SD Gaming talked with Tim Wijers. Tim is, together with six other people, the board of The Reality. The moment we walk to our appointment we see inside as well as outside the hall a cozy activity. In total, eight hundred and sixty people sit down to play games, go to the catering to enjoy their lunch, join a FUN game or stretch their legs and there is victory celebrated all around. The atmosphere is good and the spirits are high. It is a gentle and warm welcome.

Who is Tim Wijers? We let Tim introduces himself:

"I work at Cooler Master and am mainly engaged in graphic development and European eSports events. I am a board member of The Reality and work here as a volunteer since 2008. The Reality was founded in 2006 by Marcus Gommers. " (Unfortunately, Marcus suddenly deceased on October 12, 2014 for which our sincere condolences. ed.) 

Q: How did The Reality started?

"Well, it began as a club of friends, about 20 to 30 men, under the name "Illusion" the first and second LAN was organized. Now we are ten years later and the crew consists of about fifty volunteers. The credo of The Reality is simple: We can organize this for everyone, gamers and Fun-visitors, competitions and fun, but we want to have fun on all this ourselves too. Creating atmosphere is extremely important for us. When players leave, the volunteers often hear a "thanks for a great weekend!" and that's what you want to achieve. Everyone a great weekend."

Tim continues enthusiastically: "The Reality is built quietly over the years, we do not need to grow quickly, in fact we are rather cautious and prefer to gradually improve and innovate, and thus keep the organization healthy. Consider for example Northcom in Germany: they took a big step toward the combination of a grant and an event but it meant bankruptcy in the end rather than growth."

Q: But Tim, what steps have The Reality made to get to where she is now?

"We seek to test the best step by step how something works. Hence also the presence of two sponsor booths. Recently introduced and success in the years to something further. New this year is the proprietary streaming, a mix of images at the location of the room and the tournament, interspersed with short streams of the battles themselves. In previous year’s time laps were used. "(Wherein broadcast every 15 seconds, the static image is refreshed, red.)

"Since 2006 was the first biannual event; In recent years appeared to 2x per year not to be feasible, the trouble to make everything perfect was actually just a little too much. Eventually, The Reality is a party with a group of friends where everyone can join in if you register on time; registrations are already being put open from June / July. The Reality is also looking for a unique formula, different from the rest, this includes separate rest rooms, showers, in addition to other enhancements. "

Q: Where's The Reality then so unique?

"Every year we have a theme (now Medic) and various activities such as the wheel of fortune, a raffle and a hex Athlon with a stretcher race. Just for fun. And in the evening we see the fun players back in the bar. That mix between competition and fun is indeed quite difficult. The competitives sit entirely in their own world, focused on their games and opponents; is there somewhere a door open, the light bothers them. The players fun though find everything okay, as long as it is fun. Doors open for some fresh air? No problem! We obviously understand the differences, and we are also looking for opportunities to next year again differently, to do better. Maybe the players fun night play and competitives day? Who knows..."

Q: Where are you now, after ten years?

"After 10 years, a number of tasks to be outsourced (eg catering) and this year more players available than last year: 860! With even more registrations, which could unfortunately not be honored. "The Reality exists now a fairly large group of friends of about 50 people, from all kind and of all ages. Helping hands are welcome, but mostly you will see the group expand directly from close friends and acquaintances near to the original group."

Q: And what does the yearly preparations look like?

"Prior to the event, which begins in October on Friday afternoon there are months of intense work and dedication to keep everything together and working to get passed." (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wV7eGd0bV8 ed.) "The core group which meet at a regular base is the board, a group of about seven people aged 23 to 48 years. The characteristic of The Reality is not so much due to the Frisian culture but the culture of its own friendship group. This is quite unique." 

And there is a strong commitment towards the group. Residing in Nijmegen Tim comes every month in Drachten in people of The Reality. Is not a meeting, it is for the "socializing".

Q: And when it's over ............. afterparty?

"Sunday is cleaned collectively phased out, chat and Monday everyone is tired and then happy it's over! But Tuesday begins the itch all over again. Too bad it's already over! Evaluation is done by opening a topic on the site where members of the LAN may publish their opinions and tips - where we stay completely out of the discussion - and after a month we evaluated all. Then each goes his own way (for the event) and in June / July the thread will be picked up again for the next annual event. Obviously people see each other more often, especially the groups that mutually collaborate closely on The Reality, but even then it's not about that! "

Q: The Reality still has plans to work with other parties in the future?

"Yes, we also look to further cooperation to further disseminate the gaming industry. For example, recently we spoke with FoM about the possibilities of cooperation. The atmosphere of the talks is as pleasant and open to experience. A match for that matter. "

Q: Finally, any advice for players who want to be pro?

"Yes," said Tim, as he continued: "stay as a player with your feet on the ground, do not feel too big. And again: practice, practice and practice and make sure you can be scouted. And enter a a team so that you develop faster and better. "

Tim concludes: "It would be nice if we could get rid of that stereotype about gamers, nerds and game-addict introverted adolescents for once and forever. Those days are long gone, as it has ever been. Those are just exceptions. Come as an outsider just once to a LAN, you have to experience it and see it yourself! It always comes just to gaming fun. "

And with these wise words we say goodbye to a nice guy. We wish him and The Reality all the best and we look back with pleasure on a good conversation.