GameGirl

There was a patch for Call of Duty 4 on Friday where they updated a number of things, but they added one thing in particular that I find very interesting. Some of you COD4 players may or may not have noticed the new "N0M4D" controls setting. If you noticed it, you may be confused as to why or what exactly this is for. I'm here to explain. :)

My friend Randy "N0M4D" Fitzgerald, a professional Rainbow Six Vegas player at MLG, is a big fan of the Call of Duty series. So much so that he was a beta tester for Call of Duty 4, but he had a few suggestions for the developers. See, Randy isn't just an average player. He was born with a rare muscle & joint disability called Arthrogryposis which restricts the use of his arms and legs. So therefore... He actually plays entirely with his mouth. YES, his mouth. He uses a slightly modified controller where the buttons are actually switched around so that he is able to play most games completely with his mouth, lips and face. But... with COD4 he needed a few things adjusted and seeing as how the people over at Infinity Ward are such amazing people, they took his suggestions into consideration. They were able to work with N0M4D and come up with a control scheme that works for him and EVEN named the control scheme after him. It just shows how awesome those guys are. The fact that they would take the time to make sure that not even ONE of their players is unable to enjoy their amazing games is truly admirable.

I was able to ask N0M4D a few questions about the patch and do a quick interview with him so you guys can learn a little bit more about him and how he got into gaming because he's such an awesome and interesting person. :) Read on to see the rest. Britini: What exactly did the "N0M4D" control scheme change?
Randy: Well, in Call of Duty 3, (developed by Treyarch) there was an option in the control settings where instead of holding down the left trigger to sight your gun, you could just tap the left trigger to sight your gun, then tap again to lower it. Before the patch, holding down the left trigger, while running, aiming, and shooting was impossible for me and limited me to the shotgun. I was getting a bit tired of being called a "noob" for having to use the shotgun all the time. So the setting was adjusted so I was able to just tap the left trigger once to be able to sight my gun, and then tap again to lower it..

Britini: Ahhh... I see. So the patch has now enabled you to enjoy the game 100%?
Randy: Most definately. Infinity Ward is very cool for doing this. I can't thank them enough.

Britini: Awesome. Well, before we get started, can you tell me where you're from and how old you are.
Randy: I'm 28 from Rochester, Minnesota.

Britini: So what first got you into gaming or when was your first experience with a video game?
Randy: I was three years old when I first played a video game. My dad used to go bowling with his friends at the local bowling alley. They had an arcade in the back. I remember seeing PacMan, Galaga, Donkey Kong, and Frogger all lined up next to each other. My dad and his friends played the games wasting all their quarters. And I said, "I want to play!" My dad thought for a second, he pulled up one of the pinball machines up to the PacMan machine, took me out of my chair and laid me down on my stomach on top of the pinball machine and I controlled the PacMan joystick with my chin.

Britini: Wow, thats so awesome. So you've been gaming ever since that arcade experience?
Randy: Definitely. Back in the early 1980s, you could buy these miniature arcade games... I owned one of these. They're about a foot tall...6" wide. There were little Arcade machines like these for every popular game in an actual Arcade. They were very expensive, I believe they were $60.00 each. And for the early 1980s, that was really expensive.

Britini: That's cool, I've never seen those before :) So what other consoles have you played and were all the controllers modified too? Or how were you able to play?
Randy: I eventually moved on to Atari. I didn't need any special equipment to play that. When the first Nintendo came out, that's when I started to become creative. Basically, I thought to myself, "Ok, I need to be able to get those two buttons (A and B) and control the D-pad simultaneously." I knew I wouldn't be quick enough to move the D-pad with my chin and then quickly hit the other buttons. It took me about 5 minutes to realize that if I turned the controller clockwise 90 degrees to where the D-pad is facing up and the other buttons facing down, I could control the D-pad with my upper lip, and the A and B buttons with my chin.

Britini: That's so creative. :) So those were the only systems you had?
Randy: Are you kidding? lol. I currently own a Nintendo, super Nintendo, Sega master system, Sega genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Sega dreamcast, Turbo Grafix 16, Turbo Duo, Atari jaguar, Panasonic 3DO, PS1, PS2, Gamecube, and ofcourse Xbox 360 and original Xbox.

Britini: Wow, that's quite the collection. and you are able to play all those without difficulty?
Randy: Ya, I can play them all with no problems.

Britini: So you didn't have to mod any of those controllers? Just your Xbox one?
Randy: Ya. Before Xbox360, the company MadCatz came out with programmable controllers. This generation of gaming, they discontinued those controllers and therefore I had to design my own controller which was made by the people at llamma.com


Britini: So what are your favorite games besides Rainbow Six and COD4 as of right now?
Randy: Street Fighter, Burnout Paradise, Dead or Alive 4, and right now I'm sooooo addicted to Lost Odyssey.

Britini: So, what got you into competitive gaming?
Randy: I guess I had a lot of encouragement from many people in the industry. And I knew competitive gaming was going to be the next sport. People were constantly telling me how good I was and the clan I was in chose me as one of the four to compete last year. I honestly don't think I'm the greatest player in the world, but I do enjoy being someone others can look up to. I believe a part of me needs this in my life. There is a saying, "Every man needs to have his competition." Just because I have a disability, doesn't make this statement untrue for me either. To me, this is a very competitive sport and it's something that was missing from my life.

Britini: So what's your team name? and how well has your team done at an MLG?
Randy: My team's name is First Strike and the best we've done at an event is 17th place at MLG Charlotte of 2007.

Britini: So what are your goals for this season?
Randy: Our number one goal is to be a team that stands out. Not for our diversity, but because of our good sportsmanship and attitude. Of course our other goal is winning and landing that elusive sponsorship. Since MLG will be aired on ESPN this season, we are hoping the industry realizes that a team like us needs to be there.

Britini: Can you tell me about your clan EOG and how it got started.
Randy: EOG stands for Equal Opportunity Gaming. It was founded by my friend Matthew Kasharian and I. We decided to name our clan this because we were previously in another clan that did not simply believe in Co-ed teams. Meaning girls teaming up with the guys. Matt and I were very disgusted with their attitudes about that and we wanted a clan where everyone is welcome no matter your age, race, gender, or disability. We looked for a clan with these traits and one didn't exist until we started one. We have a few females in our Clan right now and I know they are feeling a bit outnumbered. So if any of you girls out there are looking to join a clan, please don't hesitate to check out our website www.equalgamers.com . We are going to be launching a new web site next weekend, but for now feel free to sign up on our forums.

Britini: Well, we'll definitely have to check that out :) I'm gonna try to wrap this up real quick. But is there anything that you would like to say to any other disabled gamers out there?
Randy: The only thing I can say to other disabled gamers, is never give up. There are people out there willing to listen to you and that are willing to help you. One of my goals from being a pro gamer, is to be noticed so I can be an ambassador for other fellow disabled gamers. That way, we can make the gaming industry realize that there are other minorities other than gender and race.



I want to thank Randy for taking the time to talk to me and let me do this write up (not to mention, staying up and letting me interview him at 4am lol). He really is an awesome guy and is very open to any questions any of you might want to add to this. Just leave it in a comment, and I'm sure he'll answer. Also, if you're going to be attending any MLG events this year, be sure to stop by and say hi to him.
To see N0M4D on Fox News and to understand exactly how he plays, watch this video