CHENNAI : Gaming got better with every birthday since he was 12 for S Chandra as it was on this day every year that he could ask for a new game as a gift. This BCom graduate from Hyderabad says he always had an eye for gaming since the first time he touched the consoles when he was barely a teenager. “I once read about a gamer from the city getting a really big cash prize in an international gaming tournament, and the prize money was what most people in the city earn in three years. I felt gaming was not a bad idea if one were to make a living out of it. However, I started following it up since I enjoy it, not because I wanted to take it up as a profession,” he says.
His all-time favourites are Need For Speed series, Grand Theft Auto, Devil May Cry series, Call of Duty series, and so on. His Google search has been set such that he gets news about any release. “I read the reviews of the games and then buy it if I like the reviews and the trial.”
“Games transport me into a virtual world and teach me to think strategically,” he says adding that RPG (role-playing games) are his favourites as it makes him feel he is living a different life that day. Chandra says he knows how parents get worked up when their wards spend time gaming. So he says he play only after dinner, for two hours. “Gaming relaxes me and I sleep with a great vibe at night.” He spends not more than `1,500 a month on them.
Gaming, he says, has taught him to be disciplined and follow the rules to win. “I am planning to play for some big tournaments next year when I finish my advance computer diploma course. I am confident I will crack the games as I am always the winner when I play virtually. Hope this practice will pay off.”