It was the spring of 2000. Students around campus were busy making spring break plans and everyone was happy to have made it through Y2K, namely Jonny Sweeny and Andy Jones. The two friends were avid gamers and realized that Indiana University didn’t have any organization that united gamers. So, after hours of contemplation and meditation over RPGs and cold pizza, the two devised plans for the official Indiana University Computer Gaming Club (IUCGC).
The basis of the club was to unite Bloomington gamers on a platform other than their Internet connections. That could easily be accomplished by cramming several hundred geeks in one room for upwards of 30 hours. It would be the first LAN war. Members would pay 15 bucks, either individually or as groups. Over the course of two days, they would compete in one room on a network with other gamers. The club eventually established organized tournaments that would offer thousands of dollars in sponsored prizes. Oh, and the usual offer of free food is an attractive incentive as well.
The club is currently working on its 13th LAN War. The last event was held in the Briscoe Quad. Recently, the IUCGC has expanded its event content to organized tournaments for Sid Meier’s Civilization IV and Microsoft’s Age of Empires III.
The typical event lasts over 27 hours. In the heat of battle, one might forgot essential requisites for survival—you know, like eating…and sleeping. So to provide gamers proper nourishment, they began to host intermittent Twinkie-eating contests. After hours of being involved in sweaty Halo gameplay, a box of Twinkies, a solitary Hostess cupcake and a 12 ounce drink to wash it down looks like Thanksgiving dinner, minus the annoying relatives.
In an effort to distinguish their goals, the Analog Games Society was spurred in 2007 to pay tribute to non-electronic gaming. When Call of Duty gets old, there’s always Jenga, right?
For updates on current IU Gaming Club events, please visit
www.IUGaming.com
Hoosier History: The Indiana University Computer Gaming Club
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