It was my dream as a teenager (in the late '90s-early 2000s) to one day have my own LAN room in my house, with at least a dozen computers set up with high speed Internet access and room for people to bring in their own PCs. As a computer nerd, I envisioned having a space for people to socialize over computer technology. I even considered hosting a computer repair shop out of my home too.
Then online gaming became a thing. Suddenly, planning LAN parties was no longer feasible. Why go to another location to game when you can just connect from home?
The last LAN party I ever attended was in 2015. I was stationed in South Korea with the US military and some of my coworkers wanted to play some FPS games after work. But our Internet was terrible in our dormitory, so they suggested setting up a small LAN in our squadron’s hooch (squadron-run bar/lounge/clubhouse). We were all IT guys, so building a LAN on the fly for 20+ people was easy. It took longer to set up tables and chairs for everyone.
Ever since then, I have a regular online gaming session every Monday and/or Tuesday with a few childhood friends of mine. We don’t live near each other anymore, so we play co-op games online and chat through Discord.
I’m glad to have the technology we have today, but a small part of me is still nostalgic for the old LAN parties. Something about tinkering with everyone’s computers and getting hooked up and online in the same space was so satisfying. For an introverted computer nerd like myself, it was the perfect amount of in-person socialization without having to be constantly socializing face-to-face with people all day. If Internet Cafés returned, I would definitely be curious to check them out.
A mall nearby me had a new shop open a few months ago that was basically a gaming cyber café. You bought a timecard, then picked your console (or PC) and played unlimited games until your timecard expired. I was excited to see someone setting up a public gaming shop, but I guess it didn’t work out in the long run. I was at the mall a couple weeks ago and that space was empty.
It was my dream as a teenager (in the late '90s-early 2000s) to one day have my own LAN room in my house, with at least a dozen computers set up with high speed Internet access and room for people to bring in their own PCs. As a computer nerd, I envisioned having a space for people to socialize over computer technology. I even considered hosting a computer repair shop out of my home too.
Then online gaming became a thing. Suddenly, planning LAN parties was no longer feasible. Why go to another location to game when you can just connect from home?
The last LAN party I ever attended was in 2015. I was stationed in South Korea with the US military and some of my coworkers wanted to play some FPS games after work. But our Internet was terrible in our dormitory, so they suggested setting up a small LAN in our squadron’s hooch (squadron-run bar/lounge/clubhouse). We were all IT guys, so building a LAN on the fly for 20+ people was easy. It took longer to set up tables and chairs for everyone.
Ever since then, I have a regular online gaming session every Monday and/or Tuesday with a few childhood friends of mine. We don’t live near each other anymore, so we play co-op games online and chat through Discord.
I’m glad to have the technology we have today, but a small part of me is still nostalgic for the old LAN parties. Something about tinkering with everyone’s computers and getting hooked up and online in the same space was so satisfying. For an introverted computer nerd like myself, it was the perfect amount of in-person socialization without having to be constantly socializing face-to-face with people all day. If Internet Cafés returned, I would definitely be curious to check them out.
A mall nearby me had a new shop open a few months ago that was basically a gaming cyber café. You bought a timecard, then picked your console (or PC) and played unlimited games until your timecard expired. I was excited to see someone setting up a public gaming shop, but I guess it didn’t work out in the long run. I was at the mall a couple weeks ago and that space was empty.