Victory, Thee Name Is GAME! - Part I

-Prologue: G.A.M.E-

In the circle of 419, the title “Friday” is bestowed upon 419 members who achieve the status of playing honorably and godlike in Starcraft (“SC”). On the 8 February 2008, such a title was bestowed upon GAME after successfully defeating every single 419 member in a 2 v 2 match up.

Instead of the usual 9.30 p.m. game that the 419 members usually participate in, SC started rather late - 10.30 p.m. (Note: some members were late for the usual Friday night gatherings as they had “other” matters to attend too). For GAME, this was a mere irritation, as if there was anything that he did not like, it was tardiness. Lighting his cigarette, he sat patiently, thinking of a strategy against those who came in late, namely Druggy, Pip and Raz. “They will pay” he thought. While it was 10.35 p.m. for some people, it seemed like 1.30 a.m. for GAME. Daylight saving was not at his side at the moment, but nevertheless GAME was ready.

His screen suddenly flickered, his Microsoft Network (“MSN”) Messenger suddenly flashed. Pip had finally logged in but there was still no sign of Druggy and Raz. “Ccb, where are these people???”. GAME’s blood slowly began to boil. Eager for bloodshed, he knew that he had to calm himself down, for steadiness and a cool head are the key to Victory.

-Chapter 2: P.I.P-

Pip hurried to his computer, the mere thought of keeping other 419 members waiting was frightening. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that GAME was the only one online. While his MSN showed no signs of activity from GAME, he knew that GAME was furious as no one liked to be kept waiting, especially GAME. Honor dictates that he should message other 419 members also to confirm whether the usual SC outing is still on. A short message suddenly came, and it was Raz telling him that he will be slightly late.

But Pip had an upper hand now. Druggy and Raz does not know what kind of temperament that GAME is having. “I’d best play this according to my situation” he thought. It was imperative to have GAME as an ally now, as opposed to a foe. At the same time, he must not keep Druggy and Raz in the dark. “They must find out about GAME through battle and strategy.” Yes, Pip was an honorable SC player, best he not tell Druggy and Raz about GAME’s temperament – they should find out about this themselves, through battle and honor.

-Chapter 3: Druggy-

Druggy messaged GAME and Pip when he arrived, apologizing over the delay that he caused. He could see that he was late as all the 419 members were waiting. Curiously, Raz was online but no where to be found. Thankfully, GAME was not furious over his delay. He thought that Raz had sent out the messages to inform everyone that the usual SC gathering would be slightly delayed, guess he was wrong.

Druggy knew that he was the weakest member of 419 and no one would take notice of him even though he was absent. He was, how you should say it, just helping out to fill the empty spaces in the Friday night gatherings. Being the weakest member of 419 also has its short comings: Druggy was always the target of GAME’s constant early SC rushes, Pip’s carriers and Raz nuclear launches.

“Ah well, learn through experience, I suppose. Guess I’ll wait and see what’s in store for me”. he thought. Little did Druggy know that he will soon be facing a horrible loss.

-Chapter 4: Raz-

“SC is on at 9.30 p.m.? Didn’t I tell anyone that it was at 10.30 p.m. – 11.00 p.m.?” Raz thought when he received Pip’s message. Despite rushing back from his meeting, Raz was calm. In his college and university days, he had faced all sorts of possible delays until he had gotten used to it (or rather, was he the cause for delay? – please confirm fellow 419-ers). “I need a shower” he thought. Just before he popped to the shower, Raz switched his laptop on (Yes, Raz plays SC with his laptop) and gave his roller ball mouse a twirl, just to make sure everything was in working order. With his dexterous typing, a message was sent out to the 419 members waiting.

Fifteen minutes later (it was like an eternity for the rest of the 419 members). Raz announced his arrival to the rest of the 419 members. Everyone was finally ready.

-Chapter 5: The Skill of G.A.M.E-

The designated game map for the night (and most of the night) was none other than “the Huntress”. In one team, there was GAME and Pip, while the other Druggy and Raz. The game started off terribly for GAME and Pip as they were designated with the Terran race. Druggy had Protoss, while Raz had Zerg. Cursing his misfortune and delay, GAME knew that in this game, he had to rely on one thing that he always had : Skill.

