LOCKDOWN STORIES PART 1

*Where we started*

It's now coming to over 8 months since lockdowns, curfews, facemasks and sanitizers became the order of the day due to the corona/Covid-19 outbreak.

See, my daughter had just stared her baby class and she studied for only 3 weeks and schools were shutdown, I have a teacher friend of mine who got super devasted and still is because he was supposed to earn around 5 million Uganda shillings that he was gonna use to finalize his travel documents and go abroad for "work", alot of people were immediately shuttered but me on the other hand... I was kinda fine during the first 3-4 months reason being Covid-19 found me when I already had no permanent job, I was already desperate and frustrated and was surviving by doing random tech projects for a few buddies and old clients but the pay wasn't enough so I was eager for a miracle. But I didn't expect it would be disaster instead.

I saw my friends, family members lose their shit, neighboring tenants get evicted and most of my friends turning to heavy drinking just to get some sleep. The people who used to promise me money at the end of the month started asking me to sell their personal stuff just to get food and rent. I remember helping a teacher sell off his 300,000/= phone at just 90,000/= just to get and medical for his mom. Things were bad but I wasn't actually too shaken, i believe I was used to all this bad stuff happening to me and I was surprised that thru all that I tried to keep my buddies spirits high but not until we reached June, that's when things truly changed.

*end of part1*

The state of E-sport and Pro Gaming in Uganda

Salcurb-check, premix-check, toxin binder - check.... Cotton 520kgs,sunflower,fish and shells all at 600 kgs... Maize bran we will use 40bags but hold on. I need to first draft tomorrow's blog courtesy of a challenge from tight buddy and fellow gamer Sam.

I haven't written anything in a while and thats because am nolonger gaming or doing anything gamer related to a level I consider pro. In other words I now have a completely different job... Keeping chicken for eggs, call them layers and its a 24hr gig. But it gets me paid so shut up. Once in a while as I chat with local gamer groups and veteran local gamers a Gaming tournament always shows up somewhere, Mortal Kombat X, FIFA 15/16 among a few.. Oh and PES. but i havent actually attended any of these because I don't play any of the games above and not because I don't want but because I can't... At the moment, main reason why  I can't attend is because I don't have a console and my pcs have Intel HD and i3 specs. But can that hold me back from observing the gaming scene... Hell no so here is the current state of the e-sport arena in kampala and maybe Uganda as a Gaming nation.

The organiser, usually the owner of the gaming venue in which case a Gaming parlour decides to host the event. A date is set and the ultimate trophy is decided. The competitors are always required to pay registration fee which is used to raise the trophy... Usually cash trophies, gaming consoles or other gadgets. The date arrives and the event kicks off, knockout stages make sure only the best prevail and in most cases we endup with two head to head hardcore gamers... Winner takes it and the event closes, whatsapp numbers are exchanged for future gamer related stuff... And then the venue closes for the day, everyone is satisfied atleast the organiser gets a good cut off the tournament. BUT....

What happens to our winner of the tournament? Where is their name hung? And apart from getting Street credibility and respect amongst fellow keen gamers, the king of Mortal Kombat X or PES or FIFA or NFS... Where do they go? What tournament does he kill next and what are the future plans apart from demolishing new competition from all the tournaments they get involved in? That's something to discuss in the next blog but for now... I would like to thank Sam for asking me whether I can still blog... Coz i have a feeling I can still blog.

But for now.... I gotta go back and finish this milling thing. Catch you i  the next blog and we figure out what the tournie winner does after the tournament.

The Beautiful Gaming Plague

Hope for the best as usual

Someone will wonder,how can a plague be beautiful,but we have all heard of beautiful disasters,monsters among other weird things.I will tell you how a plague can be beautiful and still dons the name plague.

This is my third article in the Opinion column of the G&E magazine and the last two articles i greatly despised the situation at hand within my region,however the situation has intensified to category 7,yeah thats always the worst category in any disastrous scenario however its a good category 7,oddly it is and here is how.

We have between 5-10 Game Parlors/Shops/Station in my neighborhood alone,these are for only playstation 2 games being played on 14/19 and rarely 21 inch tv screens.This has driven out the few PC Gamers and internet cafes out of business as the young and teen customers have resorted to video games other than "facebook".

See,the playstation 2 console is popular mainly because of the ease by which owners can access the accessories here,memory cards,controllers and games are easily accessible anywhere at decent prices but i have actually noticed that the higher this demand gets the higher the prices for consoles and prices.This does not affect the gamers directly but rather hit hard at the Game Station owners and proprietors (US).

Demand,the demand for playstation 2 and gaming services is high and so is the rent,electricity bills among other fluctuating factors within the local economy.I hate this part where i have to wish upon a better tomorow and also hope for the government and ICT sector to acknowledge whats going on in the local Gamers community but until this is cleared and we can say everything is up and running,then i will claim satisfaction for the whole gamer community in Uganda.

