Fragging The Competition
Quakeadelica Review, Ministry of Sound, 15th October 1998
Eye Magazine Issue 30 (Winter 1998)
Programming Note: I’d been asked by Eye magazine to produce a long-form article on the history of video gaming, which became the piece Live. Die. Eat. Cheat. I was back in London by this time, after completing my Masters degree at The Jan van Eyck Akademie, and submitted this review of the live event to run in parallel with the larger piece I was writing at the time. The review also ran in the Winter issue.
Quakeadelica, staged at a South London nightclub with an extravaganza of music, glamour and button-pounding action was a head-to-head battle between the top eight British players of computer game Quake 2.
Hosted by model Jo Guest, who seemed a little out of place (but perfectly suited to the testosterone drenched atmosphere of the boys and their games), the evening included a series of heats, and a 'winner takes all' challenge between the best British contenders and the US champion.
Sponsored by online games network Wireplay, the evening started with brief introductions before they assumed places and virtual carnage ensued on a large video projection screen.
The assembled crowd witnessed the 'chasecam' view of the ten-minute battles, cutting between views of the players in order to catch the best of the action. A special 'expert' adjudicator also played to eliminate foul play.
Commentary, provided by a compere and a somewhat perplexed Miss Guest, was dominated by gaming community jargon such as 'fragging', 'raping missions' and 'railgunning'.
As the games moved ahead at alarming speed, the screen soon became awash with all the usual virtual blood and guts and the deception and dodging of opponents. Whenever a particularly gruesome kill was achieved by one of the young players there would always be a simultaneous raucous cheer of satisfaction from the gaming crowd.
The British winner is now set to go on an expenses-paid trip to New York to play in the Professional Gamers League final.
The star of the evening, however, was undoubtedly US champion Thresh, a top professional gamer, who had been flown in to compete against Britain's finest.
Aged 21, and sponsored to the tune of $100,000 a year for his gaming endeavors, Thresh (who recently won a Ferrari for his efforts), considers himself one of a new breed, training for up to four hours a day (and up to seven hours a day in the run-up to a tournament).
Thresh was recently quoted as saying that he would like to see computer gaming recognized as an Olympic sport, and is aiming to reach 'millionaire status' by the age of 25.
The overall winner though, was the game Quake 2 itself, the evening being an extraordinary celebration of one of the most addictive, immersive and compelling games around. Its success was confirmed - not only by the huge attendance of the event - but by the realization that companies are also willing to fly the best players around the world to compete in the name of publicity - both for their software and online gaming services.
It seems as if Thresh's dream of becoming one of the first sportsmen of the virtual era is not too far away.
