Welcome to Xu Zijun's Portfolio!

The beginning

It all started from late 2016, after my PSLE. As a reward for my consistent grades, I was given a mobile phone. There was not much to do, so I cycle through some popular mobile games such as angry birds and fruit ninja, in hope of feeding my will to study through the break. There was this very annoying ad in particular, that repeated around 4 times in every 5 ads. It read Mobile Legends, and was said to be the mobile version of League of Legends. I was genuinely annoyed by the advertisement, and thought that since the game have so much ads, it probably spent a lot of budget in advertisements, and probably did not have a lot of budget to make a proper game. In wanting to find some way to criticise the game, I downloaded the game, and started learning.

The first steps

I joined in when the game was in late season 1. There was too much to learn, and too less time to push up my rank. I ended up in elite I at the end of the season, and did not get the skin. I thought of making a youtube channel about Mobile Legends, but in fear of being criticised of being a video game addict by my parents, I placed away my thought. Then, as Layla's model is getting changed, the classic skin was given out for free to all players accounts back then. Then, I reached Grandmaster rank in season 2, gotten my first seasonal skin. I managed to win Gord's Christmas skin, in the facebook giveaway. I sworn my loyalty to the game in my heart, then imagined a future self thinking that what I did was childish. Then, the countdown to 2017 ended.

The first lessons

Mid 2017, League of Legends sent a lawsuit suing Mobile legends for saying that it is the mobile version of League of Legends, and copied some important aspects of the game. I did not want to leave the game. I had sworn loyalty to it. I played a bit more of the game during this difficult time to support it. Some famous mobile legends players also stood up and said that they want to game to live. Some players also said how they play both games, and hope that both games and exist in harmony. In the end, Mobile Legends simply changed the interface UI, and the lawsuit is over, with no penalty on Mobile Legends. That was the first time I felt the power of a community, and that was when I learnt team spirit.

The crowd

Perhaps they was annoyed by the ad. Perhaps their friends recommended the game to them. Perhaps its just because the lawsuit ended. A huge stream of players entered the game, only to find that it's not that bad. Some became youtubers, some may left the game, but after the crowd entered, the match queueing time reduced drastically, from close to 2 minutes to around 2 seconds here in Singapore. These players may be selfish, some may be verbal abusive, but as these players stuff the rank queue, I struggled to rank out of these crowds, and started to meet annoying people. Then, at secondary 1, one of my friend achieved the 2000th match in just 3 months, while my account is still at its 400th match. I realised how loose some parents control their kids, but I had no right to judge.

The decisions

Not having the luxury to play ~2000 matches of mobile legends within just a few months, I study how to play better. From the addition of health in health regen to the reduction of damage in the form of armor, from movement speed limits to ability reaction speed, I was self-taught every single mechanic. From counters, to countered, from jungle route, to hero specialties, I memorised these mechanics faster than the periodic table. Then, I failed my chemistry level test. I failed my chemistry level test. Never have I thought I would fail something that simple, yet I kind of expected it. I left the game.

Nostalgia

It's been a while. I never really thought that would be my last match. It's only recently when I see the advertisements again. I entered the game, and entered my account information. I got my password correct on my first try. The times have changed, the playstyles have changed. It was no longer fun in my opinion. As I was about to leave the game, everything flooded back. From the first advertisement of its type to when I swore my loyalty, from when I learnt its mechanics, to why I left the game. I have decided to relearn the new way of playing, so I did. I achieved a higher rank than what I have previously achieved. Playing mobile legends is no longer to have fun. Playing mobile legends is now my favourite pastime, and I do it professionally. It's no longer about having fun. It's no longer about the fame. It's no other than maintaining account, and I will continue to do it until the game ends.

Games may have their own workers to fix bugs, but I have blueprints of contents. Even before their first uploads of new concepts, I already predicted what would happen, and I had never been wrong.