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feature :: 10 competitive gamer questions - digital chaos

10 Competitive Gamer Questions - Digital Chaos

AUSTRALIAN COMPETITIVE GAMER Q and A - 10 Questions with Digital Chaos aka Chris Hamilton


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Fullname: Chris Hamilton

Nickname: Digital Chaos, DC

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Clan: Perfect Play


1. Who are you?

My name is Chris Hamilton, but many people know me as "DC" which is short for "Digital Chaos".



2. What is your competitive gaming experience?

I won the Australian National Halo Title in 2003 through the World Cyber Games, which I was also told helped me make history by becoming the first person to represent Australia for a CONSOLE based video game. I placed somewhere in the top ten in the world when I was sent to Korea to play the worlds best after this.

I am the only player in Australia to have had a manager and be professionally managed for any sort of Halo video game in Australia.

I was a key part to the exclusive Perfect Play Halo Clan that set the benchmark for competitive console gaming in Australia by winning every 4v4 Halo Competition they entered, this includes the two largest Halo 2 competitions which were supported and sponsored by Telstra & Microsoft.

I helped Perfect Play become the first sponsored Halo Clan in Australia. Sponsored for a short time by The Bunker Internet Cafe in the Brisbane city.

I have commentated for the World Cyber Games in 2004 which was broadcasted LIVE internationally via their website.

I have been a huge part of Australia's greatest Xbox 360 eSport Management company - SPECTRE since its foundation in 2004.

I managed and maintained the largest online competition Australia & New Zealand have ever experience when SPECTRE organised the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 Competition which resulted in 1100 individual registrations. I also managed and maintained the latest competition we ran for SEGA & their new game "The Club" where we gave away $5,000.

Finally... I have been referred to as the foundation for competitive gaming in Australia. Which was a compliment I carry with an extreme amount of pride.



3. What is your game of choice?

As stated above, my game of choice is obviously without a doubt, Halo: Combat Evolved. When John Howard left Bungie, their entire grasp and thought concept on "What made Halo: CE mutliplayer great" dissolved into thin air.



4. Describe what makes this game a competitive game?

There are so many things. First of all, the pistol. Assuming everybody starts with one (Generic Settings ok?). This weapon gave each player a fighting chance against ANY opponent, regardless of where what weapon they had and their position on the map. The distance and 2x scope implemented into the pistol made it the ultimate starting weapon.

Many people say the pistol was overpowered, but the truth is. It simply gave players an even chance. It was balanced amongst all the weapons. A pistol vs a Plasma Rifle up close mostly results in the Plasma Rifle winning due to its stun. Pistol vs Shotgun up close mostly results in the Shotgun winning. The pistol's range even made it possible to fight back against snipers on the other side of the map. This is what you call "balance amongst all weaponry".

Adding onto this, the auto aim and magnetism was absolutely PERFECT. The pistol was not just a "three shot kill". It was never that simple, especially if you were playing off host. You had to lead your bullets and it was one of the ways you could separate good players from average players.

All the items in the game had a strong reaction to grenade or rocket explosions thanks to the physics engine. This opened up an entirely new aspect to the game as you were able to grenade powerups and weapons to yourself.

The game also had Fall Damage, which is something its two sequels SHOULD have implemented. I don't care about the story of Master Chief falling out of space and telling to live the tale just because he got an armour upgrade. In multiplayer it should have been implemented. This then would have allowed for better map design.

Maps like Damnation cannot be incorporate into Halo 2 or Halo 3 because of this. The top team in capture the flag is going to have an immense advantage as they aren’t penalised for jumping from the top base to the bottom base.

Bungies biggest mistake was letting John Howard go. For those that don't know, he went to FASA and was the lead multiplayer design behind "Shadowrun". Which in my opinion the most under rated shooter on the 360.



5. What is the biggest tournament you have won?

Having had an immense amount of hours played under my belt with my best mates, I figured it was worth taking a shot at the World Cyber Games in 2003 as also, stated above.



6. What is your most memorable experience from competitive gaming?

There's not just one, it would be impossible for me to name just one. Obviously WCG played a massive part. But there are many memories from SPECTRE tournaments and a countless supply of memories from the LANS I use to attend with my group of best mates.



7. How do you see the competitive gaming community evolving?

There is no doubt that the community has come along way since it began in 2003. As it stands, there are a number of games that can be considered worthy for competitive play. Such as Call of Duty 4 & Halo 3. With Rainbow Six Vegas 2 due out next month, that is also one to add to the list.

The problem lies with current population and the way Xbox 360 gamers are currently divided between Call of Duty 4 & Halo 3. Because of this it is not possible to run any support of competition even remotely similar to what MLG have in the US & Canada yet. That's not to say we won't get there because I'm sure eventually we will, but right now its hard. The best thing we can do is run large, single competitions for the game developers or publishers. Which is essentially what we've been doing.

I know people are attempting to setup their own leagues and such and I wish them all the best.



8. What does Australia need to do to take competitive gaming to the next level?

Honestly. Wait and have patience. The real killer at the moment is as I stated above, the population. As this grows, the competitive gaming community will evolve by itself. SPECTRE see this as the major drawback at the moment. It's something we have already tried to work around and it doesn't work as well as we had hoped.



9. What current games do you think are best suited to competitive gaming?

As also stated above, Call of Duty 4 & Halo 3. With Call of Duty 4 having a significant edge over the competition. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is due out soon and I know quite a few people are looking forward to that game, especially the 1SK crew who were brilliant at the original.


10. What do you think the 'Digital Chaos' legacy will be?


It doesn't bother me, up until now, there was so many people who had no idea about my history and the amount that I have contributed to competitive gaming. The amount of my own time & effort that I have given to the community over the past 4 years has been pretty substantial. I just want people to recognise the effort, money and time that SPECTRE put into assisting and helping the competitive console community grow.


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