Gamespot recently sat down with Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson as part of their Origin Stories feature. Geoff talks about how it's like to play for a living and the stigma surrounding the job.
Robinson, 27, has been playing Starcraft, Brood War, and SCII for 14 years, but has only been a pro player for 4. He is currently fully sponsored as a pro player and is the residing captain of Evil Geniuses. He has many achievements as a player, such as forth place of MLG Dallas 2011 and is also renown as a caster. He is one of the pillars of the "State of the Game" podcast and one of the hosts for "Inside the Game" along with DjWheat, Painuser and IdrA.
What is a typical day for you when you're training for a tournament? How many hours a day do you spend practicing?
A typical day for me goes something like this: I wake up, do a gameplay lesson from 9am to 10am, have breakfast and then start training. This usually consists of two separate five-hour cycles of just playing. So a full day of training will be anywhere between 10 to 12 hours of practice. For me, training is a five to seven-day affair that continues all the time. There is always a tournament or event happening, so you need to remain sharp and that means continuously training.
Geoff also talked about the pros and cons of being a professional eSports player as a full time job. He states that there are moments of stress like any other job but the main problems are from accessibility. As a pro player every aspect of his life is out there for the world to see, and it's hard managing just what parts of your life are visible and what aren't. The alternative would be that no one knows you exist, so he has to keep a steady stream of information and news.
Along with the problematic parts, being a pro gamer also has it's benefits - being your own boss Geoff get's to pick his own hours and training regime. Being involved with all kinds of different revenues regarding gaming is a very exciting job that only keeps on evolving.
Do you think there's still a stigma attached to professional gaming? Is it hard for the general public to take it seriously as a profession and competitive sport?
Yes, the stigma is very real. Most people in the mainstream think professional gamers are just overweight, lazy slobs who make very little money and are stagnating their lives. Little is known about how much we travel, socialize and experience things that many other people would never get the chance to experience. Not only that but because of how big professional gaming has become, it's important that we stay in shape and develop strong charismatic skills for broadcasting or doing media work.
To close up, iNcontroL was asked how he deals with other games and if he has the ability to play games in a casual way:
I will always be a gamer. While StarCraft is how I earn a living and it is what I do for work, I still very much so enjoy it. That said, when I want to unwind and chill out for a bit I have been known to play some Call of Duty or Prototype, or other games that are a bit less sophisticated and involve less brainpower than a StarCraft game would for me.
Source: Gamespot
