, CA—March 26, 2013—At the 2013 Game Developers Conference, Havok™unveiled Project Anarchy, a complete end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine. Havok announcedthat developing and releasing a game with the technology will be free on many leading mobile platforms, without commercial restrictions on company size or revenue. The free download will also include a broad range of game samples and tutorials to help the mobile development community hit the ground running.

As a part of this initiative, Havok will launch an online community to proactively promote and support developers through all stages of production via a dedicated website.

The issue pays lots of attentions as it encourages independent developers to develop various games on their own.

Q1. What is the main purpose of participating in

Q3. Will the existing middleware not be sold

Q5. I would like to know what level of

this GDC 2013?

separately in the future? If not, what is the sales

smartphone games developers can develop with

Each year the entire company drives technology

plan for existing middleware?

Project Anarchy free version.

updates to our products. This is where we roll out

You’re right! Project Anarchy includes Havok

There is no limitation on the size of teams or on the

new features, new platform support and new

Physics, Havok Behavior, Havok AI, so it’s a

types of games that can be developed. Development

products. We do two sizeable releases to our tech

complete tool-kit for mobile developers. Project

is allowed on PC and in fact it will be possible to

each year but GDC is where we set the direction for

Anarchy also includes extensive tutorials and

develop for many mobile platforms but free

the coming year.

samples. For Developers that are interested in

distribution rights are for iOS and Android only.

We have two places on the floor this year where

purchasing licenses of any of Havok’s middleware

Havok’s technology presents endless possibilities in

Havok is represented. We have a presence in the

products with source and support, we will certainly

terms of maximizing creativity and we are really

business area and one on the show floor. In the

continue to sell these products individually. That

looking forward to seeing some great innovations

Business area we meet with existing and potential

said, it’s worth pointing out that the direct

result

new customers to talk tech! We take a dive in the

integration Project Anarchy offers can help make

comprehensive toolset.

technology and compare to the customers’ use cases

development faster and more efficient because all of

to make sure we are on target and can help them

our tools are designed to work together.

make better games faster. This is what we have done

Q4. Could you explain the differences between

every year and we have found that it helps us stay

the free version and the paid version?

close to our customers and the market needs. It has

from

empowering

developers

with

a

Q6. I would like to know the license policy of Project Anarchy paid version to be distributed in the future.?

I don’t know how we can get more competitive than

been a long time since Havok has been on the show

Project Anarchy is a free development toolkit that

free for iOS and Android. We haven’t solidified the

floor where we are announcing and showcasing

will ship with a basic amount of source code and

program at the time of this interview. However, we

Project Anarchy C++ Game Engine targeting

will be actively supported through an online

prefer to use a flat fee when possible, we haven’t

Mobile Development. We are very excited about

community where developers can promote their

gone down the path of royalties much. We aren’t

new technology offerings and are looking forward to

work, give and receive support to and from peers (as

opposed to royalties but it is the exception. So when

showing it off to mobile game developers. The tech

well as from Havok staff) and benefit from a

we do license for mobile the budget of the developer

comes with new tutorials and a sample game to be

continual stream of new training materials. With

tends to be much smaller so we work with the team

shipped with the engine. We will be offering a free

Project Anarchy, developers can ship on iOS and

by establishing a percentage of their budget. This

development kit for mobile developers coming this

Android platforms for free. To ship on other

way it is a fixed cost and we remain a partner in the

spring on platforms that will be announced at GDC.

platforms or to gain additional source or support

development of the game and not the distribution.

We have been working very hard and have a lot

there is a nominal fee and it’s these extensions to

going on this year at GDC as you can see.

Project Anarchy that differentiate free and paid versions.

Q2. What are the advantages of Project Anarchy compare to [other] existing mobile engines?

Q7. Can you share your insight regarding the worldwide mobile market trend?

For us genre isn’t as important as other engines.

