Video gaming organization to start testing gamers for drugs

[slimvictor]

^ and artists and writers who use psychedelics to enhance the quality of their work should be penalized as well.

 

[Crankinit]

Should we stop musicians from gaining an unfair advantage from using drugs?

That's an absurd analogy, musicians aren't in a direct, skill-based competition with eachother for a specified prize.

 

[slimvictor]

^ that is true, the competition is not direct, nor is it for a specified prize.
But the analogy isn't really absurd, I think... just imperfect.
After all both video games and music/art/literature share some aspects.
And musicians (cf. gamers) work hard for years to increase their skill levels, while taking one hit of LSD (cf. meth) will often heighten creativity and "feeling" (cf. energy and concentration)- which can result in many more youtube views, record contracts, etc. (cf. winning tournaments).
So, you are right that the analogy is not perfect, but it does apply in quite a few ways.

I am really interested in this discussion, by the way, though I have not yet fully committed to either side.
I appreciate the chance to work through it together, though - one of the things I love about BL.
Let's just make sure to be polite and respectful as we go...

 

[axl blaze]

so amphetamines are a type of "performance enhancing" drug for gamers?

I do kinda buy it - you would be more focused and could easier put in the hours for heaps of practice time

 

[ro4eva]

so amphetamines are a type of "performance enhancing" drug for gamers?

I do kinda buy it - you would be more focused and could easier put in the hours for heaps of practice time

In my experience, amphetamines (and especially dextro-amphetamine) do significantly increase my levels of concentration and focus, and reduces feelings of fatigue, hunger, and even pain in general.

On the other hand however, perhaps it's just me but, I have also tried gaming while 'under the influence' of methamphetamine, and it was completely counter-productive because I wound up running around in circles (and happy to do so) while listening to 140+ bpm (trance) music, chewing a lot of gum and feeling incredibly horny. And this lasted for at least 2 hours before I finally gave up trying to finish any of the content within the game (World of Warcraft). And let's just say that, with the exception of a couple of potheads who were pretty baked and laughing incessantly in Vent (voice-chat), a lot of my fellow guild members who relied on me to help tank a difficult raid weren't too impressed with my awkward behavior that night.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I think where there's real sport-like competition they should be banned, except when it comes with longstanding traditions which allow those who are already gifted to further humanity. I admit that there is grey area, but the line drawn will never be perfect.

 

[jammin83]

Am I the only one that's disgusted with this obsession with piss collecting? Video games? Seriously? When does it end? I honestly think in most situations it should be illegal to test somebody for drugs. It's a privacy issue. Life's not fair. Find a way to deal with it. Most people know how to pass a drug test anyway. GCMS? Just substitute it. Or in addition to the piss collecting will there be cock gazing as well? No one should have to be subjected to that, even in the holy name of fairness. This isn't the Olympics we are talking about. Maybe if the dudes in MLB were still juiced up hitting home runs all day people would still be paying attention to that dying sport.


Sure there is money on the line, but I doubt drugs really give anybody much of an edge in video games. Studies have shown that amphetamines boost performance for simple repetitive tasks, but more complex tasks people performed better that weren't medicated. Not to mention the come-down. Maybe perform better for a few hours until the peripheral effects start getting to you. Most true games can concentrate for days on end without drugs. Will they be testing for noopept too? What about RCs? Honestly, besides stimulants, what drugs really give you that much of an edge in video games?

Are you going to tell the kid with ADD that he can't take his vyvanse that morning? Is that fair? Will prescriptions be allowed or will the competition prevent someone from taking their physician prescribed medication?

 

[Crankinit]

I think someone who's done the work to enter a competition for a $17 million prize has the right to expect as even as possible a playing field, and asking the players to submit to random drug testing (not even urine testing, just a swab) isn't a big deal. Nobody is forcing them to enter the competition.

Whether or not we consider this stuff a "legitimate sport" or not, it's only growing bigger, with bigger stakes for the participants - I think it's reasonable to want to try and nip it in the bud instead of allowing a culture of stimulant abuse to develop the way a culture of steroid/performance enhancing drug abuse has developed in most other sports.

