Raging

R GING

June 2014

NICOLAS CAGE

PC vs. Console Explore all the insides of this popular conflict!

Page 38

The Ascent of KirbyCake Learn about the rise of the Soraka master Page 12

Youtube’s Top 10 Gaming Channels

An insight to the top gaming channels on Youtube Page 26

Is Gaming Good for You?

Can gaming help or harm you? Find out here.

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ALIENWARE COMPUTERS

THE FUTURE OF LAPTOPS TODAY

Contents//June 2014 In this Issue

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Escaping Elo Hell

Stuck in Elo Hell with all the bad players and terrible teams? Read our guide to escape Elo Hell. Even though it may seem impossible, rising up the divisions and tiers of League of Legends can be done.

How to Deal With Trolls

Learn to beat the trolls who ruin your gaming experience.

Trolls can be annoying, painful and even dangerous, but they can be dealt with by following some tips. Beat back the trolls.

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Photos By: Evan Amos

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Youtube’s Top Ten Gaming Channels

Gaming on YouTube has become massive for the past few years. Find out the top ten subscribed gaming channels such as PewdiePie or TheSyndicateProject and what games they feature as videos.

The Ever-Changing Consoles

Gaming consoles have improved with every generation from the Atari to the Xbox One. This timeline shows the different consoles that were invented for the past 60 years. Discover the consoles that changed video game history.

Photo By: Riot Games

Features KirbyCake’s Climb

A student at the University of Texas, KirbyCake is a League of Legends player ranked at the top division, Challenger. During his climb to Challenger, he mained an unusual champion, Soraka. This interview displays his life of gaming and the journey he took to challenger, while giving out some tips to climbing in ranks.

Gaming Boot Camp

Interested in playing video games? Gaming Boot Camp will show you all the steps into joining a popular hobby. Learn about different video games and what consoles to buy.

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Gaming Life, Is Wrong or Right?

A very controversial topic, gaming has been argued on both sides of whether it is beneficial or damaging. Discover the different views that gamers have on video games and their own experiences with them.

PConsole Wars

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Consoles and computers both dominate the video game industry, but one of the machines may have some advantages over the other. Find the benefits and disadvantages that PC gaming and consoles have.

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Collin Davis is a PC gamer that has most of his hours in Garry’s Mod and Team Fortress 2, raking in around 420 collectively. He’s not a LoL lover like William or Michael, so he doesn’t share the more common views of gamers, as he loves Valve games.

He spends hours each day watching Youtube videos, his favorites being from Seananners and Allshamnowow, as well as anime in his free time, having seven series under his belt.

He designed the cover and is proud of this fact.

“Prideful much?” said Ryan Thomas.

William Liu is a multitalented and capable worker. His hobbies include basketball, LoL, and eating seaweed.

His favorite part of LoL is serving on the Tribunal, LoL’s peerjustice system, because he likes deciding the fate of others. But, since he’s not level 20, which is the minimum requirement for serving on the Tribunal, he uses Michael’s account. He is also part of LASA’s Math Club, Science Olympiad team, and basketball team. He is also Raging’s editor-inchief and the big cheese of this operation.

Ryan Thomas plays Call of Duty in his free time.

He sometimes can be caught in class dozing off to the symphonic noise of teenagers’ shouts. Ryan would like to follow his passion of playing video games, preferably from within the comfort of his parents’ basement. His favorite activities also include checkmating, eating marshmallows, and listening to music.

If you’ve gotten this far, he’d give you a gold medal but there’s not enough room in the budget. Sorry about that, but not sorry. He hopes you enjoy Raging.

Michael Yi is a PC gamer who enjoys spending his free time playing video games like League of Legends.

He enjoys playing with other students at LASA and spends more time than he should on the computer. Michael enjoys playing video games, listening to music, talking with friends, and surfing the Internet. Currently at LASA, Michael is trying to keep his grades up and continue to finish classwork, as well as playing LoL. This isn’t working too well for him, but he hopes to master it one day.

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Photos by Collin Davis, Ryan Thomas, and Gina Chen

R∆GING WRITERS

Raise the Competition Razer Naga

from the editor

Pushing Through

William Liu

William Liu Editor-in-chief

R∆GING’s Mission

Raging Magazine exists to provide the public with information about PC gaming and some general gaming tips. We specifically target gamers who are just starting up, or gamers who have some skill, but are not elite gamers.

