After the bad blood left by the IGC, which was hampered by blatant corruption and inefficient organization, the mood around the competitive gaming community was negative, and somehow people left with the feeling of being cheated. We got hold of the Street Fighter 4 winner at the IGC, who claims he hasn’t received any of the prize money, nor does he expect to in the coming future. Foreign players flew in to take part in the competition, promising $100,000 as prize money, but left empty-handed. IGC put a dent in India’s reputation as a gaming community, and something had to be done about it. Our jobs depend on it!
BYOC, which stands for Bring Your Own Computer, is held yearly in Delhi, and this time it’s back! In this event, gamers can bring their own computers, or, rent a computer at the event. It’s like your friendly neighborhood LAN party, only at a much larger scale. Xtreme Gaming, the organizers of this event, even provided beds for gamers who’d like to play all night. BYOC is all about hardcore gaming, or really, the true iLL gaming. Come over, get your own computer, and play all night. You can enter and exit from the venue at any hour.
The location of the event was one of Delhi’s most glitzy and happening malls, the Ambience Mall, making it a convenient place for gamers from outside Delhi to make base. The food was decent and cheap. A water dispenser was provided, clearly illustrating Xtreme Gaming’s intention to make BYOC a comfortable and easy-going event. These are the little things done by the organizers to show gamers that they are cared for, something that really lacked at the IGC, which was the absolute opposite.
BYOC also had significant sponsors, notably Zotac, NVidia, MSI, Western Digital, Razer, etc. The brands were sponsored through their distributors. All relevant and well-known gaming brands. Snooping around the event, we got to know that the number of sponsors this year was less than the previous year, mainly due to the dent in the gaming reputation left by the IGC. Nonetheless, BYOC was all for the good spirit of gaming.
It was a shame that Starcraft II could not be included as a competitive game at the competition. But this didn’t stop SCII players from bringing their computers and playing SCII amongst themselves, unofficially. A true LAN party, the BYOC.
The event lasted three days, and throughout these days, it progressed smoothly without any hiccups, with gamers thoroughly enjoying the contest. Most gamers were present for Counter Strike, obviously. Other games being played were FIFA 2012, Dota, Need for Speed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield III. The stalls were doing a good job of keeping the mid-day mini competitions going on, giving away mousepads, T-shirts, mice, etc.
Summing up, well done Xtreme Gaming and well done BYOC! We hope BYOC comes back next year bigger and better.
Where is this place?
This was held in Gurgaon, Delhi – NCR at Ambiance Mall