On the Inside with vVv Gaming

Well folks…We’re back! After a small delay in posting, we’re back in action! We’re going to bring you more interviews, more news, more guides than ever before! And man do we have a way to kick it off. With the first of hopefully a handful of interviews with the leaders of some of the largest gaming communities and sites out there!

First up is Lord Jerith, founder and owner of vVv Gaming!

Apollo: Alright why not start off by introducing yourself.

LordJerith: I’m Jerry “LordJerith” Prochazka, the owner of vVv Gaming.  I’m a 39-year old consultant from Chicago, IL. I have eight years experience as a business research consultant on human capital projects with Accenture. I also have special expertise in the design, implementation and analysis of human capital research, particularly in the analysis of quantitative data, as well as qualitative data analysis.  I have proven expertise in award application processes.  Before working with Accenture, I had 12 years experience in nuclear engineering as a propulsion plant watch supervisor and nuclear training specialist for the United States Navy.  I received a BS with Distinction from Old Dominion University and attended graduate school in the Master of the Arts Program for Social Science (MAPSS) at the University of Chicago.

Apollo: Alright so vVv is one of the largest gaming communities out there, one of the “Old School” communities if you will.  How long has vVv been around?

LJ: : vVv Gaming emerged onto the competitive circuit in 2007 with its explosive Gears of War team, vVv Vision

Apollo: Hmm, so what did you think of Visions 2nd place finish at Orlando.

LJ: I think they did great.  The team has great chemistry and is exciting to watch.  We expect great things from them in 2010.

Apollo: So, vVv already has one of the top Gears teams on the circuit, have you ever thought of trying to recruit one of the top Halo teams?

LJ: Halo is a complicated puzzle.  It all comes down to the infamous “Rule #8” of Major League Gaming.  Let me explain further. The rule states: “Players and Coaches may not appear on a Main Stage Station with sponsor insignia that is not approved by MLG or conflicts with MLG sponsors.  Players and Coaches may be asked to wear MLG apparel during Main Stage activity.” So, we have been very hesitant, as teams are instructed to take off their sponsors clothes, and put on MLG branded clothes. However, This year with the combine, we feel a bit better about giving Halo 3 teams an opportunity to represent and be sponsored by vVv Gaming. This year with the combine, we feel a bit better about giving Halo 3 teams an opportunity to represent and be sponsored by vVv Gaming : vVv Sector 7 for GB, vVv Supernatural for GB and the Combine, along with vVv Ultimate for the combine.

Apollo: So speaking about the combines, what are your thoughts on them? Good Idea? Bad? Great for advertising?

LJ: I think they are a very good idea.  I think MLG, in order to try to get consistency, artificially stacks the deck for its pro players.  The combine provides teams with an opportunity to compete with less of the deck stacked against them.  I understand that sponsors want consistency, but MLG should invest in training coaches and teams to work through problems.  vVv Gaming tries.

Apollo: So lets talk about vVv for a minute,  what made you think to create a gaming community and did you think you would be so successful?

LJ: When I bought the XBOX 360 in November of 2005, I took a close look at XBL, and thought, “this will change everything.”  So, while playing CoD2 with a small clan, I realized that this could grow much larger.  People will want an identity and community in this chaotic space. It wasn’t until Gears released in 2006, however,  that we had an opportunity to break into the competitive scene.

Apollo: So, did you attend Orlando?

LJ: No, I did not.  I never attend the nationals.

Apollo: Is there any reason why you do not attend nationals?

LJ: I spent several years in Orlando, Fl for Naval Nuclear Propulsion School.  So, I know the city pretty well. As far as why not nationals, it is the end of the season, and from a recruiting standpoint, we know things change pretty significantly at the end of the season, and turnout is usually the lowest.

Apollo: So do you play competitively at all?

LJ: Not at all. We do not allow staff to compete. I coach players in Gears behind the scene. There are exceptions (i.e. our Halo3 manager vVv Solid, but our basic rule is staff does not compete, but they can coach.

Apollo: Simple enough, other than Gears, what other games do you play online?

LJ: : I finally just found the time to finish Assassin’s Creed 2.  I play games like Dragon Age, Aion, Total War series and King Arthur.

Apollo: So, we all know that vVv has a large standing in MLG and on the Xbox 360, but what about the other consoles? or the other leagues like the WCG

LJ: I try not to say much, but I think our accomplishments speak for themselves, check out our wiki page. We had the bronze metal winner representing team USA for Guitar Hero at the World Cyber Games World National Finals in Chengdu, China last year, if that helps give some idea. Not to mention our FIFA player, vVv Michs, also represented Team USA for FIFA in China. On the PC side, our Call of Duty teams, Left for Dead teams and Counter-Strike: Source teams all finish top 4 in their divisions.

Apollo: With all you guys have done, surely you get many teams wanting to represent vVv, how do you determine which teams will and which teams will not

LJ: It depends.  We turn down 88% of all applications, and We turn down 95% of team applications. Mostly we want teams that understand the business side or are opening to learn about the business side. Many teams make the mistake of wanting money from vVv Gaming, without explaining how it will benefit vVv Gaming. Most teams clearly do not think through their worth.  They will say, we will represent vVv Gaming to our fullest.” We always ask, exactly what does that mean?
The problem is that many teams feel that being skilled means something, and quite frankly, that is just the tip of the iceberg.  We often refer them to this video: http://www.vvv-gaming.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=34305 , also, saying “we will get vVv known.”  We just show them our list of accomplishments and say, “more than we are?” How would you do this?

