Video games are a way of escaping reality by becoming a hero or just killing time, these games have become a part of people’s day to day lives. In accordance with this, games have evolved and developed more and more, since its inception. Certain games which were popular back in the 90’s are now just something children laugh at, with its limited graphics and funky animations, leaving the old school games to be a thing of the past.
Introduction
One such game that has been introduced but since has not gotten that much traction in a global scale is Call of duty 4:Modern Warfare. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a multi platform computer game in the genre of a first-person shooter developed by the American company Infinity Ward and published by Activision; the game itself was released on November 12 2007 on PC.
Upon the release of Call of Duty 4 in 2007, it was introduced competitively worldwide. Many professional teams, such as Fnatic and Evil Geniuses, took part in these various tournaments and the game itself saw a lot of fame. The first time Call of Duty 4 was introduced as an eSport in Sri Lanka was during the Sri Lankan Cyber Games back in 2008, which garnered a lot of attention and saw a rise in popularity ever since its introduction to the local scene.
“COD4, is a game that some would say is what defines Lankan gaming. A game which paved the way to all other games in the country. Call of duty is the pinnacle of esports in Sri Lanka right now, and has being for a very long time, from it’s extremely intense games to rivalries that has gone beyond gaming. Call of duty has lasted so long and will last even longer because of how competitive it is, and how passionate every cod player is towards their game.” – Javeen Tharka, prominent player in the League of Legends community.
As a game that was introduced such a long time ago with its limited graphics and small variations in weapons with limited skins, Call of Duty 4 is no longer being played in the international scene. Games that have introduced first person and third person perspective, along with purchasable weapon skins and additional items that you can use to customize your in game loadout, have become more popular with players in a global scale.
I have played all the fps games and moba games including lol and DotA and I’m fairly good at all of them and one thing that keeps me pulling back towards cod despite me wanting to get better at other games Is how much cod makes you feel utterly alive.
One moment, one shot, can give you such a rush. – Imalsha ‘Thunder’ Peiris, prominent player in the Call of Duty 4 community
Advantages & Disadvantages
Looking at Call of Duty 4, it has many positive points, such as its wide availability and the fact that you do not require a legal copy of the game to access online servers or play in a local area network. On top of this, the fact that the game requires minimal graphics, allows almost any personal computer to run the game; catering to a large population of gamers in Sri Lanka. As opposed to games like Overwatch and Counter Strike that have to be purchased online in order to play the game, while requiring mid to high end graphics; in turn not allowing the younger players to be able to take part or even get the game, as Sri Lankan parents don’t want to invest money into purchasing a virtual game that will not contribute to their children’s future. Third parties have created and added modifications or ‘mods’ to the game called ‘Promod’ (not a name of a Sri Lankan child), that levels the playing field by getting rid of overpowered features and weapons found in the normal game, such as perks like last stand, which allows the player to shoot even after he is dead for a few seconds. The International scene and Sri lankan tournaments have depended on this mod to create an even and competitive environment for players, making it a very high skill based game; the current version being played right now in Sri Lanka is “pml220”,.
“I think it’s just a really good game , and most of us didn’t have good enough personal computers with the performance to play other games when we started off. Somehow it became really huge in the gaming community and its one of the more easier games to grasp for a beginner.” – Sameera ‘SvTue’ Vidushanka, former captain for nA Team Spite.
What is it like in Sri Lanka
Taking a small visit to the gaming cafes available in the country, will show you that majority of these cafes will definitely have Call of Duty 4 installed, as it’s extremely popular with the locals and is fast paced; it also doesn’t punish the player for leaving games like Dota 2, which requires at least an hour to finish a game and puts the player into a low priority bracket when leaving early. A huge positive in Call of Duty 4 is the fact that it has a low skill floor, which allows newer players to enjoy and understand the game, while experiencing it fully with a wide variety of custom maps as well as game modifications such as the “Zombie Mod”, which allows players to have fun with their friends.
“Call of Duty 4 compared to other games have teams which compete on an equal level. There was no team which continuously dominated the game throughout the years. There was always tough competition between the top five ranked teams. The game was never one sided which is why it lasted so long and continues to grow in the gaming community.” – Harry ‘Distant’ Manoharan, captain of TechMorph Team EnvyUS
The Sri Lankan Call of Duty 4 tournaments has seen a huge growth in the number of competitive players, teams and clans. The most recent Sri Lanka Cyber Games tournament hosted a whopping 112 COD4 teams which is an extremely high number of participants 10 years after the release of the game itself; in comparison, DOTA 2 had the next highest number, with 56 teams, half the number of Call of Duty 4 teams. SLCG Call of Duty 4 Matches were played out till 10 O’clock in the night and still saw a massive fanbase cheering the players on and supporting them, showing you just how popular the game is in Sri Lanka.
“No game has come out yet to compare with cod4
It doesn’t require a high performance pc to play it
Also it’s the fashion in Sri Lankan eSports
Many players started games like CSGO Dota2 and many other new games
And yeah glk keeps going with cod4 tournaments because people are asking for it. So it will not die for a very long time
I fear my kid will also will have to deal with cod4
Even I was a cod4 player” – Shenal AB Daniel, prominent player in the DOTA 2 community
Community
One of the major aspects of why Call of Duty 4 is so loved in Sri lanka is because of the support shown by the community itself, the blossoming rivalries as well as the intense games. As the glue that holds any game together, the community has shown tremendous support in and out of tournaments to ensure that this game receives the love that it deserves. We managed to get a few answers from some of the well-known people in the community itself, shedding some light as to why Call of Duty 4 is considered the best game in Sri Lanka and the game that paved the way for other great games as well.
