Inside the Mind of a Pro Gamer: Kornelia at the GDC 2005

Pro Gamer Kornelia wearing Geek Team Style Jersey

A great look at the experience of being a professional gamer from the viewpoint of FPS gamer, Kornelia: gdc2005.

I had the good fortune to meet Kornelia first via email and then in person. She initially emailed me asking if I would like her to wear some of my OffLine T-shirts apparel at QuakeCon 2004 since she had a rare opportunity to wear what she wanted rather than an official sponsor's logo emblazoned shirt. Though the timing was tight, I was happy to oblige and she sent me the great picture above and linked to OffLine from her website.

Then, just this past E3, I got to meet her as she took a tiny break from facing challengers at E3. She was very nice and thanked me profusely for the shirts. I didn't keep her long though as I didn't want to break her concentration. After reading her GDC story I'm amazed she was as loose and easy going as she was when we spoke.

The overall experience, coupled with reading the GDC story has brought me to a few conclusions. One, Kornelia is a nice and genuine person, and two, competitive gaming has a lot in common with competitive athletics. As a former competitive athlete myself I could relate to what she went through -- the point where all the practice doesn't seem to matter, how one kill will calm you down, and how all else can fade away and all that matters is you and your opponent.

What else can I say? Kornelia you do us gamers proud.

Category tag: gaming