3:00 PM MST: Updated the 20ID website multiple times….I am horrible at HTML

4:00 PM MST: Time to eat some Lasagna after wrecking some noobs in scrims. In fact, I think I am going to eat lasagna and scrim at the same time. This is a dangerous maneuver and should only be tried if you are a professional lasagna eater.

2:00 PM MST: Left work early to play some video games and to participate in an xfire event later today. Time to get to scrimming. We are trying to prepare for an xfire tournament on Friday, another tournament that same night, and a LAN event in the next coming weeks.

1:00 PM MST: Holy crap, looks like the WSVG is no more. That sucks. They still owe us money. Boo this man! Another example of gaming trying to move ahead to quickly.

12:00 PM MST: Lunchtime! I usually work out on my lunch break. I am lucky enough to have a fitness center and an indoor pool here at work. I am going to swim about 20 laps!

10:00 AM MST: So 20ID has about 9-12 people going to a LAN event in Indianapolis this Friday. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into getting that many people to LAN events. We have to get Hotel rooms, make sure that everyone ahs rides from the airport, get all the equipment there in one piece, and make sure that all of our sponsor needs are taken care of during the LAN. This is a majority of what I work on during the day for my team. Phone calls or emails here and there, all while trying to do my day job as well.

11:00 AM MST: I just found out that we may have a new hardware sponsor for our team. Pretty exciting stuff! I just looked into the pricing on sending 5 people to brazil for the Brazilian CPL…all I can say is Yikes!

9:00 AM MST: I was a little hungry, so I decided to get something to eat. Now, here in NM, we have a delicious type of food that you can eat called a disaster burrito. Picture this if you can: a 1.5 breakfast burrito, cover that with curly fries, cover that with red or green chile, and cover that with an abundance of cheese. It’s a monster. Here is the fun part…that is a ¼ Disaster burrito. You can get these things four times as large as the one I have here.

9:30 AM MST: I was only able to finish half the burrito. Also, I probably just negated all positive attributes that the Kagome had given me this morning.

7:00 AM MST: Woke up this morning after a late night of playing some ET:QW, maybe a little too much. The game has some minor balance issues, but it’s fun to play and I like the fact that they reward teamwork as opposed to individual K/D ratios.

7:45 AM MST: All Showered up and getting ready for work. I work in the healthcare industry. I work on the nerd side of things, so I have to dress using the business casual dress code. I have no idea who came up with the business casual guidelines, but they should be punched in the head repeatedly. What’s the point? If you are going to half ass getting dressed up, why not just make it casual?

8:10 AM MST: Got to work, pretty exciting. I am not a coffee person. I live in New Mexico, and it’s hot outside. I can’t justify drinking a beverage in the morning that is just going to make me hotter. What I have been drinking are these:Kagome .Some of them taste like poop, but it’s all your servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. This is important for someone that sits on his ass all night wrecking people (or getting wrecked).

Hello, my name is Jim Derrick and I am going to be blogging a day in the life of a professional gamer today. I play for and manage a team called 20ID and over the last 2 years we have grown into one of the most competitive teams in gaming.

Recruitment: There are things about recruiting that are overlooked by a lot of teams but are just as important as talent. The first thing I look at past talent is how easy they are to get along with. Having a solid relationship with your fellow players is as important as everyone gelling in game given the amount of time everyone spends together. I've done my best to try to recruit players with infectious personalities (and are also good) because of the atmosphere they can help to create. Your players, prospective players, etc. will enjoy hanging out with your team if you have guys/girls that have the right kinds of personalities.
Do your homework with potential players: if you are looking for a guy to be on 5 nights a week but the best player in the game is a guy that only plays on the weekends, you will run into problems if you can't balance talent with availability. Is your potential recruit under the age of 18 with strict parents who aren't happy with the amount of time he/she is putting on the computer? Is your potential recruit married with a baby on the way? Is your potential recruit about to start a new job? The more you know about a player, the better decisions you can make (and the more pitfalls you can avoid). The process of recruiting and building up a championship team is extremely rewarding (and intellectually stimulating).

09/09/07 - My sisters birthday today: Happy Birthday Tracy. So let me tell you a bit about the opportunities we (Team HOT) have had as a team so you can see some of the tangible rewards of professional gaming:

1. We (9 of us) were flown out to San Francisco, put up in the Hilton for four days, and each given a wad of cash ($500, and yes it was wadded up), all for free. We spent the next few days being taped for a TV show where we competed for a prize purse of $50,000. We also spent an evening on a yacht that toured the bay, stopping right outside of Pac Bell (right when Barry Bonds homered), being served free drinks and catered meals.

2. We (6 of us) were flown out to Hollywood, put up in a hotel there, and played in a winner take all tournament for $30,000 that was hosted by the lead singer of P.O.D. and was also shown on TV. All of the matches were recorded on a lot where other TV shows were being recorded as well. Oh, and yes, all of this was free as well.

3. We (5 of us) won an online tournament and were flown back out to San Francisco, put up at a hotel on the Wharf, and were guests at an afterhours party where we were a featured part of the party. Attendees had 5 minutes to prevent us from beating them and would win shirts if they could. All of this was free as well.

4. Team HOT has sent a team (and occassionally multiple teams) to San Jose, Dallas, back to San Jose, and back to Dallas for four separate tournaments including GeForce LAN 3, CPL, Showdown LAN in San Jose, and Quakecon. We are attending Showdown LAN in Indianapolis in less than a week as well. Almost all of the cost has been incurred by Team HOT, so players pay for little (food).

5. All of this has taken place in the last year. Its been a fun and rewarding year for Team HOT and a great time for players and teams to get into competitive gaming.