While even professionals will still find this magazine useful, players who are relatively inexperienced will benefit the most from our articles, which range from general knowledge to game-specific information.

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Photos by William Liu

“ Our common passion is gaming. All four of us enjoy gaming, and we each partition a special section of our hearts for our respective indulgence in gaming.”

I discovered my passion of gaming at the age of 6, with Super Smash Bros. Melee. Soon after, I discovered Plants vs. Zombies, which I played on my iPod Touch whenever I had the time. I became totally engrossed in PvZ, and obsessed over not only beating every level, but having perfect symmetry in the ranks of my plant army.

However, I quickly realized that because PvZ is single-player, my valiant efforts and hard-fought skills could not be pitted against those of a competitor, at least not directly. I quickly sunk into a hole of depression, because I was unable to use my PvZ skills in a headto-head setting. SSBM thus became the lifeline I hung onto, being the only player vs. player game I sort-of enjoyed.

Once SSBB came into existence, I slowly converted to its futuristic, alluring game scheme. I convinced my parents to let me buy a Wii, which was, even back then, not the best console. Once I got into SSBB, my depression went away. Here was a video game with a solid story mode and a great PvP mode. I thought that SSBB was the best game ever, and that no game would ever surpass its unique PvP gameplay and combo potential. Until I saw League of Legends.

League was basically all I ever wanted, wrapped into one package.

After a significant decline in SSBB’s popularity, I succumbed to the popular iPod game trend. Quickly, however, I started despising these pay-to-win games. Such games infuriated me, which is why BTD 4 and 5 never really interested me. League was all that I looked for in a game. Addicting, multiplayer, and not pay-to-win. Over the period of my playing LoL, I acquired knowledge, and, more importantly, friends who shared a common passion. A group of these friends wrote this magazine with me. Our common passion is gaming. All four of us enjoy gaming, and we each partition a special section of our hearts for out respective indulgence in gaming. In this article, we hope to teach you what we’ve found out about various topics.

Escaping Elo Hell Story By William Liu

Support

Champion images courtesy of Riot Games

In LoL, there is phenomenon known as “Elo Hell”, which occurs when a player gets stuck in Bronze and cannot climb out. The player, believing himself to be worthy of Silver, blames his team for trolling and feeding. Unknown to him, he is suffering because of his own lack of carrying knowledge. There are specific things a player can do to win low-level games and carry himself out of Bronze. Among these things are champion selection pool and warding, which we break down for you so you’ll climb out of Bronze.

AD Carry

The support’s role is to assist the ADC by providing utility such as heals and slows. Two good carry supports are Annie and Morgana, who can take over bot lane in the event of an AFK. Annie has the longest hard CC at level one out of all supports, giving her strong harass potential and allowing her to be incredibly aggressive early game. Her Molten Shield grants MR and armor, making her tankier than other supports and giving her greater trading success.

Her late game is weak because of lack of utility, so support Annie must be aggressive early. This leads to possible enemy ganks, so make sure to ward (more on that later). There’s a good reason Annie had a 100 percent pick or ban rate in the 2v2 Skill Matchup at the 2013 All-Stars Event. Morgana has a strong CC snare, which can be used to escape/chase enemies due to its three-second duration at max level. Her W gives an AoE DoT, which helps your ADC last hit.

Also, her E stops disables, countering champions like Leona, who are reliant on CC locks.

Mid Lane First, we look at the AD carry role. The main purpose of an ADC is to get all the farm in bot lane, get kills, and win the game. Vayne and Jinx are good for this role. According to Diamond player Hoodstomp on his guide at Mobafire.com, Vayne has nice maneuverability thanks to her Tumble, and late game can shred tanks with her true damage.

She also has a relatively weak early game, because of her low autoattack range, set at 550, according to the LoL official site. Jinx is different. Few AD carries outrange her, with a few exceptions. Her Minigun grants stacking attack speed, which is nice for wave clear and DPS dueling. Last but certainly not least, her ult, the Super Mega Death Rocket, can wreck unsuspecting enemies. It can turn the tables on teamfights, especially at dragon/baron.

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We now move to mid lane. Annie is very strong mid, for the reasons given above. Another possibility is Karthus, because he has strong late-game potential due to his Defile. Combined with his passive, which makes him a ghost for seven seconds, this can change teamfights because of its damage output. He also can clean up with his ultimate, which damages all enemy champions after a short channel. He can also provide utility with his wall.

