When Krishnan informed us that the World Cyber Games preliminaries were about to take place in Delhi last Saturday, Reggie and me felt it was necessary to get our asses over there and start some brouhaha with the participants – in a strictly sociable manner, of course. With its seventh official year already under way, the WCG, much like a young apprentice trained in the mystical arts of audio-visual maiming, has certainly come a long way in promoting competitive gaming here in India. Despite having some confusion with the time schedule (all we knew was that on-site registration would start from morning till noon), getting to the National Science Centre where the tournament would take place at didn’t prove to be much of hassle for us. After all, nothing burns expensive petrol gas like the AP-Mobile, baby. Roll out!

On the far left corner of the building was where the event was taking place. Near the entrance was a table with some stapled sheets of paper and bottles of mineral water; above it, a sign reading “Press Registration.” But since no one was present there to register us, we took the free pamphlets detailing about the event and headed on inside. A bunch of Microsoft and Samsung products sitting in a lobby was there to greet us, ready to be purchased and taken home. Farther down were two playable Xbox 360 kiosks and two Samsung-endorsed PCs, something for the bored attendees to keep themselves occupied with. Much to my lack of astonishment, one of the vendors selling some 360 games had recognized Reggie from their backing at the last SKOAR! expo. Being the ever meticulous marauder he is, Reggie inquired whether the vendor had BioShock in stock. Naturally, they were scampering around to check and see if it was available, but it wasn’t.

But enough of that, ’twas not the time to purchase anything or sample demos! Entering the auditorium was like a breath of fresh air-conditioning bliss in this Delhi heat. Already occupied by what seemed like 100 something other younglings of predominantly the male variety (bah!), we sat ourselves down to wait and see if anything developed. Centered on the main stage’s backdrop was a projection of a Counter-Strike match in session, leading us to wonder where these matches were taking place. Suddenly, a man decked out in fancy clothing hopped on the floor to pronounce the participants for the next match up, tallied by the registration number given to them. Two teams joined the stage with the announcer while their friends stayed behind and hollered for support. The announcer then detailed the map that will be played for both teams and directed them to the back of the stage. What that basically meant was that those who were registered but not called up had to sit and wait until the next match ended. And what that basically meant for random onlookers such ourselves was that we were missing out on the actual action!

Fortunately with the permission of the Head of Marketing for IndiaGames, Cyril Ferry allowed us to enter backstage and witness what the crowd was missing out on. Before we entered, you could practically hear the lingo shouted among fellow teammates at the door step. And holy crap, was it musty! I mean, either the AC was busted or those air coolers standing against the walls were vastly underpowered (not a surprise when you consider how much electrical equipment was running under one roof). On the left of the entryway was the Counter-Strike match, permitted to 4 computers and 4 competitors on each side, back-to-back. That brings the total of players per match to be 8 but we still had other teams who were earlier asked from the auditorium to get ready for their turn. Add to that other titles there were on display with their own respective matches and competitors in the wait, and you got one seriously packed section of gaming going on.

The matches themselves didn’t really lend too much observation, let alone excitement. Honestly, what exactly has changed from the Counter-Strike played from 1999 to the one currently being played today? As far as aesthetics were concerned, unless you were really in that kind of serious-spirited mindset where each individual decision can be measured like a tactical commander – every match might as well looked the same. Even with the change of maps!

That saying goes the same for the FIFA07 corner, which ranked second in terms of attention and number of people playing. We did get a chance to chat with one of the players who were waiting! Vaibhav Sharma has been playing competitively for more than several years, and he’s got his worn-out keyboard to prove it. Man, will you look at this sucker. Keys yellower than a Teletubby soaked in lemonade and honey. To put its deterioration to the test, we compare it to the next best (or worst?!) thing. My own teeth!

Nothing screams “hardcore gamer” more than bad hygiene.

Stay tuned for a video interview with Cyril Ferry. Topics we touch upon: the presence of the Xbox 360 and Project Gotham Racing 3, the lack of newer PC games being introduced and the overall reception that the tourney has been receiving. We’ll also have some feedback from the participants!

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By N2H

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