A Different Kind of Battlefield: 66-Year-Old War Vet Plays Online Strategy Games at Doctor’s Behest

Illustration / Photo banner by Bea Bisuña

By Jasper “Captain Art” Arcalas & Gabby Del Rosario

“Take your best shot. I will.”

That was the case for Cris Montinola, a former military sniper with the Philippine Army who last held his killer rifle and peeped at his scope decades ago. Now, Montinola is still known as a “sniper” — not in the bloody field of war — but in the virtual realm of gaming.

Montinola served as a sniper for seven years and fought several wars — the last being in Saudi Arabia against Muslim rebels. But never in Montinola’s military life had he fought harder than with this kind of enemy: trauma.

“One bullet… one life… Makikita mo sasabog ulo niya and then you sleep with that,” Montinola shared his experience in the battlefield.

“[Noong] una [talaga] hirap na hirap ako. Pero at some point nawala [na rin ang] konsensya ko; parang wala na lang [ang pagpatay ng tao]. Pero [nang] tumagal sabi ko sa sarili ko [ay] ayaw ko na,” Monitola admitted that it took him much courage to surrender his beloved rifle.

He went on to work as a manager for different companies abroad and traveled around the world. But the ghosts of his past still haunted him and the stress of war was still apparent in his life.

Montinola returned to the Philippines and kept himself distracted by watching DVDs all day. It seemed to put off the stress of war but soon enough he became fed up with his meager routine.

In search of a pastime, Monitola found himself in front of the computer screen playing light video games and eventually venturing into a more complex and competitive one.

In 2010, he suffered a heart attack. Montinola, then 61, started his morning routine of jogging to strengthen his cardiovascular resistance. At that time, the sexagenarian was also experiencing stress and depression.

“Marami akong iniisip noon… ganoon lang siguro kapag ganoon na ang age marami nang iniisip,” Montila shared.

Montinola consulted his doctor and made an unconventional patient’s question.

“I told the doctor that I was playing online games, Dota 2, a strategic game. Then he [asked] me how I feel. I just said it helped me a lot [especially with my] stress problem. Masaya ako kapag naglalaro ako kako,” Montinola said.

For Montinola’s case, who suffered a heart attack and was under state of depression, the doctor didn’t hinder him from nor advise him against playing Dota 2.

Dota 2 is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game that pits two teams with the objective of destroying the opposition’s central structures.

OLD MAN DOTA. Lolo Cris (left) plays Dota 2 regularly at a nearby internet cafe. (Photo by Tryke Gutierrez)

It seemed like it was a love at first sight for Montinola when he played  Dota 2. He got hooked on the game because of a sniper-inspired character, Kardel Sharpeye, commonly known as Sniper — a character that reminded him of who he was in the past.

Montinola, known as “Lolo Cris” to his fellow customers and gamers in a certain internet cafe in Iloilo, found something valuable in what he was playing: happiness.

“Ang [Dota 2] source of enjoyment ko yan. Every game is a new experience at kahit nandito lang ako nakaupo marami ako nakikilala at na-e-experience kasi ‘di narin ako fit to travel. So, [Dota 2] lang, okay na ako,” Montinola grinned.

Francis Chu, co-owner of the Acclaim West Internet Station (Acclaim) where Lolo Cris plays at, first thought that the elderly was a “serious” type of person.

“Akala ko talaga seryosong tao siya dati, until ma-interview siya, kalog din pala si Lolo,” Chu admitted. “I don’t disturb him much because he is playing and naka-concentrate lagi sa screen.”

Lolo Cris’ daily routine consists of him making his way to Acclaim as early as 9 a.m. and comfortably sits himself at computer cubicle #30. And just like any other teenage gamer, he plays Dota 2 all day until 7 p.m. He takes breaks in between his gaming hours to take lunch as well as to have some snacks. He goes home by 8 p.m., has his dinner, takes his medication and then goes to bed. He does this almost every single day.

“Alam na ng lahat seat number niya. [Kaya] walang ng nakikiagaw [doon] kasi kilala na siya. Doon siya palagi kaya if ever wala siya doon, maninibago ka talaga,” Chu said.

