April 5th Video Game Tournament @ the Library a Big Success!

April 5th Video Game Tournament

The video game tournament on April 5th proved to be a great success. Around 50 teens competed in either the Dance Dance Revolution or the Guitar Hero III tournament in what turned out to be an all-around fun day. In addition to the competitors, dozens more friends & family members saw the rather mind-boggling skills displayed by the players in each game. The championship rounds for each game had the crowd cheering as loudly as the fans do at Fenway Park -- I'm not exaggerating. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating -- a little.

I was personally impressed by the skills of all the players in these games. Much of my amazement stems from just how inept I was a playing each of these games. I still think of myself as somewhat active & coordinated (even at the "ancient" age of "in my mid-thirties"), but next to the teens' abilities at these games, my ability at each game was the equivalent of trying to start a fire with two wet stones, while the teens had blazing bonfires going. I'm not totally sold on all video games being of value, but I really believe that being good at Dance Dance Revolution & Guitar Hero III (and many other video games) does speak volumes towards a person's organizational skills, coordination, and concentration levels.

The success of the tournament encourages the library & me to plan more such events for the fall. I would like to host a tournament for Madden NFL. Madden NFL is, after all, arguably the most successful gaming franchise of all-time. A Madden tournament would probably take place of the course of several days, given the length of individual Madden games. Of minor note, I am also terrible at this game. The last time I played I threw 4 interceptions with Tom Brady as my quarterback.

Another idea we're working on is getting adults, especially senior citizens, involved in gaming. I've read about the success of games like Wii bowling (you can too at http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1127/p01s05-ussc.html) in engaging older generations in what often is viewed as a younger generation pastime. The idea of getting seniors into libraries for a gaming night strikes us as something we'd love to be a part of.

The slate is truly open for the future of gaming at Bangor Public Library. We would like to hear your thoughts on gaming at the library & any suggestions you might have for a future gaming tournament.

You may send any ideas or comments by responding to this blog post. Or, you can directly email me (Patrick Layne) at playne@bpl.lib.me.us or give me a call at 947-8336 x127.

Pictured below: Dance Dance Revolution competitor Alex in action on April 5th.