Making Connections Offline: Tech Square Video Game Night
Feeling stir-crazy, Zoom-fatigued, and uninspired? You’re not alone. As these short December days mark the tenth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, coping with stress hasn’t gotten any easier. Like many people across the world, some of us at Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club have turned to video games to ease the loneliness and creative blocks caused by the times.
Video games can also serve as a platform for socialization, in addition to transporting us to different worlds and letting us embark on missions more imaginative than our daily tasks. Virtual escapism aside, nothing can take the place of human interaction. As communal beings, the need for human interaction is hardwired in our DNA.
So, with the garage doors open for steady airflow in our 9,000 square-foot community workspace, we invited TSQATL Social Club members and guests to take a comfortable, socially-distanced seat at The Clubhouse for our first-ever Video Game Night. Masked attendees got to relax with some refreshments and joined in on some friendly competition, while connecting over favorite video games.
TECH SQUARE VIDEO GAME NIGHT:
Do you have a video game console at home?
To our surprise, we learned that a handful of participants do not have a video game console at home. This made the rounds of Mario Kart Wii and the attempts at Mortal Kombat X’s fatality combinations all the more fun. The daring ones among us even signed up to be transported 80 stories high via the new Oculus Quest 2 VR headset.
Most of us got to take a nostalgic favorite to the next level with Mario Kart Live. By controlling a real-life Mario Kart, via Nintendo Switch, around The Clubhouse as its race course, it was fun to see everyone acclimate themselves into the future of video games with augmented reality (AR).
The best part of Video Game Night? Witnessing the joy from human connection, and seeing people push themselves out of their comfort zone by (safely) introducing themselves to someone new. From attendee-generated input, we learned that each attendee met at least two new people throughout the evening.
Feeling like you missed out on this interactive Atlanta tech community event? Look out for the next one here, and subscribe to The Weekly to stay in the loop.
What was the last video game you played? Let us know in the comments below.
Did You Know?
In November, Bloomberg reported that the video game industry is expecting a 20 percent rise in revenue equating to $174.9 billion due to the pandemic video game boom.