Home Gaming Gaming: My Drug of Choice

Gaming: My Drug of Choice

9 min read
18

game addict

I have been called many things in my life. Animal! Murderer! Sadist! KILLER! And yes, I am all of these things and so much more. I have killed thousands of people and taken down the headquarters of countless enemy regimes, all on a daily basis. However, I do all of these things for the good of man. My weapon of choice? 14 buttons, 2 rubber analogue sticks, and a deadly eye reserved for the likes of people that the Government spends billions on to hide from society. I am a gamer and being deadly is what I do.

Since I first sat down in front of my pc screen and started turning the digits on my keyboard into a form of plastic pulp, I was symbiotically drawn to the world of the First Person Shooter. I was 7, and Doom was my heroine. I spent hour upon hour, watching the demons spawn from hell only to be mowed down by the hungry wrath of my chaingun. It was what I lived for. But as time progressed so did my lust for bigger, better, deadlier things. No longer was slaughtering the evil masses enough for me. And I was not alone in my quest at having something more. Numerous gamers shared the same lust that I did. The insatiable lust for that Holy Grail that pushed the boundaries. Then finally…from our desperate pleads, Quake 3: Arena was born. Here it was, a platform where I could not only challenge myself, but challenge my fellow gamers too. Bliksem_182, aka The Shotgun Surgeon, was born. And with my birth, the floodgates of torment were opened.

I would smile in glee as I watched the faces of the other LAN gamers across from me, straining their eyes to narrow squints as they battled valiantly to take me down. I constantly had that mischievous look in my eye that only complete arrogance could bring out of you. When you know there’s only one thing that’s coming their way and it’s got a railgun and their forehead written all over it.

gamer

For me, pushing the boundaries of what is socially accepted is what gaming is all about. Stab someone? Go to jail. Beat someone in the street? Go to jail. Shoot someone in the face from a point blank distant with a double barrelled shotgun…well, I think you get the point. Gaming allows us to stand on the edge of reality and feel the thrill of being alive. I think that’s where our addictions come from. And we all have it. I believe everyone on this site has got some form of gaming addiction. Be it an addiction for reading the latest news, an addiction for hearing about the latest games or an addiction for playing them. Me, I have the severe problem of having all 3 of these and so many more. When I was in High School I would daydream in class about what perk in Diablo I was going to select when I levelled up. Or when I had to study, I’d try to make my addiction seem okay by convincing myself I was simply going to take a short break and play one level of Counterstrike and, to my amazement, when I looked again it was dark outside already. But damnit is it a rush to do what we do and I still believe it’s better than any drug around.

Looking down the barrel of my rifle as I pumped round after blazing round into the oncoming mass of challengers. That’s what got me going. Most nights it was usually me on my ace, a can of red bull and a marathon of Heroes of Might and Magic. Yes, believe it or not, but FPS weren’t always my drug of choice. Then as I changed and came of age, so did my habits. Red bull was substituted for beer and HOMM was substituted for Call of Duty 4. The same happened with my weapon of choice, for as the years progressed and the gaming industry evolved, so did my arsenal. I moved from keyboard to controller, from PC Screen to LCD, and pretty soon left my LAN gaming days behind for the PSN, HDMI and a slick, smooth, black Sixaxis piece of gaming love.

But finally, after all these years, there it was again. That same rush I had felt when I first picked up that shotgun in Q3: Arena. The Shotgun Surgeon was reborn and the online community wasn’t ready for what he was bringing to the table. And I rolled with the best of them. Some of SA’s elite COD4 players like Khan-Khan, Vegeta24, MaXim and Coldcat. I took on the big dogs, face to face in blazing glory, and I came out on top. 15th in the world for accuracy. That was my title.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a title that was going to help me pick up girls or get a better job. But it was mine that I had acquired myself. And I was damn proud of it even if I was basically the only one that knew about it. That’s the thing about gaming. We haven’t yet progressed to that stage in the industry where gaming champions are as well known as Lance Armstrong or Muhammad Ali, even though in my opinion we are just as talented as they are. What people don’t understand is that to be a champion gamer requires skill, tact and passion. It requires hour upon hour of relentless dedication towards your addiction. We always push ourselves to be better, faster and stronger. Okay, maybe not stronger, but definitely better and faster than the next guy that comes along.

Continued on Page 2

Last Updated: April 29, 2009

Pages 1 2

18 Comments

  1. captain beer

    April 29, 2009 at 13:12

    dude… this artical pretty much freaked me out , its very …hectic. Buddy you need to get laid.

    Reply

  2. janrik

    April 29, 2009 at 13:13

    I see gaming as a Hobby. A Hobby that must Feed! :devil:

    Reply

  3. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 13:21

    I have to get laid? I’m not even going to argue this one, because I’ll either sound self-pretension. Or I’ll sound naive. So I shall let it be, before I get called vain along with being called a virgin :w00t: sorry, that one just cracked me up. need to get laid. HAHA!

