Sociology Research Project

Hi guys,

Since I have not been posting at all these past few months, I might as well entertain you with a sociological paper I wrote on the E-Sports Industry in Malaysia. I scored 89 for the Sociology so I'm assuming this is a good paper to read. However, the 2,500 word limit was a little frustrating for me as I had many other things to talk about in depth and detail.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading whatever I have to offer here concerning one of the passions of my life apart from writing: professional gaming. Feel free to post your comments and feedback via email, MSN, Facebook, Twitter or Blogger. Lastly, I would like to thank all the people who assisted in the making of this paper as well as the interviewees.

Happy Labour Day!

Download here (MS Word 1997/XP Compatible): http://www.mediafire.com/?znjonmj2fwm

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Garena Malaysia Forum OFFICIALLY Launched!!

Hey guys,

Today's is perhaps one of the happiest days of my life. After building a new home for so long, http://MY.Garena.com is finally complete! Gone are the days where we forumers had to cram all kinds of topics in one small country zone subforum! We now have so many sub-forums you can get LOST trolling in them!

So what are you waiting for! Visit http://MY.Garena.com/forum now and start foruming! You may even stand a chance to win exclusive prizes if you participate in our house-warming events and contests!

See you there!

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Sponsor Us Please!

Hey guys,

First of all an update on the Top Gear DotA competition that will be held on the 19-10 December 2009 in Taman Connaught:

1. Cheri Gaming will field in two girls for the competition, namely Suki and Sabee. Three guys who will make up the rest of the team will be Cybertime players. The remaining two Cybertime members will form another team with their manager. Although it has been agreed upon, I have yet to receive any confirmation of their attendance.

2. Meanwhile I am playing for a team called Say Your Prayers [SyP].

The bulk of this post however will lie here:


I've been notified of an upcoming tournament in China featuring all-girl teams only. This is indeed good news as teams like PMS, NyX and perhaps even Cheri would have a chance of playing competitively on level grounds. Most of my girls are willing to travel so far assuming we obtain some kind of sponsorship deal soon. Some well known female players like Shizuma also expressed willingness to join any team roster who is fully sponsored and subsidised

So, if you're someone who is resourceful, interested in competitive DotA and looking to promote Malaysian e-Sports, do contact me as soon as possible.

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Introducing... Cheri Gaming!

Hi guys,

I'm sure everyone knows Clan Always Best Clan DotA (aBcD) created and managed by yours truly, LaD. I've now decided to branch out and expand my 'franchise' even further by forming an all-new, all-girls DotA team. Any DotA enthusiast would also be familiar with the likes of PMS*Asterisk and NyX from Singapore. Well, it's time for Malaysia to show off her own counterparts. Ladies and gentlemen, it's with great pleasure I present to you: Cheri Gaming!

For more juicy information about them and our diabolical plans to rule the world, read here!

http://www.garena.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=874683&extra=page%3D1&page=1


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Why Tinker Owns Viper

Hey guys,

Terribly sorry for not updating in a long time. I've finally gotten rid of my writer's block. As it is the school holidays I have nothing better to do than once again enter the threshhold of competitive DotA. First off, a replay share of a draft match I had without some unknowns a couple of days ago. Oh by the way, the pictures above are the gaming gig I own and use during matches ^_^

Sentinel

Lich (Bottom then Roaming)
Lina (Solo top)
Viper (Solo mid)
Faceless Void (Bottom)
Tidehunter (Bottom then Top)

Scourge (My Side)

Necrolyte (Top - La_DottA)
Lord of Avernus (Top - Chun Kit)

Tinker (Solo Mid - Steve)

Vengeful Spirit (Roaming - Ming)

Sand King (Bottom - Kidson)

Pretty undesirable lanes, aren't they?


The Drafting Process

They started off banning 4 Intelligence heroes which was fair game in my opinion. I figured they wanted to take out these nukers to enable them to draft low-hp carries like Viper or Shadow Fiend. On the other hand, I was advised to ban Bat, Tauren, Shaker and Nerubian Assassin; 4 heroes we found difficulty in countering.

I believe their first mistake was to pick Viper first. That gave us ample time to bring out Sand King and Vengeful Spirit to take care of him. These 2 heroes make a good chain stun which serves massive damage which can obstruct, if not destroy, Viper's hopes of farming freely.

Their next picks were Lich and Tide, a fearsome duo I have faced several times. It took me quite a while to think of a solution but in the end I was convinced a Necro-Abaddon lane would ward off any threats in the top lane. They finished off their picks with Lina and a totally unorthodox hero: Faceless Void. Our last pick was probably the easiest and we decided to go with Tinker who could easily disarm Viper's domination until at least Level 6.

Post-game Analysis

I must say I'm 80% satisfied with how the game went on but it could have been better:

1. First and foremost, I made a terrible mistake letting Sand King alone in the bottom letting Faceless Void free-farm. But then again, the opponents made an even bigger mistake by letting Lina solo top; and not Lich-Tide as I expected.

2. Tinker did well against Viper until Level 5 since his Laser forced Viper to miss many of his toxic hits. What could have been better was to call for a gank on Viper when he had ulti and Tinker should have stocked up on TP scrolls as they can counter Viper's Poison Ultimate.

3. The warding and dewarding in our team was deplorable. We could have killed much more if it weren't for the enemies' strategic ward placings that alarmed them of an impending attack. However, this is a minor flaw that cna be brushed up with practice.

