In the modern realm of on-line video gaming few players can stand-alone. With cooperative play elements a prime component of most of the most popular titles a player must be part of a well-coordinated unit or they risk a quick on-screen death.
Redwire Gaming Lounge, newly opened on Elizabeth Street in Okotoks, is catering to the current breed of on-line player, the one who likes to be controlling his or her own actions but interacting with teammates and adversaries as they do so.
Leaving the house to play computer and console video games may seem like an odd choice to some people but for one of Redwire’s founders it’s a way of recapturing the era when children headed out to the arcade with a pocket full of quarters.
“Back in Grade 10 I realized how much I missed arcades,” Kyle Blatchford said of the inspiration to create a gaming destination.
The now 22-year-old Blatchford kept the idea of reviving the arcade experience in the back of his mind until he talked to someone who ran an on-line gaming operation in Fort McMurray. Thinking the same sort of thing would fly in Okotoks Blatchford recruited the help of his longtime friend Dean Budd, 23, and Redwire Gaming Lounge opened just over a month ago.
The start up happened quickly due to the fact the business is set up in the old Cyber Space Okotoks location meaning the building was already equipped to allow many users to access the Internet at the same time.
“It’s growing pretty fast,” Blatchford said of the lounge, which seems to be benefiting from positive word of mouth. “We haven’t had to push too hard on the advertising.”
With Budd having another day job it’s Blatchford who is serving as the primary public face of the operation. He’s at the lounge almost anytime it’s open getting gamers set up on an hourly rate or through the purchase of a day pass.
Players have been coming into have fun with on-line titles like “Halo Reach”, “Starcraft II” and “Battlefield 2” on the shop’s many Wi-Fi connected computers and X-Box 360 consoles. Redwire also has a projection system so game action in its many tournaments can be shown on a big screen.
A young Okotoks resident who has quickly become a fan of the Redwire gaming experience is 14-year-old Christopher Smith. He’s been down to the store often during its brief existence.
“It’s more about the experience than the actual gaming,” he explained. “The fact there is so many other people doing it at the same time it’s more enjoyable than just going home playing a game by yourself. It’s good to have a whole group around you. In the tournaments it’s not about the prize it’s about having all these people watching you and cheering you on. It’s really fun.”
Echoing Smith’s sentiment Redwire is first and foremost a social experience is 15-year-old William Page. He not only plays video games there he goes low-tech once and while and enjoys a game of pool as well.
Page got word of the place from his 18-year-old brother and after just a few visits he is convinced the facility fills what has been a void in Okotoks.
“Recently we haven’t that many places for teens to hang out,” he said. “I find this place just perfect. Once more people start knowing about it it’s going to get pretty big.”
Redwire proprietor Blatchford has seen something that is already big in store with his patrons, it’s a team play video game called “Killing Floor”.
“We’ve only been open a month and we’ve already clocked over 600 hours on it,” he said of the zombie battle game.
Blatchford understands “Killing Floor” is just the sort of ultra-violent title, which often concerns moms and dads. He explained all questions from parents regarding the content of any game are welcome.
“If they need to go somewhere to talk to someone we can help them,” he said. “I’ve been playing video games my whole life so I know most of them.”
Redwire Gaming Lounge, found on-line at www.redwiregaming.com, is hoping to thrive as a reflection of where gaming is now. Where once it was often a solo pursuit limited to being alone in one’s basement blasting away at digitized enemies, Blatchford and his regulars contend it’s now about getting together with friends and encouraging or taunting each other as action unfolds.