“The strength of the game is always its community. Every member in the community has a great passion towards the game and gives their maximum effort to keep the game running. Though COD4 was removed from competitive tournaments in most of the countries around 4-5 years back, it was still increasing in the number of participants each and every year in Sri Lanka, so the community became stronger. Even one of the largest tournament hosted in Sri Lanka by SLT did not include Call of Duty 4 in it until they came to know how vastly the game is been played and how huge the call of duty community is” – Harry ‘Distant’ Manoharan, captain of TechMorph Team EnvyUS
“Since the beginning of the e-Sports in Sri Lanka COD4 highlighted as one of the main attractions in the first person shooter genre, and today we see a lot of potential players of all age groups passionately engaged. We at Dialog Gaming are in motion to open the borders to international tournaments and showcase our local talent through similar titles such as Special Force 2 and many more which the COD 4 community can easily excel” – Udara Gunasekara Product Manager – Gaming Services Dialog Axiata PLC
“It has always been the community and the passion the players had. The competitiveness has not dropped a bit, and we can see new players emerging every year” – Isuru ‘Viper’ Herath, captain of TechMorph Outlaws
“Call of Duty 4 is game that is being held up high thanks to the Sri Lankan Call of Duty 4 community, all the way from the referees, to the players and even the spectators. After the death of X-fire, a social platform which was used by almost all the Sri Lankan cod players to find scrims and socialise, many people thought that the game was dead. However, the community persevered, and has now become the largest gaming community and game in Sri Lanka.” – Navod ‘Cyanide’ Bopitiya, captain of nA Team Phase 2.0
Call of Duty 4 has been a game that has created many memorable moments over the years for Sri Lankan fans and holds a close place in their heart, this is reflected by the majority of players that still find themselves running to their computer or the closest gaming café to play this game and create even more memorable moments, be it with friends or teammates.
In a match that can be only classified as the clash of the titans Sri lanka’s very own El clasico which is basically a long standing rivalry and that is what we witnessed yesterday during the GCDL finals. The game between The Kade and Tech Morph Death Sentence in a best of five series which ended in stunning fashion.
The rivalry definitely stood up to be what we all expected, both team preparing and analyzing the opponents to know how they work inside and out. The first game brought us a very interesting an unorthodox draft from both teams. We saw death sentence picking up the night stalker who is one of the strongest position 4 roaming cores currently in the meta and being played by one the most talented players in Sri Lanka to top it off. The night stalker was followed up by a lich an offlane sandking a midlane tinker and to round it all off a surprising secret ace in the sleeve that was the Clinkz. The Kade in response to this went to pick up a warlock which was a very lackluster pick not providing too much during the game followed up by a strong laner in the batrider and an aggressive 4th position tusk along with a midlane Phantom lancer who does well to deal with tinker during the laning stage and to complete the picks we witnessed the gyrocopter as that position 1 carry.
Game 1 saw a unique style of dual lanes coming out due to the change in the meta after 7.10 patch update came out which made bounty runes not give any experience whatsoever but bonus gold. Which impacts the roaming position 4 heroes as they spend their time runnin around the map and applying pressure. So to combat this they came up with the dual lanes to ensure that the offlaner gets his farm and the position 4 receives his required levels as well. Beaver on his offlane sandking dominated the game creating a lot of space and opportunities for Death sentence to come out on top along with some aggressive rotations coming in from Tensa on his Clinkz ensuring that the gyro does not get off to the strong start that was required. The Kade managed to take some good high ground fights and force the game late to give them the advantage but some amazing coordination as well as teamwork allowed Death Sentence to take game number 1 in what was a nail biting game one in the best of 5 series.
Game 2 saw a very one sided performance with The Kade demolishing Death sentence in what was a drastic change in pace from game 1. Paradox getting his hand on Timbersaw which dominated game number 2. Death sentence having a very melee dominated line up with not much magic burst saw it fit to call the game early and try their luck in the upcoming game 3.
Game 3 was in similar fashion with game number 2 we saw The Kade picking up Disruptor with a position 4 earthshaker and the 3 cores consisting of Beastmaster, Outworld Devourer and finally the Faceless void in response to Death Sentence’s offlane puck and undying duo which was a unique duo coming out from them followed by a shadow shaman which was supposed to allow the arc warden to get the required early game start to apply split push pressure with the mid lane razor piling on the early game pressure. Things did not go according to plan for the Death Sentence team as their lineup came crashing down with excellent rotation coming out from Toadboss on his earthshaker ensuring that the beastmaster has a strong start applying a lot of pressure on the arc warden who was pressured constantly in his lane as well as the razor who had a difficult time dealing with the razor. The Kade sitting comfortable with a 2-1 lead in back to back dominant victories and it seemed like death sentence had finally hit the wall that they could not scale.
What happened next was something that hadn’t happened in the last 4 years and shocked the entire community. Death sentence bringing back their Clinkz which seemed to throw a spanner in the works of the Kade’s side partnered with Darkness on his disruptor as well as AB on his night stalker that seemed to be the key to allowing death sentence a very strong start. Assisting Sathan on his mid Queen of Pain who had to deal with intense pressure coming out of Paradox on his Viper which is never the best lane to get yourself in and beaver being the missing piece of the puzzle playing the doom which was key for death sentence as they were up against an omniknight a juggernaut a shadow shaman and a nyx assassin that The Kade had picked up.
AB realizing how vital the omniknight is to Kades lineup opting not to assist the doom in his lane as he has devour available ensuring that he has a decent time getting levels as well as gold necessary to put pressure during the mid game stage. Omniknight who was being played by Hawkie however was not that fortunate getting heavily pressured by the disruptor as well as night stalker who were already ahead of him in levels never found his footing during the game suffering in lane and not being able to achieve the required amount of farm or levels to keep up with Death sentence. Paradox on his Viper who had a dominating laning stage against the Queen of Pain seemed to be set to take on the later stages of the game found himself being pressured by some aggressive movements from the clinkz which was not something you are used to seeing as a carry usually sits in his lane and farm for the first 20 minutes of the game (chinese dota). These rotations definitely set the viper back which left only the Juggernaut played by Wado in the top slot to do some heavy lifting. The weight seemed to be too much as fight after fight we saw death Sentence coming out on top even after a lot of smoke rotations coming out from The Kade which were not too successful. The key factor being that the doom was able to catch out the omniknight in almost every engagement making his contribution to fights null and void which resulted in history being made as The Kade had been forced to the Final game in the best of 5 series now tied up 2-2 which had not happened ever before in the History of Dota 2 in Sri lanka!. El Clasico was living up to its expectations as we roll up to game number five the final game of the finals.
