The legendary "Duct-Taped Gamer" gets his own documentary
A PC gamer hangs from the ceiling with a slice of pizza and a screen in front of him. Whether as a meme or the original, not only gamers know the image. Now the story of the legendary "duct-taped gamer" is coming to the big screen.
The year is 2003 and a picture of a LAN party is doing the rounds. Why is that? It's an ordinary round of gamers among friends. With one exception: one of the Counter-Strike players is hanging from a beam on the ceiling. Wrapped in duct tape, he plays to himself. A slice of pizza lies next to the keyboard. No picture from the good old days of gamer forums is more famous than this shot. 17 years later, the legend of Drew Purvis, the name of the gamer taped to the ceiling, is being honoured with a documentary.
There is only one "Duct-Taped Gamer"
Over and over again, people claim to be the author of the photo. Or at least to have taken part in the legendary LAN party. But none of these voices can prove what really happened back then. Suddenly, a thread from a Counter-Strike team makes the rounds and sheds some light on the matter. A small group of US gamers from Mason, Michigan, are playing Counter-Strike doggedly. The location changes, the host is always someone else from the group. "It was just a normal LAN party, a normal evening," says Brian Schaeffer, a gamer from the Counter-Strike gang.
In 2002, alongside Counter-Strike, Command & Conquer Renegade and Red Alert 2 or Battlefield 1942 - for all those with a powerful computer - are also in. However, the girls and boys from Mason are fully focussed on Counter-Strike. After three or four hours of playing, Tyler, another gamer in the group, suggests that someone could be taped to the ceiling beam and play from there. To create a bit more space for the others, you think?
No, the whole thing was just for fun. "Why?" Tyler is often asked at this point in the story. He answers with the same counter-question he asked at the LAN party: "Why not?"
The image becomes a film
The infamous picture shows the second attempt. The first tape hammock caused such severe pressure marks on the sides of Drew Purvis, the man of the hour, that his friends had to cut him from the ceiling again after just ten minutes. The troupe doesn't give up, cushions Drew with pillows and tapes him up again. A shelf, a table and a PC later, Drew is eating pizza and playing Counter-Strike with his friends - hanging from the ceiling, just like the pros do.
The same crew that was at the LAN party back then is now planning a documentary - to tell "the true story behind one of the internet's most famous photos". The YouTube teaser entitled "Internet Legends: Duct-Taped Gamer" does not yet reveal a release date, but promises plenty of suspense, humour and background stories. Is the whole thing exaggerated? Of course it is. Does the photo and the story behind it really need a documentary? No.
And yet I'm still going to watch the film.
"Why?", you ask yourself.
Why not?
When I'm not stuffing my face with sweets, you'll catch me running around in the gym hall. I’m a passionate floorball player and coach. On rainy days, I tinker with my homebuilt PCs, robots or other gadgets. Music is always my trusted companion. I also enjoy tackling hilly terrain on my road bike and criss-crossing the country on my cross-country skis.