For some college students, class means setting up computer games for high school kids.
Students in a computer and network technology class at the Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Wadena campus are planning a computer game tournament. As part of a class project, Andrew Hendershot, Adam Laney, Wyatt Stangel and Eric Ramnes have been setting up hardware and installing an operating system in preparation for the tournament, which is March 31.
The idea came from a first-year student who participated in gaming tournaments in other areas.
This is the first time for a tournament in this area, said Janet Johnson, Minnesota State Community and Technical College instructor.
She would like the tournament to become an annual event.
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During the tournament, high school students will play Quake III, a game the college students said was popular at one time. They chose the game because it would work well with the schools hardware and for their project.
The college students are testing the program in their network to prepare for game day. They had a trial tournament on Tuesday. The high school tournament will be from 6 to 9 p.m. March 31 in rooms S8 and S9 at the college.
The tournament will be set up for 50 people, but more will be able to play if they bring their own laptops.
Everyone in the tournament will play against each other. The game is a 3-D first-person shooter game. Players try to shoot more men than their competitors. Because the game is mature-rated, only high school students older than 17 will be allowed to play.
Despite the mature-rating, Johnson said the tournament provides the players something to do on a Friday night and is a nice alternative to partying.
She also said computer games are popular among young people, and the number of people who play the games continues to increase.
As the college students prepare for the tournament, they are using their own skills and specialities. Andrew Hendershot, for example, is ready to fix any computer problems. He enjoys trouble-shooting.
I kinda like it when we have problems, he said.
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Adam Laney enjoyed setting up the server and installing the software.
Wyatt Stangel most enjoyed using his graphic design skills to create a poster to let people know about the tournament. Graphic design is a hobby of his, he said.
Along with setting up the computers for the tournament and making sure the tournament runs smoothly, the college class generated support for the project.
They secured the computer lab and gained sponsorship from a gaming card manufacturer. They notified college employees to help spread the word to high school students, and they contacted the college student senate, which is helping with posters, working with concessions at the tournament and helping gather prizes. High school counselors were called to let the students know about the tournament and posters were brought to area schools.
The event is open to all high school students age 17 and older. There is no fee for the tournament. Prizes will be awarded to the top players.
