I tried to think of a snappy title for this blog, but wrinkling my forehead didn’t coax forth any measure of genius so I’ll settle for one that is at least semi-descriptive.  I attended my first QuakeCon at the beginning of the month, and got a good look inside one of the definitive PC professional tournaments.  I didn’t compete - I won’t lie and pretend my Quake skills are sharper than a butter knife. But I know enough to realize when I’m seeing masters at work.

Once upon a time, artists used chisels to free mythical creatures from big blocks of stone.  These professional gamers may focus more on shooting each other in the head, but they wield their tools with equally artistic precision. Watching two professionals dueling in front of a thousand cheering fans is enough to skip any gamer’s heart.

It becomes a head game. It’s not a question of whether each player knows the map, knows the weapons, and can hit his target. It’s a question of whether he knows his opponent.  What’s his health at? What weapons does he have? Where is he going next? What’s his best weapon on this map? How should that be countered? What’s his strategic weakness? How can that be exploited?

It’s a game of controlling the map, the assets, and your opponent.  It’s a beautiful thing to see.

I attended the Quake Quad (a tournament that took place over all 4 Quake games - hardcore!) finals after the exhibit hall closed Saturday night, and got to see Fojji match up against Toxjq.  It’s probably one of the best tournament showings ever. Fojji did an amazing job standing up to Toxjq in the earlier rounds, but Toxjq is a machine and dominated the final rounds to win the on-stage match for boatloads of money.

Aside from watching the fantastic competition, it was great to finally have the chance to meet many gamers I’d only spoken to online before, or known only by reputation. I do believe I hugged Liefje when I met her. And I hugged a few people I don’t even know, just for good measure. You can’t be too careful.

Now that I’m home I can feel my fingers itching to train up again on Quake.  Something about these events is just infectious.  Watching it makes me want to play until my eyes bleed.

- jinx

PS - The Pro Gam3r magazine also launched at QuakeCon with a rad cartoon-style feature of the Frag Dolls.  If you’re interested in the pro-gaming lifestyle you should check it out

same old city with a different name