Meet America's gamer no.1

Meet America's gamer no.1



SEATTLE: Geoff Robinson does not fit the stereotype of a hardcore geek gamer. The 22-year-old student is sociable, an avid weightlifter, studies English and history -- not computer science -- and wants to be a teacher.

But Robinson is also the best American at a computer strategy game called StarCraft: Brood War and he is one of about 700 gamers from 74 countries competing at the World Cyber Games (WCG) 2007 Grand Final in Seattle, USA.

Organisers of the WCG said these players are athletes with tremendous hand-eye co-ordination, who simply happen to be competing in ‘e-sports’ or electronic sports.

“We would love to see the stereotype of the geek gamer smashed,” said Michael Arzt, senior vice-president, WCG. “It’s not that lonely kid in the basement that people think it is.”

In playing StarCraft, Robinson estimates that a good player will do about 300 different actions per minute on either a keyboard or mouse, and the best players can push that to 500 actions per minute.

“It’s about hand speed,” said Robinson, who has been playing the game since 1998. Robinson said he practices three hours a day and kicks that up to five to six hours a day in the weeks leading up to a tournament.

But his work doesn’t come at the expense of school, time at the gym or his social life. “I probably lost a few hours of sleep,” said Robinson. “I don’t think it ever crossed my mind to make my living playing video games, but I would like to see where this takes me.”

Well-rounded, media-friendly players like Robinson are key to move professional video gaming to the mainstream and gaining wider acceptance.

Professional video gaming has not reached the mainstream in most countries, but it’s already closely followed in South Korea, where tournaments are regularly televised and the best players can make over $1,00,000 (Rs 40 lakh approximately) a year.

The WCG Grand Final’s format is similar to the Olympics: Competing players represent their country and try to win medals for their national team. Of course, the $4,48,000 (Rs 1.76 crore approx) in prize money is an added incentive. “(Our) goal is to be recognized one day at par with the Olympics or the World Cup,” said Arzt