Hot.
Recently, the powers that be at Blizzard made some changes to the way Arena Ratings work. In essence, this is the next step in their quest to stop the rampant point selling or team boosting that has been happening since the early days of The Burning Crusade.
In all honesty, I don’t even see what the point is. If there is one thing World of Warcraft has been good for in recent times it’s handing players gear. Just look at how fast all the casually tuned content was cleared in Wrath of the Lich King.
Keep in mind that I quit WoW quite some time ago, but I keep my ear to the streets and there is one thing I am sure of: This game has become way easy. In a game that seems to hand you every piece of equipment on a silver platter these days, why do they even care about Arena points anymore?
The new change basically adds a super secret double probation rating to your World of Warcraft toon. So now you have your original team rating, your personal team rating (what you’ve contributed to that team), and your big-brother-is-watching-secret-personal-rating that follows you from server to server. Read more »
Interview removed by request of id Software.
GGL recently got a chance to quiz Frank “Crazy Dutch Bastard” Verhage about his L4D experience while leading Church of Solo to victory in the 13 Fear is Real / Left 4 Dead competition. Frank shared some of his tactics and knowledge about the game with us, so let’s get to the interview!
GGL: How was your experience in the competition? Did you have a good time, or were there any hiccups?
Frank Verhage: Let me start off by thanking GGL for a fun competition! That’s pretty much the answer for your question as well. We really enjoyed getting to see the tactics employed by other teams.
GGL: How is Left 4 Dead in a competitive match?
Verhage: For us Left 4 Dead is never all that serious. Playing in a competitive match was a pretty big change from how we normally play. We usually only save each other if it doesn’t cost us a lot of time! It’s just letting off a bit of steam, and having a laugh. And it’s a pretty effective tactic against hunters, especially before the patch that made blocking hunters more difficult. Matches are more fun by definition. Playing an actual team, with actual tactics is a lot of fun!
GGL: Do you think it has a future as a “true” competitive game, or is it too casual?
Verhage: I can imagine Left 4 Dead sticking around as a competitive game for quite some time. Especially when you consider the fun you could have when you’re in the same room as your teammates. Knowing Valve (the creator of L4D) there are sure to be a lot of pretty heavy patches underway. Read more »
GGL and Lionsgate Home Entertainment have teamed up again to bring you three Ghost House Underground contests! Ghost House Underground is a collection of eight independent horror movies by cutting edge directors and actors.
Prizes for the contests include copies of Ghost House Underground DVDs and Dead Space for the Xbox 360.
There are three contests, all beginning Oct. 6: Dare to Share (a video response contest), Lost Souls (a recruitment contest), and Scary Scenes and Sequels (a blog contest). The contest deadline is Oct. 18.
Hit the jump for more info on the contests and how to enter… Read more »
Joe “nineX” Szymkowicz had a chance to sit down with Shane “rapha” Hendrixson, of SK-Gaming, after his trip to the ESWC Masters Quake 3 competition. Exhausted from the combination of jet-lag and an intense field of competition, Rapha talked about his future in gaming and some topics swirling around the deathmatch community.
GGL: So you’re back from Paris; how do you feel? What did you think of your play in the tournament?
Hendrixson: I am so glad to be back where I could eat some really good food; French food is bleh :o It’s going to take a few days to get back into the swing of things, and I’ll slowly start practicing again. I think I did well, despite all the problems I was having.
GGL: After already seeing much of the competitors at the Masters event, how do you feel about the upcoming finals event in San Jose?
Hendrixson: Gonna be a tough event but as I said before I’m looking forward to it. The gap isn’t real big between most of the players that’ll be going to the finals, there are going to be some fantastic games. I feel good going into it and I’m glad I still have a month to try and prepare for it.
GGL: You’ve played plenty of times on LAN in the US; what was it like playing in your first international event?
Hendrixson: Going into it I thought it would be a bit more difficult because of the jet lag and I was right but all in all it was a nice experience :) Read more »
GGL’s David Taylor conducted this interview prior to recent CGS results (MEGA spoilers!).
Mark Dolven is no stranger to a hard fight. The general manager of the Carolina Core made his mark on the pro-gaming community as the leader of Team Pandemic before leaving his post to join the Championship Gaming Series (CGS). During the 2007 season, Dolven led Carolina to second place finishes in both the North American and World Finals. His franchise suffered defeat on both occasions to the Chicago Chimera.
