Button Masher

December 2015, Issue 1

The Rise of eSports

Look inside the rise of one of the biggest gaming trends ever. p.35

Why Do We Play Video Games?

Delve into the possible reasons why we adore video games. p.24

Table Of Contents 7 9 13 14 16 22 24 28 30 34 35

· · · · · · · · The Holy Trinity Specs

· · · · · · · · The Games Of Past, Present, And Future An overview and description of some of the most ground-breaking games of the decade

· · · · · · · · How To Survive Fallout

· · · · · · · · What Game Is Right for You?

· · · · · · · · The Way It’s Meant To Be Played

Learn the hard work behind amazing graphics and what we can expected in the future.

· · · · · · · · The History Of PC Gaming

· · · · · · · · Why Do We Play Video Games?

Take a look into the psychology of video games and the positive and negative effects reasearch has found about gaming.

· · · · · · · · Keyboard Switch Comparison · · · · · · · · Console Wars

Find out the good, the bad and the ugly of the eigth generation video game consoles.

· · · · · · · · Top Games Of 2016

· · · · · · · · The Rise Of eSports

Recieve insight about eSports, the growing phenomenon in the gaming industry.

Button Masher | 3

Meet the Button Mashers

Colby Carr

The Colby Carr, el editor en jefe, is a detail oriented, funny (opinions may vary), smart and athletic guy. He loves first-person shooter games, especially CS:GO, and plans to become a master over the summer. Colby also loves League Of Legends. He wants to become an engineer, architect or pilot. Colby’s favorite pastimes are sleeping on his very comfortable bed, watching TV, hanging out with friends, eating, soccer, and of course playing video games. Colby was born on the same day as Luis Armand Garcia (i.e. Max Lopez).

But watch out ladies, he’s a spammer.

Marcel Gonzales

4 | Button Masher

Marcel’s favorite game is CS:GO. He likes to play CS:GO because he loves FPS’s and he plays for enjoyment. He loves to eat cheese enchiladas, and wouldn’t mind a nice cold root beer to go with it.

He loves Miley Cyrus, Indie music, and the NFL, especially Fantasy Football. Marcel’s birthday is the same day as soccer player Diego Maradona.

“I’m like this awesome kid that knows everything about everyone. I’m pretty much god trapped in a beautiful body,” says Marcel Gonzales, “This issue of Button Masher inspired me. I hope if you’re reading this it inspires you too.”

Jacob Watson

Jacob is a hot wings, coke and french fries kind of guy. He shares a birthday with John Lennon and to the normal joe, he acts as an introvert, but under the right influence, people see the real him. Jacob plays League of Legends and Arkham Knight in his free time, but wants our elders to “...be informed about the majesticness of video games. They won’t know the majesticness until we prove video games awesome with science”. His friends describe him as funny, clever, kind of a geeky nerd, very social and comfortable with people, and some closer friends think, “Jacob’s hot, rough and loud”.

Marc Martinez

Marc Martinez’s favorite game is Super Smash Bros. and his favorite game character is Kirby, and he loves playing for competition. Marc loves PlayStation and Nintendo. Marc likes to go home after a long day, kick off his socks, and have a nice warm bowl of mashed potatoes and then crawl into his bed and cry about school. He loves pop music, Netflix (and chill), and cats. He loves to go out into nature (on Skyrim). “You have to respect Marc because he is YouTube famous,” says Marcel Gonzales. Marc’s birthday is the same day as the first president of the United States of America.

Rishi Chandna

When people think of “that kid”, they think of Rishi Chandna. He plays DotA 2, dresses and thinks like a nerd and maintains a vegetarian lifestyle.

He toned his abs to perfection, despite his love of eating and interest in MLE competitions. He remains silent about his birthday because “They already know, [and] they don’t need another source for confirmation”. Computers interest him, but, “Creating graphics for computing devices is completely mesmerizing”. Math and science dominate his free time as well as Dungeons and Dragons.

5 | Button Masher

Letter from the Editor

My name is Colby Carr. I am the Editor in Chief of the group making this magazine: Button Masher. When we started on this project, we did not realize how long, hard, and tedious it would be. Over the length of a semester, we learned a lot of things regarding the formatting of the magazine and all the pictures and writing involved. We started out, not all knowing eachother, but now we’ve created bonds, growing and growing with each passing day.

The reason we chose to do this magazine on gaming, is because gaming is a part of our lives and we all enjoy it very much. As a group, we’ve all had different experiences with gaming, but it still brought us together.

As always, we couldn’t include everything on the gaming topics that we talked about but we tried our best. The topics we wrote about were chosen because they were mainly what we like about computer or console gaming. What brought us together in the end, was our enjoyment of gaming. We all connected over one thing and that’s what makes gaming so great. It brings people from all over the world and lets them bond over the things they all enjoy.

This magazine is for the avid, and not so avid gamers. Remember there is one thing about gaming that is beautiful worldwide; bonding. So remember that, and game on.

-Colby Carr, El Editor En Jefe 6 | Button Masher

The Holy Trinity Specs

By Marc Martinez

All of the specs of the 8th generation video consoles all on one convienet page.

Hardware Features: Dimmensions

RAM

Storage

External Storage

A/V Hookups

Power Supply

Play as you download Mandatory Game Installs

Required Internet Connection Backwards Compatibility

Cross game Chat

Wi-Fi Direct (for device connection) IR

Near Field Communications

Online Game Play

8GB GDDR5

8GB DDR3

13.1 x 10.8 x 3.1 in

Blu-Ray DVD

25GB Optical Disc (proprietary)

Single-chip x86 AMD “Jaguar processor, 8 cores

8 Core Microsoft custom CPU

Tri-Core PowerPC “Espresso” CPU

No

Yes

500 GB 5400 RPM SATA II hard drive

Removable Hard Drive USB

Cloud Storage

6.8 x 10.83 x 12.01 in

Blu-Ray DVD

Optical Drive CPU

2.09 x 10.83 x 12.01 in

Yes, must be a t least 160 GB, USB 3.0 (2 ports) HDMI output Internal

2GB DDR 3

500 GB Hard Drive

8GB or 32GB Flash

No

No

USB 3.0 (3 ports)

HDMI input and output External (Power Brick)

Yes

USB 2.0 (4 ports)

HDMI out, Component/Composite Out External (Power Brick)

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

No None Yes No

Yes

No, but required for mandatory for day one

No

No

Limited and recently added for Xbox 360

Yes, the Wii

Yes

Yes (for GamePad video streaming)

Yes

No

No

IR out, IR Blaster (Kinect)

IR Transceiver (GamePad)

Paid Aces Via PS+ Subscription

Paid Acces Via Xbox Live Gold

Free

No

No

Yes (GamePad)