Promoting the "soda" or "gamer"?!.The 2012 Mountain Dew Extreme Gamers Challenge in Kampala.

As a gamer,i have grown to believe that video games and computer entertainment is more than just toys and graphics,it more than children and teenagers,matter of fact last Thursday i wrote a blog about two particular events going on in Kampala one of which i have mentioned in the title and the other...please read my last blog,thanx.

Moving on,i attended the Mountain Dew Extreme Gamers Challenge with a friend and we reached at the venue at around ahalf past 1 in the afternoon,registration was meant to start at 8:00am up to midday and i knew we were going to be late so spectation was my objective at this point,we tried to check in and enter the venue as spectators but were told to "pay" in order to acquire player tags into the venue,i found this unfair and tried to argue the attendant out until i finally paid,10,000ugx which is the equivalent of 3.79 something dollars at current exchange rate,however this is pretty huge money nowadays.
The attendant informs me that the fifa 13 challenge is closed and that only racing and action games are open for contesting and i agree since i wanted to contend in need for speed and we were given a small piece of paper to fill and it looked like this

The Racing Registration form i later found out

So this was our official entry document into the venue and competitions,looked cheap though i mean these guys could have done better.
Anyways i went ahead and entered the venue, Garden City rooftop parking,not bad and i was met with a swarm of gamers playing FIFA on flat screens and seated on plastic chairs.
I head over to the table where i am supposed to pick my free mountain dew soda courtesy of mountain dew,thanx but my objective has changed and i have started to worry a bit about the organisation of this and my reason to worry is simple,the music is up too high at this moment to even hear what the announcer is saying,the FIFA tournament is apparently still underway and i am not seeing any screen running "need for speed",the game i have registered for.

I pick my soda and talk to one of the attendants who advises me to head over to the tournament chat where players names are written down and their challengers cited,this is exciting now but the lady writing down the names informs that she is "not sure" whether the racing slots are still available for me to contend,i am pissed at this time but only a bit so i ask the gentleman fre seeing the "racing"competition and he informs me that its true,the racing competition is closed.

The Tournament Chart

I decide to move around and find a slot to play in a different game maybe,i observe that the only racing game available is Burnout and the only consoles available are PlayStation 3,the only soccer game available is FIFA 12 and 13 but only on a few screens,there are over 20 screens available for the event but less than 10 are displaying,this is outrageous...i mean isnt this the same mountain dew that organised Gamer challenges in South Africa a few months back? I try to feel better by looking out for the available action games and am disappointed to find that only mortal kombat and Tekken 1 and 2 are available for contest.

At this point i have observed that only 4 games are being competed for,FIFA (12 and 13),Mortal Komabt,Tekken (1 and 2) and Burnout and this is a disgrace,its a rip off at this point (refer to the games available at this event in my last blog).I try to conceal my disappointment in the event by checking out FIFA 13 with a friend.

FIFA 13 while i gett pissed

The organisation of this event is a total mess,the music being too loud and bit uncontrolled is enough to prove my point. The o called ampires are off key recording match results on scrap papers as i have observed and there is literary no way to track the tournaments apart from the announcer interrupting the absurd high music and mentioning random names and scores,at this point once again i am forced to believe the worst,the event has been organised to marginalise profits for the organizers there is no intent to recognize gaming as a culture but rather as a blooming business opportunity with a collection of young men ready to pay whatever it costs to get in these tournments and share a gaming experience with each other.

This gamer was reportedly cheated by the guys
updating the tournament chary

The so called ampires were doing nothing and i was convinced most of them were non gamers, just attendants trying to get paid at the end of the day, i hope someone from the organizing commitee comes across this blog because for me...it was a total flop,no hate but i hope my reasons to detaste such events is evident

Gaming is not a business for me,its a culture and tradition instigated deep into the gamers' minds and daily lifestyles and whoever attempts to exploit this will earn nothing but total failure and loss of dignity and respect in the sector,i checked the events' facebook page today and there was nothing such as a "thanx for coming" message,i was also informed that even after the event the tv commercials are still airing...mountain dew and Mile Gamers,work on your stuff for a better future in this, thats all i have for them.

For the Ultimate FIFA Tournament,it was pushed for this weekend and word has reached me that competition will be on playstation 2 consoles and more is up for this too,hoping it will be better than the one that was supposed to be better.

PROMISING WEEKEND FOR THE GAMERS AROUND KAMPALA

MD_XG Challenge

 Wow,am really excited for this weekend,not too much might be happening but apparently we have two major Gaming Events that are about to take place in Kampala and neighbouring shopping centre "Freedom City" in Namasuba,a city suburb. I am really enthusiastic about both the events but all bets are on the biggest of them all the "Mountain Dew Extreme Gamers Challenge" scheduled for 15 December 2012 at the Garden City shopping mall in the City Centre,the competitions will feature games such as Need For Speed,WRC,Gran Turismo,Burnout,MotoX,Go Carts, Ducatti,Blur,Death Race in the racing Category,i am actually calling dibs on Need For Speed.
In the sports Category,Mountain are providing NBA,FIFA 1,FIFA Street,SSX and the action category is to cover games such as Tekken Tag 2,Mortal Kombat, Fight Night,UFC, WWE among others.

