Ecto on the internet

So here we are, currently 26th of August in 2012...

Had a nice afternoon filled with swimming pleasure, so I'm not fully focused while writing this.
Because of that I couldn't follow The International 2 of Dota 2, so I'm still switching between tabs to see if it has started, since I'm writing this in the break moment.

Anyways, according to the title progress has been made or still is... And I'm not lying.

If you read the last post, you could've seen that I am really into Dota 2 in this current state of my life. So the other day I was strolling around the forums of JoinDota.com and eventually stumbled upon this thread in which a guy was looking for some people to play competitive Dota with.

That basically struck my attention immediately, and started typing. Filling in the form of what he wanted to know about me. Next thing you know, we're playing a test game, just to see if I was material he was looking for. And yes I was, so here we are... Being a member of Team Extreme Dota (x3m). 

On Friday the 24th, I got a message from the captain of x3m, saying like: "Hey dude, you're playing in a tournament tonight". - And many thoughts went through my head, first of all: "Oh shit this is cool" but next to the excitement there was fear, simply because I haven't really played with the line-up. I don't know them, not personally and not what they were capable of, so that was kind of an issue stepping into this tournament.

But it all turned out better than expected. Getting 3rd place of the 13 signed teams in that tournament, is pretty reasonable for an "untrained" team.

So that is the progress being made, practice sessions are coming up, and cups/tournaments will be won.

Until then! 

I've just learned an important lesson just a minute ago... Which should be remembered by all.
Always save your work!
But I do not mind this, as I just like blogging in general.

I think starting right of the bat without a proper introduction is not very polite. So I'd rather introduce myself first, and later on get to the good stuff.

My name is Don, or I go by the alias Ecto.
Currently 22 years of age and have been playing video games since I was, well... young. Don't hold me accountable for exact numbers, because simply... I can't remember it.
In the first months/years of every gamer, there is this time of exploring. "What do I like the most?" is the most common question popping around everyone's mind during the exploring through game genres. And I found mine thanks to my brothers. This turned out to be Counter Strike, which was on Patch 1.2 by that time. When I was playing Counter Strike, I really knew that I wanted to play video games... like, always. Or atleast for a long long time.

My Counter Strike-time went on until I was about 16/17 years old, because by that time I unfortunately discovered World of Warcraft. Now, I say "unfortunately" simply because if I would have had spent my World of Warcraft-time on Counter Strike... I would've been a professional player, no doubt. - Call me arrogant, but I'm sure of my case.
But then again, I had a good time playing World of Warcraft. Made a good amount of friends via that and learned a lot of stuff... Regarding just general business in life.

So I kept playing World of Warcraft until I was about 20 years old (maybe a tad older), and went back to my FPS-roots. But not back to Counter Strike. It would've taken a long long time until I would be on the same level as I used to be, plus the fact that I didn't had the same passion for it as I used to have.
So hello Call of Duty. I started out with Modern Warfare 2 and kept playing through Black Ops, and so met Modern Warfare 3. By that time my blood pressure must've risen so much that I just gave up. - I was literally like: "Fuck it! - I'm not gonna do this anymore!" 
The imbalancedness in that game had frustrated me to such a point that I just refused. Just a simple "No" to my friends' requests of: "Hey, wanna play a game?" happened.
Don't get me wrong, I was good at the game. Solid scores every single game, but as I said, the imbalancedness plus the fact that the competitive scene was really bad, just didn't attract me anymore to play Call of Duty.

During that same time of Call of Duty I got into the Beta of StarCraft 2. Something about StarCraft 2 just attracted to me in that time. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy watching it, but I don't play it anymore as I used to. (Considering the amount of playing, not the skill-level).
I had played Warcraft III and StarCraft: BroodWar, on extreme casual mode. Just a game with friends every now and then would suffice. I didn't understand the whole mechanics and the idea behind strategy games, so my interest wasn't there. But when StarCraft 2 was announced, my brain just went: "I have got to play this game!" - And so I did, for a fair amount of time, and got myself upto a skill-level which I could be satisfied about.
Eventhough I think the game is really good, I don't play it. It has something to do with my rational fear of losing/laddering, which is kind of hard to explain and I don't really feel like getting to deep into that.

So now, here we are... Dota 2 is the game now. My primary focus... something I dedicate a lot, but then I mean A LOT of time into. Learning various strategies, mechanics, watching professional streams and tournaments.
And the whole rational fear-thingy... It's different here. Maybe it has something to do with the whole 5v5-idea.
And then, I play some games casually on the side. Whether it'd be DayZ or Counter Strike: Global Offensive, it's all fun and games. Except for Dota 2, that could become interesting in the future.

Now you can say: "Gosh, that is really interesting" or you just couldn't give two f*cks. Matter of fact is, I find it interesting, and in the end... That is what counts.

And so, I try to share my interests with other people over the internet, whether it be like this via a blog, or via video.
My videos can be seen at these websites:

http://www.youtube.com/GameMeneerX_9531X (Dutch Commentaries)
http://www.youtube.com/DizzlectoX_9535X (Streaming VODs in English)
http://www.twitch.tv/DizzlectoX_9539X (Streaming channel)

And that is all, for now. Take care until then!

Don | Ecto