Top Lane

In the top lane, Jax, Tryndamere, and Akali are viable carry picks. These champions can snowball hard, as long as they have a good laning phase. With the proper damage items, they also have very strong 1v1 potential, because their abilities focus on a single target. Split-pushing is effective at all levels of play, and Jax and Tryndamere are among the fastest tower clear champs in the game. Their split-push potential is increased because of their 1v1 dueling, since they can effectively pick off enemy champions as they recall. This makes Akali a possible split-pusher.

According to Challenger player KirbyCake, warding is also an important part of gameplay.

“You’re screwed if you don’t ward right,” he said.

Wards are essential because they reveal parts of the map, so your team can see when enemies approach a certain area. Baron and dragon, for example, are two important parts of the map to ward at all levels of play, because of how much they are worth.

Warding in lane depends on which lane you’re in. If you’re blue side bot lane, you usually ward dragon pit and tri-bush. These are usually done by the support.

Also, when the enemy bot lane dies, the support or the jungler can ward the enemy buff, granting vision and keeping track of the enemy jungler. When you play mid lane, it’s advised to ward the entrance to Map by League of Legends Wiki user Eagleshadow

Jungle

For jungling, Vi and Lee Sin are strong right now.

Vi has strong jungling potential because of her W, which deals damage based on her target’s health, allowing her to kills heavy targets. Her ult is a dash into a knock-up, giving potential for surprise ganks.

She has great escape/initiate with her Q, which is a skillshot dash. Lee Sin similarly also does lots of damage early game. He has strong sustain due to his W, which gives him lifesteal and a barrier. His E gives him AoE damage and a slow to execute ganks, and also reveals invisibility. This can be useful against champions like Akali and Talon, who use invisibility.

Counter-jungling Teemos also get shut down. He is extremely mobile, thanks to his Q and W, which allow him to jump all over the place.

This is a map of Summoner’s rift which I edited to show warding spots. The blue circles are for blue side, the purple for purple side, and yellow is universal.

your wraiths and the side brush to Baron or dragon.

This gives you vision of side ganks, and protects against counter-jungling by the enemy. Top lane should also ward the nearby buff. (Blue buff for blue side, red buff for purple side.) Also, ward the river so that you can see anyone who comes out of tri-bush.

This gives you maximum reaction time. As jungler, you should rush to the enemy buffs and ward them while they are ganking. This allows you to keep track of their progress and perhaps steal buffs. Usually, you shouldn’t ward your own buffs, since you should be timing those.

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“Titanfall is a ridiculous amount of fun. Maybe it’ll be surpassed, but right now it’s the best game on Xbox One and one of the best multiplayer shooters ever.”

X-One Magazine UK

PREPARE TO

DROP 3.11.14

LoL Images courtesy of Riot Games

Photo by William Liu

KirbyCake’s Climb the path of the elite Story by William Liu KirbyCake was the second person to make Challenger Tier in Season 4.

Soraka consistently has a below 50 percent win rate, and has received consecutive nerfs

MANY professional League of Legends players suggest playing and excelling at multiple champions to climb the Solo Queue ladder. KirbyCake, ninth in Challenger Tier, disagrees.

Over 90 percent of his Season 3 games were played with Soraka, a champion many consider underpowered and weak.

Currently, in Season 4, 90 percent of his games are again played with Soraka.

“Her pushing is a really strong asset,” explains KirbyCake. “In team fights she can heal priority targets, because in Solo Queue no one peels for your AD carry.”

KirbyCake is different from most high-level League of Legends player. While he hopes to become first in Challenger, he is not particularly ambitious.

“Right now, I still play the game for fun,” he says, “so that’s the only point of the game for me.”

He shrugs off the idea of playing solely for fame.

“As long as it’s a good quality game, who cares?” he explains.

KirbyCake is a gamer who moves around, as opposed to being obsessed with one game. Although he doesn’t feel dedicated to League, he is currently in Challenger, and made Diamond I in Season 3, both of which place him in the top one percent of the League community.

In the LoL community, he is most known for his interesting play style, as he plays almost exclusively Soraka now. However, he didn’t always main Soraka.

“I’ve been playing Soraka ever since Season 1, mostly towards the end,” explains KirbyCake. “At the time, I thought Master Yi was a super broken champion.”

Back when he started, KirbyCake’s skills weren’t nearly as capable as they are now.

“At that point my mechanical

skills weren’t very good, so I needed a good champion to use,” he explains.

