Blind Gamer
He will pwn j00.
Meet Brice Mellen. He's your average teen who likes to game, except he's blind and can beat your ass at console fighters.
Link To Article.
I'm reposting the article in case it goes away.
Reprinted without permission:
Blind Teen Amazes With Video-Game Skills
By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. - Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as "Mortal Kombat."
In that regard, the 17-year-old isn't much different from so many others his age.
Except for one thing: He's blind.
And as he easily dispatched foes who took him on recently at a Lincoln gaming center, the affable and smiling Mellen remained humble.
"I can't say that I'm a superpro," he said, working the controller like an extension of his body. "I can be beat."
Those bold enough to challenge him weren't so lucky. One by one, while playing "Soul Caliber 2," their video characters were decapitated, eviscerated and gutted without mercy by Mellen's on-screen alter ego.
"I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game.
Blind since birth when his optic nerve didn't connect because of Leber's disease, Mellen honed his video game skills over the years through patient and not-so-patient playing, memorizing key joystick operations and moves in certain games, asking lots of questions and paying particular attention to audio cues. He worked his way up from games such as "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid," onto the modern combat games.
"I guess I don't know how I do it, really," Mellen said, as he continued playing while facing away from the screen. "It's beyond me."
Mellen knows this much: He started playing at home when he was about 7.
"He enjoyed trying to play, but he wasn't very good at first," said his father, Larry Mellen. "But he just kept on trying. ... He's broken a lot of controllers."
When the question of broken controllers comes up, Mellen flashes a smile and just shrugs.
"I used to have quite a temper," he said. "Me and controllers didn't get along very well."
Now they get along just fine.
While playing "Soul Caliber 2," Mellen worked his way through the introductory screens with ease, knowing exactly what to click to start the game he wanted.
He rarely asked for help. Once the game started he didn't need any help.
"How do I move?" an exasperated opponent, Ryan O'Banion, asked during a battle in which his character is frozen in place.
"You can't," Mellen answered before finishing him off.
"That's what happens. It's why I don't play him," O'Banion said after his blood-spattered character's corpse vanishes from the screen.
How Mellen became so good is a mystery to his father.
"He just sat there and he tried and tried until he got it right," Larry Mellen said. "He didn't ever complain to me or anyone about how hard it was."
Mellen hangs out any chance he gets at the DogTags Gaming Center in Lincoln, which opened last month. Every now and then someone will come in and think he can easily beat the blind kid.
That attitude doesn't faze Mellen.
"I'll challenge them, maybe. If I feel like a challenge," he said, displaying an infectious confidence. "I freak people out by playing facing backwards."
There's nothing he likes better than playing video games, Mellen said.
He will be a senior in high school next year. After graduation, he plans to take a year off because he wants a break from school.
When he does go to college, Mellen wants to study — what else? — video-game design.
He will pwn j00.
Meet Brice Mellen. He's your average teen who likes to game, except he's blind and can beat your ass at console fighters.
Link To Article.
I'm reposting the article in case it goes away.
Reprinted without permission:
Blind Teen Amazes With Video-Game Skills
By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. - Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as "Mortal Kombat."
In that regard, the 17-year-old isn't much different from so many others his age.
Except for one thing: He's blind.
And as he easily dispatched foes who took him on recently at a Lincoln gaming center, the affable and smiling Mellen remained humble.
"I can't say that I'm a superpro," he said, working the controller like an extension of his body. "I can be beat."
Those bold enough to challenge him weren't so lucky. One by one, while playing "Soul Caliber 2," their video characters were decapitated, eviscerated and gutted without mercy by Mellen's on-screen alter ego.
"I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game.
Blind since birth when his optic nerve didn't connect because of Leber's disease, Mellen honed his video game skills over the years through patient and not-so-patient playing, memorizing key joystick operations and moves in certain games, asking lots of questions and paying particular attention to audio cues. He worked his way up from games such as "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid," onto the modern combat games.
"I guess I don't know how I do it, really," Mellen said, as he continued playing while facing away from the screen. "It's beyond me."