 

[jammin83]

If its not banned, everyone has the opportunity to use amps if they choose to do so. Hence, a fair playing field.

The reason PEDs are an issue, is because a sport has a physical nature to it. Gaming is not a sport because there is nothing physical about it. You stare at a screen and press buttons. Most prefer to do this high. It's part of the culture. The edge amphetamines or drugs give you in a video game is debatable. Sounds like the losers just want to bitch and make excuses for losing, as losers do. Someone sober, that actually has their head about them, has an advantage, IMO.

Drug testing creates more problems than it solves.

 

[One Thousand Words]

That's an absurd analogy, musicians aren't in a direct, skill-based competition with eachother for a specified prize.

The recording industry is one big competition with billions of dollars in prize money.

They even have a chart ranking the winners against the losers

 

[Crankinit]

If its not banned, everyone has the opportunity to use amps if they choose to do so. Hence, a fair playing field.

No, everybody has the obligation to do so (not to mention obtaining the amphetamines, most likely through illegal means, I don't think "wanting to play MOBA's on livestream for prize money" is in the DSM). How long until that devolves into teams only accepting players willing to use amphetamines (which are addictive and dangerous to the health)? Amphetamine use to fuel longer and more intensive training sessions? Addiction? People having their health destroyed? Hell if you google it you'll find that there are already cases of kids (usually in Korea) dying from going on days-long caffeine fueled gaming sessions at internet cafes, how much worse would it be

The reason PEDs are an issue, is because a sport has a physical nature to it. Gaming is not a sport because there is nothing physical about it. You stare at a screen and press buttons.

How is pressing hundreds of keys/buttons a minute in a highly coordinated fashion in response to feedback from both other players and observation of the screen not physical?


You can debate back and forwards about what does or doesn't constitute a "sport," but it's semantics. Competitive gaming is a highly skill based activity (even playing at an amateur level there's an immediately apparent hierarchy based on skill and expertise) -Coordination, alertness, attention, reaction time, etc. both physical and mental, makes a huge difference, especially at these kind of competitive levels, and amphetamines enhance all of these. Even with all of the other effects aside, just the ability to counteract fatigue presents a significant advantage.

Most prefer to do this high.

And they're free to do so in their own time, but not when millions are at stake on what is supposed to be a competition based solely on skill.

The edge amphetamines or drugs give you in a video game is debatable.

The players don't seem to feel so, or they wouldn't be using them.

Sounds like the losers just want to bitch and make excuses for losing, as losers do.

Actually the initiative is coming from the people running these competitions, as they don't want to see their burgeoning industry turned into a speed-fuelled wreck. They're trying to get in on the ground level and do everything they can to keep the competition skill based, as opposed to based on who can come up with the best combination of drugs to play on (and obviously preserve the money they make from these competitions by doing so). As weird as it seems even to me, people get invested in these competitions and the outcome, they enjoy watching top level players compete - that would fade fairly quickly if it all became about which team had the best drug hookups.

Someone sober, that actually has their head about them, has an advantage, IMO.

And you're welcome to your opinion, but again, the people actually competing in and winning these events disagree.

Drug testing creates more problems than it solves.

It seems like you aren't really arguing about this specific case as just carrying out a vendetta against drug testing in general (you didn't even bother to read the full article, or you'd have known they weren't urine testing the players, just using swabs). There's a huge difference between widespread, compulsory urine drug testing of employees in various industries and the swab testing of a select group of competitors in a privately run tournament.

Here's what it boils down to - these competitions are run by private companies, usually the makers/publishers of the game, and if they don't want people competing on drugs, they have every right to make that determination and enforce it via testing. If the competitors don't like it, they can avoid the tournaments which drug test. Simple as that.

The recording industry is one big competition with billions of dollars in prize money.

They even have a chart ranking the winners against the losers

Come on, you're smarter than that. The recording industry isn't a place where performers compete, it's a place where performers are produced and marketed.

 

[...]

Am I the only one that's disgusted with this obsession with piss collecting?

No, there are two of us. But everyone else seems to be running at us, World-War-Z-like, with plastic jars and dipsticks.