Feature

Computer gaming is basically of two types, single player and multiplayer. Single player games are the ones that most of us usually play at home (or even at offices!!). Multiplayer gaming is the mode of gaming where you or your team play against your opponents directly over LAN or Internet connection. LAN gaming is the one that is played in various gaming cafes all over Bangladesh. But recently, with the availability of slightly better internet connection, gamers are getting more into online gaming as they can compete with players from all over the world. Some of the popular multiplayer games are WARCRAFT, Defence of the Ancients (DotA), COUNTER STRIKE, FIFA and NFS.

DotA is currently one of the most popular online games, with a high number of players spread all over the world. There are also players from BD who play this game online, even with not so suitable internet connection. In spite of all these problems, team SP (ShadowPlay) became the second team from Bangladesh to play an online DotA tournament, hosted by ImbaGamer.com from India. The first round was hosted through the famous gaming platform Garena.

SP, which constitutes of Ghalib who is also the team leader and the manager as well as legal adviser, Rubaiyat, Faysal, Sami, Sajjad the Captain and Sultan at present are the undefeated champions in BD. In order to achieve this high level of teamplay and co-ordination, they had to struggle and face a lot of problems. The first tournament that SP played formally resulted in a loss in the semi-finals. They might have got demoralized, but they came back with back-to-back titles. Their achievements include winning The Rising Apocalypse, NSUWF tournament and Bangladesh's first Dota League (check our www.banglagamer.com for more details). When SP participated in their first online tournament they were given a special entry from BD as all other teams were from India. SP couldn't prove their skills because of the internet issues. Only 8 teams were supposed to compete in the Lan Finals at Hyderabad, but SP got a wild card entry to the LAN Finals because the moderators of the host ImbaGamer.com were impressed by their skills and dedication shown in nearly unplayable conditions. Such an honour is rare in the gaming scenario of Bangladesh. But it is sad that there are no substantial sponsorship for teams like SP. However, in other countries very well known sponsors come out to back up their potential winners.

Bangladesh may not have advanced effectively in computer games yet but there are talents in the gaming arena in games like DotA and CS who have global potential. Let us hope that these talents are not wasted in neglect.

Traders who used spiked bananas to control him captured the four-year-old bull elephant in 2005 in southwest China. After police arrested the traders and freed the elephant a few months later, he was confirmed to be suffering from withdrawal symptoms and was sent to a wild animal protection centre in Hainan for rehab. A year of methadone injections at five times the human dosage had helped wean the elephant off his addiction.

Now clean, the elephant was expected to arrive on Saturday at a wildlife park in Kunming. His return would cap a 1,500-km journey home and mark another step in
the elephant's triumph over addiction.

Source: Internet