7 | Button Masher

Online Features: Streaming Game Services Netflix Skype

Hulu Plus

None

PlayStation Now

None

Free Access to Apllication

Free Acess to Apllication

Paid Access to Application

None

Free Access to Apllication None

Game DVR

Streaming Game Video Web Browser

None

Free Access to Application

NFL Application

None

Via Xbox Live Gold Subscription

Paid Access to Application

Possible

Via Xbox Live Gold Subscription

Paid Access to Application

Free Access to Apllication

Via Xbox Live Gold Subscription

Free Access to Apllication

Paid Access to Application

Yes

Paid Access to Application

Via Xbox Live Gold Subscription

Free Access to Apllication

TBA

Via Xbox Live Gold Subscription

Paid Access to Application

None

Via Xbox Live Gold Subscription

Controller Features:

Controller Hardware:

Rechargeable battery Rumble Front-facing camera Microphone Stereo speakers Headphone jack (3.5 mm) Volume slider Infrared Light (IR) Sensor TV Input/ wireless remote Stylus (with holding slot)

Features:

Battery Life 3-5 hours Rumble Front Facing Camera Microphone Stereo Speakers Headphone Jack Volume Slider Tv Input/Wireless Remote NFC (Near Field Communication)

8 | Button Masher

Controller Hardware:

Controller Hardware:

Features:

Features:

Rechargeable battery Rumble Stereo speakers Headphone jack (3.5 mm) Trigger Rumble Motors Grip texture around sticks

Wireless compatibility with Mac’s and PC’s Share Button Touchpad Grip Light Bar Audio Rechargeable Battery

Trigger Rumble Motors Battery pack flush with controller Plus-shaped D-Pad (mechanical) Haptic feedback triggers Grip texture around sticks Micro-USB port Charging and Battery Syncing Menu View

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The Games of Past, Present, and Future Ocarina of Time, League of Legends, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive

of Legends, and Counter Strike: where you start playing and you just Global Offensive. The three games can’t help but keep playing. One of that follow are all unique from each the world’s most classic games is By: Colby Carr other, from gameplay, to style and Ocarina of Photo from Wikimedia Time from theme, they all are their own Legend ideo games in the past have of Zelda. had their goods and bads; but, games. But they all have one thing in common. They have It came there are some timeless clascaught gamers eyes for years out in sics that have engraved themselves and keep 1998 on the hearts of gamers worldwide.

Photo from Wikimedia them coming. and In this article I will This upcomcreated be reviewing one of ing game is a large the timeless classics Hylian crest from Legend of Zelda. the oldest of uproar of fans and two of today’s the others. It’s as it was the first Legend of Zelda most popular games a classic game game with 3-D graphics. This made worldwide. These that all gamers the game easily the most popular three games are: Legof all the Legend of Zelda games. end of Zelda, League Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time logo. have heard of. It’s one

V

Button Masher | 9

amount of Influence Points and Riot Points, which encourages the players to play more to get a certain champion that they might like.

The graphics for League are decent, but the gameplay makes up for it. The strategy of the game is definitely a highlight for all players.

“If you don’t play the strategy well, you lose and that doesn’t ever feel good, so for me, I’m really motivated to play the game right and win it.” game made in 2009. It’s a Multiplay- Kendrick Lamar says, “You come in with a strategy and plan to win er Online Battle Arena game, or a it and when you do it’s one of the MOBA. It’s brought millions of peogreatest feelings you’ll ever have.” ple to play and watch worldwide.

The point of the game is to destroy It’s called: League of Legends.

“It’s just the way I League of Legends logo. the other Photo from Wikimedia get to socialize with my Triforce from the Legend of Zelda series. close friends without having to be literally with them,” Kendrick Lamar says, “The game itself helps us bond together and it’s fun.” He’s been playing League for four years now and has enjoyed the game immensely in team’s Nexus. It’s guarded by turrets those four years. League of Legends and you have to destroy one of the is a multiplayer online strategy great mix of everything that we three inhibitors that surround it. game with the characters you play loved and expected from Legend of Each character has certain abilities as called champions. The champiZelda but truly took it to another that need mana to perform the atons have different attacks, health, level.” All of the ‘original’ players tack. There are three different lanes and mana. All of this variety and saw it as the new and improved in which the players destroy the two the quantity of the variety adds up Zelda game and it really made an enemy turrets to get to the Nexus. to have large assortments of chamimprint on the players hearts.

Minions are little characters that pions that fit a large number of

Ocarina of Time was a clasmove up the lanes attacking and sic game that’s still popular, but this peoples liking. The characters cost following other enemies and ena certain next game is a modern Photo from Flickr League of Legends poster or picture of champions. emy minions. They don’t deal as much damage but help the players out in a great way.

Everytime you kill a minion or enemy you get gold. This helps the players greatly and is a crucial part in the game. This allows you to buy different items to help in the game.

This is all a part of the strategy in the game.

You assign certain champions to different lanes or to jungle. The strategy is part of what really makes this game Ph

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There have been tries in that time to produce a game that was in 3-D. Other games tried, some succeeded, some didn’t. But this one surpassed all other Legend of Zelda games. The combination of graphics, music, and plot made the game great, and quite addicting. The kids, and adults, that played it in the late ‘90s when it first came out, got to play the first 3-D Zelda game.

Players themselves remember playing it for the first time just under twenty years from when they first played it. Garland Jarrel, the store manager for a Game Over Videogames north Austin location says, “It was a

10 | Button Masher

“It was a great mix of everything that we loved and expected from Legend of Zelda but truly took it to another level.”

fun and unique.

Throughout the game players can buy certain things from the shop that help them with several different things. This certainly helps when characters are weighted towards attack or defense, and with the shop, you can even out the characters abilities so that each champion can be the best that the player wants.

League of Legends brings people from all over the world to enjoy and experience a great game.

Players love the feel of the game and the strategy it takes to win. When they do win a game through using their strategy, they feel great and are driven to try and win again. “You come in with a strategy and plan to win (with) it and when you do it’s one of the greatest feelings you’ll ever have.” Kendrick Lamar says.

Players feel like they accomplish something when they win, even if that is just getting more points, or bragging rights.

This upcoming game is also a massively multiplayer game, has brought millions of players to participate, but it’s a whole different style of play. Counter Strike: Global Offensive, also known as CS:GO, is a first person shooter that has a wide variety.

Couster Strike: Global Offensive logo. Count-

er Strike: Global Offensive is a FPS that puts your character, either a terrorist or counter terrorist, in a spawn on, depending on which type you are, the counter-terrorist (commonly referenced as CT within the CS:GO community) side or the terrorist (or T) side.

Each team have a few guns that are different, but are the same style gun. This makes the team’s guns more realistic, with keeping the game fair.

There are a number of different game modes such as: Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, Arms Race, Demolition, and custom maps on community servers. There are also

Counter Strike: Global Offensive logo with counter terrorist on it.