Spectators were definitely uncertain at this point of the series given how it seemed that both team were on equal footing in this moment. Still heavily the advantage on the side of The Kade as the experience and skill were definitely on their side. We saw the Clinkz being taken away to ensure that Tensa does not apply the insane amounts of pressure that was placed on Kade in the previous games with his aggressive playstyle. Final draft going in we saw Death Sentence picking up the night stalker along with the disruptor once again as the combination of heroes definitely paid them dividends in the previous games. Reacting to this we had The Kade picking up their Shadow Shaman as well as nyx in response followed by some respect banns following Kade picking up the doom themselves this time and a tinker which was instantly countered with a Zeus pick from Death Sentence and a Centaur Warrunner which allowed them to disengage incase a core did get doomed. To round the draft off for Death Sentence was an Anti Mage pick which gave them a lot of mobility and very potent late game, Which was immediately countered by a void pick as they could his ultimate ability the chronosphere to keep the Anti Mage in check.
The game started the usual way with standard 3-1-1 lanes the only difference being the centaur warrunner having a much better lane than the doom who was stuck at level 1 till about 2-3 minutes in the game while the centaur was at level 3 during the time. Zeus had a pretty favourable match up against the tinker being able to spam arc lightning from afar making sure that the tinker did not have any killing opportunities during the laning stage. Doom definitely suffered a lot during the early stage of the game finding himself putting more emphasis on his second skill to keep him alive rather than the usual aggressive option with infernal blade. The night stalker once again having good game presence especially during the night time made a really good impact bringing down the tinker multiple times along with the disruptor to ensure he would not get an ideal boots of travel timing which is usually around the 9-12 minute mark. This paid huge dividends to the side of Death Sentence as they managed to bring down the tinker multiple times with the team synergy they had with their picks. Zeus with his ultimate thundergod’s wrath is the perfect tool that works with disruptor and his glimpse ability and centaur warrunner’s stampede that allows them to get in and out of fight which enables the nightstalker to be even more aggressive with his rotations which led to a stream of kills during the early stages of the game. The glimmer of hope that was the Faceless void managed to do his duty of slowing down the antimage and bringing him down with the usage of his ultimate as well as create some very much needed space for the doom as well as the tinker to catch up in terms of farm to be able to help them come out on top during the next teamfight. Things did not seem to go according to plan as we saw anti mage showing the results of his extensive farm come to fruition as he assisted his team in wiping the dire team near the radiant tier 2 tower along with the immense burst damage coming out from zeus which in turn for winning the fight awarded the Death Sentence with the very valuable aegis of immortal which was placed in the hands of the anti mage. The play which enable Death sentence to close the 5th and final match was the play made by Darkness on his disruptor who managed to glimpse back the void who bought back all the way to the radiant tier 2 tower while they took the barracks at dier top lane. While on their retreat they managed to catch the void and burst him down leaving him out of the fight for 110 seconds allowing Death Sentence to take game number 5 and become the new GCDL season 12 champions!
We congratulate Death Sentence on achieving this feet which is in every word the equivalent to scaling the highest mountain and reaching the top besting the reigning champions.
Let us know what you thought about the game in the forum below!
Diversity in any workplace often plays a crucial role in the growth of an industry. It’s no secret that eSports is rapidly growing, but it is still a majorly male-dominated industry and one cannot help but sit and wonder what the potential growth would be like if it was diverse like many other industries.
Gamer.LK believes that eSports levels the playing field, with the only limitations for women being the mental stigma about playing games professionally. Once that is overcome, there’s nothing stopping women being amongst the top Cyber athletes. To promote female participation in eSports, Gamer.LK have started initiatives at the school, university and mercantile levels to encourage female gamers to take part. Furthermore, Gamer.LK will be forming Sri lanka’s first ever all female eSports clan in addition to this years Inter-School eSports Championship and Inter-University eSports Championship having tournaments for female cyber athletes as well.
We were able to catch up with a few female cyber athletes who have made a name for themselves in the Sri Lankan eSports arena, with skill levels being on par or above their male counterparts. We have seen a growth in female cyber athletes taking part in more tournaments and doing better than most gents that have taken part, making it to the semi finals and some even making it to the finals or even winning the tournament.
We were fortunate enough to catch up with 8 of these talented ladies and get their take on how much the eSports sector has changed and how they managed with the stereotype as well as still managing to perform at their best.
1. What personality traits made you get into something that has the perception of being male dominated?
(himasha)
Just for a bit of background, I’ve been gaming or playing PC & mobile games (since I was a teenager, although I’m planning on plunging into console gaming in the near future) who enjoys a wide variety of FPS’s , RPGs, action-adventure titles, fighting games, retro-gaming and racing games. I started gaming because I am open to and like to explore new experiences. I love the quests, the lore, and the storytelling. I even like the silly armour and the dragons. I’ve never gone so far as to attempt professional gaming, but I’d definitely say that I’m more than just a casual gamer.
(nadeeshani)
Well, my boyfriend introduced League of Legends to me and I really loved playing the game in fact it was really addictive for me, and when time passed on I was confident that I could catch up and be a decent player. And I’m more of a friendly person, so I really get along with male players.
(Chachi)
My Personality traits are being adventurous, competitive and enjoy spending time with people.
(Hasna)
I feel like you need a lot of confidence and thick skin to be a girl gamer in a male dominated arena. A lot of the time you don’t get the respect you deserve mainly because you are female. I think because I’m able to take negative criticism that’s given solely because I’m a girl and ignore it, I was able to continue playing and not give up. Because I was raised in the UK, I didn’t really see gaming as being a “guy thing to do” because so many of my girl friends played video games and had consoles. I think the culture in Sri Lanka is a lot different and the divide between what’s male and what’s female is large. I have a very addictive personality so I can sit and play league without a break for 6 hours at a time, daily. At the end of the day, League of Legends is a game I love and whether it be male oriented or alien oriented, I’d still play because it’s not about “oh only boys play this game” for me, it’s about having fun and doing what you love.
(Tia)
I don’t think I ever saw this as being male dominated. I grew up in a household where gaming was encouraged since we were toddlers, and the friends I keep are promoters of just doing what you love; not specifically divided by gender. My brother got me into DOS games, SAGA, and yes, I was alive when the first Mortal Kombat came out. I still play Player 2 because that’s what I was every time. I don’t see it as being male dominated. People who like to play games… well they play. I think it was just a case of I like games; whether it’s PC or mobile, I like to play, and that’s all I went with. Nothing to do with gender.
(Cindy)
I used to watch my friends play COD4 in their free times at uni. One day I tried playing and it was great fun. As I was so excited, I asked the setup from a friend and installed the game on my laptop. Since then here I am playing COD 4 till now.
