Students relax with video games

Gaming is all around Austin Community College. Students range from the play-to-pass-the-time gamers all the way to obsessive-lifestyle gamers. It's no surprise to find students in the student lounge talking about that new game, or overhearing that they are going to go stand in line for hours for the hot new console.

"I like to consider myself as a casual gamer. I like to pass the time with games because I like to exercise my fingers while I watch my screen," said Kyle Czarnecki, an engineering major at ACC.

ACC Office of Student Life offers consoles such as Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and Sony Playstation 360 for students to check out and play during their downtime in between classes.

"The original concept is that people will have a place. If they have a couple of hours between classes, they can come in here," said Dot Dearinger, Round Rock Campus student life assistant.

Other clubs and organizations such as Student Government Association (SGA) and Men of Distinction (MOD) host events that give students opportunities for gaming.

Last semester, MOD held a video game tournament with the Madden NFL 2010. In February 2010, SGA held the social event Blackout, which provided students with Nintendo Wii's, Xbox 360's, Alienware PC's furnished by Dell, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo 64.

On any campus, students will be sure to find some students playing together on their laptops in the student lounge. Across the campus in the library, students are getting in a game of Bejeweled or Farmville before their next class starts, and just outside on the bus stop, someone is playing Angry Birds on their iPhone.

ACC students have more options than ever to be play games whenever and wherever they want.

While there is no time limit on checking out video game systems from Student Life, they don't allow students to skip classes.

"If we find out that they were gaming and not going to class, then they wouldn't be allowed to game anymore," said Dearinger. "Most likely, we would not allowed them to play anymore or make them show me their class schedule of when they're supposed to be in class."

While some people tend to play just in their downtime, others tend to make time just to get their game on. For Czarnecki, gaming is just another extension of his schedule.

"I play video games pretty much every day, whether it's at home or on the bus on my way to work," said Czarnecki.

The excitement of gaming derive from the experiences they have from playing a game they love for 10 hours in their room, playing against their friends in the arcades, or being hooked to the Nintendo DS. Gamers attach to these memories which keeps them coming back.

"I remember this one time -- it was when Gears of War made its debut, said Czarnecki. "We took our gear to a local LAN center, hooked it up, and played it right there. We drew quite the crowd since Gears of War [was] a newly released game. We did a two vs. two, and the last kill I got, I tagged a grenade on the butt of my friend. Needless to say, many laughs were had," said Czarnecki.