Photo from Wikimedia

other maps, the most popular being game modes, but still are enjoyed Dust II, Mirage, Inferno, and Cache. by gamers. The overall theme

Casual matches have up to ten of these modes are; you spawn players per team. In somethis game mode, playwhere, ers of all rankings are either able to play, thus not in a a great deal of players spawn with lower rankings or a or medium rankings ranlike this game mode dom too much because they place get killed very easily on the and frequently. Casual map. matches start out and present you with You have a gun and you kill $1000. The money is used to buy guns, enemies to upgrade your score grenades Photo from Wikimedia and armor. or position until the time runs Competitive out, or you get to the final ‘level’. matches are Arms Race presents you with a similar but gun and you have to go through also have all of the guns to win the game. variety difDeathmatch allows you to buy ferences. Comps, as they are referred a gun, spawns you in a random to, have teams of five, end at 15 rounds place on the map, Photo from Deviant Art and upgrade your ranking much more than casual matches do. They are taken much more seriously because of that.

There are different rankings from Silver I to Global Elite.

Deathmatch, Arms Race, and Demolition aren’t as popular Counter Strike: Source with the logo and two counter terrorists.

You come in with a strategy and plan to win (with) it and when you do it’s one of the greatest feelings you’ll ever have.

Button Masher | 11

Screenshot of competitive game in CS:GO on the map; Cache.

and you must kill as many people as you can until the time runs out.

And lastly, Demolition is the same as Arms race but is played like a casual game. You upgrade your weapon but play as though you are in a casual, so you must plant the bomb, defuse the bomb, or kill the enemy team.

These are only some of many game modes presented in CS:GO Players enjoy this game as much as they do, because of the game play and the thrill you get when you kill enemies. The amount of enemies you can kill in a round makes the players feel accomplished. It brings a collection of people in and sucks them back into play again. The variety of the game and how many different things you are able to do in Gun from CS:GO on the terrorist side, a Galil.

it keep the gamers satisfied enough.

The game play in CS:GO compensates for the quality of the graphics

12 | Button Masher

Photo from Flickr

as many players have noticed.

McMinn, a Counter Strike: Global Offensive player says, “ I think that the reason why CS (Counter Strike) is so popular, and why it keeps growing is mostly because it has a constant supply of new updates that provide innovative content and new ways to play the game.

Not only that, but I think it is quite different from other FPSs because it incorporates things such Photo from Flickr as “spray” and footsteps, which are very different from other games. Having such a strong community behind the game means that there is also lots of support and feedback when things are changed.”

As McMinn said, this game takes variables from real life and puts it into the game to make a more realistic feel. Such as, the aiming for your

shots is less accurate as you move and is more so when you are slower or are at a stand still. In the game, you can hear enemy footsteps just

“ I think that the reason why

CS (Counter Strike) is so popular, and why it keeps growing is mostly because it has a constant supply of new updates that provide innovative content and new ways to play the game... ” like you would in real life.

Ocarina of Time, League of Legends, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive are very differently styled games but still draw in a great quantity of fans. More and more gamers come to play them and are changed, in one way or another by them. These three games encompass gamers of all kinds, from old school geeks to new school gaming fans. They are the games of the past decades and will be remembered in the future. They have left imprints on gamers hearts and will be loved for years to come. These are the games of the present, past and future.

How to Survive

101

You don’t have to be in a post apocalyptic wasteland to understand that food is essential.

In the Fallout franchise you can get food from the mutant animals that you kill or scavenging in the world for canned food from the world before the war. In real life there are actually a lot of ways you can obtain food. The ground, after the radiation goes away, will be available for easy agriculture. In the bunker, waiting out the chaos, hydroponic farming is a very good way to survive, provided that you have the proper materials.

d

Above: Real life bunkers are stocked with cans of water so that the water can last a long time.

o Fo

Wa ter

An essential to survival is, of course, water. Devices called water chips are found in the Vaults where humanity’s remnants lived out the barrage of nuclear missiles. They are supposed to monitor the water and make sure it is suitable for drinking. In real life, bunkers are usually stocked with cans of water and in wildlife survival situations, water purification tablets can purify water for a single person. Rivers and streams would be irradiated unsafe to drink in large doses. Wells could be the only source of safe drinking water.

Shelter

While basic necessities are good, it won’t last long without any shelter or protection. In the games you survive the nuclear war inside underground, community bunkers called Vaults.

As for protection against radiation, after you reach the surface you can take Rad-X a radiation resistent drug, or wear Power Armor, a metal suit that makes super the new normal. In real life, underground bunkers are a thing, but also a material is being developed, a nano carbon tubing, that could withstand the explosion and radiation. Not only that, special hazmat suits are radiation resistant as well.

Above: Canned food is an essential for real doomsday bunkers. The canned food can last as long as you’re in a bunker Below: Hazmat suits lined with a protective coating can resist ionizing radiation.

Button Masher | 13

What Game Is Photo from Flickr

This game is the fifth game in a series. You play as a country and fight your way to the top by expanding and claiming your territory for all to see. $29.99 on Steam.

YES

GO

Start

By: Marcel Gonzales

NO

Strategy Games?

NO

First Person Shooter Games?

NO

YES

Action Games?

Are you someone who often finds themselves needing a new video game to play?

Well there’s no need to worry because you can discover your next favorite game right here!

YES

Photo from Wikimedia

NO

YES

Fantasy Action?

The 14th game in the Final Fantasy Saga, it features fantastic graphics and plot. Rated 9/10 on gamespot.com. $19.99 on Steam.

Photos from Wikimedia

MOBA Games?

YES

Photo from Flickr

14 | Button Masher

NO

Photo from Flickr

Return to Start

Defense of the Ancients 2 is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game.

Free on Steam.

Right For You? GOAT SIMULATOR YES

Photo from Wikimedia

Simulator Games?

In Goat Simulator, you take the form of a goat and cause untold amounts of chaos around the world. It’s a hysterical game and costs $9.99 on Steam.

Photo from Wikimedia

NO

Counter Strike: Global Offensive is a multiplayer, online First Person Shooter in which two teams utilize different strategies to complete their given objectives. $14.99 on Steam.

Photo from Wikimedia

Photo from Wikimedia

YES

Sports Games?

YES

NO

Photo from Wikimedia

Photo from Flickr

Released July 7, 2015, it combines soccer and racing to make one of the most successful games of the year. This thrilling new spin on a sports game costs $9.99 on Steam.

NO

Horror Games?

The Forest is a Horror survivalthemed game taking place on an island. Your plane crashes and you are forced to scavenge to stay alive. As the plot develops, you find other people on the island and a pack of cannibals intent on making you their next meal. $14.99 on Steam.

