LAN party will bring together PC, console gamers for frag-fest weekend Friday
This weekend will be a three-day competition for more than 70 gamers.
The Big Shot Gaming Local Area Network Party will be the 10th LAN party hosted by the Student Electronic Gaming Association, a registered student organization. It begins at 6 p.m. Friday in Finch Fieldhouse and ends Sunday at 6 a.m. The deadline for registration is 6 p.m. Friday evening.
“We’re on track to have our biggest LAN party yet,” said Leland Southwell, treasurer of the RSO. “We’ve broken every pre-registration record. On average, we usually get about 120 people — we’re expecting to open up another 50 seats.”
Southwell, a Suttons Bay junior, described a LAN party as an event in which gamers traditionally bring their PCs and monitors into one area to compete in a variety of games with other players in person.
Students interested in participating can preregister for $15 on the RSO’s website, www.bigshotgaming.com, or pay $20 at the door.
However, Mount Pleasant graduate student Kate Engel, president of SEGA, said seats are filling quickly — a limit of 150 participants is in place and can only be expanded if enough people preregister.
The entry fee covers tournament costs and includes three meals. Participants can expect to compete head-to-head in games like “StarCraft II,” “Team Fortress 2,” and “Counter-Strike: Source,” as well as some console games like “Halo: Reach.”
Prizes will be given out to tournament winners.
“Basically it’s just a really way great way to get people together who have similar interests in gaming non-stop, be it computer or console,” she said. “Really, it’s the atmosphere that makes it a whole different experience. You get to actually see the people who you might be beating or who really might be destroying you.”
Engel said people travel from all over Michigan to participate.
“Everybody really enjoys coming,” she said. “We usually send out surveys to find out what we can do better and what things people didn’t like. Usually we take that input and we use it to improve on the next LAN. Everybody has a lot of fun.”
Troy junior Nate Hochstein has attended multiple SEGA-hosted LAN events.
“I’ve gone to every one they’ve had since my freshman year,” he said. “It was really a whole new experience for me. It’s really great to see so many people into gaming all together, playing together. When you see so many people in a group engaging in what they love, what they have fun with, it’s a really cool sight"
