Gaming is an expansive hobby among both children and adults, yet at least in the United States, there has historically not been a lot of places for adults interested in gaming and other forms of geek culture to congregate and socialize. In the past there were arcades but with gaming shifting to home gaming consoles and personal computers, the need and desire to go out to play dwindled. In some developing countries, internet cafes had large rises to popularity with limited internet access and computers at home, with their popularity often persisting even after homes were brought online.
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| ”Speed Show: Drifting Internet Café,“ created and directed by Sun Xiaoxing, 2016. Photo credits: Zhou Nengneng |
While internet cafes have seen fewer successes in the United States, gaming bars have found a few hits of success just like the arcade bars before and alongside them. The split focus allows for a community of adults to form who may not necessarily feel as comfortable in other social drinking venues or who just prefer to game and want to get together with friends. Beyond that, the drinks can be used as an alternative form of income rather than hourly charges which customers may not be as willing to pay if they already have the games at home. There’s also unique opportunities for combining the characteristics of bars and games and simply working to bring together a community.
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| Ignite Gaming Lounge |
There has been a successful gaming lounge in Chicago for over 10 years, Ignite Gaming Lounge, which offers many types of games alongside basic snacks. It brought together the local gaming community, gathering many loyal fans, hosting events, and providing a place for gamers to connect. It has done well enough to open up a second, much larger, location in Skokie, IL, which added proper food and a full bar to their menu. This second location also has dedicated rooms for larger events, helping to further grow the local LAN and other meetup community.
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| Excerpt from Ignite Gaming Lounge's drink menu |
The panelists also mentioned the enthusiasm they found patrons having when opening or with every event and how they all had ideas to share. The feedback on Ignite Gaming Lounge has been consistent with this, with people super excited when they see the venues, wanting to try everything out. This showcases the desire for these communities to form. The Attendee on Youtube created a video about their experience at Ignite Gaming Lounge in Skokie and offered insights into gaming lounges, explaining how they appreciate the local meetups and connections these types of venues enable. It seems this deep sense of a “geek” community has proved successful, with a panelist in the panel mentioning how he has never had a fight break or a controller stolen.
In the end, it may be easy to leave games in the living room or office and just not partake in bar or club culture, but it would be great to not have to miss out on both. Gaming bars and lounges like Ignite Gaming Lounge and those owned by the panelists can help bridge these two previously separate worlds, providing new exciting and accepting spaces for not only gamers and geeks, but others as well. The excitement is there, as seen by Google reviews like “i really love ignite the vibe is just so chill” and “It's the best place to hang and geek out about your favorite whatever”. Just like the panelists said, start with your passion and what you feel comfortable with, “do that thing” and you will find other people that enjoy that thing as well. In this case, it’s a bunch of gamers and geeks also looking for a place to fit in.
Bloch, Matt, “PAX East 2014 Panel - The Rise of the Geek Bar” YouTube Video, 1:04:10, April 18, 2014, https://youtu.be/RDTjWGaaUfg
Hello poster!
ReplyDeleteI agree that gaming bars are an opportunity for geeks and players to socialize and remove the stigma of social awkwardness among this community, and it is beneficial that such communities can enter the public sight and attract more attention by illustrating that players are not those who are awkward in social “drinking venues” but equally open and sociable as any other adults. I especially like the idea of “bridging the two worlds of games in the living room and bar/club culture,” where previously separated and mutually non-understood communities can get a sense that the opposite is not consisted of outcasts but are able to fit in and get recognized by the larger social community.
This is a very optimistic picture of the future of the geek communities. However, I do want to point out the underlying challenges that may not be as apparent here in the west than in Asia where internet cafes and gaming bars are relatively more commonplace (as you said, internet cafes have seen fewer successes in the United States). What concerns me is the regulations and legislations of such venues and how would they be different in terms of regulation than regular bars. I am not sure if this newly emerged venue is well assessed in terms of regulation, but if it is lacking, then there can be quite some complications socially. For example, how do we regulate underaged students’ access to such places can be an important consideration. My point is that, while we celebrate the communication and diversity brought about by such venues as gaming bars, I think it would also be important to consider the social implications and practical issues that may have to be addressed with consideration. Self-critiquing is important when such new moves are made not only to make sure our activities are regulated and disciplines but also show that geeks and gamers can also be responsible with their actions and establishments of their communities.
I agree with everything above, and also want to expand on something that's touched on in the above reply. Underaged people obviously would be excluded from these kinds of communities, but it likely wouldn't be particularly welcoming to adults who don't have any interest in alcohol. There are plenty of people who have no interest in bar/club culture. I feel like a lot of these discussions are taking for granted that most/all adults will want to drink, and while that percentage is probably high, it will never be 100. I'd be curious to see what other options exist beyond just gaming bars.
DeleteBars targeting geeks and gamers is an appreciable idea, however this kind of targeting brings us back to the question of "who is a geek and/or gamer?" These two once ostracized, then hip, then "victimized" and now ??? identities have come up a lot in the previous few weeks. I can't speak for other countries, but there is a good deal of stigma around those identities for being exclusionary (gatekeeping) in the US and this could hurt the potential of a game-themed bar/cafes by driving off potential customers who are interested in the theme, but not the identity. Where is the balance? Do geeks and gamers really need another place to "fit in"? Is it possible to have a game-themed place without targeting specifically the geek and gamer identity? There's just so much baggage today with those identities that I question the point of using them when plenty of people enjoy games and gaming culture without calling themselves a gamer. Could be a reason they don't do as well in the Us historically.
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