(Sulafa)
Different gamer girls have different personality traits. I believe I am outgoing and social which made me get used or rather adjust myself to the fact that gaming was a male dominant industry
(Nardhya)
I had a lot of close friends who played DOTA for many years and one day I was bored and downloaded steam and DOTA, just to see if I’d be interested and I just got hooked. It was like I was stepping into a totally new world. Even though I had heard of DOTA before I had no idea what it was actually like and once I did there was no going back. I didn’t think I would be into a game like this before because I did think back then that it just appeals to guys and there’s no way I would like it but well, sometimes you just have to give something new a try and it could surprise you.
2. Has the perception of girls not being gamers affected your decisions on whether to game or not?
(Himasha)
Yes, Obviously! There’s the long-held stereotype that men are simply better gamers than women. Women gamers are often perceived as incompetent players who aren’t genuinely interested in the games but rather sign up to get attention. My thought was “if boys can, why not us?”. I know there are lots of girls in Sri Lanka who love gaming but are afraid of take part in them in front of an audience or don’t have a chance to join in online events or even clans. My personal opinion is and I do gaming because girls need to have a space in Sri Lankan gaming industry. Nowadays there is a competition among girl gamers, but I initially started gaming because the perception of girls not being gamers –and I hope to continue along this field as my personal amusement activity.
(Nadeeshani)
No, I think girls can perform just as much as boys, if they put earnest effort to the game. I had the privilege to prove to a certain extent that girl gamers also have the necessary skills to compete in the past few tournaments.
(Chachi)
No
(Hasna)
I’ve always been someone who didn’t care what other people thought. When I was younger my parents actually got me a Play Station 1 which I think got me started, I never knew when I was younger that girls couldn’t be gamers, or at least that’s what people’s perceptions were. When I first started playing League of Legends, it never even crossed my mind that it may be male dominated, I was just having fun.
(Tia)
I am a girl who’s a gamer. My perception has never been girls are not gamers.
(Cindy)
This didn’t affect me at all because I usually don’t bother about what other people think about me.
(Sulafa)
At first I was a bit skeptical about games cause I thought they were meant for a male audience but I soon found out that this was a misconception as I fell in love with games starting from my first match. The sense of teamwork and achievement made gaming an addiction far beyond they reached any one gender.
(Nardhya)
Outside of the community, it made it harder to relate with non gamers who couldn’t understand why I was so into “just a game.” Since there aren’t much female gamers around and even less female DOTA players, people around me would kind of look down on the amount of time I’d spend trying to improve. But I had to accept that people who don’t know about gaming can’t possibly understand the feeling and I’m going to keep playing despite their perceptions.
Within the community, when I first started playing, the fact that I’m a girl did make me feel way more nervous than it should to play with better players. But I slowly got over that as I became more comfortable with the game.
3. How can sri lanka change the perception that girls shouldn’t/do not game?
(Himasha)
I think, that’s a difficult thing to change within Sri Lankan community. Girls often decline to do gaming because some have problems with necessary gaming components or time/ economic issues and even on parental influences. Because of that girls aren’t pro at gaming as boys do, hence the most pervasive stereotypes continue to exist in the gaming community.
But, to my opinion, they can be encouraged if there will be social groups and tournaments that represent games in all genres only for females whether she’s a pro gamer or non-gamer. That way, they’d have a chance to sharpen their skills and watch their favorite teams compete live, instead of playing or watching eSports at home—alone or in small groups. That will be a great opportunity for them to show their hidden talents without being humiliated by others.
(Nadeeshani)
According to my point of view, we can’t change the attitudes of the Sri lankan people about girls vs gaming. Maybe it because of the culture of our country. But I think the “game” needs only skills of the gamer not the gender.
(Chachi)
Well many of them are not aware about cyber gaming.so proper advertising campaign via social Medias will be helpful to change the perception of the girls that don’t game
(Hasna)
I’m not sure it’ll be easy but baby steps are already being made. When I first joined the scene it was just me and another girl at and around tournaments in Sri Lanka, but slowly more and more girls are already getting into it. I think a lot of girls fear that gaming is masculine and that they won’t be good enough, but girls should really just push past that fear and go and try it if it even remotely interests them. One major problem though is parents in Sri Lanka don’t really support gaming as a whole because in this culture it’s only seen as a hobby which should be done after you finish school and after you get a job and can pay for it yourself.
(Tia)
Maybe all of this is because we were given Barbies as children and the boys had a SAGA. Who knows. I think Sri Lanka is ready to accept girl gamers, I just think we are not celebrating it enough. When they boys win a match, they get known. Posts get shared. When the girls win, it’s just a side note. I think that has to change. I think we should give credit to Sri Lankan parents… at least most of them. More and more parents are willing to let their kids do something that they want to do, and if you are excelling at it, your parents would be proud too. However, if you are going to use gaming as an excuse, miss classed, stop showering, and start being anti-social, then you can’t blame anyone else but yourself.
In the local arena, I have seen girls turning up for gaming and actually kicking ass. I think that’s brilliant. Not because they’re girls, but because they couldn’t care less that this is now seen as a ‘male dominated’ industry. I think we should remove the whole ‘male dominated’ perspective, and really grasp the meaning of ‘For Gamers. By Gamers’ policy of Razer. It’s high time people see other for what they do, and not if they’re wearing a bra or not.
(Cindy)
All of this is because of our culture. I really don’t want to offend any culture or criticize anyone, but I think we need to just stop and evaluate our culture. Girls in general must have the freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want and however they want. Why can’t girls play games? I don’t see any harm in girls playing games as long as you manage your time properly.
(Sulafa)
In my opinion if more female gamers participate in gaming it will motivate others to join as well.
(Nardhya)
I think it’ll be hard to change their perception on girl gamers since gaming as a whole (for both genders) is not readily accepted as a productive past time in our country. I think these views to change with our generation and its up to us to generate a better perception of gaming by having more high profile tournaments and trying to create real jobs in professional gaming as there are in other countries. So that the older generations can see that gaming is not just a children’s hobby but is just as intensive as any other sports league.
4. Any advice for the first all-girl clan?
(himasha)
To have a male representative in the committee.
(Nadeeshani)
Be enthusiastic, determined and united to achieve what society thinks impossible.
(Chachi)
Try to maintain and update it daily with the posts that related to games.