Terran: The most defensive race in Starcraft.

“We have to meet up in the centre Pip” he messaged Pip.

“Ok” Pip replied.

As the Terran troopers were approaching towards the centre, an ambush was sprung by Druggy and Raz. Pip troops were forced to retreat back slightly as Druggy’s zealots rushed towards his troops.

Interception: Druggy halts the advancement of Pip's troops through melee combat.

While Druggy was dealing with Pip’s troops, Raz had to struggle against GAMEs troops. The marines controlled by GAME were rather different. It was as though that each marine had a mind on their own. Wave after wave, the screams of Hydralisks facing gauss rifles and stim packs were heard through out the battle field.

-Chapter 6: Of Might and Magic, Part I-

Mid-game came. Every player in the game was exhausted from micro-ing and macro-ing. The cost of teching up paid for both Druggy and Raz though. Their troops were now equipped with spellcasters such as the Queen and High Templar, capable of demoralizing any opposing force.

The troops of GAME and Pip however, only constituted with marines and siege tanks only.

“How now, brown cow?” queried Pip.

“I am not a brown cow. Looks like we have to…”

A bloodbath frenzy...

A flash suddenly came, breaking the conversation between GAME and Pip and with it, the sounds of marines shrieking in pain. When the cries suddenly died down and GAME realized that he had just been hit by a psi storm. The battlefield was now riddled with corpses of marines and medics. All that was left was the sight of a High Templar running away.

“Damn you, Druggy” he cursed.

Picture of a HT running away....

But trouble did not stop there. Pip was suddenly attacked by Raz’s LEET hydralisk and was forced to evacuate his expansion . The badly damaged command centre was hovering on the battlefield until Raz’s Queen infested it, changing it into an infested command centre.

Before....

After : )

At that particular moment, Pip paused and he muttered the word “Basket”. It was obvious that Raz was trying to toy with him. Nevertheless, Pip remained calm and retreated back to his main.

“GAME, you got a plan? Things are looking rather bleak here” queried Pip while looking at his former command centre hover away.

“Only one chance, defend and buy me some time, Pip” he messaged back.

Taking a deep breath, GAME skillfully selected 3 SCVs to commence constructions of marine barracks. Hitting the “M” key in his existing barracks, he placed 5 marines in his production line while awaiting the remaining three barracks to be finished. “Come on…come on...”

Will GAME's army prevail over Raz's Lurkers?

During this time, GAME mouse clicking action and keyboard typing achieved godlike speed, unseen by the untrained eye. The sounds of keyboard taps were followed by response of the marines coming out from the barracks.

-Chapter 7: Of Might and Magic, Part II-

With a massive army of grunts (i.e. marines), GAME marched towards the centre of huntress. As he marched, he saw two high templars. Once again, the cries of marines can be heard through out Huntress. But this time, it was different. While there were still corpses strewn in the battlefield, GAME army suffered minimal damage. The barracks were still pumping marines and in no time at all, the army of GAME was replenished.

Note: Pic 1: Picture of marines getting slaughtered. Pic 2: Marines and medics slowly being revived again.

At this time, Druggy’s High Templars ran out of mana to cast another psi storm. The marines began to chase the High Templars to Druggy’s base. As High Templars were powerless without any mana, only a small platoon was dispatched to chase the Templars with the rest marching to Raz’s base.

However, as opposed to Druggy, Raz proved to be a powerful adversary. The sunken colonies in Raz's base proved to be extremely useful against a charging enemy.

Raz Tactic 1: Snipers are used to take out key units such as siege tanks.

Raz Tactic 2: Let the sunkens do the work and support troops finish off remaining troops.

-GAME's Descent to Victory-

Druggy and Raz now faced 2 problems. Through massive usage of spells, they lacked the mana now. Further the problem with spell casting was that you can only be at one place at a time. GAME and Pip on the other hand, had an oversupply of troops thanks to the GAME's god speed impulse control. Victory was secured when GAME and Pip began destroying the bases of Druggy followed by Raz's expansions and steam rolling their troops.

Multiple surgical strikes and attacks enabled GAME to secure victory.