Kyle Ksharp Miller
Professional Video Gamer
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
12:00 PM
Kyle "Ksharp" Miller of Team 3D has dominated the online game Counter-Strike (CS) for several years. He's a professional gamer, meaning he makes a living playing video games, competing in tournaments around the world.
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He was online Tuesday at 12 p.m. EST to discuss Counter-Strike and the upcoming World Cyber Games in Singapore. Team 3D is the defending CS champion.
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A transcript follows.
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Kyle Ksharp Miller: Hello everyone! Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who submitted a question and that I'll try to answer as many as I can :)
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Flushing, N.Y.: Hello Kyle, this is Victor Georgi, I'm 19 from NYC, and I have to admit, I'm probably one of your biggest fans, but I hardly show it! I didn't know about CS until a friend, Mike (no, not Mikey), showed me the game in another friend's house and the first team that I ever found out about in CS and he mentioned to me was -- "Team 3D" He happened to go to CPL and he couldn't believe how dominating 3D was and still is. I read, especially about you in a newspaper article, describing the Champs of CPL- 3D.cs and the first name I see is yours, Kyle Miller, a 17 year old CS pro ... ever since then, I've been hooked on CS. I haven't met you in person nor have I been to major tournaments (just online/occasional LAN), but I would love to meet you (just a dream). I have watched you play over the years, impressive performance after impressive performance, and all I have to say is, I want to be like Miller!
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Hi Victor :) Thanks for the support, I'm glad that you like the team so much. Since you live in New York you should try and come to web2zone(a lan center) in Manhattan - www.web2zone.com We are there a lot for larger tournaments and practices. You could see what its like and meet the whole team! :)
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washingtonpost.com: web2zone/
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Alexandria, Va.: Hi K --
Cheating -- or sometimes the accusation of cheating -- has ruined many FPS games (Unreal, CS) for me. At the pro and clan level this is less of an issue since tournaments are monitored and reputations are at stake, but for the average gamer playing in public forums, it can be incredibly frustrating.
How do you see this issue being handled in future FPS's? What are players saying about the issue? Have you heard if game producers are taking the cheating issue seriously?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: This is something that has plagued counter-strike(and most online games) since they started coming out. I think the game developers HAVE to take it seriously now. Valve(counter-strike creators) have an anti cheat system that they try to keep updated every so often. However, it seems like when the game's anti cheat system takes a step forward, the hackers take two. It is an expensive endeavor to try and stop all cheating happening in an online game. While you might have 1-5 people coding to stop hackers, you have 15000 people coding to cheat! Hopefully in the future generation of games there wont be any more issues like these.
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Bethesda, Md.: You are undoubtedly an amazing online gamer, but every superhero has a weakness. What are some of the computer/video games that you consider to be difficult or overly-challenging?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Great question. For me the strategy games like warcraft3/starcraft are difficult when playing against good online players. Something about all the micromanagement and resource control that I'm just not good at!
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Seattle, Wash. I'm an "older" online gamer whose reflexes are slowing. What can I do to compensate for the lack of finger speed in first-person shooters? Do you ever use a game pad? Why or why not?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I'd stick with the keyboard and mouse for any first person shooter. A gamepad just isn't accurate enough for this generation of games. If you find yourself slow on the trigger, then I would try positioning yourself in better spots and maybe trying to get the drop on some people! Speed isn't really an issue when they dont know what's comin' :)
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Washington, D.C.: I appreciate you taking time out of your day to answer questions.
