LoL Chess
I love games. In particular, I love strategy games. One of the most prominent video games, titled League of Legends, is one that I play almost religiously. The goal of the game is to reach the enemies Nexus (home base) and dismantle it before the enemy reaches yours. A simple concept, with many nuances thrown in to complicate the idea. I study up on the strategies involved in order to better myself as a player, read articles on match-ups between champions (player controlled characters that battle one another), improve my mechanics, and watch videos explaining high level tactics. In League of Legends’ elo system, I am currently ranked Gold III, or am roughly in the top 25% of all players in North America.
Conversely, when I am not playing my video game, I am playing my favorite board game: chess. I’m much better at chess, and was once ranked within the top 1% of all chess players my age and in the top 2% of all chess players nationally. A candidate master, the idea of outmaneuvering and remaining many steps ahead of my competition gave me a vicious sense of euphoria.
I tend to not think of myself as an overly competitive person. This changes once I begin to play my strategy games. I become immensely focused on the challenge at hand and my attention becomes riveted to either the screen or the board. Calculations and projections of future moves or objectives I want to secure play in my head, and time becomes unimportant and all-important all at once. When to attack or retreat, play passively or aggressively, or rely on a gambit or safely assess a situation constantly flickers through my mind.
I notice that this logical thought process is significantly hampered by outside noises or sources. When I am involved in my games, I become easily irritable if said sources interrupt my thinking. Sometimes I play for fun or to learn a new concept, and such interruptions are perfectly acceptable. But when I am playing competitively, I am playing to win. That is my addiction, for both video games and strategy games as a whole: to become competent enough to win, handily. Bettering one’s self is something many see as a positive, but when it comes to gaming, can make people question your lifestyle choices. Many say that playing games “accomplishes nothing.”
I beg to differ.
