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Mar 1, 2008 at 04:19 PM CST
View Comments: 25
Loki's Look: The hardships of gaming
Posted by: Goodeh
Article by Liam "Loki" Belcher, Staff Writer, BirminghamSalvo.com
Money
Unless you’re Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel then this may be a problem for an aspiring pro gamer. If you don’t really believe that he makes a lot of money then just take a look at some his LAN achievements and then take into account that he has his own gaming gear / hardware label. At the moment I’m actually wearing a Fatal1ty headset as proof of how well off the guy really is (just to be clear, I’m not wearing it for that express purpose). The main money pot for teams that need funding should of course be sponsorship. However, you have to become quite a proven team before you can do that so time is an issue. If you’re willing to put in a lot of your time and effort then it CAN pay off. However, not everyone can afford to travel to LAN events and some people aren’t even old enough or have parents willing to take them to such places. Another worry is that gaming equipment costs money and with the pressure from peers and companies alike pushing you to buy a new headset or mouse or keyboard, how can you really balance all of these?
Parental Units
How many times have you had your mum or dad coming into your room and hover over you when you’re playing a game? It’s a problem that all professional gamers have to live through at some time. The catch of the situation is that you don’t have any grounds on which to base your argument. After all, you live under their roof and it’s their rules. There are some exceptions to this however, with complexity living in their very own team house. I’ve had many a night when my team and I have had important matches and just as I’m about to play I hear the very high pitched noise that is my mum’s voice screaming “Liam, when are you walking the dog?”. It is of course a rhetorical question as the answer is “now!” Those of you lucky enough to have your own place will be able to play whenever you wish and some of you may say “What if professional gamers have part-time jobs too?” to which I would retort with “parents are never satisfied”. The fact of the matter is, even if you get a job, your parents will want you to move out and even then they’ll complain that they miss you and always call you to come round theirs and move furniture. But bless them anyway because they could have very easily cut your power cord to the computer by now.
Time
Fall back plans
Chances for gamers to prove themselves these days are few and far between. Many professionals already have the qualifications or are in the process of getting such qualifications and therefore will always have a backup plan. It’s no secret that some gamers “don’t want to play games forever” and will always claim to want to be a doctor later on or something equally as important. When you’re young and very influential though, all you seemingly want is to play games for a living. If you can make it and you are very financially aware then by all means go for it. However, there are many people that are naive enough to believe that gaming will always work out for them. It is ALWAYS a good idea to have something you can fall back on. It doesn’t have to be something that requires you to have 40 Degrees in loads of subjects. It could simply be a career in retail or maybe it could just entail going back to education for some time to find out what you’re really good. There’s always something else you can do. Why am I including this as a hardship then? Well it’s hard enough to multi-task when you’re trying to talk on the phone and cook at the same time so try to imagine balancing your dreams of being a professional gamer with trying to make sure you have a career to fall back on. Yeah, it’s a scary thought for any gamer I know.
So why do I think of these things so much? Hardships are there for a reason. When I’m playing a league I like to see every loss as a more important factor than winning. Sure, winning is nice and it gets you the money but having a loss or something bad happen to you can really bring things down to the ground for you and make us all realise that we’re human and things can and WILL go wrong sometimes. If you look at defeats as failures in your characters then the biggest flaw in your personality is not being able to see the good side of things. If you can’t see at least a few good things in your hard times (and this is going to sound harsh) then quit. If you can’t take the hits and keep getting back up then you REALLY won’t be able to take them if you ever reach the big stage. Take solace in your hardships, they’re the one thing that keeps you afloat when you look back at all you’ve achieved.
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jlake02
Posts: 2440
Location: Atlanta
Team GM
SCG-Loki
Posts: 5200
Location: Washington
Staff Member
Much love
Buster^
Posts: 945
Location: Ellesmere
Great article liam! 
RAK needs YOU!!
http://lacomplexity.thecgs.com/Random_Acts_of_Kindness_-_2008
RAK needs YOU!!
http://lacomplexity.thecgs.com/Random_Acts_of_Kindness_-_2008
RattlesnK
Posts: 238
Location: Brighton
Pro Gamer
I can definately relate to this article, good job loki
www.birminghamsalvo.com
www.birminghamsalvo.com
NT_101
Posts: 60
Location: Bristol
Pro Gamer
Nice Read Loki,
I'm in the same category as Sam strangely enough, also being able to "definately relate to this"
Last modified on 3/2/2008 at 1:51 am EST
I'm in the same category as Sam strangely enough, also being able to "definately relate to this"
Last modified on 3/2/2008 at 1:51 am EST
BotMaN^
Posts: 2030
Location: Disneyland
good stuff!
