T&T’s prolific gamer Casper defeating depression with PUBG
Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Debe teenager Nishad Rampersad battled depression during the COVID pandemic but turned to an unexpected outlet—gaming—to cope with his struggles. Now he is reaping the rewards of his persistence, earning US dollars for being T&T’s prolific gamer named Casper.
Back then, Rampersad spent up to 12 hours a day on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), an online battle royale game where players compete to be the last person standing.
Speaking to Guardian Media on Tuesday after returning from a regional tournament in Brazil where he played with a North American team, Rampersad, 19, reflected on his journey, saying gaming was an avenue to deal with his mental health.
For parents who are wary about gaming, Rampersad said, “I definitely don’t think people should be against gaming. It has benefits. You can make money from it through streaming, though I don’t stream.”
Saying gaming can become a productive and even rewarding outlet, Rampersad added, “It can help you distract yourself from certain things. When you’re playing a game and you’re competitive with it, you don’t have time to think about stressful things. You focus on the game and improving. That is what helped me cope.”
He said as he honed his skills, he realised that gaming could take him places. “Next year, I will do better and re-qualify to go to other countries. That is the goal for now. I knew it would happen eventually,” he said, referring to the opportunity to represent T&T at an international level.
Despite narrowly missing out on advancing further in the tournament, his outlook was positive. “We missed the qualifying spot by two places, 20 points, but we are practising and we will do better next year,” he said.
He emphasised that gaming can be a productive outlet if managed well, but it is not for everyone. “Some children don’t have the ability to balance their time and responsibilities, but if your child has shown you that he has a future in this, you should give him a chance. You never know what they could be doing without the restrictions,” Rampersad said.
Meanwhile, his mother Nichelle and father, Anil, a former media photographer, said while their son’s success in gaming was undeniable, his path wasn’t always supported.
“I didn’t like gaming, and I was against it. I always used to look at what he was doing and thought he was wasting time,” Nichelle said.
“When COVID hit, my son couldn’t handle online school, and he got fed up. He started getting depressed, and that’s when the game became a getaway from the stress. I didn’t expect him to be on that game so much, but it started helping him.”
She explained how her perspective shifted as she saw the positive effect gaming had on her son. “My son was home, not doing anything wrong. He was focused, and the game was helping him cope,” she said.
“I realised it wasn’t just about fun for him. He started winning regional tournaments, and I saw the benefits.”
He remained diligent with his schoolwork, passing all his subjects, and later started to read for his degree in Computer Science.
Rampersad’s father said he, too, had doubts about gaming.
“To be honest, I didn’t think my son would go places because of gaming,” he admitted. “When he was 17, he got an opportunity to go to Abu Dhabi, but because of how young he was, we didn’t allow him to go.”
However, seeing his son succeed in Brazil changed his outlook.
“Gaming can do a lot for youths and even adults. Sometimes, you’re frustrated; you have all kinds of issues—work issues, home issues, financial issues—and the best thing is to take it out in the game.”
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