Boo! a LAN party blog post.

My First Attempt at a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. costume, taken at a campus LAN party.

Stay awhile and listen! Let me tell you about one of my favorite pastimes that I never partake in often enough: LAN parties. Last weekend the student organization i'm apart of had our first LAN party this semester, dubbed "Gameaplooza". Since it was close to halloween we decided to toss in a costume contest as well. The above picture is myself in a makeshift "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." costume. (I actually had to explain to a campus staffer it was a costume, someone saw my setup, freaked, and almost called the cops. Assumed I was a school shooter, haha.)

To run and organize a LAN party is an exhausting, thankless, and sanity eroding experience, and I would gladly do it everyday of my life If I could. What really motivates me is whenever I get the chance, to watch other people enjoy themselves. In the finite time avaliable too us in life I believe its the best course of action to pursue happiness, and having the ability to catalyze that emotion in anothers life is an exhilarating experience in and of itself. The chance to offer people a personal gaming experience with a feeling of community is more than worth the work put into the event, to me anyways. At the end of the day when I flop down on my bed sore after helping run an event for about 10-12+ hours all I need to do is remember the smiles and laughs and it justifies the work right then and there.

If I have the good fortunes to attend a LAN party, I do enjoy them alot. It makes gaming alot more personal when you can see your opponent and talk to them in the flesh about the match afterwords. LAN Tournaments also add a layer of competitive experience that one cannot attain otherwise, especially with the presence of teams. I've seen teams communicate with sign language rather than speak aloud because their opponents would know what their planning, this is one of those things that separates a hobbyist from a competitive player. you cant get the value of a good after match handshake from home with anonymous players, its a reward only attainable at a social gaming event like a LAN party. Preforming well in public also leaves you up to harsh criticism, its once said that we build houses of compliments only to have them demolished by the scrutiny of others. This much is immensely true for the gaming type, after a good match or round, a cheer or applause can go a long way and with a rare roar of the crowd can send your ego flying. The opposite is true with bad play, almost as if you can feel the crowd cringing when a bad strategy is executed. This social and mental obstacle can make or break some people, I, for one, relish it when I have the chance and is why I get my gear together to go frag in the flesh.

If anyone reading this would be interested in donating prizes to my student organization for our LAN events to hand out, please email me at: nuclearp0pt4rt@gmail.com The event is hosted by the "Kent State University Tuscawaras Technology Club" we're a non-profit student organization, we host these LAN parties about twice a semester.