Gaming Club: Is it Only For Losers?

Only if you play games that I don’t like.

Pictured above is Otay's very own Gaming Club

Today, Otay Ranch High School’s new Gaming Club was holding a meeting. Gaming has had a negative connotation for many years, though as of late, it has become more normalized. The same cannot be said for gaming clubs. The normalization of gaming as a whole has been brought about by the generalization of modern-day video games. Modern-day video games are easily accessible for many different types of people to play, due to the different genres available. More people are able to publicly admit that they play video games without feeling ashamed, and this also allows people to be more subtle with their interest in games. However, joining a club implies that you feel strongly about the subject of the said club. Having strong feelings towards a gaming club could make some believe that you might be a loser who sits around and plays games all day.

The Gaming Club's secretary

I was lucky enough to already be familiar with one of the secretaries of the club, Brice Rodriguez (featured on the right).

Unfortunately, I was plagued with the fact that I had not completed my AP Government notes, so I sent my lackey to take the interview (Tyson Pruitt). In this interview with Brice, we learned that the current Gaming Club is a refurbished version of the Esports Club. When asked why they decided to change the Esports Club, Brice responded, “It’s less constrictive of a club than Esports, where you think you’d only play competitively, you know, and we have a lot of fun.” Brice also promotes the club by encouraging people to join the Gaming Club, saying that, “As long as you like playing games, you’re free to join the Gaming Club.” With his words, he attacks the common notion that gaming clubs are for “sweaty losers” and instead sees the Gaming Club as a peaceful, fun club for anyone to join, not just competitive players.

But is he telling the truth about the Gaming Club or does he have a bias because he is the secretary? I came to see for myself to get an insider scoop on the true nature of the Gaming Club and I can safely say that the Gaming Club is not filled with “sweaty losers.” While there are competitive players in the club, there are far more people who are staying for the love of the game (so to speak). There is a peaceful environment existing in room 202 where you can play Switch games on Wednesdays or just enjoy the cool air. So yes, I think he is telling the truth about the Gaming Club. But if you play Forsaken, you’re on my no-fly list.