National Video Games Day is Sept. 12 and the SFU community is prepared to celebrate their love of video games. On this holiday and every other day of the semester.
Video games have enjoyed a strong presence on campus for many years. An SFU Gaming Club was founded in 2013 and the gaming tradition continues today through the University’s Esports Program, which began in 2019.
Ethan Walker, a senior Computer Science major and member of the SFU Esports team, said that playing video games is something he has enjoyed since he was 5 years old.
“They are something that’s fun to do in my free time,” said Walker. “I also like the competitive aspect.”
Walker believes that experiencing the story in a video game is similar to experiencing a story in other forms of media.
“If they have a good story, it’s like reading a book but in a different way.”
Some members of the SFU faculty also enjoy playing video games. Sydney Beunier-Lucas, an adjunct instructor in the English Department, said that she has had fun gaming ever since she first played “Frogger” when she was 5.
“I was obsessed with trying to get this poor little frog to wherever he needed to go,” said Beunier-Lucas.
The English instructor believes that more people are gamers than most people realize.
“Everybody games, even if they don’t think they do,” she said, noting that playing “Candy Crush” or “Bejeweled” is still gaming.
In a survey of 100 SFU students, participants were asked if they prefer playing single-player or multi-player video games. Fifty-four of the respondents said they prefer multi-player games; 46 prefer to play alone.
If you do not have any experience playing video games, both Walker and Beunier-Lucas encourage you to try out gaming for yourself.
