When old gamers review classic games

Leaving behind work and family, gamers over the age of "30" had a weekend to indulge themselves in fiery AOE matches.

Unlike other days, last weekend (December 3) at an Internet cafe in an alley on Nguyen Chanh Street, Hanoi, welcomed a large number of special customers. They were older gamers, dressed politely in dress pants and tucked-in shirts, carrying laptop backpacks on their shoulders, some with gray hair.

Everyone came here to participate in the AOE (Age of Empires) game tournament, also known by another friendly name, Empire, organized exclusively for employees working in businesses.

Most of them are "technical people" whose daily work is related to design, construction, electricity, telecommunications or information technology. The team name is often taken from the name of the company where they work such as EVN, Vietel, VNG, Cowell Asia, VNC...

There are 16 teams of 4 players each, taking turns sitting at the computer systems to compete and find the champion. The gamers are all between 30 and 35 years old. The youngest players have been playing AOE for 5 years, while the longest players have been playing for more than ten years. People mainly approach this game when they are students, after graduating, they get busy, work for a few years and then "have the chance" to return to their old passion.

Gamers dressed in shirts and trousers sit together to "play Che".

Nguyen Thai Truong, 34 years old, working at Vietnam Construction Consulting and Inspection Joint Stock Company (VNC) said he has been playing AOE for 5 years, since he started working here.

"Everyone in the company has been playing for more than ten years, usually during lunch breaks and late afternoons, playing a few matches before going home. The gaming group has about ten people, including the director. Besides playing AOE, everyone also plays PES together. In 2013, the team participated in the business tournament and won, but this year some young brothers were absent so we didn't put much hope in going deeper," he shared.

Unlike younger gamers, these players are generally quieter, more mature and more serious. But that doesn’t mean they hide their emotions and when they lose, they still swear or speak loudly without hesitation.

Besides the competitors, the cheering team is always there to remind their friends or colleagues when they forget to "build houses, ask for people, give birth to soldiers". Some teams, after being eliminated, still stay to cheer for the team sitting next to them. The team captains also have each other's phone numbers to contact after the tournament, for the purpose of communication.

One gamer said that he had to wake up early this morning to clean the house, do the laundry, and feed the kids so that it would be easier to ask his wife to play all day. However, when entering the match, everyone left work and family behind to focus on their own world. Some wives called him 2 or 3 times but he ignored them and continued to play until the game was over.

Despite "Beloved Wife" calling, this gamer still "dances" his hands on the keyboard.

Vu Anh Duc, 1985, a member of the Socon team, from a construction company specializing in construction contractors, said that today his office is still working normally and the whole team has asked for leave to participate in the competition.

"I've been playing games since I was a student, more than ten years. The team is full of older members, who go to construction sites all day, so we only play together at night. Luckily, my wife and children are very supportive, because when I'm addicted to games, I don't gamble, go out with girls, or drink," he said. "I play, so I know. If my children play in the future, I'll support them. Just know how to balance life properly."

All respondents said that besides AOE, they rarely play other games, especially online games on computers or mobile games. Partly because of their busy work, and also because of their family and children, they can only play at the office or late at night. Therefore, other game genres are not suitable.

It's hard to know who is the employee and who is the manager when everyone is sitting in an internet cafe like this.

Team Cowell Asia, from a software outsourcing company for Japanese partners, participated in the tournament with 5 members, 4 main players and 1 reserve. They were accompanied by some friends and colleagues from the agency to cheer them on.

Mr. Vu Van Thanh, born in 1986, said that the company has 300 employees, of which 1/3 know how to play AOE. With a large number of gamers, the unit often organizes game tournaments in addition to other cultural and sports activities and always receives the participation of everyone, especially women in the agency.

"The company participates in the AOE Business Cup every year, and it's been three years now. Each person has to arrange their own time to play games. Sometimes it has a certain impact, but we have to find a way to balance family, work, and gaming."

When asked about the support of management staff, Mr. Thanh looked at a person sitting in the corner and said that he was the general director of his company, born in 1981 and currently a key member of the team.

"The AOE movement in the company is very strong, developing since the first day of establishment and is quite famous in the programming community. Many employees when interviewed for recruitment said that this was part of the reason they applied for the job," added Mr. Le Viet Ha, a member of the cheerleading team.

According to VNE