Features Editor
Photo by: Whitney Kidd
With “Days Go By” by Dirty Vegas playing on the overhead speakers, two students leaned up against the front desk, dancing, and 30 plus others scattered around the room talking about anime, RPGs and fighting games, it’s an ACB classroom like you’ve never seen before. At least probably not unless you are part of the Gamers of Western Colorado.
The club gathers every TV, game console and odd Japanese candy they can find and occupy one of the classrooms on campus for a good, old-fashioned game night every Wednesday in ACB room 113.
“Sign in and play anything you want,” club secretary Jade Gibson said to students as they trickled in.
Some of the students had a game console or a TV, and others just brought a snack or a willingness to play. Several of the students dressed as their favorite anime or video game character. Gibson was dressed as Riku from the anime series Kingdom Hearts, and club vice president Marryssa Russell was dressed as Winry Rockbell from Full Metal Alchemist. The club invited the cultural exchange students that are visiting campus to attend the game night since video games are a popular part of Asian culture.
“Since we invited the Japanese students to come in, we decided to dress up anime,” Gibson said. “Last week, we did Lolita and Power Rangers.”
The cultural exchange students seemed to immediately fit in and hopped in where they could to be a part of the gaming action. Within the first few minutes of arriving, exchange student Yu Kunii beat the club’s president, Dylan Blount, in a match of Street Fighter III Third Strike for Sega Dreamcast.
“It was awesome,” Kunii said in response to beating the president. “I like this club.”
There are more than just video games being played at the game nights. There are also anime characters being drawn on whiteboards and Pokemon being played near the back of the classroom.
“If you’re into something nerdy and fun, bring it down here, and it just snowballs,” Blount said.
Pokemon is a new edition to the game night that was just brought in a few weeks ago and has, for the time being, replaced the occasional game of Magic.
Along with game nights, the club also hosts several tournaments each year at Gamerz Planet in Clifton. The next competition is a Tekken Tag Tournament on Saturday.
“This is a free tournament just to get people involved,” Blount said. “Other tournaments have entry fees with cash prizes.”
tfife@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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