Gamers want to look rivals in eye

The scene unfolding one recent Friday evening at Cyberdome in Easton, Pa., couldn’t be sweeter for a group of teenage boys poised for a night out with friends.

Teens and tweens, ages 12 to 19, popped open cans of caffeine-loaded Liquid Lightning, slouched into the kind of swivel chairs executives use and centered themselves behind 20-inch screens, the windows into their virtual worlds for the night.

“This is Disney World for them,” said Cyberdome’s owner Mark Dressel, who was hosting the all-night video game lock-in for nearly 20 area teens.

Gaming centers like this one are sprouting up, attracting gamers who’d rather compete with opponents face to face —- not just online. A few teens who invested $20 for the all-night lock-in at Cyberdome admitted to having gaming systems at home in their basements, bedrooms or living rooms, but they preferred going out to play with friends —- without parents.

“Here you have people to play with and there are no parents yelling at you to get off the video games,” said A.J. Hosny, 12, of Easton. “And you can play games you don’t have; they’ve got like over 200 games. It’s unbelievable.”

Today’s gaming centers are certainly different from the arcades of the ’70s and ’80s, where gamers huddled around players clutching joysticks, as they vied for the highest scores on classics, such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Frogger and Centipede. For one, the games have stopped gobbling coins. And players don’t just move the characters —- they become them.

Max Borshansky, one of the founders of Nerv Center in Allentown, Pa., credits technology for the social revolution in gaming.

“It used to be that video games were for single players with limited multiple components, but in the last decade they’ve evolved and involve many more people playing simultaneously, creating a social network around the game,” Borshansky said, adding that one of the more popular games, World of Warcraft, allows millions of people to play at once.

Behind the plasma screens in today’s centers, players live out their rock ‘n’ roll fantasies playing Guitar Hero. Or they tap into a multiplayer network battling against each other in the virtual world of Halo or Lord of the Rings. They also get physical, swinging virtual rackets in the Wii game of tennis.

Still, as ironic as it may seem, it is the social outlet that many players are seeking when they head to gaming centers.

“I like coming here to play in matches or tournaments; you get to meet better players, and it’s so much better than playing at home alone,” said Larry Stanton, 19, of Phillipsburg, Pa.

Dressel opened the gaming center over the summer and found that it appeals to people of all ages.

“We do birthday parties, corporate events, team building and, soon, we’ll be offering training exercises for the military,” Dressel said.

The Friday night lock-ins are just a small part of the business, which is open daily. But they are a way for people over the age of 12 to get together and play in a safe, supervised environment —- from 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. To keep gamers from dozing off in their chairs, he grills burgers, orders pizza and hosts tournaments to get players to mix, mingle and move around.

“They’re not just staring at a screen the entire night; they’re talking, walking around and meeting new people,” Dressel said. “Some of them get tired and sleep under the table or do the ol’ tilt and weave in the chair. But 90 percent of them are up all night.”

About 10 miles away on the same night, Bethlehem’s Lazarus’ Den hosted a birthday party with its next-door neighbor, the Candy Factory. At around 6 p.m., a line of 8-year-olds filed into the gaming center, crowding around the glass-enclosed selection of Wii, Xbox and Dance Dance Revolution games.

Laura Zaharkis of Lower Saucon, Pa., said her 8-year-old daughter, Zoe, opted for a video game party. “She figured she was too big for a clown or a magician,” Zaharkis said.

Watching as Zoe and her friend plunged into a “Star Wars” game, Zaharkis said the gaming centers give kids a place to play that isn’t “socially isolating,” though she said the experience is a big contrast from the days she walked to a store to drop coins in a machine.

Steve Zaharkis said he’s mixed on the “social” benefits of the centers, adding that they are just an extension of people’s basements, where kids typically play. “Kids today get into a virtual world and get locked in; you don’t see many kids interacting or talking.”

Ben Siegfried, the center’s manager, insists the gaming centers offer “social networking.”

“At home you don’t meet the players on the Internet. The virtual world can be cold and unfriendly. This is gaming at its social best,” Siegfried said, adding that centers provide a way for people to meet opponents and swap gaming tips.

Siegfried said the center hosts tournaments and themed events, and it is looking to have a family night.

“Instead of having a night around the board games, you can have family time around the Wii,” he said.