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)