Lolo Cris pays for himself, of course, with the money he earns from renting out one of his apartments.

“May mga nagsasabi pa sa shop na lolo bakit kayo naglalaro, gusto ko sabihin pera ko ‘to di mo naman pera ‘to hayaan mo nga ako,” Lolo Cris laughed.

Lolo Cris learned to play Dota 2 on his own and eventually taught his son to play it too. The sexagenarian boasts that his son is no match against him when it comes to one-on-one matches.

As a player, he might be the dream teammate everyone wishes to have on their team.  Because of his military background, Lolo Cris easily takes orders as well as gives them. He understands the importance of communication and team cooperation within the game.

“Tsaka na-a-apply ko ‘yung pagiging military ko. Sasabihin ko sa simula ng game, sino gustong magleader? kung sino man [ang] magleader sinusunod ko lang ‘yung mga sinasabi nya para manalo [kami],” Lolo Cris said. “Kailangan mo ng teamwork diyan — ‘yan ang [number] one. Coordination ng [kakampi mo], communication, hand [and] eye coordination, at kahit sobrang galing mo kung wala kang teamwork, talo pa rin kayo.”

Lolo Cris’ gameplay is “not that bad” according to Raffy Elisterio, 23 years old, who used to play with Lolo Cris whenever they meet in the said internet cafe. Elisterio assumes that Lolo Cris’ matchmaking rating, a measurement of a player’s skill as per the game’s calculations, ranges from 3400 to 3600.

“Kahit matalo kami o manalo wala siyang [problema]. Enjoy lang siya. Kapag may nag-invite sa kaniya [sa] rank, [rak] (game) [lang siya],” Elisterio shared.

Lolo Cris has also become the envy of all the youth in the shop he plays in. He enjoys every single “sana ganyan ‘yung tatay ko” and “sana ganyan ‘yung lolo ko” he hears. And who wouldn’t be jealous of the kid whose lolo plays Dota 2 with him?

“Ang mahirap kasi sa mga matatandang katulad ko pag sinabing Dota bad agad [ang] iniisip. Pero sa totoo lang hindi lang kasi nila naiintindihan ‘yung laro. Kung alam [lang] nila ‘yung laro maguiguide nila ng maaayos yung mga bata. Positive side of life ng mga kabataan ‘yan, tsaka it can help elder people like me [to] relieve stress,” Lolo Cris shared his piece of wisdom.

“May mga anak ako at apo na kung ako [hindi] ko sila pipigilang maglaro [huwag] lang sosobra. Anak ko nga naglalaro din pero businessman siya, bonding na namin yun,” Lolo Cris added.

In game, Lolo Cris likes to play the solo mid role, the position that controls the middle lane part of the map and the one that dictates the game’s tempo most of the time. He loves that position to the point that he will not leave the mid lane, even if someone’s already there. The 66-year-old Dota 2 gamer is also a big fan of Ukrainian Dota 2 superstar Danil “Dendi” Ishutin who, like Lolo Cris, plays the solo mid role.

“Gusto ko makalaban si Dendi, one on one. Pero dapat 66 years old din siya. Kaso baka that time patay na ako,” Lolo Cris confessed. “Wala akong idol sa local scene. Si Dendi lang talaga pinapanuod ko.”

Montinola fights on a different battlefield now — a battlefield of magic and mythical creatures. He still wields a rifle with a scope and assassinates his enemies from afar. But instead of trauma and a troubling conscience after his battles, he finds happiness and joy. And with every game he plays, he literally is Kardel Sharpeye.

“‘Pag naglalaro kasi ako nawawala sa isip ko lahat ng problema. Lahat nang nangyari sa akin dati nakakalimutan ko. Ang nasa isip ko lang ‘yung game. Ang gusto ko lang ma-enjoy ‘yung game. Kapag natalo ngingiti ako, tatawa lang; pag nanalo ako, mas malaki [ang] ngiti ko siyempre.”

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