Since Master Yi is relatively easy to use and excel at, KirbyCake used him almost exclusively in Season 1. Before League, KirbyCake played MapleStory, which he excelled at as well. (For those who play MS, he had a level 200 Mercedes, and held the record for Mu Long Dojo.) However, like all things in life, KirbyCake one day decided to move on.

“The game is pretty stupid now,” proclaims KirbyCake.

Back when he was in high school, KirbyCake also played chess, which he again excelled at, with a USCF rating peak of over 2100. However, like MapleStory, KirbyCake moved on once he hit college.

“Chess just seemed a little boring to me; it was pretty much becoming all about memorization of openings,” KirbyCake asserts.

Now, KirbyCake mostly plays League, although he occasionally plays Combat Arms. Although he is still in college, KirbyCake isn’t overly dedicated to academics.

“I don’t really study for school; I just finish my homework and study right before tests. I just spend the rest of my time playing games,” KirbyCake says.

His parents, whom he lives with, are relaxed with his grades, and essentially let KirbyCake manage his own time, since he’s a legal adult now.

“They don’t really care about my grades that much, as long as I’m passing every class,” says KirbyCake.

So, with all his free time, Kirbycake plays 4 to 5 hours a day playing League. His dedication pays off. In Season 3, KirbyCake was in Diamond I tier, a huge achievement. Now,

in Season 4, he is in Challenger tier, the elite of the elite. Many professional players are not even in Challenger, showing that KirbyCake could potentially consider playing pro League.

Right now, however, he doesn’t want to play pro LoL. “Playing a game professionally just seems silly, so I just don’t feel like it,” KirbyCake says.

Many players at his level also stream, which is broadcasting one’s games live, while commentating and explaining to viewers what one is doing and why. KirbyCake, however, doesn’t stream.

“I still live in my parents’ house, and I never have a quiet space, so I can’t stream,” explains KirbyCake.

Although he doesn’t stream, KirbyCake still shares some of his insight with the public. In Season 3, when he was in Diamond I and likely the best Soraka player in the world, KirbyCake made a Soraka solo lane guide on LolKing.

“Some people said they wanted a guide, and I was bored at that time, so I just made a guide,” explains KirbyCake.

His guide recommends building a combination of ability power, mana regen, cooldown reduction and health.

S3 KirbyCake on Soraka Percentage of games: 90.36% KDA: 3.2 : 5.3 : 11 Win rate: 59% Spring 2014

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LoL Images courtesy of Riot Games

KirbyCake has also played Fiddlesticks, who has a high win rate as a jungler.

“Rylai’s [Crystal Scepter] is pretty much a must on Soraka. It also offers health and ap, so it’s a really good item. Soraka is a cooldown dependent champion, so she actually needs the 20 percent cooldown reduction from upgrading [from Chalice of Harmony] to Athene’s [Unholy Grail],” says KirbyCake.

He builds some health items, like Rylai’s and Spirit Visage, on Soraka to successfully combat the meta in the top lane, which is normally a tank. “[I] build tanky because tankiness doesn’t fall off late game,” says KirbyCake.

Also, since Soraka is still very squishy compared to the tank meta, even with a few health items, KirbyCake takes 9-21-0 masteries on Soraka.

“Defensive masteries are just a lot stronger than offensive masteries early game,” KirbyCake explains.

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still manages to put pressure on KirbyCake’s play style the map. relies heavily on early-game “Their jungler decides to camp snowballing. So he also has flat my lane,” says KirbyCake. ap runes. He prefers to play very Since the enemy jungler aggressively early, harassing with is usually camping his lane, starcall and shoving the minion KirbyCake’s jungler can roam wave to the enemy turret so he without fear of can roam more. a countergank.

[Sightstone] is pretty “In Solo Additionally, Queue it’s all much the most powerful his ultimate about whoever gold-generating item in the globally heals roams first. his teammates, That essentially game, because you get free putting more decides the pressure on game,” explains wards any enemies KirbyCake. thinking about turret diving However, before she gets her KirbyCake’s teammates. Sadly, Athene’s, Soraka is very mana KirbyCake can’t crush with Soraka dependent, and has low health every game. Sometimes, top lane in early game. So, KirbyCake is called. When this happens, recommends starting Crystalline KirbyCake goes mid lane or Flask and three Health Potions. support. His itemization for Later, when he is beating his support is the same as his solo lane opponent, KirbyCake buys lane itemization, except that he his Athene’s, so he can more buys a Sightstone. effectively spam Starcalls. Even when he isn’t roaming, KirbyCake