Return to Start

Button Masher | 15

The Way It’s Meant to be Played Gamers want the most realistic experience they can get within their price budget and nVIDIA continues to deliver By: Rishi Chandna

I

n the 1970s, Atari released the game pong. It had blocky numbers to keep score, a ball in the shape of a square, a dashed line to mark the halfway point and two paddles; all white against a black background. It mimicked a table tennis game from a top down perspective, and used 8-bit graphics. A decade later, computers used 16-bit graphics. Fast-forward 40 years and graphic cards allow the use of 512-bit graphics. Video game graphics have come a long way, but still

more closely resemble the beginning graphics than being indistinguishable from real life. Despite this, graphics still improve at a rapid rate.

nVIDIA is a company that supplies graphics cards to gamers that wish for the highest quality graphics on the market. Santa Clara, California is their home base, but nVIDIA offices all over the world. nVIDIA is revolutionizing the graphics industry by turning out cheaper and faster cards every year. nVIDIA is focused on enabling gamers to experience games

Photo from Wikipedia

Above: In the 1980s, a simple C64 game uses pixelated sprites to illustrate game characters Below: Season 5 of League of Legends features a drastic change in graphics from games 35 years ago

Photo from Wikimedia

the way they’re meant to be played. By improving graphics cards so rapidly, they are paving the road towards an indistinguishable-from-the-real-world-virtual-reality.

One of the great things about

“There’s simply not enough time in life to dedicate to [learning about everything that goes into a graphic card].”

- Goran Devic

nVIDIA is their drivers. They ensure usage of optimal settings from the get go. nVIDIA has an entire team in Russia; they essentially run every game on every combination of hardware using nVIDIA graphics. The team has a huge database of the most optimal settings. nVIDIA has hundreds of teams working together to efficiently produce graphics card including the driver team in Russia and many others. nVIDIA has large teams of computer architects working on new graphics architectures to get more performance out of their cards.

The employees making up the architecture team, software team, hardware team, and every other group at nVIDIA could have chosen to work at AMD or Intel, but they chose nVIDIA. “Someone once told me when you pick a company you should choose a company that’s growing and that’s a leader in its field. nVIDIA was growing pretty rapidly when I joined and they were, and continue to be, a leader,” says Ajay Chandna, hardware engineer and computer aided designer for nVIDIA. Other employees didn’t chose nVIDIA; instead, fate decided

Button Masher | 17

their career, “It’s a little bit of luck when [I started my] career. I started doing computer graphics 20 years ago and it just stuck. There were about 15 people that I started working with and we’re all now in the same company.

I’m happy that it turns out that way,”

“Video animation is very complicated.

[When animating a cloud] we actually use a real fluid dynamics engine.”

- Goran Devic

Devic says.

nVIDIA has thousands of great employees, each coming from diverse backgrounds. Improving graphics means they have to work together and pack more efficient structures on a constantly changing card layout. nVIDIA focuses on improving packaging and cooling technologies every year.

The boards today have more advanced cooling schemes than those from years ago. The cards are also in more advanced packages than they were in years past. These two parts continue to improve with each generation of cards. Everything has

changed so fast and drastically since the previous decades, “Ten years ago it might have been possible [for one person to do all of it], but nowadays it’s just too complex. If you really want to achieve some efficiency, there’s simply not enough time in life to dedicate to learn the whole stack. [It’s like the expression:] Jack of all trades, and master of none,” Devic says. nVIDIA’s cards power more than just video games, they enable graphics for movies. They also have an insanely large number of parallel math processors in them, so scientists involved in cancer research, oil exploration or engineering simulations can use graphics processors to run faster simulations. Despite all of these uses, even one video game computation has hundreds of factors taken into account.

Video animation is very complicated, “You can have very detailed animation of something like a cloud. It was very difficult in the past, because every particle in a cloud is correlated to a neighboring particle. When the wind blows, there is a lot of computation going on. [In our cloud engine, we use] a real fluid dynamics engine to animate game effects. All of [these additions] to games makes gaming more realistic and enjoyable, without losing speed,” Devic says.

nVIDIA has a group they call the nVIDIA GameWorks studio. “Game

works is a set of tools which comes with engineering support and special effects which we create and put out and give to game developers so that they can quickly add it to their games,” Burke says. GameWorks includes packages like VisualFX for effects including more realistic face design and fur movement, PhysX for calculations regarding cloth movement, and destruction of objects, OptiX for improvements in ambient occlusion and procedural surfaces, and also other packages including, but not limited to, shadows, anti-aliasing, light baking, flame movement, and realistic grass movement.

All of the computations take place in the software on the card, making software increasingly important. Every time hardware engineers make something, they need many more software engineers to bring it alive. Without software, any kind of hardware device is a bunch of wires, just silicon.

Software and hardware make up the majority of the chip, but the cards need more. Teams of engineers dedicate their time to analyze and reduce the power of nVIDIA’s chips. To do this, changes are made in architecture. nVIDIA has computer architects working on new graphics architectures to get more performance out of the chips.

Every two years, their architecture team develops a new architecture ca

Photo from nVIDIA blog

War Thunder by Gaijin utilizes nVIDIA’s WaveWorks package to create more realistic waves on the shore that can interact with vehicles in the game 18 | Button Masher

Photo from Wikipedia

The Oculus Rift allows the player to physically look around in the real world. This immersive technology requires twice as much horsepower in the graphics card.

pable of providing better performance than the previous generation.

With every generation, graphics get closer and closer to real life quality.

Even though we are extremely far away from achieving these highest possibly quality graphics, engineers speculate about the future of the industry after we achieve this graphics nirvana; some have even started working on these futuristic games with three dimensional vision.

Devic explains it as a technology where you put on glasses, and there is an infrared link to the screen. The computer generates a slightly different image for the left and right eye. It’s like you enter a new world with total 3D depth. “It’s fantastic. You can really get immersed in a game. I really like playing in 3D vision.”

3D graphics are so immersive, but some engineers have taken the de-

velopment even further to almost put the player in the game. The Oculus Rift is a popular device and utilizes virtual reality technology. It straps to the player’s head and allows them to change the view by turning their head.

Virtual reality, also known as VR, is the next big thing. Companies are investing a lot of money in virtual reality; so much, the technology just keeps getting better and more immersive every year. One issue with VR deals with the graphics horsepower. In order to render a unique scene for each eye, the graphics horsepower must double to render a scene for each eye.

“If you’re playing a game on your computer screen, then you need to be about 30-60 frames per second,” says Burke, “We need to render whatever you’re looking at 30-60 times per second. We have to render it much faster than that for virtual reality. If you’re

using virtual reality goggles and we render slower than that then you will get physically ill and will throw up,” says Burke.

The advancement of Pong graphics for their time is very fascinating when compared to the graphics considered advanced in today’s world. In a little over one generation, graphics have shown astonishing progress. Engineers like Chandna often marvel at the thought of graphics progress in two, or even three generations. “This next generation of engineers is growing up with technology, and will create amazing breakthroughs in this virtual world.” nVIDIA is doing wonders for the graphics world and you can expect to see their graphics being used in new popular games like War Thunder, Fifa 16 and Destiny.

Button Masher | 19

History of PC Gaming

The first computer was made in the mid 19th century, and the first computer game in 1952. Much has changed between then and now, from graphics to topics. This timeline will take you from the beginning of it all, to the present.

1980

1952

The first cumputer game was made this year with vector programming it was tic-tac-toe.

It was made by Alexander S. Douglas called OXO. It is the first known game to display visuals on a video moniter.