(Hasna)
Don’t label yourself an all girl clan. You are a more than just girls. How people see you shouldn’t define who you are. You are all players and should be treated equally to others. You don’t see male teams being labeled “all-boy” clan so why should your gender define your talent. Show people what you’re made of and respect yourself for people to respect you.
(Tia)
Don’t make this about girl power, or what girls can do. Don’t forget that feminism means equality. Celebrate both sides. If you have friends in other clans, cheer for them. Drop any attitudes you are planning on having. Help each other. Celebrate each other… including the boys. If you are going to be in something that has meaning to you and others, don’t act in a way that you disrespect it. Remember you are in this clan because you are a gamer. Don’t expect special treatment. This also doesn’t mean that you have to dress ‘serious’. Wear your dresses or skirts if you want to. Basically, do whatever the hell you want to do. All that matters is that you play your game.
(Cindy)
Do the best and kill the rest
(Sulafa)
I think that an all girls clan will reduce the gap between genders and a gamer will be known for a gamer regardless of their gender, religion and what they believe in
(Nardhya)
Be motivated and be dedicated. Finding enough girls to make a clan is hard enough on its own so the players need to put in double effort to practice and get better and make their game a priority, to be taken seriously and improve. It needs to be done in a way that new female players can easily join and learn without becoming demotivated or sitting in the shadows of their male friends.
5.What was it about eSports that interested you to take on tournaments or invest time into gaming?
(Himasha)
I always loved eSports/gaming ever since I was a child. I generally play about 1-3 hours per day as my leisure activity. It’s a thrilling spectacle: Unlike most traditional sports, the live experience of watching a game and attending them is more enjoyable. Most of my friends even love gaming, so I used to play games online whenever I have some time.
(Nadeeshani)
When I started visiting LAN tournaments with my boyfriend to support him, I was thrilled to see the competition between teams and I noticed gradual improvements in tournaments and in team players., Especially when I took part in SLT Championship on how the setup and the prizes were delivered was just amazing, So I desired to put more effort to practice in order to become at least a decent player to take part in the exciting competition.
(Chachi)
The most important element of a tournament is making sure it’s well organized with a large, open community of friendly competitors.so its always fun to meet new people and have that experience.
(Hasna)
The atmosphere of people who love the game and understand the game make it worth playing for. Doing tournaments is fun and exciting, but as a female it’s hard to find a team which will respect me for a player and not just a girl who should just be pushed to the support role. I think doing tournaments is really fun and a nice way to meet your friends in person which you spend hours with online. The rewards for winning tournaments in Sri Lanka are also becoming more substantial which makes winning and competing for the prize feel even more competitive.
(Tia)
I like the vibe. Honestly, hanging at SLCG for three days straight is something I really look forward to. This is our Coachella, this is our Burning Man. This is the home we’ve created with the people we love. Just turning up in the morning, cheering random people, sleeping in corners, finding food, and going home with aching feet is all worth it. We might have issues, get into disagreements, and things might not go the way you plan them to, but at the day of the day this is our community, and this is our playing field.
(Cindy)
At first it was only to spend time and have fun with my friends, but with time eSports really helped me to relieve my stress.
(Sulafa)
The excitement of watching the stage, the rush, the adrenalin, the shiver down your spine as the crowd cheers for the game. To me there was no better feeling than to witness these tournaments first hand. Getting up on that stage and having the crowd cheer my own team swiftly became a dream of mine.
(Nardhya)
For me it was pretty simple – I loved the game, I wanted to improve and I liked to compete. I liked the idea that maybe someday I can be on a winning team and it is fun in general to play DOTA on its own or in a tournament so as long as I was on a team of people I liked to play with I was up to play any tournament that came up.
6. Who are your gaming role models?
(Himasha)
Lara Croft
Tyra
Cpt. Price
(Nadeeshani)
I don’t have a specific role model in my mind, but I imitate any good player who performs really well in tournament matches.
(Chachi)
Faker
(Hasna)
One of my gaming role models in xPeke. He’s my favourite League of Legends player and probably the reason I got into watching the LCS. Although as currently not active or participating in any League related events, he created his own team which went to worlds which I think is really amazing to do in a short space of time.
Another role model is Razer’s CEO, Min-Liang Tan. He’s made playing games and what you play games on something beautiful. The fact that he’s acknowledged female gamers by consistently releasing new products targeted for the female market show that we aren’t excluded. A lot of companies don’t acknowledge female gamers as a big enough market to sell to, but Tan does and realizes that females are a big number of his company’s fanbase and customer base.
(Tia)
My brother. He taught me everything I know. Any skill I have or any love for the game is because of him. Also Sonicfox… cos you know… who wouldn’t love him!
(Cindy)
No such role model. But I respect Kavinda (TM|President) Karunanayaka, as he was the one to introduce me to eSports and recruit me to his clan.
(Sulafa)
Pasindu ‘Pepper’ Dilshan Isindu ‘Midas’ Dileka They’ve not only mentored me but I see them as my role models because of their skills and attitude towards gaming
(Nardhya)
Arteezy, but I might just be having a crush :>
7. How was the community when you joined initially and how has it changed since then?
(Himasha)
I joined the community in 2015 and it has changed extensively since then. So many individuals are taking part in variety of games and there is a huge competition among the players and clans. As of the interest in being more social, young population have focused on virtual technologies and gather to do outdoor activities. I believe cyber games and eSports events are such a great opportunity for youngsters to be influencers in modern technology world and being sociable.
(Nadeeshani)
When I was first introduced to the game, I was not aware of the competitions that took place, but when time passed by I noticed there were not much gamer girls. But over the past few years comparing when I was first introduced to the game, there is an increase in number of teams, players as well as gamer girls. And now you see more tournaments than ever before and a large number of players taking part in tournaments and players encouraging each other to perform to their potential.
(Chachi)
Well community was pretty salty. The Fact is Toxic players will harass players for any reason. But eventually everyone became very friendly.
(Hasna)
Initially I was not really taken seriously, and I still don’t know whether I am to be honest, but at least I’m known as that girl that plays Rakan better than average. There will always be negative people in the community who just can’t accept other people being good, and I think it’s especially harder for female gamers because a lot of the male gamers in Sri Lanka feel threatened when a girl comes to play “their” game, so it’s been difficult being taken seriously or being treated with respect. Although I have made a few good friends in the community both male and female, which is nice because in my everyday life none of my friends are into gaming.