Mellen knows this much: He started playing at home when he was about 7.
"He enjoyed trying to play, but he wasn't very good at first," said his father, Larry Mellen. "But he just kept on trying. ... He's broken a lot of controllers."
When the question of broken controllers comes up, Mellen flashes a smile and just shrugs.
"I used to have quite a temper," he said. "Me and controllers didn't get along very well."
Now they get along just fine.
While playing "Soul Caliber 2," Mellen worked his way through the introductory screens with ease, knowing exactly what to click to start the game he wanted.
He rarely asked for help. Once the game started he didn't need any help.
"How do I move?" an exasperated opponent, Ryan O'Banion, asked during a battle in which his character is frozen in place.
"You can't," Mellen answered before finishing him off.
"That's what happens. It's why I don't play him," O'Banion said after his blood-spattered character's corpse vanishes from the screen.
How Mellen became so good is a mystery to his father.
"He just sat there and he tried and tried until he got it right," Larry Mellen said. "He didn't ever complain to me or anyone about how hard it was."
Mellen hangs out any chance he gets at the DogTags Gaming Center in Lincoln, which opened last month. Every now and then someone will come in and think he can easily beat the blind kid.
That attitude doesn't faze Mellen.
"I'll challenge them, maybe. If I feel like a challenge," he said, displaying an infectious confidence. "I freak people out by playing facing backwards."
There's nothing he likes better than playing video games, Mellen said.
He will be a senior in high school next year. After graduation, he plans to take a year off because he wants a break from school.
When he does go to college, Mellen wants to study — what else? — video-game design.
| Comments for: Blind Gamer (8)
|
||
|
Comment 11. I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I¡¯m quite sure I¡¯ll learn many new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next! Comment 12. The content of your blog is exactly what I needed, I like your blog, I sincerely hope that your blog a rapid increase in traffic density, which help promote your blog and we hope that your blog is being updated and placed can always be richer and more colorful. Comment Here is a world of louis vuitton outlet where you can find all kinds of new style and fashion Louis Vuitton bags. We really want to lead the trend and let our customer in the pursuit of luxury and fashion, satisfied the needs of customers. Comment Coach Factory Outlet has a big heart and a healthy appetite, and a wicked swing with a chainsaw. After a knee injury ended his career as a defensive lineman in college, Coach salvaged his Physical Education degree(barely)and landed a job teaching health at the local high school in his hometown of Savannah.We are proud to celebrate our sixth 'Best of Award of Excellence' from Wine Spectator for coach factory outlet online. Our Sommelier team works diligently to ensure you have some of the best wine values available. Comment Louis Vuitton Bags have become well known for the charming designs with a classic and feminine allure. High class and a strong preference for practical is another feature.Louis Vuitton outlet,welcome to buy urban louis vuitton on our online shop.discount price is our special offer, durability and high quality is our promise. Comment Coach is a leading American designer and maker of luxury lifestyle handbags and accessories.There is no doubt that here Coach Factory Outlet is the exact place you should visit.If you go shopping on the Coach Factory Online, you will be granted not only good products, great services and prompt replies, but also an overall pleasant experience. beats studio I simply wished to say thanks all over again. I do not know the things I would¡¯ve achieved in the absence of the entire hints documented by you regarding such question. Certainly was an absolute depressing crisis in my view, nevertheless considering your expert avenue you dealt with that forced me to jump over delight. Now i¡¯m grateful for the help as well as hope that you really know what an amazing job you were doing training some other people thru your webblog. I am sure you have never come across any of us. burberry handbags I precisely wished to thank you so much once again. I am not sure what I would¡¯ve sorted out without the actual information contributed by you concerning my industry. It was an absolute horrifying situation in my circumstances, nevertheless considering a new specialized mode you handled the issue took me to jump with happiness. Extremely thankful for the help and sincerely hope you realize what a great job you¡¯re providing instructing most people via a site. I know that you haven¡¯t come across all of us. |
||
