Gamers hope to host lifelike rock concert using popular video game “Rock Band.”
By Ansley Lewis
alewis87@student.alamo.edu
Students interested in playing video and tabletop games and socializing with gamers are encouraged to join the San Antonio College Gaming Society.
Gaming Society meetings are at 2 p.m. Thursdays in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center.
At their second meeting on Sept. 4, Gaming Society President Alex “Dovahkiin” Garza was running late, but that did not stop members from having fun.
Members quickly pulled out a laptop and gathered around it to play the new indie horror-survival game “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
The basic premise behind “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is to survive for five levels, at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza without being murdered by animatronic robots.
The player receives a limited amount of battery power to operate the establishment’s cameras and doors, which serve as the main protection from the killer robots.
The robots cannot move if the player focuses a camera on them, but operating the cameras uses battery power.
Once the battery is dead, the robots are free to roam and swiftly move in to kill the player.
When Garza arrived, the meeting officially began, and he asked the 14 members in attendance what gaming platforms they preferred.
Most said the personal computer was their favorite platform. Garza said he leads the PC Gaming Group, which he started for members who own a PC.
Garza said he frequently updates the organization’s Facebook page with announcements for free games and invitations to multiplayer games.
He started the Gaming Society because there was a similar club at Blinn College.
Garza also introduced several events the organization is planning throughout the semester. Events include a “Super Smash Bros.” tournament, a Nerf sword dueling match and a “Rock Band” concert.
Garza hopes to have either the latest “Super Smash Bros.” game, or “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” available for the tournament.
“Super Smash Bros.” is a game where players can battle opponents using various characters from previous Nintendo games.
For the Nerf dueling match, the society will collaborate with the fencing club, Garza said. Members will learn fencing techniques while having fun at the same time.
The dueling match will feature sword fighting with Nerf foam swords in a tournament-style competition.
Garza said the “Rock Band” tournament is the organization’s more ambitious event.
He hopes to attract enough interest to give the tournament the same atmosphere of a real rock concert.
“People will be able to develop a band name, choose a song and make costumes,” Garza said. “They will be judged on their costumes, skills and performance.”
Garza stressed judging would not be solely based on the difficulty level of songs, but how the group performs overall.
“We plan to have the tournament after midterms to give students a chance to wind down,” Garza said. “The ‘Rock Band’ concert will be toward the end of the semester.”
For more information, join the group’s Orgsync page, or like them on Facebook at /SACGamingSociety.