“

”

“It’s pretty much the most He manages Karthus’ mana Along with jungle Karthus, powerful gold-generating item in dependence by building Tear of KirbyCake has tried some jungle the game, because you get free the Goddess, along with his blue Soraka, though he doesn’t wards,” KirbyCake explains. buff. KirbyCake considers jungle consider jungle Soraka very Even with all these options, he Karthus very playable. strong. still sometimes can’t play Soraka, “I think Karthus has really “Jungle Soraka has pretty good due to bans. “That happens quite good carrying potential since he clear time and she can sustain, a bit because of targeted bans, has low clear times, and he can the problem is that if you want to so either I dodge the queue solo dragon really early and do try to gank, it’s either gonna be or I just play jungle Karthus or baron at the 15 minute mark, ” he a counter gank, or you’re gonna Fiddlesticks, or I go mid Syndra explains. have to go the long way through sometimes,” says KirbyCake. the river,” he explains.

Many people consider Also, ganks are even Syndra difficult to learn harder execute because and excel at. Again, of Soraka’s lack of crowd KirbyCake disagrees control. Her only crowd with them. “I think control is through her Syndra’s pretty easy to Rylai’s, which takes time use, because most of to build. Her E, which the time you don’t need silences, sometimes her full ultimate to kill glitches. somebody, and chances “Right now Soraka’s are you cannot use her silence doesn’t work at full ultimate because the all, and her heal has a burst combo takes way long cast time, which I’m too long to execute, so sure is not intended at most people only try to all,” says KirbyCake. go for 5 or 6 spheres, Although KirbyCake is and they just use slightly frustrated, he Deathfire Grasp and that still plays League with should kill any squishy,” a passion. However, he says. he doesn’t feel overly Even if this option attached to League, fails, KirbyCake has playing the game for another option- jungle fun rather than solely to Karthus. KirbyCake has win. He simply enjoys not been playing jungle gaming for the fun of it, Karthus, who is KirbyCake’s second Karthus nearly as much although many of his fans most played champion, also is mained by Azingy or as long as he’s been wish he streamed. Even if playing Soraka, however.

Karthus’ ganks are difficult, Riot were to completely ruin LoL, “In my challenger series, I however, due to his lack of KirbyCake could just dominate played first time jungle Karthus, mobility. KirbyCake recommends the next popular game. ∆ cuz I thought he was broken,” getting a Rylai’s before says KirbyCake. Since Karthus is attempting to gank. KirbyCake heavily reliant on mana, KirbyCake explains that ganks with Karthus starts with blue buff, and then he are executable, however, with proceeds directly to his red buff. correct mechanics.

Raging Magazine isn’t endorsed by Riot “The thing [Karthus] has to “You would wall them, then you Games and doesn’t reflect the views or opinions of Riot Games or anyone offiwatch for is being counterjungled, keep landing Qs on them. That’s cially involved in producing or managing which is why you have to take pretty much the only way to gank. League of Legends. League of Legends your red right after you do your And once you get Rylai’s, you can and Riot Games are trademarks or regblue immediately,” explains permaslow them with your Qs,” istered trademarks of Riot Games, Inc. League of Legends © Riot Games, Inc. KirbyCake. he explains.

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Get al l y ou r f a v or i te gam es h ere Daily Deals!

Troll Taked wn

Trolling is the bane of all online users’ existences. They have one job and that is to piss you off. “People tend to be a bit braver once they don the anonymity cloak the internet provides.” Doug Gross, a reporter at CNN says. While trolls are existent in almost every online multiplayer game, you can learn to overcome them and make sure to leave a memory so bad that they won’t troll you again.

Curtis Woodhouse, an English soccer player, as well as a boxer was once attacked by a troll online. “He’d threaten my children... he’d threaten my wife,” said Curtis. So what did the boxer do? He set a bounty of £1,000 for anyone who could tell him who the man was and where he lived.

A few minutes after issuing the bounty he was given the information he needed. The man, was named James O’Brien, and lived only an hour away.

Woodhouse then proceeded to go to the troll’s house, updating his Twitter of the events the entire time. Finally he got to the street of the troll and tried to find the troll. When faced with this threat, the troll, who wasn’t at home at the time, immediately sent his apologies to

Woodhouse.

“The world saw him for what he really was, which was a coward and a bully,” Woodhouse said.

