One Shot!Top Gold!
Triple Kill!
Welcome to the world of online gaming. But I am not talking about games like World of Craft or Warcraft. I am referring to the Halo series, the critically acclaimed series which is the main cause for the success of Microsoft's Xbox. However a lot of its success it driven by its online capabilities via Xbox Lives and the creation of MLG (Major League Gaming)
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002. As well as allowing players to compete against each other, it also allows subscribers to chat, buy arcade games via the marketplace. In retrospect it is a giant social networking program, in which all the users have one thing in common, playing Xbox.
So now let me describe to you the game of Halo. It is a FPS (first person shooter) game, which revolves around the central character Master Chief. And to be honest to you, that is all I really know about the storyline. This is because they have made the story hard to follow and to understand a lot requires one to read the books. So your probably thinking to yourself, why are you playing the game if you don't even know what is going on? That is a good question but the answer is simple; the online aspect of the game is highly addicting.
What I am about to tell you might shock you but this is why I warn you advance. Halo's success is driven by the highly prosperous league MLG. Major League Gaming (MLG), founded in 2002, is a North American professional video game league, headquartered in New York City, New York. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. Major League Gaming competitions have been broadcast on national television.[1] These broadcasted appear on channels like ESPN and TSN. That is correct, they are broadcasted on channels dedicated to sports. Does that in turn make this a sport. Well, the tournaments consists of teams of 4 competing in various game variants; Capture the Flag, Oddball, Slayer and so forth. They go through a round robin and then through 'playoffs' by which winners are determined by a 'best of 5' game style. The guys in these tournaments are considered 'professionals' and all go by an alias. They come up with different strategies and play accoridngly. So I guess this is the closest that a video game can ever get to be considered a sport. Not to shabby might I add.
Example of Gameplay at MLG Tournaments
Wait a minute, hold it their cowboy. How does this relate to me? Simple, I was once very ambitious of making it into MLG. I got into the game in grade 6 but only started playing the online aspect of the game in grade 10. I immediately fell in love the online play. I quickly devolped as a player and realized my potential. Most people reading this are probably rolling their eyes and thinking what a waste of time. Well actually, I had an active social life and constantly kept up with my school work. My skills as a player was recognized by one of the guys at school. He introduced me to a lot of guys that shared the same level of skill. And to quote the movie Casablanca, “ I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”. We practiced, we played on a regular basis and we went to local tournaments. All with the ambition of going to MLG.
This lasted for about a year. Prior to grade 12, I soon realized that I was not cut out for this. These guys played every day, dedicated their lives this. I just wanted to play fun, they slowly took what was fun and turned it into something competitive and frustrating. This was not the path I wanted to go down. My priorities are a lot different than the guys I played with. I had different aspirations and gaming was not going to help me get their. Although 'competitive' gaming is no longer a large portion of my life, I still like to play. As a gaming is a large part of who I am. Video games are a medium which now allows people to escape to a perfected reality. Chuck Klosterman expresses this perfectly in his book Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, in the chapter in which he describes the game of Sims. He explains that the people use the Sims to create characters of themselves and make them do things that they would never do in real life.[2] Kind of like a real world simulation. I believe that our society will never stop some escape from the real world. This is not because people dissatisfied with their current lives, but instead they carve something completely different. They strive for excitement and a break from the normal. And that is exactly what I am doing
And for those who want to play some XBOX Live let me know, and we'll see if your any good :o.
Work Cited
[1] "About MLG Gaming." 2009. Major League Gaming, Web. 13 Oct 2009.
[2] Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. New York: Scribner, 2004.
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