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Nation’s Finest Take Their Games on the Road to Seoul, Korea
By Michael Lafferty

Team USA members talk about gaming and representing their country at the World Cyber Games

Seoul, Korea - half a world away and yet that distance does not seem so great in cyber space. The proposition was a simple one: get through a national competition, be the best in the land and you win a free trip to South Korea to compete with some of the top gamers in the world

There were qualifying rounds, then semifinals and then the USA Finals, held August 19 and 20 in Irvine, California. Many aspired to the team, 17 made it. Among that number, of the skilled gamers who will comprise Team USA at the World Cyber Games, October 12-18 in Olympic Park in Seoul, are Zachary Godfrey (of Lorton, Va.) and Andre Anbarchian (Sunland, Ca.).

Zachary’s forte was manipulation of a ball on a pitch, shooting on a smallish target carefully guarded - FIFA Soccer. For Andre, it was a different target - other players in Unreal Tournament 2003.

All of the participating U.S. finalists received a state-of-the-art PC and Sumsung 19" Flat CRT monitor. A nice payoff. But the rewards get bigger for being the best. More than 600 competitors from 55 countries will be in Seoul, each looking for a share of the $350,000 in cash and prizes.

All those hours spent in dimly lit rooms, eyes burning from light of computer monitors, the warnings and denouncements that games were a waste of time proved to have little meaning. The brass ring loomed and 17 came forward to grasp it. A waste of time? Hardly. The payoff is a free trip to a culturally rich world capitol, hardware and the chance to proclaim “I AM a world champion.” Of course, a share of that cash would be nice too.

Zachary and Andre agreed to step back from their PCs for a moment, to make time in their rigorous training schedules and talk with GameZone.com about what makes a champion and what awaits them in Seoul. That’s right - GameZone.com has this covered from A to Z.

Question: Can you give us a little bit about your background in playing games? When did you start, are you fanatical about it or a part-time gamer, and what systems do you own? How old are you and what is or are your career plans?

Andre: I started playing games about 3 years ago, Unreal Tournament was the first computer game which I really enjoyed playing and ended up switching over to UT2k3. I was a fanatic when I first started playing games online, but now I’m sort of just a part time gamer. I am 18 years old and plan to do my best at WCG then focus on other things such as college and future plans.

Zachary: I actually started in the early 90's, around the time the internet was coming about. I used to dial up BBS's in the DC metro area, and play Tradewars 2002 (still one of the greatest games EVER!), Legends of the Red Dragon, Beren Realms Elite, and other text-based games. After C&C came out, in 96 I believe, I played that for a while then moved onto StarCraft, then onto Tribes. Tribes is the community I made my home. I was a gaming nutbag from the get-go, if my ISP went down for more than 5 minutes I'd get cold shakes.

Q: How many hours a week do you put in playing games? Does this alienate friends and family, who now totally support it because you are, after all, a national champ?

Andre: I think I played about 20-25 games before WCG on LAN for my practice, but aside from that I really don’t play much UT2k3 just chat sometimes on irc.enterthegame.com #kaizen. My family supports me now that I have indeed become a national champ.

Zachary: At least 30 hours a week, my family really never cared too much about gaming, thought it was a waste of time, but now they have a bit of a different view on it.

Q: What's your favorite food when gaming, or are you one of those fastidious people who live with a Dustbuster nearby to prevent the hint of food crumbs within a 10-foot radius of your machine?

Andre: I basically only care about eating when the rest of the people at LANS feel like they want to go out and have a big meal with all the pros, other than that though I basically eat whatever is closest to me or the most convenient solution.

Zachary: The cow goes moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Q: Are product endorsements pending? Did your hometown hold a parade for you? Are you going to Disneyland now that you are a national champion or just to Seoul?

Andre: I have had a couple of companies like Nvidia give me a little hint of them maybe being interested in helping me out with their great products and whatnot. No parade for me yet, but I do plan to have a great time in Seoul, definitely something I have never personally experienced before.

Zachary: Product endorsements? I could see it if I was in Europe, where soccer, I mean football, is king, as far as Disneyland, I highly doubt it, but I would like to pull on Mickey’s tail, or ears, or whatever that rat has.

Q: Let's get honest here, you won a national competition for a specific game, but is it your favorite game to play, or did you just start playing it 10 minutes before the competition started - you know, to learn the controls?

Andre: It is not only my favorite game to play but it is indeed the only game I have chosen to play competitively so far. I do plan to move onto Halo PC with my clanmates from Kaizen, and do plan to play 1v1 for either Doom3 or Quake 4, whichever seems more appealing to me when the time comes.

Zachary: Actually I hadn't played it long at all, about 4 months prior to WCG, thought I'd give it a go at a tournament. Decided to enter the qualifier in Woodbridge, VA, flew out to LA to get my computer, and happened to win in the process. I was also broadcasting Counter-Strike at WCG for TsN (www.tsncentral.com).

Q: Do you ever read manuals?

Andre: I don’t really read the manuals because all of the basic menu options and whatnot are similar in every game I choose to play, which mostly revolves around first person shooters.

Zachary: What are manuals?

Q: What would you say are the most important qualities a top-caliber gamer should have?

Andre: Definitely need patience to be a top gamer, you also need the mentality of a great 1v1 player, and need to understand that you’re not going to win if you’re nervous. Part of the big timers’ great success is the skill to be able to control themselves in a calm manner under any situation or pressure.

Zachary: When it comes to FIFA, patience, and lots of it. If you try to rush a pass, or rush a shot, that could mean the end of the game in a few seconds.

Q: Any strategies you would like to share with our readers - which may, or may not include your competition in Seoul?

Andre: The only true strategy of gaming is, if you play it safe enough then you can lose, and if you do lose it’s going to be like 1 frag or an overtime loss, fatal1ty is a good example in this strategy.

Zachary: Nope.

Q: What is your plan of attack for the Seoul games?

Andre: I plan to play my best without any fear and thinking mentally that I am already the best that there is and hopefully if my game happens to be on I will be able to succeed in this attempt.

Zachary: To beat everyone.

Q: Now that you are a national champion, you have a voice that stands out among the gaming community. So tell us and developers worldwide, what do you want from a game in terms of graphics and sound? What do you think is missing right now in the gaming world? Where would you like to see this entertainment field go in the future?

Andre: I would love to see the United States catch up to the status that Korea is in right now for professional gaming, I think that if Korea can make something so popular the US should be able to complete the same task with flying colors.

Zachary: I think that graphics and sound are progressing pretty well, as far as what’s missing? Bigger and better tournaments, more often, and in more locations, even if there is little to no prize money, a gaming "center" in every major city, and beyond. It’s a huge market and there is money to be made, someone just has to take a risk, like StarCraft in Korea for example.

Congratulations to both Andre and Zachary, and go Team USA!

For more information on the World Cyber Games, please see www.worldcybergames.org.