PIXELS TO PAINTBALLS, AND THEN BACK AGAIN
Chico State student to be featured in paintball video game
OROVILLE » Before ever picking up a paintball gun, Devin Bailey only played paintball through a video game.
Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball was a game he played frequently growing up.
Now, Bailey has morphed into an avid paintballer with over 12 years of paintball experience.
Bailey, a Chico State student majoring in engineering, will be featured in the latest video game of the Greg Hastings franchise. Bailey secured the opportunity after winning a time trial event at Gladiator Paintball Park in San Luis Obispo where the winner would be featured in the game. The time trial requires competitors to hit targets throughout a course in the fastest time.
“It’s something I never thought would happen. In the last two, three years I’ve been trying to make more of a name for myself in the paintball community,” Bailey said. “This is another way to have exposure and promote the sport. I’m really excited about it. I can’t wait to play it.”
Bailey is originally from Murrieta in Southern California. Paintball was originally just a fun hobby for Bailey.
“Originally, it was just going to the field on the weekends and having fun, then it evolved into playing in tournaments and playing against other people. It snowballed from there into me traveling to different states to play and playing national events,” Bailey said.
Paintball has become a passion for Bailey. He’s tinkered with the paintball guns or markers which helped pique his interest in engineering. Bailey said the team aspect also added to his interest in paintball.
“There’s something about running around shooting paintballs at people that is really stress-relieving,” Bailey said.
When Bailey moved to Chico to attend Chico State, he was welcomed with open arms at the Combat Zone Paintball Park in Oroville.
“The NorCal community has really brought me in when I moved up there,” Bailey said. “Playing with the regulars amongst the community is really awesome. The community up here is awesome.”
He now spends nearly every weekend at Combat Zone.
“He’s a good kid. It’s pretty freakin’ sweet,” said Jake Kreulen, the owner of Combat Zone. “It’s something that any kid who’s into video games would absolutely drool over the chance to be chosen.”
Kreulen compared Bailey’s accomplishment to a football player running the fastest 40-yard dash and being featured in the latest Madden video game. The Greg Hastings video game is a “niche market” but those in the paintball community are very familiar with the game, Kreulen said.
Bailey said the folks from the Greg Hastings franchise took pictures of him at the time trials. Those pictures will be used to transform Bailey into video game form and the game is planned to come out in the fall, Bailey said.
Bailey encourages anyone who’s never tried paintball before to try the sport out.
“If anybody is on the border about playing paintball they should really bring a friend or two and try it out,” Bailey said. “It’s a really awesome sport for getting outdoors and having a good time.”