It’s All for the Love of the Video Game

Before my current writing life, there was The Hilltop, Howard University’s and the Nation’s Oldest Black Collegiate Newspaper, where many of the questions and themes I still explore first found their voice. What follows are my early published works, preserved in their original form.

From The Hilltop Archives

Originally published in The Hilltop, Howard University — October 17th, 2003

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It’s All for the Love of the Video Game

If it was just for one Saturday, on October 11. The depot for Amtrak, MARC and Acela was given a new name: Union "Play"Station.

DC was the thirteenth stop on the EA Sports 32 city Madden Challenge Tour and the best competitors from the around the country gathered in DC to "Prove they're a Playmaker." Sponsors EA Sports, G4TV and Target began this challenge on August 23 in Chicago and in four months they will travel the country giving 32 regional winners a chance to prove themselves again on January 16-18 in Las Vegas.

This is only the second year that EA Sports has held the Madden Challenge. Due to the massive response it received last year, they expanded from 10 cities to 32 cities, giving Madden gamers from across the country an opportunity to test their skills against the best. 

G4TV, based in LA and owned by Comcast, is also new to the videogame world. After its inception in April of 2002, G4TV has prided itself in being one of the few networks dedicated entirely to videogame addicts.

They are the only network to cover the tournament in its entirety.

With only 512 slots available, the official site, www.madden-challenge.com, allowed potential gamers to register two weeks before the tournament for a seat in one of 16 divisional brackets. Those who missed the deadline or weren't hip to game still had a chance to play as a walk-in competitor. 

Bigger cities like New York and Chicago got twice that, meaning there were a lot of angry gamers.

In DC, 380 of the 420 who registered online showed up, leaving 132 hopefuls with a shot at the title. 

"The winner of each region receives a money clip with a slip that guarantees them a spot for Vegas," explained Jim Murray, G4TV's Madden Challenge Host. "The runner-up receives a $50 gift card from Target."

At $10 a pop, 512 competitors per city and 32 cities, that's $163,840 to the winner. 

Not quite.

The Vegas champion only gets a third of that, $50,000, not to mention an iced out Madden Challenge chain and medallion that weighs roughly 5 lbs.

Before picking up the analog-based stick and thinking you have a chance to make it out of the first round, you need a team to run with.

 

REP YO CITY

The reach of the tournament made it possible for anybody to play. 

Whether from a nearby town or across the country, the ability to see the competition of other cities is at a player's fingertips. In DC, competitors from the East Coast showed up strong. But just because a player is from a city that has an NFL team doesn't mean that is their first choice.

"I play with the Bucs," said David Goodridge of Capital Heights, MD. "The Ravens suck. I never go local."

"The Chiefs, I am not a hometown fan," said Elvin Valdes of Columbia, Maryland.

"I'm a Jets fan. I don't like Ray Lewis," said Kenny Clark of Hagerstown Maryland.

One thing a gamer knows about Madden- hometown loyalties go out the window. In this tournament the goal is to win even if that means choosing a rival to do so. 

In this game the best team wins and in most cases players found themselves face-to-face with an opponent who valued a team for the same reasons he did.

There are those who have faith in their real life and videogame hometown team.

"The Jets all the way, Curtis Martin, their QB Testaverde and their West Coast offensive," said Carlos Brown of Camden, New Jersey. 

This hometown faith may sometimes go too far. 

A gamer from Chicago chose the Bears. 

Videogame simulation didn't matter to him. Despite Da' Bears' 1-4 record, he managed to go 4-0 and make it to the playoffs.

Where you're from sometime has no bearing on who a player picks. With two-minute quarters, most gamers went with either the solid running game of Miami, the versatility of McNabb and Vick, cover athlete and undisputably the fastest character in the game, or the air attack of the Bucs. 

Practice is the next essential ingredient to win the Madden Challenge.

