All Hands On WASD

As the world moves online even more so than before, this trend is likely set to get even more pronounced. At its core, gaming is the quintessential form of entertainment but with the added edge that you feel like you are in control of the chain of events — it lets you be the main character of the story. Storytelling with you at the center is the central part of all single-player games, with some games going as far as inspiring whole motion pictures. I started my gaming journey with exactly this genre of games — like Prince of Persia, Max Payne, and GTA: San Andreas.

But this genre of gaming is not what has had me hooked for the past decade or so of my life. Like a vast majority of gamers out there, I’m more drawn to multiplayer games. I’m not sure if it's the socializing angle to it or the competitiveness that fuels this drive.

From my 1st semester in college, I’ve been actively playing multi-player competitive shooting games — mostly CS: GO, and later on Valorant. If somebody asks me which part of my college life stays the closest to my heart — I would respond by reminiscing nights when a bunch of us would hop online after dinner and play till the sun started shining through the curtains. At some point during the endless loop of games, the birds would start chirping and the stomach would start craving food. For good or for worse, the session would have to be stretched till breakfast time at our hostel mess. After the last game, we would get up and drag ourselves to the mess looking like the gaming zombies we were so familiar with. Post a sumptuous breakfast, we would be energetic enough to roam the early morning campus.

As someone who has lived all his life in Delhi — empty roads, clear skies, and a fresh morning breeze are somewhat alien to my senses. So to walk on a beautiful college campus at 7 in the morning, half-asleep, with my friends, is one of the most endearing moments of my life. During these mornings, the sun shone at a very friendly angle, the birds were doing what they do best, and the morning dew on the grass would feel heavenly. At the cricket ground, the fence of which we would hop over to feel the grass was at this time usually surrounded by dogs whose sleep cycle we were emulating. Both parties were relaxed and about to go to sleep, one just didn’t have assignments pending.

I was in a batch that was partially affected by whatever happened in the March of 2020. Confined to home, gaming was the only solace in an otherwise very boring period of time in our lives. By this point, my college mates had more or less stopped playing online, because life had got in the way, or they just plain got bored, I can’t really tell. But I did get in touch with some school friends who had by now cultivated a whole network of players, or a clan, as we call it. So, for hours on end, from dusk till dawn, we spent the days at our desks clattering away at team games. A part of me tells me to regret those days I could have spent learning a foreign language or learning how to cook, but there is a larger, more freewheeling part of me that looks at those days spent well. The people I played with during that time became real-life friends as well since most of us were in my hometown. The hours sure have gone down over time, but the banter and the intensity have not.

Till today, I spend my after-office hours mostly gaming with that group or reading a book when we can’t reach a consensus on the time to lobby up. I feel like gaming as a hobby has suited me very much personally. I don’t particularly resent social settings outside, it’s just that I wouldn’t seek them out if I had a choice not to. Being social animals, just something about hearing a human voice is intrinsically comfortable and soothing, enough to keep you sane. Without quoting any fancy studies or stats, I’ve also felt that online gaming has helped me increase my focus and patience levels over time. It’s basically everything a sport can teach you, but without the smelly feet and body aches.

Over the years, the clan has shrunk, the games have become fewer and the playtime has gone down significantly as we all got busy doing laundry and taxes. Each day I hop on, I hop off with the realization that this day could well have been it, the last time the whole gang got together. As much as I want that day to never come, it is inevitable and I've made my peace with it. But till that day, I’ll keep putting in the hours with the choicest swear words ever heard on God’s green earth and a stupid smile to boot.

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