The tech is designed for freedom to customize and

Truly Free. Cross Platform. Truly extensible: C++ Engine with the ability to extend the entire engine through C++ based custom plugins. Best in class physics, AI and animation technology : Havok Physics, Havok AI, Havok Behavior. Not restricting any of our functionality or differentiating between a paid or “almost free” version. Strong collaborative

build whatever the team needs based on their use case. This is a huge strength of the tech as teams get familiar with the pipeline and workflow they can move in and out of genres with the tech easily. They can leverage the tech in whatever genre is driving the market.

editing support G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

13

OPINION e-Sports Columns

Screen stars: Playing games is a serious sport - For the new e-sports stars, playing computer or video games can bring fame, fortune and even national colours

By Faranaaz Parker / Reporter at Mail & Guardian

There was a time when a sleepless weekend would flit by while I stayed in my pajamas, eating Marmite on toast and building pyramids in the city construction computer game Pharaoh. Now I have a job, a husband and a toddler, and the days of non-stop gaming are a thing of the past. One thing’s for sure. I’ll never play for the national team. Because you can do that now, you know.

Since the late 1990s, the e-sports governing body Mind Sports South Africa, an affiliate of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, has awarded provincial colours for gaming and national colours followed in 2005.

Once considered the preserve of socially awkward teenaged boys, players at the top of their electronic game are increasingly getting official recognition for a specialized skill set that, for the very best, can bring fame and money.

Protea gamer Robert Botha, known as “PandaTank” in gaming circles, is South Africa’s most famous video gaming professional and a grandmaster at StarCraft II — a science fiction strategy game in which players build armies to destroy opponents. While many of his post-grad peers take a gap year to travel and wait tables, the 22-year-old information technology graduate from Johannesburg has travelled as far afield as Cheonan in South Korea to play competitively. After impressing at a Paris tournament earlier this year, where he almost beat one of the world’s top-ranked StarCraft II players, “Stephano”, Botha moved to Los Angeles for a three-month stint at the Razer Academy for gamers.

“You have to have a strong competitive drive as well as the desire to constantly improve yourself at every-thing you do,” Botha told me in an email interview. “I have personally put thousands of hours into practicing and trying to improve.”

Serious business Rising to the top doesn’t happen by fluke. Competitive players study maps, read up on strategy, scrutinise videos of their opponents’ games, analyse their own, then run through play after play, doing drills. Botha hasn’t yet reached the level at which he can make a comfortable living off gaming. “I have probably spent more money trying to compete than I have made back in total,” he lamented.

Even on retainer with the cheekily named Portuguese StarCraft II team, Pwnanza (“pwned” or “pwning” is a deliberate misspelling of the term “owned” or “owning”, which means to dominate another team), he’s only managed to stay afloat this long by dipping into his savings. But the payoffs of being a tournament player are potentially huge: the winner of the recent Blizzard World Cup in Shanghai, China, took home $100 000.

Tournaments can draw crowds in their thousands. Hundreds of thousands view live streamed matches online and, in South Korea, where gaming is considered a national sport, StarCraft games are broadcast on two dedicated TV channels, complete with commentary and play-by-play analysis. Makers of high-spec gaming computers are willing to fork out big money to ensure that the top gamers are seen playing on their machines, with their headsets, keyboards and mice.

Said Botha: “With the backing of strong sponsors, well-known players can earn up to R65 000 a month and travel to a different country nearly every week.”

But for South Africans like Botha, even spectacular talent is no guarantee of landing such deals. Sponsors are mindful of the huge travel costs involved in flying someone based at the tip of Africa to tournaments, he said. For now, Botha is riding the wave of his recent success and focusing on improving his skills and profile through competitive play. Players like Botha don’t materialize out of thin air.

Top guns Although South Africa is a gaming minnow compared with South Korea, local esports leagues are becoming more sophisticated. In addition to school and club leagues, hundreds of players are involved in Telkom’s commercial Do Gaming league, which this year offered more than R1-million in prizes to the country’s top guns.

“You don’t realize how good these guys are. It’s a genuine skill,” said Byron Rigby, a competitive gamer and an account manager at games distributor Megarom. “It’s not just running around and shooting because you won’t win like that.”