I have always loved playing video games. Outside of being a tester, I never realized that one could make a living doing this. As a consequence of not knowing, I've gotten away from games in general and began focusing on trying to build a career on a separate path. How would you advise one on going about pursuing gaming as a living?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: If you're looking to compete at a high level, the first thing you need to do is find a game that has a lot of player/community support. There are only a handful of games that you could potentially make a living at playing. Counter-strike, Warcraft III, Quake3/4, Halo2(xbox). Hopefully you like one of those or your quest to play for a living just became a lot harder! You would need to invest a good amount of time in whichever game you picked, and you have to remember that most people have a several year head start! Most of the tournament information can be found online for big games like counter-strike/quake. Try to find a local one near you and test your skills vs other people that live close. If you're wiping the floor with them then maybe its time to look to some larger tournaments for some serious prizes! Good luck to everyone who wants to give it a shot :)
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Williamsburg, Va. : Hey Kyle,
It's Matt (stillingEr)... I saw this today and figured I'd throw you an easy one.
What does your team expect to happen in Singapore?
And how are you liking quake 4 so far?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Hey matt ! We've been practicing counter-strike source for about a week now. As a team we have been doing pretty well for not really having any experience playing it. Hopefully we can bring home the gold again in Singapore! As far as Quake4 goes.. I haven't had a chance to play it yet unfortunately. As soon as I get around to ordering it I'm sure that I'll be playing it quite a bit!
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Waldorf, Md.: Kyle,
Thanks for coming out. I am a old guy 44. I love playing flight sims. (Combat Type) It seems that this community or the games coming out are not moving as fast as other area of the gaming community. Do you play Flight Sims and do you think the gaming community is moving in the right direction toward this population of gamers? Can you recommend a game to try? The game can be computer, PS2 or Xbox. Thanks
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I used to play a lot of flight sims when I was younger so I can understand where you're coming from! As far as getting into the faster paced games, I would recommend half-life counter-strike(pc game) for anyone just starting to get into the whole online first person shooter arena. The game is fairly basic and loads of fun to play. It also has a huge community where someone just starting to play would be able to find other players around the same skill level to keep it fair and more interesting!
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Barnesville, Md.: When your playing days are over, is there a second career in game design? Wouldn't companies want the Ksharp name associated with their product?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: That would be something I'd definitely love to do. Designing a game has probably been something that every gamer has wanted to do since they started. I sure hope I would be able to accomplish that some day!
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Amateurville ...: I'm novice just learning to play online. I've read a lot of things and had a few questions. To participate in these tournaments, do you have to play on a console, or use a PC? How much does the connection method matter? If I have a FIOS connection, would that give me an edge in playing online?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: PC or XBOX both have their share of online games. The PC community is usually larger for each game besides halo2 for xbox. Connection plays a huge part in first person shooters played online. You want to have the lowest ping time to the servers you play on, so having a fast cable/dsl/fios line is really important!
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Potomac, Md.: Ksharp,
In the newspaper, it mentioned that you play World of Warcraft in your downtime. Do you do a lot of PvP (player vs player) there also, and any advice for us WoW addicts on how to play PvP?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I still play World of Warcraft, but not as much as I would like to! My advice to anyone who pvp's a lot in that game is to learn your class and how you stack up vs other classes. I personally play a rogue and I usually have a method or routine I use when fighting each class in the game! The forums at worldofwarcraft.com usually have some pretty good posts about what works and what doesn't vs other classes.
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Silver Spring, Md.: There were some excellent games of the past that never really got popular. Are there any that you really liked and wish were successes?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I think for me that would have to be the Sega Dreamcast. Its still one of my favorite systems even though every other system out there puts it to shame technically speaking. It has some really amazing ideas and games. Also I remember using it to surf the web on my tv and download new content for games way before the xbox/ps2 had such a thing. So even though its not really a game but a gaming system, it iss what I miss the most.
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Ashburn, Va.: Do you think gaming companies are starting to realize the importance of esports? I can see where the hardware companies are driving the dollars ... but what about the game companies (like Valve) themselves?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I certainly hope they are. A huge part of their gaming base is involved in some type of online team or league. Catering to those players that play the game on a highly competitive level can be what separates a good game from a great game.
