Xavier students host video game tournament
By Janice L. Semmel | March 5, 2009 | The Catholic Sun
Excitement echoed through Vestar Hall Feb. 20 as the Xavier Video Game Club prepared to host its first video game tournament.
Students from Xavier College Preparatory and Brophy College Preparatory competed during the tournament.
“We need to look at video games in a positive way,” said Sr. Lynn Winsor, BVM, Xavier’s vice principal. “Every kid has one now, and we know they’re part of our culture.”
Catherine Wyman, the video game club adviser and video game design instructor, joined the Xavier faculty this year.
“I think there’s kind of pent-up demand” for this kind of activity, she said. “I think there are a lot of girl gamers who didn’t have anywhere to go.”
Some student artists began creating characters for games they haven’t developed yet, Wyman said.
Xavier students Alex Pomeroy and Alexa Boccieri teamed up to design a T-shirt and event poster.
The hot-pink poster caught the attention of Brophy juniors Joshua Burkholder and Alex Theisem.
“As soon as I saw the pink poster, I was hooked,” Burkholder said.
This is the first year for the club, said Flow Ruiz, club president and Xavier senior.
“We get together twice a month at lunch and discuss video games and help the novice gamers,” she said. “We get a debate going about why one game or console is better than another.”
Ruiz estimates the club has approximately 23 active members.
Four Xavier girls swayed to the music as Ruiz played drums and Theisem played guitar in the “Rock Band” game to “Spirit in the Sky.” Points accumulated individually and in total for the game and winners received prizes.
Girls who play video games tend to be highly competitive, said Ruiz. The girls proved they can game and have hand-eye coordination. Wii games combine fitness with the game.
“It’s just a game,” Ruiz said, “but it’s important.”
Antonio Rivera and Cyrus Aponte, managers with Game Crazy, loaned, set up and helped at the event with the video games: “Rock Band,” “Mario Kart,” “Super Smash Bros.” and “Guitar Hero.”
Even with the bad economy, Rivera said everyone can buy games and do non-violent and social games together or play on their own. Nintendo made games easier to play. Rivera said his 3-year-old brother and his mother play video games together.
The Video Game Development class started in August.
“We spend a lot of time focusing on what I call ‘cames’ (care plus games) or ‘games for good,’” Wyman said. One example, freerice.com improves vocabulary while doing something good for the world. The sponsor donates 10 grains of rice for each correct answer.
Ruiz said her class volunteered to test games for the 2008 Serious Games Showcase & Challenge. They answered questions and judged games for competition.
During a club meeting, Rainbow Studios, a local video game developer, discussed the design process for their new Wii game, Deadly Creatures.
Released on Feb. 10, Deadly Creatures is based on the southwestern desert environment, said Cecelia Harris, Rainbow Studio recruiter. The game took two years to complete.
The action thriller adventure game allows a player to discover the desert from the viewpoint of a scorpion or tarantula. Points accumulate as the creature battles a rattlesnake, Gila monster, black widow, lizards and other desert creatures — the deadliest being human.
The game contains phenomenal graphics and received great audio reviews, Harris said. A raffle gave away one Deadly Creatures game.
The tournament raised $149, said Wyman, so the club can purchase its own video game console.
Ambria Hammel contributed to this story.
