I got back from MLG Meadowlands today, and while I was there I chilled with a lot of friends I haven't seen in a while, but I also met some really awesome people. There was one person in particular, who I simply thought was amazing. His name is Randy, aka N0M4D. Placing 17th place in Rainbow Six with his team at their very first tournament last event, they were hoping to do better at this one.
I'm not sure what place they got, but I think he said they got to 4th round. I didn't get to talk to him much, but I did manage to give him one of Dtoid's coveted "Also Cocks" t-shirts and score a picture with him.
Nomad was born with a rare muscle and joint disorder called Arthrogryposis that has confined him to a wheelchair and left him without the use of his arms or legs. While this disorder might have kept many others in similar positions away from the heated atmosphere of the professional gaming world, Nomad came to Charlotte and proved that he could compete with the top players on the circuit. He truly inspired the players around him, not only by being a talented member of his team, but also through his upbeat personality and friendly nature
Like it says in this article, by just watching his screen you can't even notice the difference between him and his teammates. With his slightly modded controller, it's simply amazing to watch him play. What's most impressive is that not only can he play completely with his mouth, but he's actually great. He is much better than most people could ever be at Rainbow Six.
Along with gaming, he's also passionate about graphic design. I believe he said he either has a job in graphic design or is working on having that to be his career. I got a small clip of him playing before I got kicked out from behind the ropes. Sorry it's not the best, but I got what I could.
Nice see see more dtoid shirts out on people! Hopefully he will check out the site if he is not on here already!
Personally being disabled or not doesn't matter to me, as long as you can game and have the passion that we all have then that's all I want to know! But people who over come 'obsticles' to participate in their passion is another thing. Well done to him :-D
Awwwwwwwwww! What a nice blog you wrote about me Britini! *big hugs*And thank you all for the very nice comments! This is my first time on Destructoid.com. But I promise you all, I will become a regular. :) Sharpless, I didn't really interpret the shirt at all, or give it much thought haha. When you have five extremely beautiful girls, *winks at Britini* asking you to wear a shirt that says, "Cocks" on it, it is a little hard to refuse haha. Naw, the truth is, I promised them I would wear the shirt. And for those that know me, I never break a promise. I just couldn't wear it the day they gave it to me because I was still playing with my team and had to wear my team shirt. But when I showed up the next day wearing the shirt they gave me, the smile on Britini's face definitely made it all worth it! I came back to the venue just to say goodbye to Britini and to keep my promise by wearing the shirt. :)
Hmm thats pretty impressive.
I wonder if he has ever played against this guy.....cuz ya know....their both disabled which makes gaming even more challenging.
Not only are you incredibly beautiful, but you care for those suffering physically or mentally in a way that most of us cannot comprehend. As the sibling of an autistic woman and an advocate of autism awareness, I find this heartwarming.
Bleep, that was an interesting video. The problem with his setup is that with the computer assisted software, he cannot press 2 buttons at once. Thats the problem with what they call Sip and Puff techology. To participate on a professional level, with that technology, he couldn't keep up. That's why I designed my own setup. I discovered my own way of playing at age 3. Although I can't use my hands, I have alot more movement in the rest of my body than him. Muscular Atrophy is degenerative and terminal. His movement will keep decreasing until he passes away unfortunately. :(
I could design a much better setup for him most likely. I have designed a hands-free controller but cannot afford the patent yet. Again, hes much more severely disabled than me. So for what he can do, he deserves props.
When I was 3 years old, my dad used to take me to the
local bowling alley with his buddies. I saw them
playing Pac-Man one day and told my dad, "I wanna try!"
So my dad pulled a pinball machine in front of the Pac
-Man machine, and layed me on my stomach on the table.
I used my chin to control the joystick. I'd go every
weekend with my dad and got better and better. My dad
entered me in a local Pac-Man tournament when I was 4.
I ended up winning. When Nintendo came out, all my
friends had one. It took me about 15 minutes to figure
out if I turned the controller sideways, I could use my
chin for d-pad and my top lip for the A and B buttons.
I have evolved with the gaming industry ever since. It's just recently I decided to no longer hide behind Online Gaming. I was afraid I'd be treated differently. But the majority of the gaming community really suprised me and has been very supportive.
@dark_inchworm
It's not me feeling bad for him or anything, it's me just being simply amazed at how he can completely play with his mouth. So impressive.
on a side not... My sister is mentally handicap and I have helped her all my life too. :) along with Mrs Violence who's sister is mentally handicap as well. If I could get my sister to not hold the controller upside down >.<
N0M4D Welcome to Dtoid my good sir! You are more then welcome here! I wish you luck on the future of your gaming, you have shown a dedication that cannot be ignored, and could be an inspiration to others like yourself. Hold your head high and be proud man I salute you as do the rest of us here I'm sure.
