A local gamer is doing her part in pushing competitive gaming on mobiles, writes Aiman Maulana
WHEN you think of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), chances are that you’d be thinking of games like DotA 2 or League of Legends.
Do you know that there’s a similar game for smartphones called Vainglory? It’s one of the top downloaded mobile games in recent times and a Malaysian is sitting at the highest tier in the game. She’s known to many gamers as Tatya Ann.
EARLY START TO GAMING
Tatya, whose real name is Nur Raihan Mohd Dise, 25, was born and raised in Petaling Jaya. She had her first experience in gaming at 7, when her sister taught her to play Diablo on the PC and Final Fantasy VIII on the PlayStation.
She credits the stories in role-playing games for improving her vocabulary and creative capabilities. As gaming was her favourite hobby even then, she had an easier time bonding with people in school. She remembers talking with her friends on developing plot points in certain games and helping a friend out in games like Diablo.
Raihan recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and is working in her father’s company, organising and evaluating its business functions to maintain an efficient and productive operation.
She also has plans for a gaming-related project in the future but declined to give details.
Her nickname Tatya Ann was coined in 2012. She was really into a mobile game called Dark Legends and it required a vampire-esque name. That’s when the name “Tatya” stuck. Later, she added “Ann” to her nickname because people had trouble pronouncing her nickname. She chose “Ann” because it’s a short name derived from Raihan.
VAINGLORY HUNTER
Vainglory is Raihan’s favourite mobile game at the moment. Surprisingly, she has not played other MOBA games.
Vainglory was created by Super Evil Megacorp, whose people used to work for EA, Blizzard, and League of Legends. Hence the similarity of the game to League of Legends.
When she first started playing this game in December 2014, Raihan was blown away by the visuals. “I didn’t think games like this were possible on smartphones, that they were only limited to other, stronger platforms. The idea of being able to play Vainglory wherever I went encouraged me to keep playing,” she said.
She started to play as a Jungler, focusing on subduing neutral creeps for gold and experience. Eventually, she tried different roles such as a Roamer, who frequently moves from lane to lane to disrupt the enemies’ advances or ambush them with the help of teammates. During the most recent competitive season on Vainglory, she managed to reach the highest skill tier possible in the game, which is Vainglorious. This does not mean that she is the best Vainglory player but being able to reach the highest skill tier is a feat in itself.
While Vainglory’s community is huge, Raihan believes that many in the country are still unaware of the game. In 2015, she worked with SEMC to organise small in-game events in Southeast Asia. She has also been streaming her Vainglory gameplays on Mobcrush, which is like Twitch but specifically for mobile games.
Now, she’s working with Vain.MY for the Vainglory Malaysia League, which hosts online tournaments for the local community.
Her most recent accomplishment, with regards to Vainglory locally, was a Malaysian Vainglory Gathering in Petaling Jaya, where over 150 participants attended. She has plans to raise awareness on the game, as she feels that many Malaysians, especially gaming enthusiasts, are missing out on it. Since there’s a huge number of DotA 2 and League of Legends players, they will find the same joy playing Vainglory.
FUTURE PLANS
Being a streamer and an avid gamer on the mobile platform, some may be wondering why hasn’t she ventured into PC or console gaming Raihan is mainly on mobile games for convenience. She can game anywhere she wants and she doesn’t have to worry about pricey hardware for PC gaming upgrades.
Of course, it’s not to say that she’ll never move to other platforms. She is looking to build her own custom gaming PC and has been eyeing Overwatch.
She plans on streaming that game on Twitch along with other popular competitive games in the market and it’s just a matter of time before she jumps to a different platform.
Raihan is now a part of a North American-based eSports organisation Hammer eSports. Hammer eSports started out as a homegrown competitive organisation for Vainglory and has since expanded to games like Clash of Clans, Critical Ops, and Overwatch. Raihan is a streamer and content creator for Hammer eSports, specifically focusing on Vainglory.
One of the challenges she faces as a gamer is that people tend to underestimate her due to her gender. It’s even worse during streams as some people pop up on the screen and harass her. She shrugs it off and continues to prove why a gamer should not be held accountable by gender by mercilessly crushing her opponents.
Raihan has her mind set on being a content creator and streamer for games. She also wants to encourage the growth of competitive mobile gaming, not only in the country but also the world.
As major eSports organisations like Fnatic and Team Secret are focusing on Vainglory for competitive gaming, she is all the more fired-up to achieve this goal.
JILL OF ALL TRADES
GAMER Nur Raihan Mohd Dise reveals more about herself:
WHAT IS YOUR WORK PHILOSOPHY?
Do what you love, giving your best, as effort that lacks passion shows.
WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO (ROLE MODEL) AND WHY?
My Dad. He worked on his business ground up, always believing in himself and never faltering through struggles.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT GAMING?
I love watching movies. If I’m not doing that, I’ll go out cafe hunting.
IF YOU WERE NOT INTO GAMING, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
I would be in fashion.
DO YOU HAVE A DREAM JOB OR DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU ARE LIVING YOUR DREAM?
I do have a dream job or an idea of it, but currently gaming is what I am passionate about.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THOSE WHO PICK GAMING FOR A CAREER?
Effort, humility, patience and confidence are essential to succeed in this line of work. It’s fun, but never take it lightly and never act high and mighty.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?
As the Jack (or Jill!) of all trades who is passionate about gaming and fashion, and also as the girl who sings while playing games!