Spring Break
Students Take On Terriorists With LAN Party
Brendan Cox
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: News
Students and area residents got the chance Saturday to battle terrorist forces, fending them off with combat knives, handguns, and AK-47s at the Local Area Network (LAN) party that was held by Scythik, an independent organization created by 26-year old Gabriel Stalnaker.
The only catch was this: the combat was virtual, and the terrorists weren't really terrorists at all; they were simply opposing gamers who were cheerfully talking to their opponents and sipping on energy drinks whenever they weren't furiously tapping out commands on their keyboards.
The Bishop Center was the place to be on Saturday for about 35 PC gamers as they connected their heavily modified, neon-illuminated computers to a local network and spent the better part of the day in a large conference room facing off in competitive multiplayer combat and racing.
Players got the chance to compete in games like "Counter-Strike," a popular tactical combat game that pits terrorists against anti-terrorist forces, "Battlefield 2," a military shooter, and "Flat Out 2," an aggressive racing game.
Stalnaker, a former Eastern Connecticut State University student who now repairs Apple computers at the UConn Co-op, started Scythik with a $4,000 investment, which paid for his web fees and the switches and cables necessary to build LAN host equipment.
Stalnaker now reinvests most of the money made from the $15 to $20 entrance fees at parties to build up his networking hardware, which he says gives him the capability to add more gamers onto the network at the next party.
Stalnaker rents space in the Bishop Center to hold LAN parties, which he holds twice a year. National parties like QuakeCon in Texas and Million Man LAN in Kentucky accommodate 6,000 and 2,000 gamers respectively, and are generally held annually, according to Stalnaker. Scythik's parties at UConn have between 30 and 60 participants.
Scythik's LAN parties tend to attract students working toward a computer science or communication degree, and they entice males more than females across the board. Stalnaker said that Scythik's parties can hold the attention of students from UConn and local high schools, luring them away from vices like drugs and alcohol. He said that he's met several of his best friends at LAN parties.
"A LAN party is such a great thing because you get really interesting people. I've met some of the smartest people I've ever known, and I've made connections at LAN parties that have helped me get jobs," Stalnaker said.
He acknowledges, but disapproves, of the idea that video games turn people to violent lifestyles, which he says is a prevalent viewpoint.
"I can understand that, because sometimes you have kids who can't see the line between reality and a game, especially with younger kids" he said. Stalnaker says he offsets this by enforcing a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to gamers who lose their temper after losing a match-up.
The only catch was this: the combat was virtual, and the terrorists weren't really terrorists at all; they were simply opposing gamers who were cheerfully talking to their opponents and sipping on energy drinks whenever they weren't furiously tapping out commands on their keyboards.
The Bishop Center was the place to be on Saturday for about 35 PC gamers as they connected their heavily modified, neon-illuminated computers to a local network and spent the better part of the day in a large conference room facing off in competitive multiplayer combat and racing.
Players got the chance to compete in games like "Counter-Strike," a popular tactical combat game that pits terrorists against anti-terrorist forces, "Battlefield 2," a military shooter, and "Flat Out 2," an aggressive racing game.
Stalnaker, a former Eastern Connecticut State University student who now repairs Apple computers at the UConn Co-op, started Scythik with a $4,000 investment, which paid for his web fees and the switches and cables necessary to build LAN host equipment.
Stalnaker now reinvests most of the money made from the $15 to $20 entrance fees at parties to build up his networking hardware, which he says gives him the capability to add more gamers onto the network at the next party.
Stalnaker rents space in the Bishop Center to hold LAN parties, which he holds twice a year. National parties like QuakeCon in Texas and Million Man LAN in Kentucky accommodate 6,000 and 2,000 gamers respectively, and are generally held annually, according to Stalnaker. Scythik's parties at UConn have between 30 and 60 participants.
Scythik's LAN parties tend to attract students working toward a computer science or communication degree, and they entice males more than females across the board. Stalnaker said that Scythik's parties can hold the attention of students from UConn and local high schools, luring them away from vices like drugs and alcohol. He said that he's met several of his best friends at LAN parties.
"A LAN party is such a great thing because you get really interesting people. I've met some of the smartest people I've ever known, and I've made connections at LAN parties that have helped me get jobs," Stalnaker said.
He acknowledges, but disapproves, of the idea that video games turn people to violent lifestyles, which he says is a prevalent viewpoint.
"I can understand that, because sometimes you have kids who can't see the line between reality and a game, especially with younger kids" he said. Stalnaker says he offsets this by enforcing a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to gamers who lose their temper after losing a match-up.
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