I’m Using Deadlock To Treat My Diabetes

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

I’m trying out healthier lifestyle to manage diabetes and found Deadlock to be a beneficial tool.
I’m getting really good at McGinnis.
I miss cake.

Being told I was diabetic at 30 wasn’t a fun experience. There was a mixture of terror and resignation as I suddenly imagined a future where my eyes would rot away and feet might drop off by the time I’m 32. It also brought with it a huge amount of shame; even though there is a huge genetic component to my diagnosis, diabetes is still seen as a condition that people only get as punishment for liking cake a bit too much.

But I’ve tried to push those feelings down, and got to work on sorting it out. I’ve spent the last six weeks on a big health kick. I’ve had an amicable breakup with the love of my life, the Greggs sausage roll, and, for the first time ever, am actually trying out the whole ‘exercise’ thing. And video games are helping with that in a huge way.

When ‘fitness’ and ‘video games’ are uttered in the same breath, the same handful of titles come to mind. Maybe it’s having some deeply-ingrained trauma courtesy of Wii Fit telling us we were obese at 13, or spending the pandemic making up excuses to not play Ring Fit Adventure or Beat Saber. For me, though, it’s none of these games whipping my blood glucose levels down into remission, it’s Deadlock

At first, I’d been playing Valve’s Deadlock merely out of curiosity. I’m not a big Moba boy, nor a shooter boy, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I adored the 1920s New York-gone-mystical aesthetic, and the characters captured my imagination in the same way Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead had before it.

Deadlock is a superb game in its own right. Even if I wasn’t using it to be healthy, it’d still be devouring my free time, as its gunplay feels stellar and its more fluid approach to pushing lanes, jungling, and character roles makes it a lot more accessible for newcomers to the genre. Before long, I was playing it more and more, reading build guides, tracking the meta, and even perusing the subreddit. I was fully Deadlock pilled, but it wasn’t helping with the diabetes thing just yet.

Time To Get Hench

Then I had a brainwave: I needed to exercise more, and gathering dust in the corner of my bedroom was a walking treadmill. The intent to use it had always been there, but I’d get bored too quickly and give up. So what if I put the two together, and played Deadlock while walking?

Fortunately, another brief spell of trying to be fit forced me into getting a standing desk, so the setup was simple. What I found was that Deadlock is perfectly designed to become a major part of my workout routine, and has now become a daily ritual.

The game length is perfect. Each round lasts between half an hour and 40 minutes, which over seven days is more than enough to be a good workout. On days when I’m also strength training, I simply switch over to playing against bots, where matches are considerably shorter.

Using Pocket's abilities against enemy players in Deadlock.

For some reason, the game warns you that bot matches will last much longer. I’ve never had one go longer than 25 minutes.

It’s also an excellent distraction. I don’t like exercising or how it makes me feel, so having a way to ignore it until it’s finally over is crucial, and Deadlock has very little downtime. You’re always either shooting something, pushing a lane, or looking through the shop for your next upgrade. My mind never has time to latch on to ‘everything sucks and I hate this’, because I’m too busy tearing the enemy team’s Dynamo to shreds.

Even the leaver’s penalty is helping me. I can’t stop the treadmill without stopping playing, and stopping playing will count as a leave and put me at risk of being banned, or worse, being put in a worse matchmaking queue. Once the game starts, I’ve got to be in it for the long haul, and my workout is along for the ride.

Of course, there are downsides. I can’t play any of the sniper heroes like Vindicta or Grey Talon, as I’m too busy jiggling about and trying not to fall off the treadmill to aim properly. With that in mind, I’ve gravitated towards the minigun-toting, turret-throwing McGinnis. Sometimes I’ll spice things up with Seven or Mo and Krill, but, for the most part, me and McGinnis are a team that’s going to get me fit in no time.

I’m still internally freaking out and have nightmares of losing my feet, having a heart attack and dropping dead, and it’s only been in the last week-ish where the haze of diagnosis has lifted and I’m feeling like a normal person again. But I’m four kilograms down and have fallen into a good routine with my diet and exercise, and I actually look forward to my nightly Deadlock session.

Abrams splash art in character select screen from Deadlock.

I’ve got a dauntingly long road ahead of me, but fortunately so does Deadlock. With it so early in development, I’m excited to see how both of us look this time next year. Maybe I won’t be as bad at the game by then?

Deadlock is an upcoming game from Valve which seemingly combines elements of the MOBA and hero shooter genres. As it is still in early development, gameplay and assets may be incomplete. Access is granted via friend invites.

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