#All-Stars - eSports InterNational Club @ Owner & Founder
#All-Stars - eSports InterNational Club @ Owner & Founder
r0x0
Posts: 99
Location: /b/
That is the truthiest thing i've read in while, just one thign left out; girls
You say sex offender like it's a bad thing.
You say sex offender like it's a bad thing.
SCG-Loki
Posts: 5200
Location: Washington
Staff Member
It's funny you should mention that but I didn't feel it was totally appropriate as a lot of younger gamers may not be in relationships or at least not ones that would be serious enough anyway
MESSY
Posts: 132
Location: London
Pro Gamer
Nice read Loki, very insightful.
Adiamon
Posts: 124
Location: Voss
great article
Ricochet
Posts: 789
Location: In front of an xbox360 and HDTV ^_^
Staff Member
Really good read Loki! So relate-able.
Whether you think you can or whether you think you cant, you are right - Henry Ford
Whether you think you can or whether you think you cant, you are right - Henry Ford
JovaN
Posts: 58
Location:
nice read! only the parents bit fell into place with me 
NEOJAKE
Posts: 90
Location: Seaforde Downpatrick
Nice read Loki even if it scares me a little. I just want to race not much in the way of a career for me outside of gaming/racing by doubt il ever be finacially able to do real racing which is still my ultimate dream but think I'm getting a bit old to be able to learn how to drive real race car. Never too old me thinks but probably never happen unless CGS want to do a special feature hint hint nudge nudge wink wink
SCG-Loki
Posts: 5200
Location: Washington
Staff Member
"know what I mean? wink wink" lol
The one defiant truth in life is that if you want something bad enough and it's physically possible....do it. I think one day you could do it. I've said this many times but it's still true - Dream big and dare to fail. The most wise person i've ever met said that...Andy Billings
The one defiant truth in life is that if you want something bad enough and it's physically possible....do it. I think one day you could do it. I've said this many times but it's still true - Dream big and dare to fail. The most wise person i've ever met said that...Andy Billings
RV0LVr
Posts: 910
Location:
Nice view on things
typos are just a part of life....
typos are just a part of life....
Snuggles55
Posts: 684
Location: Gainsborough
Thank Heaven that parents are no problem for me. If I was 18 my Mum would never have stood for me playing games for hours every day! She would have been afraid that it would ruin my eyesight and my social life! LOL!
Stune
Posts: 730
Location: Dorchester
Pro Gamer
awesome article loki. You bring up many good points.
AlbeL
Posts: 5704
Location: Outside Belfast
Staff Member
Good read, many valid points stood out for me
Loituma Champion
Loituma Champion
RiF
Posts: 2481
Location: waterloo
Referenced post #16 by Snuggles55
Thank Heaven that parents are no problem for me. If I was 18 my Mum would never have stood for me playing games for hours every day! She would have been afraid that it would ruin my eyesight and my social life! LOL!when you were 18 did they even have video games? j/k
nice read loki. Fall back plans defiently suck to think about imo. Becuase its already admiting defeat in a way. "Well when i dont make it im going to do ____". But then again its the smart thing to do and a very real dilema for everyone. Yay for construction
Last modified on 3/3/2008 at 6:49 am EST
Join the RAK movement
http://lacomplexity.thecgs.com/Random_Acts_of_Kindness_-_2008
PaulConUK
Posts: 135
Location: Cheshire
Nice article Loki
It's a hard knock life
http://www.teama1p.co.uk
It's a hard knock life
http://www.teama1p.co.uk
SCG-Loki
Posts: 5200
Location: Washington
Staff Member
It is indeed 
sequence
Posts: 490
Location:
awesome article loki
SCG-Loki
Posts: 5200
Location: Washington
Staff Member
Thanks bud
peawok
Posts: 2582
Location:
Staff Member
Great work, my man. Can't wait for your work on IE.
Michael Fleming
http://LACompLexity.thecgs.com
http://www.insideresports.com - #insideresports
Michael Fleming
http://LACompLexity.thecgs.com
http://www.insideresports.com - #insideresports
Elimination
Posts: 68
Location: Washington
Nice job Loki. i get no encouragement at home lol. Kinda makes me wanna stop somedays, but i never do
CS Source :)
^wotr^ eliMination
CS Source :)
^wotr^ eliMination
Join the RAK movement!
http://lacomplexity.thecgs.com/Random_Acts_of_Kindness_-_2008