IT all started with Maplestory when Adeline Foki stepped into the world of online games.
It is also thanks to her brother and online gaming friends that she was introduced to Dota 2, credited them with having played a huge role in pursuing the gaming world.
Fast-forward to the present, the 27-year-old Adeline has brought honour to Sarawak as an integral member of Grills Gaming, clinching gold at the esteemed Global Esports Games 2023 (GEG 2023) for the Women’s Dota 2 Category.
It was a proud achievement for Malaysia, as the team secured a resounding victory at the Riyadh event, adding a glorious chapter to the nation’s esports history.
In an exclusive interview with NEW SARAWAK TRIBUNE, Adeline spoke at length about her experience as a female gamer, advice for newcomers, prospects for Sarawak girl gamers and beyond.
The gaming journey
According to Adeline, Dota 2 is her all time favourite. Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve, introduced in 2013.
Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map.
She said Dota 2 is the only game she has played competitively,but has also explored other genres like First Person Shooter (FPS) games such as Counter Strike Go (CSGO) and Valorant. However due to her bad motion sickness, she wasn’t able to enjoy such genres of games.
Talking about her gaming style, Adeline acknowledged her ‘try-hard’ approach, citing her Maplestory days where she aspired to be the first to reach the highest level for a newly released hero.
In Maplestory, players travel the ‘Maple World’, defeating monsters (an object in the game) and developing their characters’ skills and abilities. In the game, players can also interact with others in many ways and form guilds to interact with each other.
“I would grind 24/7 without sleep just to achieve that. My transition into Dota 2 is similar, but it (Dota 2) requires a lot of time and experience before you can master the game, an average of eight to 10 years for players to reach the highest level.
“At first, I was just playing the game for fun, but since I am naturally competitive, instead of just playing, I would watch professional games, and always try harder every game to play better.
“With this ambition, I met and made a lot of friends and players who share the same passion,” she said.
Playing with these people side by side over the years had helped Adeline to grow as a player and experience the best of Dota 2.
Prior to joining Grills Gaming Malaysia Team last year, she was also in a team called Team Soymilk, an Australian Dota 2 team and won first place in many Australian Dota 2 tournaments.
Unique challenges, women’s representation and inclusivity
It’s a known fact that gaming is a heavily male-dominated platform. As a female gamer, Adeline admitted that female gamers faced these challenges occasionally.
Her problem mainly lies with communication, which she avoids by just not using the microphone in games at all.
“It definitely hinders the quality of my own game, especially when I play position 4, which is the support role, where communication, leading and engaging plays a vital role.
“Playing public games as a player is naturally toxic and as a female player, it’s extra toxic,” she said.
While this issue is not easily remedied, she expressed hope that future female gamers may not have to grapple with this challenge.
Adeline said such problems are nonexistent in a five player female team, which she is very grateful for.
“I’m very grateful to be able to play the game to our full potential without any extra drama,” she said.
Her proudest gaming achievement centers around her ability to transcend her comfort zone and assume the role of captain, leading her team to victory in GEG 2023.
“I am also quite surprised on how well I am staying calm and collected. I am proud of myself to be able to find many good qualities in myself in a competitive team environment,” she added.
On women representation in the gaming industry, she said there are many opportunities created from organisations all over the world for female gamers to join and compete in tournaments.
“I feel good, for sure, I felt like it was something I needed when I was playing Dota 2 all those years, where female Dota 2 players were before not active in the competitive scene.
“My team and I are very grateful for each and every chance we get to compete with other very talented female teams,” she said.
The current online gaming community, according to Adeline, is definitely getting better by trying to build a more inclusive space.
“I believe there are many people worldwide who work hard every day to build an inclusive space.
“The gaming community will be growing to become a truly wonderful place in the years to come.”
Balancing passion and advice
While other professional gamers sacrificed a lot to be tops, which is a high risk high reward career, Adeline only started to joining tournaments in July 2023 and the invitation to join Grills Gaming just chanced upon her.
“And I gracefully accepted it. I would say I am really lucky and in the right place at the right time.
“I think when it comes to gaming, it has to be a game you really want to play to the point you’re addicted to it, and naturally you’ll make time to play the game,” she said.
For girls who are just getting started in the world of gaming, Adeline encouraged them to pursue it.
“I started drawing as a hobby when I played maplestory, I made a career as a freelance illustrator and started playing games for fun. Just doing what I love from start to the end.
“A lot of my other gamer friends stream or make YouTube videos while they play games too. If that’s what you think you’d like, it can speed up the process to be successful doing what you love.
“The point is, you have to love or enjoy it to actually start somewhere in this gaming world,” she said.
Memorable gaming moment
Adeline said gaming is beyond playing a game, as the community itself is really huge. Through the gaming community, she has veeb able to forge friendships from her years of playing games and calling them her best friends.
“I can’t live without them,” she said, adding the most rewarding part in gaming is they are able to share the same passion, hobbies and memories.
“Our love and friendship has beenbuilt, some I met when I was 15, with most of them known to each other for six to eight years.
“We practically grew up together and we talked and shared so much. I managed to meet them in real life as we grew older. These bonds are extremely rewarding and I will remember all the good times for a very long time,” she said.
Future of gaming
The gaming industry, she said, will continue to rapidly grow, with new games introduced, new generations of gamers, thus becoming more competitive.
She expressed hope that games such as Dota 2, the first of MOBA games will continue thriving with the newer games.
Unlike other games, Adeline said Dota 2 does not attract a lot of young blood, which is quite saddening but she believes the loyalty of the Dota 2 community will continue to grow.
“With that said, I hope to see a new PC game that can stand next to League of Legends and Dota 2. I understand that it’s more favourable to release games that are built in mobile phones because it generates more players but as a gamer who has been playing on PCs since the beginning of time, I wish there’s more attention for our side too,” she said.