(Tia)
When I started coming for SLCG it was 2012, and it’s been great since then. I’ve seen the crowd growing, I’ve seen that more and more families have started to come, and now we even have cosplay. However, the sad thing I’ve noticed is that people have started becoming a bit exclusive. It’s like they don’t like new gamers or cosplayers joining in. Don’t be threatened. Welcome everyone. We are a minority. Let’s try to take over: D
(Cindy)
There were only a few clans, same faces @ LANs and very few active girl gamers. Now the community is huge with lot of clans, so many male and female gamers.
(Sulafa)
I can see that the number of gamer girls has increased from the time I joined gaming and now. The more girls join, the more accepted girls are into this industry.
(Nardhya)
I haven’t been gaming very long so I cant really say if the community has changed much during my time (2 years). During the first few months that I started playing, I was just learning the game and playing with close friends. i was learning something new everyday (still am in fact) so I didn’t play with a lot of different people and didn’t know much about the community – and definitely didn’t know a single girl who played. Once I started playing some tournaments I became friends with a lot more people in the community and it helped me improve through more exposure.
8. What are your thoughts on the growth of female cyber athletes in the past few years?
(Himasha)
I think there are many female athletes have come forward in eSports activities than the past few years. When the time I joined the community in 2016, there were only few female individuals and also there was 1 or 2 games to take part as females. But now, it has changed a lot and comparatively many girls or women are so excited in these events to show their skills in variety of games—both single and multiplayer.
(Nadeeshani)
So the Sri Lankan pro gaming thing has been active for like 10 years now, guys have always played video games for fun girls also play games i think as much as guys do it’s just they do not go for competitive and pro play as much as guys, for the last 5 years there has been a small growth of the female eSports players or cyber athletics if you say like that, for the most i have known girls playing games like COD4 from the past and now they have moved to other games like cs go and league of legends, most of the times the cause of girls going pro is either their boyfriends playing or their friends playing the game and they say it’s good. the numbers are still low comparing to other countries where girls play as much as guys in the cyber gaming but there certainly is a growth of even of small scale i think it’s good girls get more socialized and they also get to enjoy games like guys do, if pro gaming clans are a healthy place for girls i believe there will be more growth in the future.
(Chachi)
Good improvement. But need more growth to compete with the international level.
(Hasna)
It’s steadily growing and I think that’s a really great thing. One thing about me is when I play, I can play for maybe 6 hours at a time, every night, which I don’t find other female players doing. Most female players in Sri Lanka only play casually,and I think part of the reason is because a lot of the time when learning champions they aren’t taken seriously or flamed. More and more people are opening up to the fact that they may get a girl in their lobby and that they’re just like everyone else, which is nice. A lot of female gamers in Sri Lanka though have stuck to the game, which is great. I feared that some of them may leave or not continue playing long term, but it’s really nice to have other females in the community.
(Tia)
It’s still a bit on the low side. I think everyone should remember that you are supposed to have. Whether you win or play the worst game in your life, it doesn’t matter. Laugh it off. Cheer for your teammates, cheer for those who aren’t. Just come, sit down, and play. After all, that’s what I did. I never took part until a friend of mine said ‘Just play and see, Tia’. Changed my whole world (Thanks Hansy!)
(Cindy)
Even if it was slow it has grown largely. There were only a very few active female gamers by the time I joined. But now we can see more girl gamers involved in different kind of games.
(Sulafa)
I think it’s amazing that more and more girls are entering the gaming industry. This will reduce and maybe even change the perception that gaming as a whole is to be per sued by male
9. What was your experience winning Need for speed most wanted as well as mario Kart along with placing 2nd runner up for special forces 2?
(Himasha)
Mario Kart 8 and SF2 were introduced in Sri Lankan gaming event for the first time in SLCG 2017. I had consistently participated for events like this in past years, and had achievements for NFS. This year I was lucky to be the Champion from Women’s League in SLCG 2017. It was the first time I tried Mario Kart 8 in console and yeah!, I could win the game. Special force 2 is the first LAN game I played at cyber games event, which is 5vs5, it was quite a nice experience to have compete with other teams—a big audience, huge competition among clans and had nice time with my friends.
10. What advice do you have for other female cyber athletes who are afraid to take part because of the assumption that only males can participate for these tournaments as well as games?
(Himasha)
To female gamers out there: your story is yours alone. Nobody can tell you that your personal experience was wrong, and absolutely nobody can discredit your feelings. It was this realization that allowed me to start participating in gaming. I think, and I hope, that for the games industry and for people who play games, the best is yet to come. Because the facts are in: games are for everyone. Show your hidden skills to the world, become a known gamer within the community—at least have some fun. And there’s one last thing I want you to know: if you can find the necessary strength to speak your mind, you will empower not only yourself, but others.
(Nadeeshani)
As i said previous the “game” needs only skills of the gamer, not the gender. don’t think about im a girl, how others look at me, am i looking good or bad likewise. If you are interested in games don’t afraid you just get an advice and practice well, then you can achieve your goal. Take me as an example…if i can do it all the other girls can do it
(Chachi)
Well all i can say is believe yourself and your skills .Because There is no reason why a girl would potentially play any better or worse than a guy.
Girls get matched completely the same way as men, so generally is every player in one game equal to each other. Gender plays no role there
(Hasna)
The gaming community in Sri Lanka isn’t only for men. Many teams are now getting female players for tournaments, so you don’t need to feel shy or worried that you’ll be the odd one out. If anyone ever harasses you in the Sri Lankan community be sure to speak up about it. There are definitely people who will support you and take care of you so you shouldn’t be afraid.
(Tia)
Screw them.
If you want something in life, go do it. If you think you can’t play cos all the boys are playing, just ask ‘hey can girls play’ or better yet ‘hey can anyone play?’. If they say no, you need to be in a team and practice every day for 6 months, well then go do that. If not, go play.
(Cindy)
Hi girls, it might be intimidating entering a male-dominated scene, but see it as an opportunity. I would rather encourage girls to ignore the stereotypes and do what they want than staying in front of their PCs. If you love gaming, just go for it!
(Sulafa)
In my opinion gaming isn’t a gender specific thing, it seems so because more men have games over the decades than women but it was never meant for men alone. Gaming is a cyber world, a community. A community does not exist without both men and women.
Remind yourself: those who say women shouldn’t game are the ones that are intimidated by it. So rock on sister and take names!