This year, Rigby’s “clan”, Monster Energy Gaming, beat perennial favorites Bravado at the first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in the finals of the Do Gaming league championship. They couldn’t have done it, he said, if the team hadn’t gone into seclusion for a week to practice and work on strategy.

G&e vol. April / 2013. 4. 15.

Competitive gaming requires a competitive nature, and often those who excel in e-sports excel in physical sports too. Springbok and former Sharks eighthman Ryan Kankowski is a devoted player of Defense of the Ancients, a strategy computer game in which teams of players, positioned at opposite ends of a map, set out to fortify their positions and destroy their enemies.

Mind Sports South Africa president Colin Webster sees the same thing among the country’s top school-aged players. “We have one [gamer] who has colours in wrestling. In the Free State there’s a gamer who plays for the provincial cricket team,” he said.

Webster, a swimmer in his youth, sees little difference between a competitive athlete and a competitive gamer. “What’s the difference? At the one end [of the spectrum], you have a highly trained athlete; at the other you have the person sitting at the edge of the pool playing Marco Polo, with a six-pack of beers and some friends,” he said. So it is with gaming. Webster hopes to grow the country’s school gaming league but concedes that e-games are still a niche sport. After all, a school would need a roomful of computers before it could even think of fielding a team.

School sport Last month I went to a friendly match between teams from two of Johannesburg’s top private schools: it was a chance to gain the upper hand over their mutual rival from Pretoria Boys High, which tops the league in Gauteng.

There were groans, whoops and frantic key tapping as the young team from Roedean School was beaten at Defense of the Ancients by the more experienced players from St John’s College.

“Strategy games build critical thinking skills, whether [children] are playing a board game like Risk or a video game like World of Warcraft,” said Dorian Love, the teacher who manages the gaming teams for both schools.

Still, schools don’t regard it with the same seriousness as traditional sports.

“Gaming has to compete with traditional sports like netball and hockey for time on the school schedule, and the sports department is very jealous of its time,” said Love. “Not everyone enjoys running around a field chasing a ball,” he said. For many parents and teachers gaming is still seen as something kids shouldn’t be doing, and often the same adults who can see the value of chess or chequers struggle to see the value of gaming. “The thinking is that they should be studying,” said Love. But as more parents realize the fringe benefits that come with highlevel gaming — such as university bursaries and the chance for international exposure — this mindset is slowly changing.

Amanda Isaacs, whose 14-year-old daughter Gabriela is a devoted gamer is not a fan. “We’re old school, and gaming isn’t going to get you a good job,” she said.

She’s not wrong. In the South African context, gaming probably isn’t going to get you a good job. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have spin-off benefits. Isaacs knew her daughter spent hours a day gaming but only realized how good she was when she mopped up at the national trials and was chosen to represent South Africa at an international championship in South Korea. Though her parents still don’t quite see the appeal, Gabriela’s gaming is now a point of pride for the family. The fact that she has her heart set on a career in biomechanics has kept things uncomplicated.

Meanwhile, with the international travel and minor celebrity status it has brought, gaming has, for Gabriela, provided an unexpected window of opportunity. Avid gamer Alexandra Kayle (27), from Killarney, said she wouldn’t be where she is today if it wasn’t for gaming. She was an obsessive gamer at high school. “On a weekend, I could easily spend an entire day playing,” she said. Her first computer, a gift from dad when she was nine, led her to a love affair with technology. This, in turn, led to a career in technology journalism and eventually to her current job in the global communications department at the global software corporation SAP. Kayle insists that gaming is addictive, but in the same breath points out that it’s just one of the things she does in her spare time, along with scuba diving and volunteering at Lifeline as well as at a local wildlife rehabilitation centre. And yet the stereotype of the rumpled, Shaun of the Dead-type slacker who lives in his mother’s basement, amped up on energy drinks and permanently attached to a controller and headset, persists.

Note: This article was originally published in the Mail & Guardian on 11 Jan 2013.

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