Apollo: Would you like to give any shout outs out before we wrap it up here?

LJ: Yeah actually I would, I want to give a shout out to vVv Vision, Steel Series, KontrolFreek, our awesome staff and amazing community.

Alright guys there you have it. Know an awsome site? Want to see an interview with the owner? Submit the site link and why they should be interviewed to me at Apollo@mlginsider.com or InsiderApollo on AOL. Lets here them!

Insider sits down with vVv Konvict

Well readers…..You have asked and you are receiving! We received a large amount of mail over the past few weeks asking for Gears of War interviews and I’m bringing you the first of many Gears of War articles! I sat down with Konvict from vVv Vision! He’s a great coach and a really nice guy, with a lot to say! That’s enough from me though, now onto him!

Apollo: Why not start off by introducing yourself

Konvict: Well my name is Kristopher Burger, I’m from Old Bridge Nj, and  currently coach one of the top GoW2 Teams in the nation. that team is vVv Vision formally known as Type-Z Vision during Orlando where the team took 2nd at the National Championships along with hefty prize of $20,000. We are also the newest professional team to be added to vVv-Gaming where the Vision saga first Started.

Apollo: So most everyone pretty much knows the roles of a Halo 3 Coach, but what does a Gears of War Coach do?

Konvict: Basically we have the same job as the Halo coaches just scaled down a little, We do basic weapon timing, call outs when they come in handy the most and also keeping the team in line and pumped up which is the most important part of being a coach. We also do other various tasks on counting shots left in power weapons and also keeping them informed with the time remaining in ink clouds etc.

Apollo: So what first got you involved in MLG?

Konvict: What first got me into MLG was Rainbow Six Vegas & Gears of War back in 07, I liked playing RB6, but I enjoyed watching the excitement in Gears.

Apollo: What first got me into MLG was Rainbow Six Vegas & Gears of War back in 07, I liked playing RB6, but I enjoyed watching the excitement in Gears.

Konvict: I never played them on the circuit, but I competed in online tournaments, local LAN’s and of course Gamebattles

Apollo: So what do you think about the rumor that they are going to remove Gears of War 2 off the circuit

Konvict: Personally, I don’t believe it will. It was a rumor that was started due too a lack of teams showing up. I believe if they keep decreasing the turnout at each event this season it will be removed. As for this year I believe it will stay on and this may be the final year we see this on the Pro Circuit, I believe it will do good though, there has been a drastic rise from the GoW community lately and that’s a good sign.

Apollo: So in Halo we have like Slayers, Support, Objective players, are equitant in Gears or how do you characterize players?

Konvict: Well in gears we have Host, which is usually the heart of the team since the Game revolves around host basically, but sometimes its not always true since on LAN settings the gameplay is quite different, that depends on a lot of factors though. We have power weapon players who their skill varies with our small slew of power weapons we have. We have our basic support and slayer players, but they are host most of the time they fit into that category.

Apollo: What are some of those factors?

Konvict: Well the game is very different when you transition from LAN to Online and vice versa, its a very host based game, and well who ever has the better connection usually wins. On LAN though the game is much smoother and you can actually play the game with the correct settings and not have to glitch your Xbox every time you have to play the game.( For most of you Halo players you may not know that Gears has had a lot of title updates from the original release causing it too have different smokes between LAN and online due too the update being server side).

Apollo: So, what is your most memorable moment from Orlando?

Konvict: My most memorable moment during the event was the feature station match against Legacy and My team playing for top 4, we were so hyped up and loud it was crazy especially when the games was down to the wire. It was one of the best matches at the event by far and I will always remember it.

Apollo: What was your feeling when you realized that you were in the top 2?

Konvict: From my perspective I was just like wow, I was excited and happy I had fun and even though I coached I was part of GoW history coming from the 13th seed in the event and placing second we had host over 1 team the whole event. This will be a memory I will never forget.

Apollo: So, if you could change 1 thing from Orlando what would it be?

Konvict: : What we did right before the championship match, there was a 30-10 minute intermission before the last match we decided to go outside and get a break, but we should’ve warmed up and got ready for the match like THE NSAN3Z were we wasted valuable time and I believe that cost us 1st place and the title of National Champions, we were on fire until we took that short break we lost our adrenaline and momentum.

Apollo: So, I know it has little to do with you, but what are your thoughts on the MLG Combines?

Konvict: My thoughts on the combines that they released this year are definitely a good idea it is a good start for Amateur teams trying to make a name for themselves along with good publicity for MLG, also a good way to get more people to experience a “mini-event” that’s close to home.

Apollo: Do you think there should be any changes to the Gears circuit in the 2010 season?

Konvict: I think there should be little tweaks that are fixable that would make the events a little more comfortable for us. Little things such as more seating, a better mainstage maybe more projectors, along with possibly some more content and coverage for Gears, we just want to be recognized nothing special.

Apollo: : You’ll defiantly be seeing a lot more Gears content on this site! I promise you that

Konvict: : Thanks, we hope to grow our community with you guys!