NGAMERS CLUB
A well timed echo slam by the Earthshaker, a creature that resembles a cross between Chewbacca of Star Wars and The Beast from a Disney fantasy won a North American team $6 million at this year’s The International, DOTA 2’s signature competition. An estimated 4.5 million fans streamed the match online and the play set the Internet buzzing.
Halfway around the world from Seattle, Civil Mall at Sundhara is gearing up for the fourth edition of Nepal’s own competition, the Colors Mobile E-sports Carnival which hopes to emulate the success of the international event.
Starting 25 August, the first three floors of Civil Mall will be converted to an e-sports battle arena. The six day event will have more than 500 gamers competing in four games: DOTA 2, FIFA 15 One on One, FIFA 15 Two on Two, and Ashphalt 8 on PC, console and mobile gaming platforms. The gamers will compete for a total prize pot of Rs 200,000, a shiny trophy and the chance to be called national e-sports champions.
“Online gaming is a hidden market in Nepal with a potential for growth,” says Ayush Raj Tuladhar of NGamers Club, the organiser of the event. “The past three editions show this trend.”
From 2012, when the NGamers club held the tournament for the first time to their fourth edition in 2015, the cash prize has increased three-fold and the number of participants has multiplied even more.
Finding a venue, sponsors as well as media attention for the event has become easier too. “Nowadays sponsors even have a separate budget for e-sports in their marketing budget,” says Tuladhar. “E-sports tournaments attract huge crowd of fans and players which increases the footfall at the venue. This has led to malls approaching us to host the event.” This year, organisers estimate at least 1,000 visitors daily.
Video games have been around for decades, but what is happening now in Nepal would have been unthinkable a few years ago. As broadband internet access spreads, gaming is no longer limited to LAN parties in cyber cafes but has emerged as a mass media platform with multiple forms of consumption.
But Nepal still has a long way to go to produce professional gamers who can compete internationally. And it is still very much male-dominated.
Femme fatale
Trying to change the perception that serious gaming is only for boys is 19- year-old undergrad Samyo Hangma Rai. When she is not busy with assignments as a Social Work student, Rai spends hours in front of the screen honing her skills at DOTA 2.
“Growing up amongst five brothers I took up gaming to fit in. But now it has become my passion,” says Rai, who is popularly known by her gaming nickname Twixx and Rukietsu.
In 2012, Rai co-founded Fatal Females, a group of five women gamers with Bhumika Rana. “Competitions were nerve wrecking at first, but the crowd as well as the community were supportive.”
Rai admits there is a difference between how boys and girls play. “I know guys who can concentrate fully on playing but with girls you are expected to help out with household and other chores. It is harder if parents are not supportive,” says Rai.
“When I started playing DOTA, I didn’t even know what each hero did. But through practice I got better,” says Rai, who dreams of playing for Ukranian based team Na Vi. “If given an opportunity I would definitely like to play professionally and become a professional gamer.”
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