The Carolina Core’s 2008 season started out well. Gradually, however, the franchise fell into a slump. As the season progressed, it seemed increasingly unlikely that the Core would make it back to the play-offs. Toward the end of the season their fortunes began to improve and with a little luck, the Core made it into the play-offs by the skin of their teeth. With the slate wiped clean, the team found new confidence and vigorously fought its way to the semi-finals with a victory over the Wuhan Dragon.
GGL spoke with Mark Dolven the weekend before Carolina’s semi-final match against the Birmingham Salvo. The winner of this match would go on to compete in the 2008 World Final. Dolven spoke about his team’s comeback, the influence of traditional sports on his management style, and expressed some criticisms of the CGS draft.
GGL: You must be riding high these past few days. How does it feel now that the Core made it back to the semi-finals?
Mark Dolven: It’s great to be back in the semi-finals. Last year we had an amazing match against Berlin in the semi-finals and we expect nothing less against Birmingham. The match-up with Wuhan was much more of a blowout than we expected. They are a great team with great players. They have a lot of respect for everyone they play. We thought that they were going to play a little bit better, but I think our team was just on its game. Read more »
Jason Lake is a familiar face to professional and casual Counter-Strike players alike. Lake founded his Counter-Strike team, Complexity, in 2003 after a career in real estate law. The team achieved great heights under his leadership through winning multiple championships. As a result, Complexity quickly became a popular team with a fervent online following. Their fame eventually led them to become one of the six North American franchises of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS).
The second season of the CGS did not go well for the Los Angeles-based team. Complexity finished the season in last place with a sobering 2-10 record. GGL sat down with Jason Lake after his team’s last match of the season to discuss where Complexity went wrong and his role in the franchise.
GGL: You recently moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles. How is the transition going for you?
Jason Lake: The last nine weeks of my life have been incredibly difficult. We had a 9,000 square foot house in Atlanta that we had to pack up ourselves. That took weeks to do. Then I drove across the country with my two dogs and cat. I had to fly back to Atlanta for a meeting, and then fly back to L.A. The moving truck showed up, dropped off our boxes, and then I came down to the CGS. So I’ve been in L.A. for around a month and I haven’t even lived in my house. The move is a positive thing. We’re really excited about it for Complexity and for my family, but it’s been a really difficult few months, especially considering our 2-10 record.
GGL: Was the decision to move to Los Angeles primarily based on the CGS?
JL: My wife is originally from L.A. and since the day we were married she has always wanted to come back. When I sold Complexity to the CGS, one of my requirements was that we’d become the L.A. Complexity. I always hoped and dreamed that I could move out of law and do this full time. Real estate started taking a downturn, so I took a gamble based on making my wife happy and moved to the west coast to run the L.A. Complexity. After going 2-10, I’d be lying if I wasn’t questioning myself and thinking it was a mistake. But I’m a long-term thinker and despite how horrible this summer was, I still believe in my heart it was the right move for my family and me. We’re going to try to make the most of it. Read more »
I just got a chance to speak with European PC FIFA ladder leader dragua, who I had never encountered before. Not being a huge FIFA aficionado (comes with the territory of being a fat, ignorant American), I was curious to know his history and motivations in the Digital Games tournament. Without further ado, here’s the interview!
GGL: Please state your real name, age, and occupation.
My name is Artem Dragunov. I am 22. I am from Latvia. I study in the Riga Technical University on the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunations and I work in an insurance company as a database-support operator.
GGL: What attracted you to play in the Digital Games tournament?
I decided to take part in the Digital Games, because it was quite interesting for me to represent my country among the FIFA-players from all over the world in a competition, which is a part of the Olympic Games in China.
GGL: Why FIFA? Are you a huge futbol fan, did you grow up playing it?
Yes, you are right. I like football very much. I was playing football at the professional level for 5 years. Unfortunatelly, I had to give up football because of the intensive studies, but I always play football with my friends in my free time, so it is an essential part of my life. And FIFA is almost the only game I play. Read more »
Fans of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) will know Kat Hunter as the general manager of the San Francisco Optx. These same aficionados may be less aware of her career outside of the CGS. Most notably she was a member of the all-female gaming squad, the Frag Dolls. She has also produced game related content for AT&T Blue Room and served as a webmaster for Game Daily. She became involved in the video game community after a career in advertising.
