EPTI started playing BW way back in 1999. My best friend had just bought it and he was showing me how to build bunkers and missile turrets. Then I tried playing through the campaign after I bought the game on my Microsoft 95 (which was torture), got bored after not getting anywhere, used power overwhelming and show me the money and black sheep wall and operation cwal, and found it too easy and got bored again. Then I remember playing matches against the cpu, where all you have to do is make a bunker outside his choke as he attacked you with 100 hydralisks and just keep repairing the bunker because the cpu is too dumb to attack the scv repairing the bunker.
In 2001 I still had a Microsoft 95, and so to improve my gameplay I brought the starcraft cd to the library to play but the librarians kicked me off the computers because they thought the game was too violent. FML
Fast forward to December 2008. I find this old cd just collecting dust underneath my bed. I decide to load it up again and try it out. I go on battle.net for the first time and try some BGH NO NOOBS and FASTEST 2V2V2V2 games on US east. I remember almost crying when my very first dt rush almost works. 2 gate pvz ftw.
I go on youtube and type in starcraft and somehow find out about a legendary player named Bisu. This leads me to TL, where I quickly develop some favorite players...Nal_Ra, Jaedong, Savior, Nada, Boxer, GoRush, Stork. All old schoolers. At that point it was still OK to say that Flash was a turtling noob, because in early 2009 Bisu vs Jaedong was THE rivalry (ok bisu vs stork too
). At the same time I feel sad because I was not able to witness BW in its early competitive days (NADA) or Savior era. But seeing Firebathero dancing makes me all tingly inside. Tossgirl quickly becomes my starcraft crushI play my very first iccup game on Christmas eve 2008. I still remember it was a failed 4 pool.
I watch all the translated versions of "Hyungjoon becomes a progamer" and "Nal_Ra's Oldboy", and watch them repeatedly because I just love starcraft and korean culture so much
Seriously, it is really arrogant for everyone to start saying that Starcraft 2 is the best spectator sport ever or has the best esports scene or anything like that. If it wasn't for the Korean BW scene there would be no SC2 scene, people have to remember that. I tried SC2 but it just didn't have that spark for me, maybe things will change.
But for now, I am outgrowing BW. No, more like...Just taking a little break because my interest is fading. It's like an ex-girlfriend that I realize I must move on from. Life goes on. I'll never be the best foreigner or even the best player on my sGs clan, but the times I have had with this amazing game still resonate in my brain, and in my heart.
So, after 8 seasons on iccup, maybe almost 2000 games, and 4 permabans on TL, I say...
Goodbye, Farewell, Adieu, Long Live
BW
