Where does the local FPS gaming community stand?

Call of duty 2 was one of the first games that a lot of Maltese gamers fell in love with. Its gameplay, mechanics and skills were what mostly struck the community. Other games such as Call of Duty 1, Wolfenstein - Enemy Territory, Quake, Unreal Tournament and (later on) Counter Strike were also very influential to the gamers. Thus, one can deduct that all of the above mentioned games introduced gaming in Malta, with Call of Duty 2 being the most played. Gamers were creating teams and competing against others, both locally and internationally. Through an online community - Clanbase, a team could easily find an opponent to challenge. As a result, the element of competition, (since ranking was involved) was very prominent.

Clanbase.com Call of Duty 2 Ladder

Over time, LANs were also organised in Malta where such teams would spend 2-3 days gaming and competing against each other, thriving to earn the first place. Not only were these events fun and competitive (at times tense), but they also brought together the gamers, enhancing their relationship as friends and as a team. Some years later, LANs were hosting both Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4 events. The gaming community was still strong then. However, as time passed, for some reason, the number of gamers attending such events started diminishing. The hype and enthusiasm towards these games were no longer consistent. So what had actually happened? Why were gamers not interested anymore? What caused this downfall to the local FPS community? Some questions remain unanswered to this very day, which is why I am writing this article.

The Xfire client, back when the FPS community was very active :(

I asked a couple of Maltese players who are known to many of us to provide me with their opinion on the above mentioned argument. I want to thank them in advance for taking their time to share their honest thoughts with me. Of course, others can and will have different perspectives on the matter; however, I will mention a few common ones.

1. Growing up (Getting older)

Many players stated that one of the main reasons that could have negatively influenced the local FPS gaming community in Malta was they, amongst others, were finding less time to dedicate to the games due to studies or work. One had to prioritise and gaming was, as a result, given less importance. It may be argued that time management could have prevented this; however, this is easier said than done.

2. Repetitive Winners and Runner-Ups

A common comment from the players asked was that the winning teams/runner-ups of most LANs were always the same. The competition started to be limited, in a sense that a number of local teams presented a higher level of skill and ability in the game that excluded them from other teams. Thus, this could have created frustration amongst those who could not reach the top of the ladder, later on making them quit or give up on the game itself. Could one blame them?

Project Eversio dominated the local Call of Duty 4 scene winning a total of 13 competitions (11 offline / 2 online)

3. Skill based games

At a later stage, games such as CS:GO and Overwatch were introducted, and there was an increase in enthusiasm once again within the local community. However, this was very temporary, maybe due to the lack of LANs that hosted both games. Players commented that such games required a very high skill to play. In fact, Overwatch was popular for a while but it was probably the fastest game to ever "die" in Malta. This could be due to the fact that it required 6 members to create a team and not 5. Not only does it require the user to be extremely attentive and responsive to the game, but it also requires an element of precision, timing and mostly teamwork.

4. The gaming community's mentality

Another common element that was put forward from the players was the mentality of the gamers in Malta. Some commented that certain players were stuck in the past, and were not ready for change. Others stated that the majority of the players always aimed to play the games for fun, thus limiting the competitive spirit. Casual gamers far surpassed the number of competitive gamers who played the game with a different aim and perspective in mind. Players were not ready to dedicate their time to train hard in order to compete amongst some of the best teams, both locally and internationally. Furthermore, certain players were, and might still be, not bothered by the concept of esports, which brought about different types of games, such as MOBAs, to the community.

In conclusion, I want to put forward several questions that were lately being asked by many of us:

• How is it possible that the last LAN hosted by Gamers.com.mt - The Malta Cyber Series #3 - Back To Basics, brought back so many old school gamers that were not seen for a long time?
• How is it possible that a game such as Call of duty 2, a game which "died" years ago, encouraged so many to take part in the tournament?
• Does this depend on skill alone? Are we, as a community, not skilled enough to participate in other games which may require more expertise? What is holding us back?

Paradigm6 - WInners of The Malta Cyber Series #3 - Back To Basics