Well, I welcome more feedback from you readers after going through the replay. Also, if you're interested in scrimming with us, do drop a message :)

Adios!

Replay download link: http://replay.garena.com/view.php?id=4b08e3a3db912

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In Need of Professionals

Hi guys, just a short announcement. This is to be read by competitive, team-less and friendly DotA players only.

On the December 19th 2009, Top Gear Internet Cafe will be hosting its inaugural DotA competition. Tentatively, the prizes for the champion is RM 2000. Other prizes are not yet disclosed as discussions are still ongoing.

Most probably the top 4 Malaysian teams will be banned from attending so if you pros would like to form a team from scratch do contact me ASAP ;)

Regards,
LaD

P.S.: I'm sorry for not being able to update my blog sooner. I'm just looking for interesting topics to scribble about. Do stay tuned :)

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Malaysian DotA Scene in Limbo

This article is related to: Eryc: No legal action against myMYM.com

Pride of Malaysia: Kingsurf watches on as their then manager Eryc shakes hands with ex- Prime Minister Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi in 2008.

I am always on the lookout for talented teams and talented people, local or abroad. Believe it or not, watching them show-boating and displaying their mastery of the game spurs me on to continue playing. I'm glad to say I truly appreciate their efforts in making e-sports that much more exciting to follow. I'm sure millions of people around the world share the same adoration and admiration for these professionals as I do. But do you think these gifted players are given due recognition and respect from the world at large?

My answer is most definitely no. Sure, the best team in Asia, perhaps in the world, had the privilege to meet the Prime Minister and be wished good luck in person before their huge tournament in the US. They were also invited to talk on the 8TV Quickie program following their expected 2nd place result competing in the E-Sports World Cup (ESWC) in San Jose, California.

But with all due respect, all that is unnecessary and useless without proper endorsements and wholehearted support from the Malaysian government. What these players need is not just moral support, but monetary assistance from bigger organizations that is crucial to survive in this ever volatile industry.

Kingsurf showing off their silver medals after hard-fought battles.

If giant corporations like Telekom Malaysia are given a choice between professional Malaysian e-Sports and professional Malaysian football, choosing the former would not be such a bad choice. After all, Malaysia is considered as an Asian powerhouse in the gaming world. Were it not for general apathy from the public, government agencies and corporations, perhaps several of our prodigious gamers of yesteryear would have become commercially successful people today.

One such person who would have deserved it would be none other Paul Yan, who regarded his gaming career in Malaysia as 'successful' but ended on a negative note. I totally understand his grievances because relying on a small sponsorship a cyber cafe and paying his way through tournaments using his own money without the assurance of grabbing any prize money is not the safest way to earn big time as a professional.

Malaysian Warcraft III grandmaster, Paul Yan

Like many others across the world, it has always been my dream to play for a seeded team in top tier competitions. But so far this fantasy has not come to fruition. In any case, managing a group of promising individuals would be a more likely scenario. Of course, managing requires money: sending them to events, paying them salary, etc would cost quite a lot. However, what I have heard so far about the DotA business in this country has been far from promising, and quite disheartening in fact.

One of the best: Vasiliy "JoliE" Pepelyaev of Kingsurf International fame

Take Russian DotA legend Vasily "JoliE" Pepelyaev for example. His team was picked up by ex-Kingsurf manager Eryc more than a year ago as the international arm of the Kingsurf gaming brand. But apart from the joy of winning tournaments, he was deeply disappointed by how poorly his team was managed and that they did hardly received any salary in return for their efforts playing under the Kingsurf banner. In fact, his team had to pay for all transportation costs themselves while being assured they would be reimbursed in due time. Now, only the team's legacy remains as both the players and manager parted ways bitterly.

I personally do not feel surprised by this, although all these allegations have been denied by Eryc himself. Nevertheless, the money involved is pittance compared to the money involved in the lucrative industry of football, but as I've mention before, it fails to receive adequate attention by several quarters who can make a major difference and prevent such things from happening. Eryc is just one man, and he too may be at the mercy of external forces known only to him. In a nutshell, this proves to be yet another major setback or dterrent for aspiring teams who cannot afford to take gaming seriously as there are too many 'invisible barriers' to overcome.

Eryc with SK Gaming's former DotA Division.

What we need is a governing body, an organisation equal to the stature achieved by FIFA in the football world. This idea is not entirely new as it has been proposed by both players and managers alike. If the international community is willing to work together, the days of managers not paying for teams' expenditure, sponsoring cyber cafes who refuse to pay for event trips, dubious tournament organizers who do not pay out prize money should be over, once and for all. In Malaysia, the regulatory body for the DotA scene is Sendi Mutiara Multimedia Sdn. Bhd. (SMM) which watches over most major DotA tournaments across the nation. Apart from this, they also hold the biggest DotA festival annualy which offers one of the world's largest prize money which is an extra motivation boost to both local and international teams to soldier on. Let SMM help regulate what tournaments can be run, how much prize money is given out, get sponsors for teams and partners for tournaments alike. Provide us with a lifeline!

My hopes are that companies apart from SMM would finally understand the importance of e-Sports today and help play their part in expanding a field that I feel has great potential in the years to come. Let us not forsake those who have sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears in the name of e-Sports.



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