    Reply

  4. SlippyMadFrog

    April 29, 2009 at 13:55

    “Why you ask? I think it’s pretty obvious. We are all born with all the skills required to be the perfect soldier: leadership, the ability to focus under pressure and excellent hand-eye coordination”

    Wow, sitting in a room the whole day playing games, drinking beer and pwning noobs never sounded so… important :wassat:

    Reply

  5. koldFU5iON

    April 29, 2009 at 13:57

    In his defence he did mention it

    “I still wash my car, I pay my bills, I write for this website and I still get laid on a regular basis.”

    I think the article is awesome, there’s this common misconception that cause you’re a gamer you don’t get laid… so if we break that down completely we’re and take it down to the grit of it we’re really saying:

    “Because of the thing you enjoy the most you don’t get laid”

    that’s like saying, people who love everything about cars shouldn’t get laid either? right? the misconception is pushed onto us by societies portrail of what “should be” I blame movies mostly for this misconception.

    that being said … I’m sure Bliksem_182 will happily get laid 😛

    Reply

  6. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 14:05

    Big ups koldFU5iON. Always good to know you got a fellow gamer on your side 😉

    Yeah, you pretty much summed up what the article is about and what I’m trying to get out there. That people place is in a box because of our hobbies and passions. It happens EVERYWHERE all the time. I get it as a writer a lot as well. Especially in times like when I wanted to move into my new apartement. They asked me: You’re a writer? So how do you make enough money to pay the rent? They automatically link being a writer with being a struggling writer, when actually we don’t do that bad. Look, it’s not easy to become a writer, and when you do have a writing job that pays well, be thankful. Be REALLY thankful. But society has the uncomprehensible urge to label. It’s how people have been bred since the eons of existince. If people are different or they herd together towards the same niche, they get labeled as being incorrect. Where you’re from, what you do or what you enjoy, people get labeled daily. And as gamers we suffer under that too. My last roomate (who had NEVER played games) couldn’t understand how on a Sunday afternoon I could play games. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand my excitement when I got home with Killzone 2 and couldn’t wait to pop it in. Same as I couldn’t understand when he got excited about a documentary on bees or laughed at leon schuster. It’s our differences. But we shouldn’t be excluded or labeled because of those things. Like being labeled someone who doesn’t get laid simply because we are gamers? Come on? Seriously? Do you guys agree?

    Reply

  7. Rap7a

    April 29, 2009 at 14:07

    Ahh those all-night HOMM games be back memories

    Reply

  8. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 14:09

    You too? hehe! Can’t put it down right? Me and my bro used to play it co-op…ah, my thing was the ocean. give me a boat and let me go sailing, with my seaman’s hat. wait. that sounded bad. seaman hat. haha :blush:

    But then again, I’ve always been a dirty old seadog at heart :pirate:

    Reply

  9. NATO_US78

    April 29, 2009 at 14:57

    Bliksem_182 aka ‘Boetie gaan border toe’ met die shottie. How’s thing going Bliksem? I use to play COD4 with you and the guys almost every night. Good times! Are you still on PSN?

    Reply

  10. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 15:00

    NATO! The one guys name I was trying to remember who was TOPS in my COD4 squad! Yeah buddy, I remember you! Top notch sniper! TOP NOTCH 😉 I’m not right now, but will be soon. Moving into my new place on tuesday and buying the new LCD and everything. So then, hopefully, I will be back online to dominate the world with you guys once again 😉

    Reply

  11. NATO_US78

    April 29, 2009 at 15:09

    Cool dude, just in time for COD MW2… 😉 In the meantime COD4 is still going strong. When you’re back drop me a line on ps3za.co.za

    Reply

  12. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 15:14

    ah, you know it. The shotgun surgeon needs to get back into practice and start getting my little online potty mouth going again :angel:

    Reply

  13. NATO_US78

    April 29, 2009 at 15:19

    I still remember the one night your neighbor came over to your place to tear you a new one because of the volume of the game. I had to listen to the whole thing over the mic. LOL.

    Reply

  14. fred

    April 29, 2009 at 15:46

    Yip , i’ve gotta get my gaming fix every second night or so.
    It’s all good fun.

    Reply

  15. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 16:01

    HAHaHAHA! Classic! Yeah, she was a bit bad. She eventually moved out because the units were “too noisy”. I’m not gonna make any accusations…but I’ll take 10 points for that one thank you :devil:

    Reply

  16. Abev

    April 29, 2009 at 17:38

    Firstly, what a pleasent suprise to see bliksem writing an article for Lazy 🙂
    Secondly the need to get laid comment was hilarious, purely cos I know Dieter on a personal level and he still prays to pop his cherry :whistle:
    Nah I kid, dieter has been known to tear thru poon faster than lindsay lohan.
    Good article Buddy, hope to see more soon.

    Reply

  17. bliksem_182

    April 29, 2009 at 17:51

    Abev, thanks for the kudos mate! appreciate it! haha! and yes, it is true. he has disclosed my dark secret. I am the official slut of the gaming world 😎

    But yeah mate, just keep your eyes on the features page. i write about one a day. next one will hopefully be up 2marra at 12 again :w00t:

    Reply

  18. dewej

    May 1, 2009 at 18:59

    brings tears to my burning addicted eyes

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Manchester United Sues Football Manager Over Use of their Name and Fan Mods

Manchester United, that massive global football brand whose fans are as equally annoying a…