Kat Hunter spoke with GGL recently at the CGS players’ village in Los Angeles. She covered a variety of topics including her team’s status, the management process, and the state of professional gaming.
GGL: Describe what it’s like managing your team on a daily basis. What sort of schedules and routines do you put the players through or ask them to undergo?
Kat Hunter: Every day is something completely different. You have to take into account what happened the day before and the day before that and where your players are mentally, emotionally, and physically. As a general rule, I wake up around 10 AM and start working with the other general managers on setting up our practice schedule for the Counter-Strike players. We set up the practice schedules amongst ourselves for at least Counter-Strike and then watch them practice. We also go into the consult rooms and watch our Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) players. Then we’re off to the matches at night. We usually get there about two hours before the matches start. We play and then come back and deal with the aftermath. We finish off our day with a team meeting at 11 pm. Read more »
Registration is open for the Digital Games ladders until July 27. Hit the registration link to sign up and get started!
This morning I had a chance to catch up with current North American Trackmania Nations Forever leader G2_Wolf about his TMNF exploits, as well as some gaming history. Luckily for me, I ambushed him just before he was about to head into a game of Project Powder.
Real name: Dakota Watterson
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
GGL: So I see you’ve played a bunch of games competitively; what motivated you to join the Digital Games for Trackmania Nations Forever?
G2_Wolf: Actually, I was bored and looking for some competition in Trackmania :S. I haven’t been playing competitively in many games lately.
GGL: Why specifically Trackmania?
G2_Wolf: Well, why not Trackmania? I had tons of fun playing in TMN and have tons of fun playing in TMNF. (And because I’m good at it, unlike with my Warsow attempt).
GGL: Is there anything in particular that attracted you to TMN/TMNF in terms of features of the game?
G2_Wolf: It’s unique with jumps and wallrides and loops and all kinds of other crazy stuff, and it’s a fast game that takes a lot of skill for most tracks. And with no collision detection, no griefers :). Read more »
After the conclusion of GGL’s Soldier of Fortune Payback tournament, Ryan “Epic” Rondo of the championship team Six Feet Under sat down with GGL to discuss his intentions going into this tournament, his team’s practice habits, and more. 6FU’s team members won $500 each as well as trips to New York City to have the finals match aired on GameplayHD.
GGL: Tell us your experience in the tournament and how you feel about the entire competition.
Ryan “Epic” Rondo: I thought the overall competition was great! The whole experience of making a show out of the game is exciting. Rather than just having a quick 20 minute match and being done with it, it was fun to make a show about it.
GGL: Did you specifically pick up Soldier of Fortune Payback to play in GGL’s SOF Payback tourney?
Rondo: Yes, I did.
GGL: How often did you practice for this tournament?
Rondo: I played for about 1 week prior to the online ladder, played that out till a week before it ended, then went onto the Frontlines ladder, then played the Monday before we left. Read more »
Kevin “arQon” Bleckinsopp, best known in recent years for heading up the Challenge Promode Arena mod team, has been interviewed on eGames.de about the mod scene.
The blinding truth spit from his mouth caused me to wear sunglasses when writing this. Here’s a lengthy excerpt that explains the dire situation mods find themselves in today:
From CPMA’s ‘Deathmatch Perfected’ gameplay detail-driven mindset, to Freeze Tag, Clan Arena gametype variations, to CS’s, more accurately, ‘Action Quake’s’, total conversion, these are the mods that matter, but they end up starved for assets because the artists are all off doing prettymods, so the newbies look at screenshots of them and go ‘durrr, looks the same, why play it?’ If those two groups could actually work together, the end results would be so much better for both of them, but it seems almost impossible to get that to happen. Every once in a while one does – and is invariably a success, duh – but it’s the exception rather than the norm, so overall there’s just a colossal waste of talent on both sides most of the time. The featureset mods like OSP, Q4MAX, PK++, HL2DMPro, and so on, are simply doing a job that should have been done by the company that sold you the game.
Visit eGames.de for the full interview.