1962

Spacewar was another pioneer computer game made in 1961. It’s one of the earliest digital computer games.

22 | Button Masher

1989

PC gaming has its rise with atari reaching $1 billion dollars in revenue, and Namco with over $1 billion dollars in profiting from pac-man. The gaming industry has over $6 billion dollars in sales in 1981.

Atari continues to be a powerhouse company and nintando comes into the situation and outsells the competitors 10 to 1.

1982

Big name gaming companies like Atari have their sales drop 50% and many companies start to lose money. In 1983, there was a large crash in the gaming industry and Atari loses more and more money.

2009

League of Legends is released , one of the most popular massive multiplayer game of its time was released. It popularized esports worldwide and ecouraged gamers to be involved in esports and other massive multiplayer games.

2000

Counter Strike comes out, a first person shooter game , that has lead to many other variations, leading to the growth of esports around the world.

1990

Nintendo releases an all-time seller, which made 11 millions dollars, Super Mario 3.

Atari and Amiga ST die out.

Nintendo has 7 billion dollars in sales as PC gaming explodes in popularity.

2005

Nintendo releases an all-time seller, which made 11 millions dollars, Super Mario 3. Atari and Amiga ST die out. Nintendo has 7 billion dollars in sales as PC gaming explodes in popularity.

2015

Today PC gaming is worldwide, with massive multiplayer games and action-adventure being some of the most popular genres. The effects, stories, and gameplay, have been the best they’ve ever been.

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Why Do We Play Video Games?

Photo from Jacob Watson

Video games have engraved themselves on our culture and made their mark on the world, but why are we so attached to them in the first place?

By Jacob Watson

S

ince 1972, when Pong was released, people have played video games as a source of entertainment. The exciting gameplay, the worlds to discover, the competition, all provide a wonderful past time. If you ask gamers why they are so completely dedicated to virtual worlds and people, they will respond with a very plain answer. “Video games are fun” or “I get bored” seem too simplistic of answers to an obsession that is worldwide. What is the point? The hours and hours spent on video games could be spent on plenty of other things, so why do we play video games?

Gamers have spent hours and hours dedicated to video games since their genesis in the 70s. Worldwide video games have entranced millions with how unique they are compared to other entertainment outlets. Once video games became home bound the purpose and effects of video games became debated even until this day.

Adam Lobel, a psychologist who has studied video games, has loved video games since childhood.

“My first big video game ‘crushes’ were Doom, Golden Axe, Mega-Man X, Pokemon Red, and Donkey Kong 64. And I played a lot of video games during high school,” he says when

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Photo from flickr.com

reminiscing about his beginnings as a gamer. Adam Lobel and his colleagues Isabel Granic and Rutger Engels researched the benefits of video games in January 2014, publishing a paper on the American Psychological Association entitled “The Benefits of Playing Video Games?”

It provides good evidence for the

Right: Mortal Kombat X is a fighting game that is enjoyed for the skilled action and the brutal ways to win.

case that video games actually make gamers social, have faster hand-eye coordination, and test their mental abilities constantly.

Adam Lobel and his colleagues also make the argument that playing video games serves the same purpose as conventional playing (running around, tag, hide and seek, etc.) does. The research on playing strongly supports the idea that emotions can be felt in a productive way. Feelings from anger to sadness to joy can all be felt so the subject playing can learn to control such emotions more effectively.

Video games in particular could possibly do much more than conventional playing. Since video games focus on specific goals for

the player to achieve, accomplishing these goals is the main struggle of the gamer. And failure is inevitable. As Lobel says,“failure in video games is framed as something that is merely part of a larger process of growth. Failure is not the end, it is just another step to selfimprovement.” This self improvement is present in all video games, no matter the genre.

All video games have unique mechanics, or special features of the controls, which take time to master.

Not only that but each video game has it’s own style, pace, and form.

The player needs to acclimate to all of these things along with learning what must be done to accomplish the main goal of the video game.

“Playing with others

fulfills a basic human need to feel connected to others “ This process of learning is usually through the tutorials which are presented in the beginning of the game and then lots of experimenting with different buttons. And not only that, but many video games feature a system in which

Right: Shovel Knight is an indie platformer loved for it’s retro art style, exciting game play, and the memorable bosses you fight each level.

Below: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an action RPG that allows the player to make the character play to the gamer strengths,

you must switch between different characters with different specializations. Lobel confirmed this, saying, “I know there is good evidence to suggest that the answer is yes[it can improve cognition] in several domains (multi-tasking, visual acuity, task switching)” All of these things help the mental wellness of the player, even if the player wasn’t trying to think and grow.

Conventional play also is linked to social abilities. Playing, outside or logged on, can be a very social situation. Whether it is working Photo from commons.wikimedia.org

Photo from flickr.com

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together to solve a puzzle or chasing each other around a playground, people can connect and bond over games. “One would be their [video games] ability to bring people together,” Lobel says when I asked him about what video games can do especially well.”Playing with others fulfills a basic human need to feel connected to others,”

There are bits of evidence that suggest that video games are beneficial in a multitude of areas.

However there is a suggestion that they could be detrimental as well. I interviewed gamers Dominic Juarez and Aleah Haight for their own input on the topic at hand. Dominic says,”Sometimes video games can be distracting when you have to do

Photo from en.wikipedia.org

school work, but I believe they have more positive effects than negative.”

That quote is emblematic of what gamers in general think of video games. “Video games have definitely been a kind of cool down for me when I’m stressed. They take your mind off of whatever is going on and that can be really helpful,” he also says. Aleah Haight says,”I play video games because it allows the player to do something they would never get to do otherwise. In real life, I would never be able to dunk on Michael Jordan, or become a member of the Brotherhood. Video games allow me to do those things.”

And that is also a benefit to gamers, stress relief and escapism is most definitely a choice reason that video games are played so commonly.

When I asked Dominic about his parents’ opinion towards video games he says,” My parents are not opposed to video games, but they don’t exactly like them. I think they only see the negatives of video games and it is difficult to get them to understand the positive effects.”

And that is where a bulk of the misconceptions about video games lies, in older generations. To the younger demographic, video games has been so engraved in our society that it’s okay, it has benefits, as mentioned

by Lobel, and detriments, but all in moderation and nothing would get out of hand.

While prejudices against video

Right: Fez is a slow paced, platforming game that is played for it’s interesting mechanic and it’s interesting platforming game that encourages the player to relax and take time in thinking.

Below: Call of Duty is a FPS game that gamers love for it’s multiplayer and the competitive play style surrounding it.

Photo from commonc.wikimedia.org

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Photo from mashable.com

Above: Legend of Zelda is one of the most iconic franchises setting the standard for adventure games since the original NES game released.

Below: Star Wars Battlefront is a 2015 multiplayer shooting game inspired by the Star Wars saga and it’s sprawling battle of the original trilogy.

games have labeled them as things that make you lazy, dumb, and aggressive, they could actually do a great deal of good. The reasons to play video games can differ. There is not much research on the topic so it is very difficult to try to conclude anything from the current research. The evidence suggests that video games help us control and learn to regulate our emotions.

