THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: I f one had to think of the stereotypical video gamer from the 90’s, you would instantly picture a geeky bespectacled boy with braces perhaps, spending hours on various DOS games like Mario, Dave, Digger, et al. Cut to 2016 and one can find gamers of all ages and from various fields, competing in fancy tournaments for higher points and better recognition in the gaming arena.
Bearing that in mind, if you thought it was a boy’s world, then you couldn’t be more wrong. Meet Varshini Venkat, an 18-year-old student of photography at ICAT, Chennai, and a force to be reckoned with in the gaming field.
Influenced by her brother, Varshini took to gaming from a young age. PC games fascinated this teen, wherein she ventured towards more of strategy games such as DotA and Counterstrike. “I like to come up with plans in order to go on a shooting spree,” says Varshini. Her love for strategy games has won her recognition in the south Indian gaming field, where she and her team have won DotA tournaments and battle cups that were held in the South East Asian zone online.
“Along with my team, we even won the DotA tournament held at SRM University recently. These tournaments keep happening every three months or so, at college culturals. That way, as a team, we keep getting better,” she adds. The team recently won the first place a month back at a similar tournament, contrary to their third place a few months ago.
While her gaming prowess has gained attention, many still find it unbelievable that she’s the only girl in the team. “It actually isn’t a deterrent. I get along with the opposite sex better because I am a bit of a tomboy. Sure, a lot of people are surprised that I’m not just the only girl but also the youngest, it still doesn’t affect me or my game in any way,” she smiles. What about being subjected to catcalls or the sexism online?
“That happens a lot. A lot of guys find it a bit of a turn on when they hear a female’s voice during a match. They say strange things, too.” And how does she deal with it? “This is when the mute button comes in handy. I don’t have to listen to them while I’m in my zone,” she smiles. With uncountable hours of strategy games to her credit, Varshini likes to spend her free time playing DotA.
“I would say the game is more of a stress-giver than a stress-reliever! But I love it and have so many more tournaments to look forward to,” she shares. Mobile games like Clash of Clans, Piano Tiles, and Death Level are her guilty pleasures. “But when it’s not gaming, then I often indulge in a bit of photography, painting and drawing,”she smiles.