(Nardhya)
Don’t be afraid. Every tournament is open to female players. It doesn’t matter if you’re the only girl playing in the entire tournament, what matters is if that you’re a gamer and you’re Doing what you love. It’s all about getting an experience because trust me you will only get better the more you try.
There you have it. Thoughts from a few of our talented female cyber athletes and their experience on their journey and how far they have come breaking the stereotype. Let’s wish these female athletes the best of luck in their future endeavours and hope that this will set a precedent in encouraging other female cyber athletes to come forward and participate in tournaments.
A crowd of over 200 showed up at the gates to X-Station last Saturday to take part in the X-Station eSports champions league which was hosting the first ever FIFA 18 and Clash Royale ranked tournament. The event showed a lot of promise given the number of participants who were up bright and early to make sure they don’t miss out on their chance to take part in this event which was organized by Mobitel in partnership with Gamer.LK.
This event saw over 80 participants taking part for FIFA with over 30 contestants taking part for Clash Royale.
The event kicked off at 10:00 am with some intense FIFA 18 gaming action which was followed shortly thereafter by the start of the Clash Royale tournament which started soon after.
Every FIFA 18 match turned out to be intense and exciting as it had a knockout bracket forcing players to make sure that they play to their level best in each match they faced. Players had everything on the line as this was the first FIFA 18 ranked tournament in the country thereby earning the winner of this tournament, the exclusive bragging rights of being the best FIFA 18 player in Sri Lanka.
The Clash Royale tournament started shortly thereafter, adapting a double elimination bracket which was a little more forgiving incase you started the day slow but almost every participant still showed their interest to be the winners of the bracket, who would automatically be granted a free win during the grand finals which, all things considered is a pretty massive advantage.
We saw dominant performances coming out from Diluka Peiris who placed third, Ahmed ‘Shark’ Shaakir who became the runner-up as well as Dishan Nithrananthan who became the champion of the FIFA 18 final bracket. All of them showed intense amounts of focus combined with skill and determination, proving that they had put both the time and effort into being the best FIFA players in Sri Lanka.
On the flipside, we saw the usual dominance in Clash Royale coming out from Joel ‘Daniel’ Joung who made his way to the finals pretty easily given that he is a very talented young individual with a lot of experience in the game making it all the way to the winners bracket and thereby gaining an advantage going into the grand finals. Hanif Ameen fought valiantly to try and best his opponent which seemed like a colossal task at the time. Hanif making his way through the lower bracket finals beating out Charuka ‘Ghostking” SIlva in the lower bracket finals but soon to hit what seemed to be a mountain coming up against ‘Daniel’ failing to bring it home as he was taken out in a quick 2-0 sweep against ‘Daniel’ in a best of 5 which gave ‘Daniel’ the victory with the advantage he received in achieving the number 1 spot in the upper bracket.
The day was filled with alot of excitement and competition every participant giving it their best to bring down the walls that they faced. X station having a very comfortable setting giving you that feel of gaming from home was definitely a positive as players could concentrate on the matches at hand and give it their 100%.
All in all, a great start to the competitive FIFA 18 and Clash Royale season in Sri Lanka for the year 2018.
Leave a reply and let us know what you thought about the event!
In today’s rapidly changing field of eSports we run into many types of players. Today we will be interviewing two players who need no introduction when it comes to DOTA 2. One of which is currently the best player in Sri Lanka and the other his teammate as well as a rising prodigy.
We were able to catch up with these high class players out of their busy grind and schedules to ask them a few questions and see what their thoughts were on the current situation and their personal experiences and how they have grown since the inception of their careers as professional players.
As a lead in to what both these cyber athletes have achieved this is just a small list of accomplishments both individually and as a well polished team.
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2012,2013,2015,2016 Winners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2015,2016,2017 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2013,2014,2016,2017 Winners
RLG DOTA 2 Championship 2016 Winners
Kings of LAN 2016 Winners
Armageddon DOTA 2 Grand Slam Asia Qualifiers 2013 Winners
Conquer New Worlds DOTA 2 Championship 2016 Winners
They are none other than our very own Mirsab ‘Paradox’ Hassan and Munthasir ‘ToadBoss’ Shiraz.
We asked them a few questions regarding their growth and what their future plans will be!
1.How do you feel being one of the top ranks in the SEA server in Sri lanka currently?
(Mirsab)
Feels good, but I’m not where I want to be rank-wise so it’s a bit frustrating too.
(Muntha)
Even though I have successfully achieved a decent rank in the SEA server, I still feel like I have a long way to go. There is just so much more to the game that I’ve yet to understand and incorporate in both tournaments and MMR
2.What are your thoughts on going professional?
(Mirsab)
It is my end goal and dream.
(Muntha)
Would love nothing better, but due to various constraints right now it is merely a far-away dream.
3.To what do you owe your success?
(Mirsab)
A lot of grinding and self criticism. The realization that I shouldn’t be blaming losses on the mistakes of my matchmaking teammates improved my game drastically. A lot of my success is also thanks to Viren. He saw my potential from the beginning and regularly gave me tips/advice on how to get better.
(Muntha)
Definitely my brother, Haneef ‘FroGBosS’ Shiraz, who was really my only mentor since Dota. As of recently however, Mirsab ‘Paradox’ Hassan and Viren ‘Hawkie” Dias have greatly contributed in my improvement.
4.What do you think was key to getting to the rank you have currently achieved that allowed you to rise above the ranks lower than yourself?
(Mirsab)
As I said before, self criticism does a lot to improve your rank. The key for me was not giving away the lead I built from having a good laning stage by dying unnecessarily.
(Muntha)
A few months ago, I was struggling to hit 5k and I remember asking Mirsab what I should do differently. His advice was to consciously avoid dying too much during a game regardless of my role, especially as a support, avoiding unnecessary deaths will go a long way. But this is what I feel. Besides that, the more obvious reasons were focusing on objectives rather than simply fighting all the time, picking the right heroes, boosting team morale and learning from better players either by watching them play the heroes you play or by directly asking them on how to improve and then acting upon it
5.What Hero/Role would you say has rewarded you the most?
(Mirsab)
Depends on your definition of rewarded. If we are talking purely about MMR, Mid has definitely given me the most MMR and is my favorite role. If we’re talking about being rewarded by improving at the game, each role has taught me a lot.
