I hated the examination periods the most while I attended school. So it’s quite ironic that the occupation I chose was a game where I had to frequently take tests. A game is a delicate situation where one cannot relax for a single moment in every match, and where only the winner is remembered. Victory and defeat are determined by momentary decision-making and control. To be victorious in such a battle where I am defeated if I do not defeat my opponent, I cannot be negligent in a single game. And every moment felt like a battle.

Many preparations have to be made to win the war. On the battlefield, a soldier must inspect his helmet and rifle and determine the location and movement of the enemy. It is the same for a gamer; he must first analyze the battlefield – the map. Because the maps are different for every match, it is important how accurately and closely the new maps are understood. When the maps for the matches are decided, the basic routes that the computer takes are followed, and the terrain and natural features of the map are analyzed. Secondly, the opponent’s plays are analyzed. The time and direction of the opening scouting are calculated, and a mental note is made of whether he has an offensive style or a style that prefers a secure play, which tech-tree he tends to take, when he expands, and even the point in time when he uses guerilla attacks. When the opponent’s style is grasped like this, a strategy then is devised of a certain style to attack the opponent’s weakness.

So far this is purely in my mind’s eye. The strategy that has been constructed is then adjusted and completed through actual practice. The practice partner is designated with a certain playing style, and the practice is started. Naturally, winning is not easy, as the game is played after the strategy is told completely. During the first round, I will undergo the attack; the second time, I will defend the attack in one way or another; and the third time, if I prevent the attack, it will be a success. But in situations when this does not work, the next best way is brainstormed and practice is continued until the strategy is brought to completion.

Until the spring of 2001, our team consisted of but five people: Park Hyomin ComBi, Lee Jaehang SiR@SoNi~, two female progamers, and myself. It would not be an exaggeration if I said that my only practice partners were Park Hyomin and Lee Jaehang. Both were Zerg users, so whenever I had a match against a Protoss or a Terran, the situation was that I had to just about beg for practice from other players. To make matters worse, because they were not from the same team, there was a significant risk of the strategy being disclosed. And so I used a new method of practice – the team melee method.

Though one may be a progamer, it is impossible to to do well in all three races. Of course, there are random players, but even random players are bound to have a race that they are particularly good at. Consequently, a Zerg user cannot use Terran or Protoss as well as his own race. The Terran and Protoss users that I faced were each considered experts at least in their own races, and with the only Zerg teammates that I had, I could only request help from the two players.

It came to mind that instead of a single Zerg user controlling Terran, it would be more efficient to practice with two people controlling it. In the case of practicing with the team melee method, because two players are controlling one race, there is almost no lapse in resources and production, as well as control of units. When practicing with this method, one can almost never win during practice, no matter how good and original the strategy may be. It is very hectic, as one will produce units while the other uses guerilla attacks, and still the other will expand. While barely even scouting properly, when one sees the enemy base operating perfectly without a single break, the critical feeling is quite intense.

Losing like this again and again during practice, it is possible to accumulate diverse styles of attack. Naturally, there were those that worried that one could lose confidence from losing, but I rather liked it more. Practice matches are just practice matches. Though I lost during practice, I desired victory from the actual battle.

After practicing with the team melee method, I gained confidence when I entered a real match. I felt relieved with just the fact that I could scout comfortably. In addition, if I were to see an idle probe in the opponent’s base, I grew even more confident. Even though the opponent was trying hard, I could continue finding the opponent’s openings. “Hm, is he only that good? That not much.” No matter how well the opponent managed, I would only see the openings because I remembered the perfection from the team melee practices. Though I lost during practice, my confidence continued to grow even greater when the actual matches began. The reason why I was able to beat Park Yongwook Kingdom during the semifinals of the HanbitSoft Ongamenet Starleague was also because I had benefited greatly from the team melee method. By losing like this, I was learning how to win.

But even though I practiced with the team melee method, there were times when I could not unfold the game in the direction that I desired. If the opponent were to bring a completely unpredictable strategy or if I were not able to properly use my prepared strategy because of my mistakes, I would have to adapt to the situation in the middle of the game – that is the know-how of a game. How much experience one has and adapts appropriately to deal with the situation is also another variable towards victory. There were moments when I would use various strategies that were on my mind, even though I had not used them during practice.

This was when I entered the third Game-Q Starleague. I faced Bong Joongu SKELTON on the map New Remote Outpost. For a while now, there was a strategy that I thought I should use sometime. It was a strategy that I had never used during practice and only remained in my mind. Bong Joongu used Protoss, and was attacking with carriers. Carriers are always accompanied by observers, but I saw that if I could remove the observers, I could destroy the carriers quite easily. Though there was a small amount of gas on the map, the minerals were plenty, so I increased the number of barracks and steadily gathered marines. After sending the marines ahead as a meat shield, with a single scan I used optical flare to blind the four observers that were in the carriers’ perimeter, and eliminated the last observer with cloaked wraiths. Without the observers, the fleet of carriers were instantly destroyed by the cloaked wraiths.

Though it was a strategy that I had not once used, my thoughts were right on the mark. I remember that there had never been anyone that used optical flare on observers during a formal match until that moment. It was in fact a strategy only visualized and never used, even during practice, because of the dangers of disclosing the strategy. Though the risks were great, I was confident. It was a memorable match that even I compliment myself for such a ‘killer’ tactic.

In the game called Starcraft, each race and unit has various abilities. Of these abilities, it is the gamer’s part to decide which ones he will use and how he will use them. Ultimately, the victory or defeat of the game depends on which player uses a more perfect strategy and tactics. The beauty of strategy games are in such intense mind games.