Gaming At Umich at 2:59 PM

Where Are The Gamers?

Out of the over 1000 clubs and organizations offered at the University of Michigan, not one is dedicated to weekly video game playing.

Yet, with the game room in the Union and the grand opening of the Computer & Video Game Archive in the Duderstadt, there is clearly an interest in playing games. So where do gamers play?

The Group Project and Me at 8:13 PM

Jumping into this project had me both worried and optimistic. I realized that choosing a central theme for a project together with six completely unique individuals was going to be a challenge. Shakira was interested in interviewing undergraduate mothers and how they go about their daily lives with a child to care for at home. Lindsay had an idea to speak with politician sons and daughters who attend the University of Michigan. I wanted to find out more about the video game scene on campus and how players interact.

There wasn't any correlation between these ideas in my mind which only meant that we weren't any closer in deciding on a topic. Then Geoff had a suggestion about "the path less traveled." It dawned on me that we could possibly have a theme on the underground student. Undergrad mothers, sons and daughters of politicians, and video gamers are all non-typical demographics that go to U of M. It all fit in perfectly so the next step was to designate roles.

Since I'm good with technology, Erica and Geoff are seasoned professionals in the journalist field, Lindsay has great connections with students, and Shakira is confident on camera, it seemed like our specialties complemented one another perfectly. We plan on working toghether to improve our skills where they lack and help others where our experience is strong.

I will personally overlook the technical aspects of our group. That means that I can assist with cameras and audio as well as the blog itself. If anyone needs help editing video then I would be the go-to guy for that too. Hopefully my contribution on video gamers at U of M will fit with our theme. Perhaps the interviewees I find will lead to an intriguing twist that unfolds into a fantastic story.

Ideas for a Report at 11:45 PM

Being the scatterbrained person that I am, I compiled a list of interesting topics that I considered for my personal report. In an effort to filter my ideas, I will only post those that I feel have the best future.

Gamers at Umich - I want to take an inside look at the the video and computer game culture at the University of Michigan. Interviewing different gamers about how they interact, enjoy different kinds of games, and feel to what extent games play a role in their lives will shed light on the underground U of M gamer culture. I could also inquire about why there is no official video game club on campus and whether gamers like to meet in real life to play games or not.

Michigan Bus Horror Stories - Finding out how students feel about the effectiveness of the University buses. Are they serving their purpose and how well? I would interview students with interesting stories about their bus experiences and compare them with the faculty's perception of them. This could reveal another example of how University services meet expectations or that faculty are detached from student concern.

Cafeteria Food - The age old question of why is dorm food in the dining halls the way it is today? Why isn't the food as good as retail locations? I would interview faculty members who influence the dining halls and see what their reasonings are for the cafterias they're in charge of as well as speak with cafeteria staff and students for their take on the matter. Perhaps ways to improve the cafeterias will arise.