CS-Nation

Covering the future of Counter-Strike
definitions of loyalty
article: definitions of loyalty
What defines a hardcore gamer these days? Sure, back in the 1970's it was who had played Pong—but what now? Definitions of loyalty have changed over the years, and analyzing loyalty itself isn't quite as simple as you would think.

In the shadows of The 2002 CPL Summer Event, people, I for one, have begun to question how obsessive certain individuals can really get. Sure $50,000 is a lot of money, winning or stealing—but for playing a game? I respect the concept of a "Spectator Sport," which is certainly supported by the new HLTV technology, but is it really plausible? Games like Football and Baseball have been around for centuries, and professional competition can take place because people have been training for it all their lives. Online gaming, on the other hand, has only been around for a decade or so, and I believe it's still in the developmental stages.

loyalty? it's a game!
Some people, like CS-Nation's webmaster rizzuh, have been playing this game since it was released. How many people do you know who play a game for over 3 years (avidly)? I don't know many. Maybe one.

How long have you played CS?
New - 1 year
1 year - 2 years
2 years - 3 years
3 years or more
So what defines loyalty? It's just one of those deals where everyone you ask has a vastly different opinion. To me, loyalty is going out of your way to enjoy a game, when you could be doing something more important—like tending to loved ones or watering the lawn. Generally, if you place online gaming over spending time with a girlfriend or perhaps some relatives, you can consider yourself loyal. But it's not certainly limited to that. When I first started playing Counter-Strike, I bought a cable modem to become better—a big step up from 24k. To get even more speed, I recently bought an MSI Geforce4 TI4600. A chunky $350 investment, as you may or may not have known.

To me, $350 is certainly a lot of money, but people have spent more. We can't forget the tech-happy sods who launch 3D Studio Max in 2 milliseconds, while maintaining an average 2 degree CPU temperature. These people sure enjoy their night-lives, apart from the fact that their 6 case fans running at 2,000 RPMs keep them awake from down the hall.