The Night Before (QuakeLive - Not Snorkeling Related)

Tomorrow is the big tournament -- the fortnightly "4 Seasons Gaming Fortnightly Duel Competition", which runs fortnightly, every two weeks and also bi-weekly on the second Sunday of each fortnight (4SG Tournament).

First prize - a mouse pad. So much more than a medium to slide your mouse over, this pad represents the pinnacle of  QuakeLive achievement. It is a trophy, to hold aloft; a symbol which announces to the world: "I won an arbitrary competition in a free-to-play online FPS game". Something I can pull out of the closet at Christmas time, in years to come when my kids are grown up. Something that says to them, "Yes, Dad was once something special -- he out-fragged ChaCha".

Of course, to be the best, you have to put in the effort. Much like Mr. Rocky Balboa in his feature-film documentarys, I have spent the last few days in a sort of "training montage". Fragging some bots while listening to motivational music. Twisting my mouse hand around in circles for hours on end, to build up the ligaments. Setting up a desk fan to cool my 5 year old laptop as it struggles to put out 30 FPS on Toxicity. Abstaining from sexual activity (which has been easy, since I'm single).

I've even had disembodied voices running through my head, saying mysterious things like ...

"Ping is all in your mind"
"Don't aim at the target, let the target aim at you"
"The lightning shaft is just an extension of your body"

I've learned to run rings around bots -- I regularly hit double-digit scores against Lucy on Aerowalk.

When I retire for the night, I spend my dreams strafe-jumping through endless corridors whilst hitting snap-rails to the left and right, a distant voice calling out "Impressive!" and "Two frags in two seconds!". I wake up sweating, my right index finger twitching involuntarily.

My play has reached new heights. I regularly find myself watching myself, while myself plays. Against myself. Usually, I beat myself.

I don't "collect" the Red Armour - I embrace it. I don't time items, I become the items. When I'm not in-game, I'm watching YouTube clips of Pro games, reading forums for tips or info, or cleaning my mouse pad with a cotton-bud -- anything to give me the edge over the competition.

So as I sit tonight with tense shoulders, a spinning head, and a churning stomach, I can tell you this my friends -- Gray_Oz is ready to bring his A-Game tomorrow. Because QuakeLive isn't about ping, LG hit percentage, or plasma spamming -- it's about attitude.

And just like Charlie Sheen, up here in my head, I'm already winning ...

[ Gray_Oz on QuakeLive ]