FIFA 2K12 Tournament by Gamers Dungeon

Its a great way to round up 12 months on unbeatable gaming activity and milestones for me and i intend to attend both events with the ultimate FIFA 12 Tournament following shortly a day after the mountain dew Gamers Challenge,i also plan to cover both events and assess where we are heading to,whether the future is bright or these guys are just coming out to commercialise a blooming culture as they always do,either way i have my fingers crossed that i will find 'Serious" Gamers hosting both events but not attendants trying to get paid at the end of the day.

All in all i hope to provide exclusive coverage of both events and detailed analysis basing on personal observation and crowd reactions in other wards i will play spie at both events,lots of prizes are up for grabs too in the form of cash and Gadgets such as smart phones and consoles for the ultimate winners,lets be there fellow gamers and well wishers from the Uganda Gaming Community.

Joe Kratos Writes:Third World Freelancing: A Typical "Gamers Nights" Story

Joe Kratos Writes:Third World Freelancing: A Typical "Gamers Nights" Story: FOREWORD Someone from the corporate world once asked me this question,what do you do for a living and i told him that i am a "Profession...

A Typical "Gamers Nights" Story

FOREWORD

Someone from the corporate world once asked me this question,what do you do for a living and i told him that i am a "Professional Gamer",he looked at me and i could see the mini-confusion on his face and it read,there is no such thing like a professional gamer in this third world country.

I had to research on professional gamer,the meaning and it occured to me that a professional gamer is someone who makes a living from literally playing video games and winning video game challenges mostly in major tournaments organised by e-sports sponsoring companies,this i even went further to read an article published in July 2011 by wired about a group of career gamers called "F-Natic" and it really inspired me to know what a real Pro-Gamer's life should be like,but i didnt stop calling myself a professional gamer,matter of fact i still am a professional gamer and below is my argument.

F-Natic Gamers at the Intel Extreme Masters

First,i do not play on Battlelog or Call Of Duty Elite servers and thats because am one of the unlucky many who cant get access to a performance rig or e-banking system that can support such,however i do earn and live off entirely video games and Gamer related activity by slowly modifying Playstation Portable and Playstation 2 consoles for the local gamers' community with an average payment of 10-75dollars a day depending on the services rendered to the client/s. The people i work with are ICT minded young men with dreams of making it big in the sector at a certain point of our hardwork,those are enough reasons to certify me Pro Gamer in my own way.

THE SITUATION AT HAND THEREFORE

http://www.gamersnights.com/

The local gamers' server hosted by an elite group of Video Game and Computer Entertainment Enthusiasts,Gamers and Geeks,they dont do it for profit but rather for the love of Gaming.

The most popular Game played on the server is Call Of Duty Modern Warfare and thats because the game is not so demanding,Every wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons they "meet" on the server and enjoy together as an emerging community of individuals doing a completely different thing in the society and this is what i am affiliated to,and though i am not one of the best on the servers i most definately respect and honour everything they are doing  and on saturday December 8th we plan to host Gamers from neighbouring Rwanda for a showdown tournament in Call Of Duty,its the first of its kind event in the country so the hopes are high and Respect is at stake here.The major challenges to the forum though is the sliughtly unreliable ISPs  with every online session filled with complaints about high  pings among others.

Ibrah Plays Need For Speed Carbon,i swear it was lagging

THE GRIM REALITY

The average gamer will play need for speed carbon with a decent "lag" at the local internet cafe now turned Game Parlour due to the high demand of playstation 2 games and GTA games on PC,the proprietors of these once internet cafes have decided to turn into the more profitable business as the kids are on holidays and thus market is there until the new term begins probably next year.

I am also one of those proprietors,setting up a branch in the neighboring town with a higher population and better urban culture both good and bad,i intend to kickoff with three playstation 2 consoles and two 21"inch screens to provide what the average gamer will call the ultimate gaming experience.

THE RESOLVE

About a week ago i was contacted by Alex Lim, Deputy Manager at the International e-sports Federation regarding my first article on third world gamers,the heading read "The Deprived Gamer",he found it inspiring to IeSF Newsletter readers and asked for my permission to have it published in the January issue of the IeSF Magazine,this to me is opportunity to have the voice heard out there,the grievance and progression of my cause put out on an international scene and i wont quit,no i wont,i will personally do whatever i can do to soundout my pleasure and disappointments in the Gaming industry in East Africa,and until my voice is had,until gamersnight goes for MLG and until Ibrah plays Need For Speed Mostwanted on Playstation 3 in the same local parlo0ur,i wont rest and i know there are people out there who are doing the same,no profits expected out of the struggle but until the intentions are obtained,we will continue to share the same passion as F-Natic or any other Gamer group in this world.