 

GET WIRED AND GO ONLINE

Those days of calling up a friend for a game and patiently waiting for them to come over are gone. With everything and everybody connected to the internet, it's that much easier for friends from around the corner or around the globe to instantly link with one another.

Madden NFL 2004 is available on every platform, but for those with a PS2 the added incentive is the Enhanced EA Sports Online. A DSL or Cable connection goes into the front of the PS2, allowing for endless hours of gaming and trash talking with EA Sports Talk. 

Practicing has never been so easy. 

"It's cool. You play a certain amount of games to get ranked and once you're ranked you are able to play ranked players," described Jason Thompson of Greenboro, NC. "But people can quit a game and it can kill your ranking."

The EA Sports Fair Ranking System has eliminated cheating by only rewarding those players who finish a full game.

"It's the bomb. I have the headset and the cordless joystick. It makes the game more intense. I don't even play the computer anymore," exclaimed Damon White.

Every gamer expressed their views of Madden Online and the overall sense was an added level of competition and another form addiction. 

With all the advantages EA Sports Online offers, it still has its downfall.

"I like online, but it doesn't prepare me for here," said Gerron Hill of Baltimore.

Nothing can prepare you for the atmosphere, the excitement and the trash talking.

 

STRAIGHT GARBAGE: TRASH TALKING

Unsportsman-like conduct. 

There's no place for it in the NFL. Though it holds the name and licenses, this is far for it. What a little innocent conversation between two adults about who's going to whip who. 

"Players will refrain from the use of vulgar language, if such language can be heard or seen by spectators, other players or any other person" - under the General Conduct of the "Gameplay and Participant Conduct Guidelines for 2003 Madden Challenge."

Like that is really going to work. In fact, Madden judges encouraged trash talking because it livened up the game. Not to mention, there were several F-bombs being dropped during gameplay. No one even paused.

"Hell yeah I trash talk; I love it," said Hill. "I am a trash talker because it throws them out of their game and makes them do stupid plays."

 

"I don't until I find someone glotting. You come at me I come a you, but ten-times harder. You laugh in their face, it's the best way to shut them up," boasted Brown.

There were gamers who knew this and came prepared. 

They were equipped with a CD player and headphones to block out the nonsense.

Those who didn't were at the mercy of onlookers. While two players were competing, one the player's boys would be in the ear of the other trying his best to throw him off his game. 

The only rule: stay behind the black tape.

After two or three attempts, the taunts were affecting gamers who began to really lose it.

Those who, without the assistance of headphones, drowned out the noise couldn't stop the other trend accompanying the trash talking.

 

SHOW ME THE MONEY: SIDE BETS

There was no money in winning the region, just a chance, a very slim chance, of winning the whole Madden-caboodle and $50 Gs. 

Some gamers took measures into their own hands; they bet on every game they played. 

"I play for the dollar. I came prepared, win or lose," said I.B. Hustling (name altered to maintain anonymity). 

These new-aged sharks are about the love of the game and that mighty dollar. There's constant trash 

talking back and forth and they don't just bet on the outcome of the game. 

"I bet you won't get this first" or "I bet you I rush for 150 yards" are the kind of bets that take place.

"It's for bragging rights and dough," said Hustling. "A hundred is a waste of my time." 

These players don't bother with chump change and the figure for some of these bets is ridiculous. 

However, the Madden Challenge prohibits gambling or any kind.

Mostly, those who came to the Madden Challenge were rookies. They want to test their skill and where else can kids and grown men alike play a videogame for 10 straight hours? 

The environment is very lively even though they all know the truth.

"Only one person is going to walk out of here and go the Vegas. Everyone else is going to lose," stated White.

Still, this tournament is not about winning or losing, it's about the one medium that transcends all ethnic, religious and gender boundaries. Players are able to provide tips and strategies to improve one another's game. 

The next stop for the Madden Challenge is Tampa and Jacksonville on October 17th and 18th because if it's in the game, it's got to be EA Sports, home of Playmakers.