(Muntha)
Definitely Position 2, Mid has being my all-time favorite role. Playing mid decently was the sole reason I increased from around 3.8k to 4.5k some time back. It still is the role that helps me win most of my games in the divine 5 bracket, although it is a bit shaky as of now, But this will hopefully change soon.
Definitely position 2!
6.What are some of the key differences between the players in the top ranks and the ones who are in lower ranks
(Mirsab)
Last hitting, creep equilibrium control, map awareness, proper item builds and hero knowledge(which heroes are good against each other).
(Muntha)
Focusing on objectives, picking right, avoiding unnecessary deaths, and really just understanding hero potential and capability in game. Oh and building the right items. Quite crucial
7.Who are your role models?
(Mirsab)
RTZ is someone I admire and followed throughout his rise to the pro scene. However, if we’re talking about the person who inspired me the most it has to be Viren. He always pushed me to get higher MMR because he knew I could do better. Yeah I would not be at this rank if it wasn’t for him.
(Muntha)
I’m not quite sure if I have a role model as such, or maybe I just have a different definition of role model, but quite certainly I think Mirsab has impacted me a lot by how he plays, and hopefully one day my skill level will rival his. Sooner than later xD
8.How supportive is your family when it came to your gaming career and gaming in general?
(Mirsab)
Not at all. They do let me go to tournaments and stuff though, so its not that bad.
(Muntha)
They have really no problem with me gaming as long as it doesn’t affect the other things in life especially education. For the time being they cannot bring themselves to believe in a gaming career, but hopefully in the future this will change.
9.What advice do you have for every new aspiring DOTA 2 player who wants to achieve what you have achieved?
(Mirsab)
Work hard, don’t try to take the easy way out. If this is your dream and goal, you have to put the time in and you have to love the game. Don’t blame your teammates. Always find ways to blame yourself.
(Muntha)
Always remain humble, keep learning for there is just so much that can be learned. The learning curve is high and it takes time to understand the game, So I guess just persevere and persist! Motivate yourself by watching professional games.
10.What can we expect from you in the future?
(Mirsab)
TI9?? Kappa. Seriously though, top 100 in SEA atleast and competing close to pro level.
(Muntha)
Hoping that I can reach top 500 in SEA within the next 6 months or so, if not longer but that is really the objective for now.
“Work Hard in Silence Let Success Make The Noise”
It is those who put the time and effort along with dedication into what they love that achieve heights which haven’t been scaled yet. We wish both Mirsab ‘Paradox’ Hassan as well as Munthasir ‘ToadBoss’ Shiraz the best of luck on their ascent to the top.
Please let us know what you think in the forum below
The gaming landscape has changed, with a new genre stomping its way through the crowd to become a phenomenon. First came PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a mod that developed into the most popular game on Steam. Based loosely on Kinji Fukasaku’s 2000 movie Battle Royale, PUBG sees you taking part in a 100-player online deathmatch on a vast island
The second was Epic’s clever pivot with competing title Fortnite, a game entirely overshadowed by other shooters when it first launched. Epic saved the game from fading into obscurity by adapting PUBG’s Battle Royale-style gameplay into a free-to-play game. They called it Fortnite Battle Royale.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was the most popular game on Steam, so it will undoubtedly face copycats. However, when Epic Games released a Battle Royale mode for its survival shooter Fortnite, PUBG developer Bluehole responded negatively, saying it was “considering further action” against Epic which also happens to be the company that licenses PUBG’s engine.
Some may say that Fortnite tries to copy PUBG, but that isn’t wholly true. In reality, both titles are only similar in some areas, not all. Once you look past the basics of the games, you’ll find that PUBG and Fortnite target very different types of players. We are gonna take the time to individually breakdown both games and figure out which is a better fit for personalised tastes. In both PUBG and Fortnite, 100 players have to parachute and land on a large island from an aerial vehicle ( a plane in PUBG and a battle bus in Fortnite). From there, players must search the game world for weapons, armor, healing items, and more in order to properly equip themselves for the battle that’s about to ensue.
As everyone starts to engage in battle and beat each other, the area on the map that is considered “safe” begins to shrink. Players who are no longer in this safe zone take damage from a poisonous gas or radiation zone if they remain in the outer field or zone from the marked safezone circle. This mechanic ensures that all players will eventually run into each other. After the final combatants battle it out, the last man standing is considered the winner because he or she is the last man standing.
Finally, both titles have randomized loot spread throughout the play space to ensure that nowhere on the map becomes a “Prominent” location for looting. Where you find an assault rifle, one game may be the location of a pack of bandages in the next.
It doesn’t stop there, either. Cover in PUBG is more important than it is in the majority of shooters; this is because being shot will cause you to take large amounts of damage, even if wearing body armor. Vehicles are also a major aspect of PUBG’s gameplay sandbox. Using a car will allow you to reach locations much faster than sprinting, but both the windows of the car and the loudness of its engine will leave you a massive target to the players in your vicinity.
This kind of competitive play is what makes PUBG such a fierce and competitive game making one think on their feet and always be on the move, thinking about what their next move should be.
Fortnite essentially takes the Battle Royale formula and takes it in the opposite direction of PUBG, Where PUBG is competitive, skill-oriented and intense, Fortnite overall contains much more casual, relaxed gameplay.
Featuring a cartoony art style, simple gun mechanics, and a unique, creative base-building twist, Fortnite is aimed towards the types of players who care more about getting into some action than they do about reaching the end goal of victory. In Fortnite, bullets have no drop off with the exception of the sniper rifle, meaning that gunfights across distances are generally much easier and forgiving to the players.
Where Fortnite really sets itself apart from PUBG, though, is with its base-building mechanics. By harvesting things around you in the map, you can gain wood, stone, and metal resources which can then be used in construction. Players often will engage each other from the safety of their large stone fortresses or wooden sniper towers, but these structures aren’t invincible. Anything created by a player can be destroyed with gunfire or explosives, although stone and metal are much more resilient than wood.
This high level of destructibility is also seen in the world itself. Rocks, trees, and even buildings are all able to be destroyed, meaning that all cover is only temporary. As a result of this, games in Fortnite feel a lot more “chaotic” (in a fun way) due to the fact most players feel obligated to always keep moving, which causes them to run into each other.
Fortnite is a relaxed Battle Royale experience that will offer you hours of fun gameplay
The conclusion I think I’ll let you guys decide in the forum below so make sure to leave your thoughts on which game you think is better!