Apart from my arse kissing to you, what other games do you play man? I am curious as to how far you have taken your gaming!
good man! hah, I unfortunately do not have a 360 I am more of a pc gamer at heart. However I have played Rainbow Six Vegas on the PC and I Must say that is a damn fun game, I have not tried its multiplayer but I have heard good things.
N0M4D, Please add me to your friends list! I absolutley love DOA4 , and Gears, (I have 20 XBLA titles) and I REALLY wanna play with someone not using their hands (cuz I suck)!!
Ceareal, my gamertag : Snaileb
Also, I swear I suck but I'll kick your ass in DOA!!
N0M4D sounds fecking awsome guy! go you! and its nice to see the gaming community (on the whole) being a supportive community! any one who likes dead or alive 4 is a winnar in my books! kasumi FTW!
"I literally just tried playing Killer Instinct and Halo 2 with my mouth. I think I choked trying to do a combobreaker. My throat hurts. I'm still intrigued as to how the fuck you manage to play. Its so compelling. "
Quoted because that paragraph is compressed awesome.
lol
has it ever gotten a little over whelming with attention at how you play games? like, bothersome that every turn it's "omfg, he plays with his mouth??!?!!?!?! he roxxors, ftw!"
and how did you get a modded 360 controller for mouthular functions? i want one. lol :D
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Contest:
7:09 PM on 06.17.2007
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Also I just watched that "Ron & Me" video?
WTF!
awesome.
I like how his shirt looks like it just says "cocks." How did he interpret the shirt? I mean, was it just like, "Hey here's a shirt about cocks"?
But seriously, I wanna give that guy a high five. I really do.
Personally being disabled or not doesn't matter to me, as long as you can game and have the passion that we all have then that's all I want to know! But people who over come 'obsticles' to participate in their passion is another thing. Well done to him :-D
Also, cocks ftw
I wonder if he has ever played against this guy.....cuz ya know....their both disabled which makes gaming even more challenging.
how did you get into gaming nomad?
Not only are you incredibly beautiful, but you care for those suffering physically or mentally in a way that most of us cannot comprehend. As the sibling of an autistic woman and an advocate of autism awareness, I find this heartwarming.
Danke.
I could design a much better setup for him most likely. I have designed a hands-free controller but cannot afford the patent yet. Again, hes much more severely disabled than me. So for what he can do, he deserves props.
When I was 3 years old, my dad used to take me to the
local bowling alley with his buddies. I saw them
playing Pac-Man one day and told my dad, "I wanna try!"
So my dad pulled a pinball machine in front of the Pac
-Man machine, and layed me on my stomach on the table.
I used my chin to control the joystick. I'd go every
weekend with my dad and got better and better. My dad
entered me in a local Pac-Man tournament when I was 4.
I ended up winning. When Nintendo came out, all my
friends had one. It took me about 15 minutes to figure
out if I turned the controller sideways, I could use my
chin for d-pad and my top lip for the A and B buttons.
I have evolved with the gaming industry ever since. It's just recently I decided to no longer hide behind Online Gaming. I was afraid I'd be treated differently. But the majority of the gaming community really suprised me and has been very supportive.
NO..HANDS..
It's not me feeling bad for him or anything, it's me just being simply amazed at how he can completely play with his mouth. So impressive.
on a side not... My sister is mentally handicap and I have helped her all my life too. :) along with Mrs Violence who's sister is mentally handicap as well. If I could get my sister to not hold the controller upside down >.<
so funny :P
we played gears with him a lot last night.
(his friends list might be full tho, he's kind of popular) :P
Apart from my arse kissing to you, what other games do you play man? I am curious as to how far you have taken your gaming!
I play anything and everything. Right now I play mostly R6V, DOA4, and Shadowrun. (I rape at those 3 hehe.)
Ceareal, my gamertag : Snaileb
Also, I swear I suck but I'll kick your ass in DOA!!
You are an inspiration, and you got to meet Britini...I am jealous
Yeah, she's awesome isn't she!? <3 Britini FTW!
Quoted because that paragraph is compressed awesome.
has it ever gotten a little over whelming with attention at how you play games? like, bothersome that every turn it's "omfg, he plays with his mouth??!?!!?!?! he roxxors, ftw!"
and how did you get a modded 360 controller for mouthular functions? i want one. lol :D
i agree with nex too. this charming thing makes me feel like an idiot, and that i should give up with females. lol :P