September 10, 2005

  • "For those 15 rounds or more, I am free.

    After the matches end i return to reality.

    Only to be awaken to dreaded tutorials and lab reports,

    Vector analysis, Schrodinger and what's not.

    The end of the Grand competition is not an end,

    instead its there we learn to make amends.

    The spirit of gaming shall not die,

    The the back dated mentalities of men, I shall defy"

    The biggest gaming event of the year,
    is said to be the World Cyber Games 2005 competition.
    Held in Singapore for the first time, the gaming community responds in zeal.
    And likewise, I've risen up to the challenge to participate in this grand event.
    And looking back, the experience was a wonderful one to appreciate.
    Once we registered for WCG2005, training became intense.
    Every saturday I'd be at Headquarters training with the top clans in Singapore


    And most of the time, I'm wearing the NUS shirt.

    We were even invited by Singapore's expected top team to join boot camps.
    And boot camps, were seriously no joke.
    From 10pm to 10am, we played against reputable teams...
    pitting our skills, trying to learn from one another.


    There's Chisern (my ACJC classmate) talking bout stratedgy

    Aside from cybercafe registrations,
    WCG05 left no tables unturned in finding the potential team of gamers
     to represent Singapore for the Grand Finals in Nov.
    They went to every sec school, JC and of course Tertiary institute...
    Eventually, the last of the lot they came to was NUS
    And though I would be participating in the National Finals,
    I made a "non-local team" just to win some prizes for the iPLAY@NUS event.


    So I gathered the legendary players of NUS, and formed...

    the NUS Dream Team, [N]dT.

    Having 4 competitive players in NdT meant that it was truely the dream team.
    And most of the participants were the same group of people we played in
    last year's NUS CS competition event and it was now our chance to show
    what we're made of.
    The first match, against a China team used to be evenly matched with my previous team.
    This time while we've grown much stronger, their standards are pretty much the same.
    The score was 16-nil.
    Second match was against FOD (Frag or Die), NUS's PRC strong CS team.
    Well, they did better. The score was 16-1

    The closing ceremony for iPLAY@NUS

    And so we won the United Nations Champion.
    But we didnt stop there.
    We decided to pit a friendly match against the local team champions..
    Because my team was not "pure singaporeans,"
    we couldnt represent NUS for the WCG2005
    So we played a friendly match.
    They did better.
    The score was 16-4.
    And so the event ended, with me taking the prize....
    which was supposed to be $200 in case.
    I opened the envelope to find.. nothing! Grrrr
    Well, no worries, we'll be getting the money soon.

    So finally as time slipped away, in the midst of my Physics calculations,
    The 8th of September came - The opening ceremony of WCG2005 at Suntec city.
    Strange to see a Lion Dance in a convention hall.
    And even more surprising to find models in skimpy attires when its freezing cold.
    In the end, the ceremony was mainly for the spectators,
    while the participants had to collect their goodie bags.


    The Opening Ceremony

    We took a good look around while waiting,
    And we were enriched by the atmosphere there.
    It was so.. exciting! Singapore hosting the World Cyber Games Tournament!
    It was quite a grand sight... never seen so many PCs lined up together,
    neither have I witnessed so many Xboxes everywhere at one place before.


    Big place, Big Event, Big Ball

    Well in the end, we collected our goodie bag,
    And it was a good goodie bag.
    There were PCmagizines, Logitech wristbands, Nikon towel, Creative
    Shirt, WCG T-shirt and of course most importantly, the WCG PLayer Pass.
    And while most teams get just one set of everything, we had an extra set of shirts!
    And the best thing of all just had to be the pass.
    Marshals had Red transparent ones, while staff of Rapture gaming had transparent ones.
    There are even passes for the Media and such...

    Yeah that's the shirt and the pass. heh

    And so the opening ceremony and collection of goodie bag ends.
    Only to open up towards a new tomorrow where the preliminaries will be held.

    So at 9am, I had to miss my most favourtie lecture of Quantum mechanics,
    just to get drive and navigate my way to the convention centre for the match at 11am.
    Parking was a breeze, and when we all met up there,
    there was a tense atmosphere in the air...
    Anyway our clan jacket fulfilled its purpose with the freezing temperature.
    We inspected the computers we'll be playing on,
    and we quite relieved that they increased the performance of the computers.
    Though there was some problem with the LAN connections, we still had smooth games.


    "damn should've just went for the lecture and come late"

    The whole stretch of black clothing, is the Barrucuda Juggernaut mousepad.

    In the Heat of the battle, a match against WWL.

    In the end we didn't win our opponents,
    but we learnt alot from them.
    As the leader, I must say that the teamwork was incredible,
    and that our level of gaming has reached new heights.
    The only reason why i think we lost was probably because,
    we lacked the firepower.
    So that's a goodbye to our chance at the Grand Finals this year,
    but that wont deter us to become better and try again next year.
    Cheers to Xtreme Chaotix for putting the good fight!

    Bye WCG2005, I'll be back at the National Finals to do coverage though. heh

    Back to reality, my life is about Physics.
    Left in a realm that demands calculations and thinking,
    I'm already dying in this pool of oil.
    I do like our Quantum mechanics lecturer though..
    He who taught us the basis for QM said, "Shut up and calculate"
    It made sense after a while, since we realized it was impossbile to visualize QM.
    But it was always fun to be in his lecture.
    Alas,after th jokes and the lively atmosphere, we're left in absolute confusion.
    Here are the poor souls who have joined me in the black hole.
    Going to a place of no return, they are my dear Physics friends.


    Mr. Mark Wong. We like Initial D! He's got the car, I've got the anime.

    Mr. Junyi. We like the piano/drums/guit! I've got the questions, he has the answers

    Miss Andrielle Lee. We like Christian songs! She stays awake, while I stay asleep.

    Mr Zhi Hao. We like KTV! He gets the results quick, I make fake results sleek.

    Mr Frankie. We like Singing! He sings christian songs, I compose new songs.

    Mr Wei Keong, aka BOSS. We like Sports!
     He f#%@s his NS men, I f#%@ my CS teammates.

    And so my journey towards enlightenment is not alone.
    I stand by these great wonderful people, who have made my Physics life lively.
    For without these people, I would not be able to survive till now.
    Thank god for u guys and gal dudes.