Earlier in the Summer, I decided to join in with the festivities that a local lan gaming centre called Crossfire. Of course, this event isn’t a simple tournament between patrons, nor is it a game of Battlefield 2 against the staff. It was an event that required endurance, will, cunning, dexterity and gluttony.
It was the All Night Gaming Session. And this is what happened.
15:00 (Saturday)
Arrive at Crossfire, excited over the prospect of the night’s events. request cheap version of Red Bull from supermarket via a friend. Although I do respect The Bull, I do not respect the price when I can get similar liquids that do the job just as well as the much marketed energy drink.
16:00
Friend turns up with tons of his own supplies as well as my energy drink. Have overestimated the quantities involved, and end up giving half a bottle to another reveller. It’s not healthy to quaff enough energy drinks to give an african elephant a heart attack.
17:00
The evening pass people start including me (5-9). Realise that it wasn’t a great idea to book an evening pass too, since this will fatigue me towards the end of the night. Manage to go up 1 level in Wold of Warcraft. My dark elf priest is doing well, considering this is my first time into the WOW experience. Go Me.
21:00
Most "Evening Pass" people are to leave. The other people due to arrive for the event appear too. Everyone’s getting excited, and I stay in the same seat. I am comfortable, I don’t want to be disturbed by other people making me move to make themselves more comfortable.
The new Macbook I’ve bought is shown off to all those that want to see it, and most say I have made a huge mistake. I think they’re jealous that they don’t have one. Either that, or the 4 hours of gameplay has made me a callous human being.
21:30
Due to confusion or some weird voodoo misunderstanding, a spare computer from downstairs (The event is held upstairs) is brought up, because there manages to be 15 people turning up where there’s room for 14. (It was the extra person’s fault). This is fun with a capital "I feel sorry for the staff member sat behind the till because their space was taken by a mistake". Thanks to this, there’s a chance I may be moved elsewhere to accommodate the extra person.
Talk of Pizza begins. This can only lead to the suffering of a pizza chef later on tonight.
22:00
The event starts. Huzzah.
I don’t have to move my seat to elsewhere in the room.
4 hours down, another 12 to go. (It’s like 24, except I’m a really fat Jack Bauer, without gun, but with gut)
22:10
Mammoth Pizza order is made to Dominos via the website. Order includes 11 pizzas, 4 piles of chicken strips and a worry that the pizzeria may think it’s a joke (I mean, what retail environment orders in a large amount of pizzas at night?)
Spend time playing with new Mac laptop whilst my machine gets used to place the order. The Photo-booth program amuses a few people, and instantly makes the Mac worth the £800 or so I paid for it.
22:15
Pizza order finishes. Return to doing web browsing whilst it arrives (Although I do like gaming, if I’m hungry I do not game that well. It’s part of being a fat lazy slob dependent on food, I guess).
22:40
Pizza order arrives. It’s a weird sight, seeing a mountain of pizza boxes that you know are actually full, all in a pile on a counter. This would be a dream scenario for me, if they were all Pizza Hut versions, because I prefer the bases. (The full argument between the Pizza Hut and the Dominos Pizza chains requires lateral thinking and years of eating, with a smidgen of evangelicalism. I won’t go into it here, for your own sanity)
Domino’s also donated a box of M&Ms. Quick estimates reveal it to contain about 72 small packs of peanut flavour packs. I wish they were plain.
22:45
Pizzas distributed to customers. M&Ms distributed to mild confusion. No-one understood why they threw in the M&Ms. Everyone is happy by the delivery, especially the extra chocolate surprise. I theorise that one packet might be poisoned.
23:10
I go to the staff area and remove my shoes. If I’m gaming for an extended period, I don’t want to have cramped feet, and if I took the shoes off downstairs, people would die from the smell alone.
Notice the first of drunk people shouting (Windows are open so we can hear them. A far cry from the All-Nighters before the upstairs opened, where Drunkard Baiting was a sport for kings. I miss those days where alcohol-induced people would bang against the shutters wanting to come in to play on the computers, or to just shout random things. Those were the days…)
00:00 (Sunday)
I wish people "Happy Sunday" because we’ve landed into the World of Tomorrow. No-one really cares. 9 hours left.
00:50
I need the loo. To cut things short, I feel sorry for the next person to go in there.
I note the nearby club has Take on Me by A-Ha playing (Window is open, loo is close to a club. Fun) and wish the DJ to die a horrible death. With a pineapple and vacuum cleaner attachments.
01:05
I reach level 9 in WOW, and decide to have a rest.
Everyone is playing either Battlefield 2 or Counter-Strike Source. I must get involved in the party more than I am doing right now, but WOW continues calling.
03:34
Battlefield 2 continues to be slaughtered by tired youthful people.
Car alarm outside has been going for about 5 minutes. No-one wants to go outside to nudge the car a bit. You know, smash the windscrean, dent the hood… In a loving way of course. The noise is getting on my preverbials.
Finished my pizza. I feel depressed.
05:51
In an attempt to cheer myself up, I felt the need to play with Garry’s Mod. Posing Alyx and Dog in various ways that would possibly lead towards a lawsuit meant people noticed the mod, and that they wanted to have a go too.
Shortly, most of the room got into a large lan game of it, everyone throwing debris at each other, unleashing balloons onto bits of car, jumping impossibly high using road signs and the gravity gun… Someone managed to leave the level and in a weird bug, appeared in everyone’s sky. It felt like a game of Counter-Strike Dungeons and Dragons style, with this oversized "Player" watching over us all. This and other weird moments meant that we have created this mathematical equation that should be submitted to academics around the world for research purposes.
"Garry’s Mod + Sleep Depravation in groups + bugs = WINNAR AND HILLARITY!"
07:18
It appears that everyone is in dire need of some rest. The Garry’s Mod effect has worn off, and some are showing signs of fatigue in huge quantities. You know, like "Resting their eyes" at their desk.
09:00
Not much has happened in the last hour or so. Everyone is playing web games or simpler multiplayer deathmatch stuff in an effort to make the most of these last moments.
I need sleep. Staff are calling me a taxi, and rest would be nice right now. If I do not get a taxi, I will end up walking to that second hand games store and buying something I later regret. Last time it was Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude…
A big thank you to Crossfire (Swansea, UK)