Video games are also one way that gamers socialize, either in person or online. Additionally, video games are becoming more physically and mentally active, with the challenges players have to figure out in these games make gamers contemplate harder than ever before. But it could be a while before we get sufficient data to explain definitively why we play video games.

Photo from flickr.com

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Keyboard Switch Comparison Worst

Dome Membrane

Capacitive Switch

Worst Worst

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Overall Scissor switches have an average actuation force of 75 grams and travel between 1 and 2.5 mm to actuation and bottoming out.

Dome They aren’t great for typing memas they bottom out on every brane keystroke. They have a sharp switches tactility and are on the have an louder end of membrane average actubased switches. Scissor ation force of switches are difficult to 70 grams but in clean, but is balanced the most extreme out since they do cases is between 25 grams and 150 grams. not get dirty easily.

They are decent It is about 2.5mm to for gaming as actuation and 4mm to their tactility bottoming out. They are and audible not tactile and do not click response proas the material provides vide quick for a squishy feel. Some are feedback. made using special materials and have a slight tactile feel, but won’t feel as sharp as a scissor switch.

Capacitive switches use changes in capacitance instead of changing the flow of electricity. This Foam means that they are oxidizaelement tion resistant, so they last switches longer. They don’t have have an acbounce issues, but are more tuation force expensive. They have an of 40 grams actuation force of about and travel 2mm 70 grams and travel to actuation and 1.5mm to actuation go 4mm to bottom, and bottom out at ac- but if the user is ustuation. Capacitive ing heavy force, can switches are good travel 4.5-5mm. They for both typing are not great for gaming and gaming or typing but due to because of their inexpensiveness and the fast ackeystroke expectancy are detuation and cent for everyday use. Foam reset. element switches have decent tactility, but wear out quickly and don’t protect the circuit from foreign objects like liquids or dust from entering the circuit.

Typing Gaming

Best

Scissor Switch

Foam Element

Best Best

Cherry MX Mechanical Switch Worst

Brown Switch

Red Switch

Worst Worst

Best

Overall Cherry MX Brown switches have an actuation force of 45 grams and travel 2mm to actuation and Cherry 4mm to bottom. They have a MX Blue slight tactile bump at actuaswitches tion, and are good for both have an gaming and typing, due actuation to the proximity of the force of 50 actuation and reset point grams and travel allowing the user to hover at that point, re- 2mm to actuation sulting in faster dou- and 4mm to the bottom. Blue switchble taps. However, es are by far the best due to the build switch for typing, but of the switch, aren’t top shelf as far the audial feedback isn’t as gaming switches go.

The resistance is similar present so to most keyboards, but the there isn’t a clicking release point is above the actuation point making double sound taps tricky for some users. Blue switches have a prominent tactile bump and are clicky, giving both physical and audial feedback.

Cherry MX Black switches have an average actuation force of 60 grams. It is 2mm to actuation and 4mm until bottoming out. The Cherry lack of a tactile bump makes the MX Red switch very smooth; perfect switches for gaming. Black switchhave an aces’ actuation and release tuation force points are at the same of 45 grams spot, allowing for speedy and travel 2mm double tapping. Typing to actuation and with Black switches 4mm to bottom. is tiresome and more They are very simof a challenge. ilar to black switchWithout a tactile es but have a lower bump, typists actuation force. Red are required to switches are very light bottom out and depending on preferon every ence the user will either love keystroke. them or hate them. However, due to their similarity to Black switches, they are difficult to find and are more expensive.

Typing Gaming

Blue Switch

Black Switch

Best Best

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Console Wars Gamers Guide to the best console By: Marc Martinez

consoles, and is bundle selling at a U.S. he holidays are coming up and you retail price of $350. The Wii U is deare about to buy a new video game veloped by Nintendo and was released console. The only problem is, which Nov. 18, 2012 and is the second most one? sold console out of three selling a little

Gamers everywhere have very over 10 million consoles and is bundle different and argumentative opinions selling at a U.S. retail price of $300. about their beliefs in The PS4, developed by Sony and was their video games and a lot of the time, released Nov. 15, 2013, and is the most take it very sold out of the Photo from: Wikipedia seriously. In three selling 25.3 recent times million consoles, console gambundle selling at ers have been a U.S. arguing about retail price of the indus$350. The Wii U tries newest has is the smallconsoles. est of the three Nintendo’s Wii and can be posiU, Microsoft’s tioned in anyway Xbox One, and as long as it is atSony’s PlayStatached correctly. tion 4, will be The Xbox One is reviewed by the biggest of the their system three and can features, and only be posiThe home screen template all of their tioned horizongames and their efficiency of the Xbox One tile scheme.tally faced up. The PS4 is right and affability. in the middle size wise of the three and can also be placed in any position System Features: as long as it is attached correctly. he Xbox One is developed by

The Xbox One uses the same Microsoft and was released Nov. tile layout as Windows 10. The PS4 22, 2013 it is the least sold console uses the same layout as the PlayStaout of three selling under 10 million tion 3. Both the Xbox One and the PS4

T

T

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have an added feature that makes the stuff you use most often appear first so both have confusing home menus that can make you go on a scavenger hunt every time you look for something that isn’t what you use occasionally. The Wii U uses the same simple layout as the 3DS and the Wii that makes it easy to find all your applications.

Controllers:

T

he Wii U gamepad can act as another screen, game extension, console, and controller. The gamepad has touch sensor screen much like the DS. The Wii U also has other controllers like the Wii Remote, and GameCube controllers will work on the Wii U, and the Wii U also has the Nintendo Pro Contoller.

The DualShock 4 for the PS4, has the basic layout as the previous DualShock except the DualShock 4 has Photo from: Wikipedia

The Wii U game pad

added a touch sensor in the center Photo from: Wikipedia of the controller, light bar, share button, options button, built-in mono speaker, and headphone jack.

The DualShock 4’s touch sensor can pinch, swipe, click, scroll, zoom, and click. The DualShock 4’s touch sensor can pinch, swipe, click, scroll, zoom, and click. The DualShock 4’s share button lets you share screenshots and videos to social media The 2013 DualShock 4 like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, with touch sensor etc. The light sensor can indicate which player you are, where you are, if your controller is functioning correctly, and change colors to represent moods in gaming, therefore giving you a better gaming experience. If you don’t like the light bar because it is using too much battery, or it isn’t your style, you can’t turn it off but you can dim the light. The grip of the controller has changed so you have better handle on the analog sticks, and the L and R triggers have changed so that they have a better feel so the games will feel more life like.

The difference between the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One controller is that the battery pack and the triggers have been flushed out.

The Xbox One controller has fixed the D-pad so it is better than it’s previous controllers.

The analog sticks have changed to be smaller and taller for a better feel, the impulse triggers have rumble motors in them so that you have a better real-world with the controller.

