Let's join the elite gaming clan

Let's join the elite gaming clan

By Vishnu 'Ramius' Mahmud

JAKARTA (JP): Edward Gunawan has a problem. Surrounded by a
squad of elite counter-terrorist forces, he and his motley crew
of terrorists must fend off the impending assault to keep their
hostages (as well as their lives).

"Chiong!" he barks and his team storms the front, surprising
the opposing forces who were expecting them to take a more
defensive approach. Minutes later, the smoke settles and a
disembodied voice declares: "Terrorists Win".

The situation is not real but the intense emotion that comes
with it is. Edward and his friends were playing at the CyberGen
Counter-Strike competition that took place last month where
prizes and glory can be obtained by beating the best teams
(otherwise known as "clans" in gamer lingo) in the city.

Counter-Strike (CS) is a fan created modification (or "mod")
of Sierra Online's popular Half Life game. Creating a real life
terrorist/counter-terrorist situation with realistic armaments,
the multiplayer game Counter-Strike is played by millions
throughout the world on the Internet or in Cyber Cafes where they
can play face to face.

Multi-playing games have really taken off in Jakarta as shown
with the recent spate of Gaming Competitions by Milenia Net Cafe
in Pasar Raya Blok M, CyberGen in Ratu Plaza, and Megasis
(Indonesian Gamers) in Gajah Mada Plaza. The amount of prizes
range from Rp 1.5 million to Rp 4 million cash for the first
place team alone. In addition, contestants have the chance to win
various door prizes from state of the art computer hardware
sponsors. But more importantly, it is the bragging rights of
being the "best of the best" that all the clans battle for.

Edward (otherwise known as b1t3iT or bite it) is the de facto
leader of *P*, one of the best gaming clans in Indonesia for
Counter-Strike. *P* consists of four Jakarta International
School freshmen (b1t3iT, SuCKiT, Dzick, R3ViVaL-X), two British
International School students (Mother, OmNi) and one Indonesian
high school senior (PBchair).

The group got together at first to create a semi permanent
team to challenge their JIS friends in various computer games
like Quake, Unreal Tournament, Tribes and Star Craft. Then
Counter-Strike was created and they got hooked. They added
Mother and OmNi after seeing both play exceptionally well,
holding their own against a tidal wave of opponents. PBchair
defected from another clan to join *P* as his gaming style and
method of play fit very well with the rest of the squad.

Why even create a clan? Games like Counter-Strike or Star
Craft emphasize teamwork and strategy more then "fragging" and
running around. Having a stable clan also makes it easier to
plan and implement game strategy. With cash prizes and the glory
of being the best clan at stake, such preparation and
cohesiveness is necessary.

One of the strengths of *P* lies in their strategy. Dzick
considers b1t3iT as the master tactician since his line of attack
can sometimes drive opposing teams crazy. When expected to
attack, *P* just mills around and then attacks at the last
possible moment. When expected to defend, they leave their area
open then swarm in using a pincer movement. b1t3iT seems to have
a tactic for every level, map and situation that exists in the
game.

*P* have worked their way up the ladder by challenging other
clans in Jakarta and defeated them decisively. All clan wars (as
these challenges are called) take place at one of the many game
centers in Jakarta (such as CyberGen) where the proprietors are
happy to oblige. CyberGen's manager, Sheo "GameOver" Lung, states
that he wants to help enlarge the gaming community in Indonesia,
after seeing Korean and Singaporean gamers take the world stage
in various international gaming competitions.

Mother and OmNi also expressed wishes to be one of the world's
best. They point to the many Singaporean LAN shops (as the Game
Centers there are known) and monthly competitions that help
increase the skill of the Singapore gamers. According to OmNi,
the gamers there have the fastest reflexes he's ever seen.
b1t3iT also hopes to be just as good as his foreign counterparts
in order to get sponsorship from computer companies. Playing
computer games overseas can sometimes be considered a
professional sport, where hardware companies pay gamers to play
their best and promote their products.

Despite all the games and clan wars they play, sportsmanship
is important for the *P* Clan. They always shake the hands of
their opponents win or lose. There has been some bad blood
between opposing clans in previous gaming competitions but *P*
does not want that to happen to them. The Indonesian gaming
community (including the many International School students here)
is quite small and everyone knows each other (if not by their
game aliases!).

What are the drawbacks of joining a clan? Since most game
players are still in school, there is a risk that playing
Counter-Strike all the time (training to be "elite" they say) may
result in poor grades. b1t3iT is not worried as long as his
grades do not slip below a B-. SuCKiT concurs. "You must find a
balance between playing and work, because CS shouldn't rule you,
you should rule CS!"

To contact, meet or perhaps create your own clan in Indonesia,
log on to www.indogamer.com/forums and enter the Clans, Community
and Competition folder. (ronin_ramius@yahoo.com)