Gamers in Quarantine

Date: March to June 2020
Project : Gamers in Quarantine
Organization: Fondation des Gardiens virtuels (FGV)
Type : Volunteer

Although I’m the president of the FGV, I mainly acted as support for the project manager (Benjamin Denis) and the programming director (Gabriel Darveau), as well as looking after the technical side of the Discord server.

Gamers en Quarantaine (GeQ) was a virtual meeting place, a place for coaching and entertainment, set up by various individuals from the video game and esports scene in Quebec.

Following the announcement of the lockdown imposed on educational institutions on May 13, 2020, the Virtual Guardians Foundation has taken the initiative to create a forum around e-sports, in order to keep young male and female gamers non-isolated as well as to share informational, educational and entertainment content on the topic of video games. The project, which was only supposed to last a few weeks, will last for the entire duration of the confinement, and will be completed gradually at the end of summer 2020.

Gamers were invited to join the Gamers in Quarantine Discord channel to take part in recreational tournaments, spontaneous games, training sessions, lectures and discussions on a variety of video game and e-sport topics. Esports coaches, moderators and even speakers are available on the server to oversee the event and enrich participants’ experience.

Access to the server and its resources was free and open to all.

Our Gamers en Quarantaines initiative was part of the #PlayApartTogether movement, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Over 800 participants

Over 40 volunteers (trainers, coaches, teachers, etc.)

Over 300 activities organized (workshops, training courses, tournaments, budding geniuses, etc.).

How to build a community in less than 7 days?

On March 13, 2020, Quebec Premier François Legault announced, among other things, the closure of schools, CEGEPs and universities for a two-week period. Five days later, the “www.gamersenquarantaine.ca” website was launched.

The goal? Create a user-friendly platform for the many gamers now forced to stay at home. The founders aim to provide a friendly, collaborative and recreational environment for video game enthusiasts by offering training sessions on several of the most popular games (Overwatch, Rocket League, League of Legends, Fortnite and many others), recreational tournaments, real-time educational content and news from the Quebec e-sports scene.

At the same time, a Discord server is created. Discord is a free software program that allows people to get together in virtual lounges and chat, either in person or in writing. The purpose of the Discord server is to enable players to find each other easily and create impromptu teams of like-minded players.

On the Discord server, you’ll also find a wealth of relevant information, such as activity schedules, upcoming tournaments, collaborators and profiles of the volunteers involved.

Within 24 hours of the discord’s creation, the first Overwatch training session was held, bringing together more than 30 Overwatch enthusiasts, who listened attentively to the judicious advice of Célian, Overwatch head coach at the Académie d’esports de Montréal. Célian explains the importance of resource management and the judicious use of the skills of the game’s various heroes. We learn more about the need for teamwork, coordination and the benefits of effective communication.

On March 21, the first tournament is broadcast live. This is the League of Legends college and university tournament. Five university and college teams from the metropolitan area answered the call. Following a round robin format, the teams battled it out for over 5 hours, before Université de Montréal was crowned champion of this friendly tournament. The tournament is broadcast in real time on Twitch, a well-known streaming platform that hosts various content creators showcasing their work in real time. With over 50 spectators in attendance at all times, the tournament, held over less than three days, was a resounding success.

During the week of March 23, Gamers in Quarantine offers various recreational tournaments on games such as Overwatch, League of Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege. Fans will have the chance to attend lectures by professional NHL players, learn more about working as a game tester at Ubisoft, as well as a panel discussion with professors on the relationship between education and esports.

In less than 10 days, Gamers in Quarantine has gone from an idea to a community offering incredible opportunities for discussion and learning.