The PS4 and the Wii U gamepad controllers have rechargeable battery packs inside of them. The Wii U gamepad takes about two and a half hours to charge depending if you are using it while charging and has about three to five hours of use depending on what you are using it on, the PS4 takes about two hours to charge if it is not being used and the orange light will blink if it is at full charge, and the controller lasts for about four to six hours depending on the use. The Wii Remote controllers are charged by AA batteries and completely vary on use.

Photo from: Wikimedia

Photo from: Flickr

The limited edition 2013 Day One Xbox One controller

The PlayStation Plus Logo

The Xbox One controller lasts for about 30 hours but really depends on use and is charged with AA batteries.

The Xbox One controller is if a gamer does not want to have to worry about charging the controller but it might not be for you if you don’t want to keep buying AA batteries constantly or if you don’t want to buy a rechargeable battery. The Wii U and PlayStation 4 controller may not be for you if you are forgetful about charging your controllers, but, if you remember to charge the controller after every gaming session you should be fine. “The PlayStation 4 is the best, because of its amazing graphics and superior controller”, says 31 year old online gaming magazine editor Katherine Bailey.

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Other Entertainment:

A

ll of the consoles have the access to Netflix and Hulu Plus but the Xbox One requires a paid access to the applications via Xbox Gold subscription while the Wii U and PS4 offer free access to the application. The application Skype for the PS4 is possible and is not possible for the Wii U, but it requires a paid subscription to Xbox Gold for the Xbox One. The PS4 has free access to a game DVR while the Xbox One game DVR needs paid access via Xbox Gold pass and the Wii U does not have one at all. The Wii U and PS4 both have free web browser applications while Xbox One’s requires the membership. The Xbox One offers music through their application Xbox Music, but it costs money because of a separate subscription to Groove.

The PS4 is teaming up with the digital music service, Spotify to bring music to the PS4. Both of these services allow you to play personal music to your own games.

Games:

T

he Wii U has the most exclusive library of games and is dependent on them. and They have the originals, the legends. The Wii U has Mario, Pokémon, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Zelda and much more. The Wii U features backPhoto from: Flickr

Photo from: Flickr

Gameplay of Activisions First Person Shooter “Destiny”

wards compatibility, so it lets you play your Wii games on the Wii U, but a big flaw in the Wii U’s gaming library is its third party support it lacks, because of this tremendous lack, they have low FPS games and therefore leaving out an entire section of gamers. The Xbox One has legendary first party exclusives like Halo, Forza, Gears, etc. While the PS4 has a larger variety of exclusive games, their first party exclusive games are lacking and their exclusive games are not as credible as the Xbox One games are, so the PS4 has better games just less credibility than Xbox

One. “Well I believe the PS4 has a better library of games with some of the most famous characters but Xbox has that one golden cow that they can milk all they want, that’s right, Halo.

All though PS4’s destiny is very much like it and has the same feeling but it doesn’t have that credibility that Halo has, the credibility of one of the most famous games in the world when someone says games what are you gonna think of, Minecraft, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros, and Halo. PlayStation4 has good games that have fun, simple, dramatic, and good plots with good graphics, and have Destiny which is just like Halo but just doesn’t have the name”, says Austin Baker.

“Well I believe the PS4 has a better library of games with some of the most famous characters but Xbox has that one golden cow that they can milk all they want, that’s right, Halo.”

- Austin Baker

Gameplay of Nintendos newest Mario Kart, Mario Kart 8 32 | Button Masher

Price:

W

ith the holidays coming up price can be a big factor when choosing your console. The Xbox One and PS4 both require a Gold or Plus membership in order to play online for games, the gold pass for the Xbox One costs $60 while the

the games again or just never play them on your new system, The Wii U has backwards compatibility which means you don’t have to buy those games and again and you can play them on your Wii U. Since the Xbox One runs on AA batteries it requires you will need to keep buying batteries for it or you could pay and buy a rechargeable battery which on

Photofrom: from:Wikimedia Flickr Photo

The PlayStation Plus Logo that can be used to get games online and movies

PS4 plus pass costs $50 and both include sales and free games every month (only certain games applicable), while the Wii U internet is included with your own. The retail price for the Xbox One and PS4 are $350 and the retail price for the Wii U is $300 which would make the Wii U $50 cheaper than it’s competitors.

The PS4 and the Xbox One do not have backwards compatibility which means you will either have to buy

average cost about $60. Which would make the Xbox One, Gold membership, and rechargeable battery total cost about $470. The PS4 with the Plus membership would have a total cost of $400. The Wii U would have no additional cost unless you wanted to buy some extra appliance, so it would be a total of $300. “I think that the Wii U is the cheapest compared to its competitors. The console can

be from $100 to $150 cheaper than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The fact that the Wii U has backwards compatibility with the Wii makes the price of having to buy more games a lot cheaper. The Wii U also has Internet that connects your own Internet so you don’t have to spend $50 to $60 on Internet a year like with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One”, says Mike Williams staff writer for an online gaming magazine.

T

he Wii U is for you if you like Nintendo’s game library of exclusive games, but if you really like third party games, and FPS games then you might want to consider which one you value most and if you value third party games and FPS games then the PS4 is for you with it’s wide collection of third party games, FPS games, and even a wide collection of exclusive games with the same quality as the Xbox One exclusive games but if you need to play the next Xbox exclusive game then the Xbox one is for you.

If you are looking for a console to be your entire home entertainment system then go with the Xbox One it has better movie and TV apps for your console and has a main purpose of being all of your entertainment into one so it will be a little bit more pricey but with better quality, if you already have good cable, movie, and music systems then you might want to get a Wii U and still use those other systems and use your Wii U for gaming but it will still be able to get on Hulu and Netflix if you need or prefer it.

“I think that the Wii U is the cheapest

compared to its competitors...The fact that the Wii U has backwards compatibility with the Wii makes the price of having to buy more games a lot cheaper.” - Mike Williams 33 | Button Masher

Strategy

ACTION

Title: XCOM 2 Release Date: Feb., 5 2016

Title: Doom Release Date: Spring 2016

A reboot of the original 1993 shoot-em-up, this games plans to update the game’s graphics and gameplay to keep up with the technology that has come to be since ‘93.

The game’s most principal parts are demons, blood, guns,and fast pace action. Multiplayer, new level designs, and a combat system that, instead of rewarding the player for taking cover and being strategic, it instead rewards the run and gun gameplay that the series is known for.

XCOM 2 is the science fiction, strategy game that focuses on squad combat and being resourceful with your limited characters, supplies, and time.

XCOM is a turn-based tactics game that involves not only the actual battles, but the player also manages the mobile base for the team. Each soldier class has it’s own unique abilities and skill tree that allows the player to customize their team to their strategic play style.

Top Games Coming in 2016 With 2015 coming to a close, it’s time to look to the future and the hours of gaming fun it holds.

