Posted on 07/12/2005 4:08:47 PM PDT by Vote 4 Nixon
Video-game 'orgies' for devoted players By Steven Zeitchik The New York Times
BUTLER, New Jersey At least once a month, James Callari, 36, grabs some cans of the energy drink Red Bull, packs up his computer and tells his girlfriend he is going out to play some video games. Don't bother waiting up, he says: he won't be back for two or three days.
Callari's destination is a LAN party, an intense, almost ritualistic convocation of gamers that has been springing up - almost invisibly - all over the world.
While Asian gamers have long gathered at cybercafés to play and socialize, the most recent iteration is different. In conference rooms, firehouses, paramedic call centers - anywhere that offers enough cheap real estate and electric power - amateurs are quietly gathering for gaming benders.
Video arcades usually allow only one or two people to play a game at a time - bad news for modern gamers, who like to play in groups.
But high-powered temporary servers called local area networks, or LANs, enable computers in a concentrated area to communicate. For Callari and his cohorts, LANs are the ticket to video-game "orgies," sessions of intense play and bonding that can last days. Seventy-two hours is not unheard of. Computer equipment is obligatory. Air mattresses are optional.
"Once you get that sense of camaraderie, you never want to leave," said Callari, who lives in New Jersey.
Long past midnight on a recent Saturday, a dozen boys and men between the ages of 10 and 40 sat squinting in front of terminals. They were at a volunteer firehouse they had rented in Butler on a quiet street next to a cemetery. Behind a room filled with hoses, award plaques and a gleaming fire truck sat the paraphernalia
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
LAN parties are actually social events more than they are gaming events.
And regarding that headline, since when has The New York Times had a problem with orgies?
Hmmmm. Now I know what my brother does in his spare time at the libraries.
This guy is 36 years old. Gone for 3-4 days at a time. Sheesh, our welfare at work.
My sons have just hit the age where I've started taking them camping and hiking. Obviously, after reading this, I need to take them camping and hiking more!
Breaking news from the New York Times. Think they would be shocked to know LAN parties have been common for at least 10 years now?
HOT COFFEE
And Doritos. LOTS of Doritos.
That's why one of my co-workers got fired a few weeks ago. He would stay up until 5-6 in the morning playing online video games, and then not show up until noon or later. While my boss is easy going, he's not that easy-going. 8-)
Hint to online gamers: make sure your instant messanging is turned off so all your co-workers can't see what time you play games until!
The extreme opposite is likely true. Gamers like this typically are sporting DUAL nVidia 7800GT cards ($1050 each), on a ~4 GHz CPU using a water-chiller to keep the processor cool. Then we also typically have AT LEAST 4 Gig of DDR2 memory (up to 16 Gig), usually with either a RAID 0 or 1 Hard drive configuration. We're talking that a great number of these people are pumping $3-4,000 (as a starting point) into their machines just to get a competitive edge. This is then followed by Case Modding, which is an entirely different cosmetic endeavor.
These people tend to be the Software or Hardware engineers, technicians, or IT professionals who may not exceed at athletics, but they know software and how a PC works. They use their skillsets to build a VERY fast PC, spend a lot of dollars on thier system; and their jobs help finance thier habbits.
From my experience, it's Hot Pockets, the $1 frozen pizzas, Butterfingers, Twinkies, Raman Noodles, Cup o'Soup, and anything high in sugar. Let's not forget the Mt. Dews / Mellow Yellow.
ping
Starbucks Doubleshots too.
I wish I had the $$$ to have a rig like that!
I'll pass on the LAN parties as I'd rather be home with my beautiful wife but the games ARE a blast.
A good, long round of CounterStrike does a body good . . . of course I have to follow that up with a few sets on the Bowflex and some running . . . uggg.
Though these guys need some physical activity too, they are the brains who do and will drive our technological advances for the next few dacades. Compare that to the typical jock who spends his time pumping iron and drinking beer. I'd also be willing to bet that the "LAN party" guys are much less likely to be spreading STD's.
From a weightlifting, former Combat Engineer platoon sergeant . . . here's to the geeks of the world! Hooah!
Ping
Yes, my son has made real friends doing this stuff, some of the games are really complicated and you have to be very fast thinking to do any good - strategery rules !
Video game ping!
If you want on or off this list, Freepmail me.
"But high-powered temporary servers called local area networks, or LANs, enable computers in a concentrated area to communicate."
I wish reporters would stop trying to explain things they didn't understand.
We played HALO like this when off-duty in Iraq. It's fun.
"Long past midnight on a recent Saturday, a dozen boys and men between the ages of 10 and 40 sat squinting in front of terminals."
Am I the only one who has a problem with this combined demographic??
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