Ethan Anderson and Elijah Garner are your average 20-year-olds. They meet at Starbucks to enjoy a cup of coffee, discuss their lives, but also construct a fully-realized hostage rescue plan in the middle of the busy coffee shop.
The duo surround a floor plan of an Ibizan nightclub laced with red and yellow streaks of potential entry and exit points, which resembles a Picasso painting more than a tactical map.
They argue back and forth intensely, unable to decide on entry points as well as what kind of team they will assemble to combat potential threats like bear traps and explosive mines. Garner is eager to select Ash, a reliable specialist armed with a portable breaching round, while Anderson prefers Zofia, who can distract the opposition with concussion grenades.
“You push that hallway, you’ll die,” Anderson insists. “Not if I drop him first,” Garner cooly replies.
Arguments similar to this arise on a monthly basis when the pair meet to develop strategies for the wildly popular video game, “Rainbow Six: Siege.” Initially released in 2015, “Siege” is a tactical first person shooter that pits two teams of five players against one another. One side attacks, the other defends.
The premise is simple, but the strategic implications have generated a massive following of over 40 million players, according to the title’s publisher. Dedicated users like Anderson and Garner see it as an extension of their real lives rather than just a video game.
“What makes it so unique is the feeling that every choice matters,” says Garner. “You’re always left thinking, ‘What would have happened if you did something differently in a match that happened yesterday or even a month ago?’”
Each round of gameplay centers around three primary pillars: teamwork, tension and tacticiallity. The attacking team scouts the map utilizing portable drones, while the defending squad fortifies walls in order to prevent the opposing team from infiltrating the objective room.
“For every map, we have around five to six different ways of attacking or defending,” says Anderson, a calm and collected player who utilizes a prowler-esque play style, picking off enemies from a distance.
Unlike his contemporary, Garner throws caution to the wind when he plays. He makes his presence known to the enemy team in hopes of catching them off guard. Garner’s self-proclaimed “loud” playstyle reflects his boisterous persona when creating strategies for each individual map.
Their different approaches could lead other pairs to conflict, but the duo sees contrast as an edge for assembling game plans. Having a team full of different play styles is an advantage because everyone reads and approaches situations differently, says Garner.
“We have had our fair share of differing opinions, though,” Anderson laughingly replies. “Elijah is a stubborn bastard and usually quits when things aren’t going his way with our team and the other team.”
The pair met each other through mutual acquaintances during their years at Bonneville High School. Both had been avid gamers for as long as they can remember with a competitive side that neither fully realized.
Anderson, built like a professional athlete with a 6-foot-6 frame, lacked any desire to play sports, much to his family’s disappointment. Garner, meanwhile, suffered from a broken femur during his first middle school football practice ever. So when the two friends discovered a highly competitive game fueled by teamwork in the form of “Siege,” it seemed like a pairing forged by destiny.
“We started off horrible at the game,” recalls Anderson. “We tried going the route of just playing and hopefully becoming better, but it wasn’t until we started meeting after school and work to make plans that we started to get better.”
The two begin by creating mock-scenarios for individual maps and objectives with a basic floor plan of the map provided by the game’s website. The duo then tests their creations in-game to see what works and what needs improved. Their commitment has led to countless late nights playing filled with intense games and even messages from the opposing team that include insults or encouragement of self-harm.
Jared Gerena, a primary teammate of Anderson and Garner from New Jersey, says their dedication to the game is unmatched. “They aren’t making money off of playing, so when they told me they meet up and make plans for each map I thought it was kind of weird,” he says. “But it’s helped us rise through the ranking system, with me just following along and contributing where I can.”
When they’re not playing, Anderson and Garner are busy with jobs and obligations of their own. Anderson is a full-time crew member at Arby’s with plans to enroll in college later this year, while Garner is a part-time server at Red Robin and full-time business major at Idaho State.
While the pair stay occupied with their commitments today, Anderson and Garner brace for when they’ll have to move onto something else, whether for careers or new passions that arise.
“We’ll both have to ‘grow up’ and move on sooner or later,” says Anderson. “But I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Garner replies optimistically.