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First time Online Gamer: Greetings
I'm an older player who just started playing his first MMO, City of Heroes, which I really liked. But lately, I noticed the developers going on a campaign of constant changes (nerfing) trying to bring the game (powers) into balance even one-year after the game was released. These constant changes really bother a lot of the players, including me, and sometimes I questioned why I keep playing a game that has changed so much. Is this "balance" a problem with other MMOs?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I've played just about every MMO since Ultima Online and yes all of them have "balance" issues. It can really be a bummer to come on to find your favorite weapon or ability changed to be half as useful as it was the day before. Unfortunately that's just how these games work. World of Warcraft has done a pretty good job of keeping things in balance without too many changes or "nerfs". However its just the nature of the beast, MMO games are constantly updating and changing. Not much you can do besides post on some forums and hope for the best!
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Alexandria, Va.: The article on you in the Post talks about your work and travel a lot, but I'm interested to know what kind of social life you have outside of CS. Do you go to parties, hang out with friends in the northern Virginia area, go to D.C., or do you typically stay low-key?
washingtonpost.com:
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I actually have quite a bit of free time! So yes I try to do as much as I can outside of the house as inside. However I can usually have just as much fun staying in at night as I can going out. I've met a ton of really nice people since I've moved here and I try to spend as much time as I can hanging out with them :)
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Annandale, Va.: What is your favorite game besides Counter-Strike? (stupid question but who cares ...)
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Well right now I've been playing some final fantasy 7. Its a pretty old game but I really love the entire final fantasy series. Online RPG's like World of Warcraft are a lot of fun too!
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Dallas, Tex.: Hey Sharp ... I've followed you throughout your CS career and I've seen you go through many great teams. I was wondering however, what team besides 3D did you have the most fun with?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: My favorite team before 3D would have been X3. We had a lot of fun playing together and we sort of took a different approach to the game back then. Nowadays its a lot more business, but back then it was just about the fun :)
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Liverpool, England: Hey Kyle, I'm from the U.K. I've been playing CS for three years and competing for 1 and a 1/2 of those.
Recently I have been offered a place in a LAN team but they are asking for 15 British pounds each month from every member to go towards the server box. They are quite a well-known clan and have been together for three years, do you think it's a good idea for me to pay the money or find a clan that doesn't demand money from their players.
Thanks.
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Lots of teams in the US all pitch in to buy a server to play/practice on. 15 pounds sounds like a lot, but things are probably a little different over in the UK. Some teams get free servers from hosting companies, maybe you could look into one of those if you don't feel like paying that much a month.
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Silver Spring, Md.: It seems the PC games have slowed. I am a PC-only gamer simply because the controls are more precise. What platforms do you recommend for FPS games?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Many years ago I would have said Goldeneye for Nintendo 64 was the best first person shooter and consoles were the way to play. A lot has changed since then mostly due to the Internet and the ease of finding people to play with online. Also like you said, the controls on PC are just better for aiming and playing first person shooters!
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Santa Clara, Calif.: What does your typical day consist of?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: Usually start the day by reading my favorite Web sites that have cool/interesting stories or gaming news. Spend a lot of time talking to friends online and maybe playing a game or two. Practice for counter-strike starts at 7 est so I usually kill time till then. Usually spend time with my girlfriend and watch some tv during the day as well!
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Austin, Tex.: Where do you HOPE to see professional gaming in 10 years?
Kyle Ksharp Miller: I would hope to see it get as big as the x games and be televised to millions of people across the globe! It would be fun to be able to turn on the television and watch your favorite counter-strike players playing a match or maybe watching some warcraft after dinner. Hopefully gaming gets that at big in the future!
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Kyle Ksharp Miller: Thank you to everyone who participated or read the chat today. I had a great time and tried to answer as many as I could. We have an "Ask 3D" section on our Web site where we respond to many questions like these every day! So check out www.team3d.net and if you didn't get your question answered here or you didn't get get to submit one you can do it there! Goodbye!
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washingtonpost.com: TEAM3D
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