Introduction, Continued

It's hardly shocking that gamers would leap from energy drinks to more powerful substances to gain an advantage or heighten the experience. It's also not that shocking that people would turn to prescription medications to do so as well. Consider that the U.S. Air Force uses amphetamines, commonly known as Dexedrine or "go-pills," to help pilots stay sharp on short rest. It seems that whether you're flying an F-16 or just a Microsoft flight simulator version of one, go-pills can help.

But what effect will drugs like methylphenidates and nootropics have on professional video game competitions? Will such performance enhancing narcotics create a "steroid era" similar to that of Major League Baseball?

A person within the professional gaming industry, who wished to remain anonymous, says that so-called performance enhancing drugs are becoming a concern. "You hear stories about this from time to time," according to this individual. "I haven't seen anything first hand, but there have been a lot of whispers about kids who come into Halo 2 tournaments, for example, high on Ritalin.

"There have been a couple of isolated incidents in major competitions where thousands of dollars are stake, but those cases didn't involve performance enhancers." The source, who has intimate knowledge of the eSports world, described a recent case where a professional gamer who was rumored have a crystal methamphetamine problem showed up at a major competition with all of the tell-tale signs of serious meth addiction.

Even with such incidents, event promoters and professional gaming organizations have not instituted a testing policy. As a result, professional gaming could indeed enter its own "steroid era" before it becomes accepted as a true sport in its own right. "They don't allow drugs, but do they test for them? No, absolutely not," the source says. "As the money gets bigger at these events, and as drugs like Ritalin become more prevalent at LAN party competitions, this will probably become a greater problem."

Over the next few weeks, TwitchGuru will explore gaming's new drug culture and examine how it will affect both social LAN parties and professional gaming competitions. In the first part of this ongoing series, Aaron McKenna, managing editor Tom's Hardware Guide UK & Ireland, explores a local LAN party to find out what drugs are the choice of today's gamers.