Adventure

Title: No Man’s Sky Release Date: June 2016

Ever since it’s announcement at the E3 event in 2014, developer Hello Games has teased the community about a sprawling expanse of a universe to explore. The game supposedly uses evolutionary biology and physics to create planets and entire ecosystems on the planets. The game makes whole worlds with new species and weather systems that is open for all players to explore. This ambitious project is set for 2016 but it has a history of set backs since it’s announcement. We can only hope that Hello Games can finalize their game by next year.

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Platformer Title: Cuphead Release Date: TBD 2016

Cuphead is a unique platformer that seems to be special in all fields. The art style is inspired by the cartoons of the 1930s, with it’s protagonist being a man with a cup as a head. The developers, Studio MDHR, uses traditional cell animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings from the cartoons. It’s gameplay, instead of being focused on levels and obstacles, like Sonic and Mario, but is instead focused on boss battles, similar to Mega Man. You can acquire new weapons, travel to new worlds, and gain more and more power. This game will surely be a hit in the indie scene.

The Rise of eSports An explanation of the seemingly impossible growth of eSports in recent years.

By: Marcel Gonzales

C

rowds cheer as the gamers take their seats. Thousands of fans gather to watch to the anxious competitors. Sweat drips down the face of a contestant. This is the big moment. The clock counts down from ten to one, and the bout commences. This is the start of a typical eSports match.

It wasn’t always like this though.

“Gaming competitions have existed for as long as games have, but it took gaming’s conquest of the mainstream for eSports to become a significant force in its own right,” says Tyler Edwards, author of Superior Photo from Wikipedia

Realities.

Due to growth in eSports betting, the flourishing presence of PC gaming, and the involvement of Twitch into the eSports scene, eSports is reaching new heights when it comes to popularity. Competing with major organizations such as the MLB and NBA for viewer counts, eSports is gaining support with incredible speed and is only getting larger.

In the recent years, eSports have began to vastly expand, with international gaming competitions being held worldwide. Teams from countries all around the globe collect to

Crowds gather around to watch The International, a Dota II cometition.

Photo from Wikimedia

The logo of the Twitch company.

display their proficiency at their given game, with some competition prize pools extending upwards of millions of dollars.

According to dictionary.com, eSports is defined as competitive tournaments of video games, especially among professional gamers. In many of the eSports games, team tiers

[Majors] have skin drops which is like incentive to watch and big prize pools catch the eye.

are established, and the highest level of teams often compete at the largest scale competitions, called ‘majors’. These majors help establish who is the best of the best and offer large sums of money to teams who place highly in the event.

One way that majors help popularize eSports is by bringing attention to competitions through the game itself.

Grant McCasland, casual Counter Strike: Global Offensive player and a follower of the CS:GO eSports scene says, “[Majors] have skin drops which

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Photo from Wikipedia

Christopher “GeT_RiGhT“ Alesund, professional CS:GO player, raises his teams newly won trohpy.

is like incentive to watch and big prize pools catch the eye.”

CS:GO, one of the most well known games in the eSports community, offers gun ‘skins’ (aesthetic gun camouflages) that can be bought with credits on Steam, to make the game more visually appealing. During majors, CS:GO randomly gives people viewing a major-hostedmatch through the main menu of the game, ‘drops’, which are commonly cases that you can open to receive a gun skin, or sell on the Steam marketplace to receive Steam credits.

One factor in the growth of eSports is betting. Similarly to

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Gaming competitions have existed for as long as games have, but it took gaming’s conquest of the mainstream for eSports to become a significant force in its own right

almost all other forms of professional sporting, there are a thousands of people involved in the eSports betting community.

“The betting community brings more people into eSports but betting can be addicting and it’s sometimes not a great community,” McCasland says.

CS:GO Lounge, one of the biggest hubs for betting in CS:GO, allows CS:GO players to bet their skins on different games and depending on the likelihood of a specific team winning, the payout is smaller or larger. For example, if someone were to bet a skin on a team that had a 25 percent chance

League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients 2, (also known as DotA 2), Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Starcraft II.

“PC gaming is better than console gaming because with console gaming you have all of these different companies with different games designed for those specific consoles,” says Caleb Cavness, amateur Team

Photo from Wikipedia

A widespread crowd joins to watch the grand finals of The International 2012 Dota II championship.

of winning and said team won, than that person would receive somewhere around $2.75 to every dollar that they had bet, in CS:GO skins. If the opposite occurred, and someone were to bet on the team with the 75 percent chance of winning, then they would receive around 35 cents to every dollar that they had bet, in CS:GO skins.

McCasland says, “Although I, myself, am not a better, I can assume that having something riding on the game makes for a much more thrilling environment and adds to the overall experience in the end.”

Like all things that have stakes applied to them, following an eSports match when you have money on the line makes the game much more invigorating and intense. The performance of another determines whether or not you emerge victorious and claim the prize.

Many of the most

popular games played at eSports competitions are made to be played on a personal computer, or PC. These games include

Although I, myself, am not a better, I can assume that having something riding on the game makes for a much more thrilling environment and adds to the overall experience in the end.

Photo from Wikipedia

Fans watch their favorite Counter Strike players compete at a tournament.

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Photo from Wikipedia

The 2011 GSL championship for Starcraft II, hosted at Blizzcon.

Fortress 2 player. “PC gaming isn’t like that, there [are] a large quantity of monetarily cheap, good games.”

One of the major problems of console gaming nowadays is the amount of video games that are console specific, meaning that they are only offered on one console. This is a problem not often seen with PC gaming because of the accessibility that PCs offer as far as game selections.

Large scale video game hubs such as Steam are what separate PC gaming from console gaming. Steam allows for Altered photos from Wikimedia

The edited logo of Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

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I would speculate that [Twitch] probably helps by making eSports more accessible, and by helping to normalize the idea of watching other people play games

people to purchase and download games, regardless of a specific model. This level of accessibility is what allows many people to get into games such as the aforementioned PC eSports games. Their involvement in the game leads them to want to get better - and what better way is there to learn than to watch the professionals?

One of the largest reasons for the incredible recent growth of eSports is the emergence of Twitch. According to the Twitch website, “Twitch is the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers.” Twitch is essentially the world’s largest hub for video game ‘streaming’, which, simply put, is live broadcasting of (in this case) video games.

“I would speculate that [Twitch] probably helps by making eSports more accessible, and by helping to normalize the idea of watching other people play games,” says Edwards.

With the help of Twitch, eSports is growing faster than it has ever before. According to ESPN, in 2014, a League of Legends tournament sold out and completely filled the 40,000 seat Seoul World Cup Stadium, at the same time, collecting an audience of over 27 million people through the internet. That’s over ten million more people than the amount that watched the NBA Finals in 2014

Fueled by betting, the accessibility of PC gaming, and Twitch, eSports is a rapidly expanding organization. With this new generation, filled with technological advances, eSports will certainly be a prevalent force in the near future, competing with the likes of the NFL, NBA, and MLB to rise to the top.

GAME OVER