A new club at K-State is rapidly attracting students interested in competitive video gaming.
Wildcraft was founded in
August by Justin Ballard, club president and freshman in chemical
engineering, and Chance Thompson, vice president and freshman in philosophy and
pre-law. The club meets on Wednesdays in Nichols Hall in computer rooms 122 and 126, but you can find club members in these rooms almost nightly, hanging
out and honing their gaming skills.
?The club?s primary focus
is on eSports; we focus on competitive
gaming, primarily computer games,? Ballard said.
Currently the club,
which began with just two members, boasts between 50 and 60
regular players.
Garrett Fowler, sophomore in computer science and one of the newest members of Wildcraft, said that joining the club is worth the experience.
?I would say at least give it a try,? Fowler said. ?You?ll make some new friends; maybe you?ll really enjoy it and start spending as much time as we do together.?
Wildcraft focuses primarily on two games: ?StarCraft II? and ?League of
Legends.?
?StarCraft II is what is called an RTS or real-time strategy game,? Ballard said. ?In the game, you are basically like the god of your civilization. You create buildings, you
make workers and you produce a strong economy so you can build armies and
defeat opponents? armies.??
Ballard said while the
game is very straight-forward, there is a lot of complexity because of the
variety of items, armies and civilizations that players can create.
Originally, Ballard and
Thompson figured that the group would focus only on ?StarCraft II,? but on the
night of Wildcraft?s first official meeting they were surprised at the level of
interest in ?League of Legends.?
?We didn?t plan on having a ?League of Legends? team at all,? Thompson said. ?We didn?t know how popular it was, but when we asked if anyone wanted
to start a League team, about 75 percent of the people raised their
hand.??
While ?StarCraft? is mainly
an individual game, ?League of Legends? includes teams of players taking
third-person control of individual characters and fighting battles against
various opponents across a large network. It is also free to download and play.
?League of Legends has a
rigorous practice schedule,? Thompson said. ?We treat it like any other real sport. On average I probably practice
five to six hours a day, because it is a team game and it takes that long to
become a great team.?
Thompson said that the
biggest difference between the two games is the level of teamwork involved in ?League of Legends? and the practice time. The club has already secured
some valuable sponsorships and partnerships that will enable them to travel to events and compete in online tournaments, Thompson said.?
Tournaments are also the
reason the club has an official membership. It makes the process of forming teams easier.
?We?re a partner with
Heartland eSports Association, which is a Midwest group, and they want to make us
kind of the central-hub of eSports in the area,? Ballard said. ?We?ve also been partnering with
businesses in the community, such as Freddy?s Frozen Custard, Orange Leaf and
Game Hounds.?
The group will use leftover sponsor money to host future tournaments to raise money for charity.
?On Oct. 26, we?re
hosting a charity tournament where we will have donated prizes,? Ballard said. ?People will pay $5 to participate and all
the proceeds will go to an organization called Child?s Play which is an amazing
charity that, through donations, gives [hospitalized] kids games and toys for entertainment.?
Doing well in tournaments
can bring more rewards than just the pride of a victory.
?What you can win depends
on the tournament,? Ballard said. ?For example, we?re traveling, on Nov. 10, to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a ?StarCraft II? tournament, and
first place is $400, second is $250 and $100 for third place.?
?League of Legends? tournaments can bring even greater rewards. The world champion last year won $5
million.?
?We?re competing in the
Collegiate Star League, a ?League of Legends? competition sponsored by Azubu,?
Thompson said. ?Azubu took over the CSL
and is now worldwide, so we can compete against schools from foreign
countries like Taiwan, China and France. Every week after November, we will be
competing in a weekly online tournament.?
Ballard and Thompson suggested that anyone interested in joining the group or pitching a game just stop
on by.?
Fowler said being new
to the group is easier than one might think.
?When you play these games
this much and you come into the group, it isn?t awkward because you already have
something to talk about, and you make friends pretty quick,? Fowler said. ?After that, we all just start hanging out, including
stuff outside of gaming.?
If a group of friends wants
to start a team for a new game, all it takes is five committed members. Wildcraft welcomes teams for any
game.
For more information, visit ksuwildcraft.com or visit the group?s Facebook page.
Source: http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2012/10/24/k-state-computer-gaming-club-growing/
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