This is an example of trolling that was able to be stopped by the actions of the victim. And if you don’t allow them to have power over you, then you can stop them too, before the troll ever gets out of hand.

Ways to Stop a Troll There are many ways to stop a troll, but the most important one of these, is to simply not feed the troll. “Feeding the troll” is reacting to the troll in such a way that promotes his behavior.

Remember the only thing that makes a troll successful is your reaction. If they get you mad, then you’ve already lost.

There are two ways to not feed the troll. One, is to completely ignore the troll, no matter what happens. While this method might be annoying as the troll will continue to get louder and louder, you will ultimately thwart their efforts if you remain steadfast in ignoring them.

The other way is to go after the troll. It is important if you choose to go after a troll to follow a few steps to show you’re superior to them so they go away.

Art by: Ryan Thomas

Tips for Going After the Troll • Stay calm • Remain superior to the troll • Don’t make childish insults • Don’t lose focus Staying calm is probably one of the harder things to master when going after trolls. They’ll do anything to get you to react including low-blow insults. The simple solution, they don’t know anything about you. Once you realize a troll knows close to nothing about who you really are, you’ll realize most of their insults are broad enough to tackle almost any online gamer yet at the same time be specific enough to hurt individuals. If you let on that you’re getting mad, it’ll notify the troll that whatever they’re saying, it’s getting to you.

Photos by: Aurora Cerullo and Hannah Smith Photos from: Facebook.com

Two victims of trolling taken too far, Aurora Cerullo left, and Hannah Smith right, both took their lives after trolls attacked and harassed them on Ask.fm.

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You must always remain superior to the troll. If you show the troll that they have the ability to get inside your head, they will use that to their advantage. Also, while going after a troll is smart, doing it at the expense of your own reputation is not so smart.

This means you shouldn’t stoop down to a 5-year old’s insult. By doing that all those that probably would support you, won’t. Try and sound as sophisticated as possible and insulting as possible at the same time.

Finally, you always should remember the main goal. Your first priority is to make the troll leave. If you see an opportunity, then you should take it, even if it means apologizing to the troll.

Art by: Carlos Ramirez

Many games have a team of moderators or a report system so that if a troll does arrive, you can immediately shut them down, and they will be banned.

“League of Legends bans people for many things, such as flaming and afking,” said Warren Zhou, another league player, “They have a system set up called ‘The Tribunal’.”

The Tribunal is a system in which Riot has players judge other players who have been reported. This leads to a trial, in which the evidence is given to a non-biased third party and a punishment is decided on.

Call of Duty, a game where many people troll, has two solutions. One is to wait and pray to God that they leave the lobby and join a different match to troll people on. This isn’t a good counter measure, however, and could lead to you being trolled for many games. The second is to become so good, that the troll can’t properly affect you.

The troll will do things in game Photo by: The Dupe

The “troll face”, is a common symbol of trolling. Beware anyone who totes this photo as a profile picture.

This is not the only type of troll sadly. Some of them just want to hinder your gaming experience, and not insult you or your mother. In games such as Call of Duty and League of Legends, trolls are a fairly common sight.

League of Legends player, Matthew Prinz says, “You’re screwed, you just have to hope you carry well enough that your team wins.” Others however have different solutions to these problems.

“You just need a good team of moderators,” said David Wong, an editor and executive head of Cracked.com.

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Microsoft employs many people to watch over and ban trolls who would ruin online multiplayer.

such as throwing flashbangs in and blinding you and your teammates, or he’ll stand in front of you so that you can’t see. The solution to both of these, are to not stop moving.

If you can get away from the troll, he can’t continue to bother you.

Microsoft has an active moderating team.

Sony, however, does not have the same moderating system set up. Xbox in this case would be better for getting rid of trolls.

The final type of troll is the most dangerous. These people don’t want to just harm you verbally or hinder your game play, they want to ruin you.

Now introducing the worst of humanity, “the Stalker.”

This person will lie to you and make you believe every word that comes out of their mouth. They’ll befriend you, gain your trust, and be the one you turn to when you have no one else to go to. And then, when the moment is right, they’ll strike. Out of nowhere, any and all secrets you’ve shared with them will be released; they’ll insult you and crush you. And the worst thing is, they can be anyone.

But there’s actually a very simple method to countering the stalker. You can either not trust anyone on the internet like most people suggest, or you validate those people exist. You can talk to them on Skype and prove that they’re the person they say they are. Maybe have your face as a profile picture, and then if they put there’s up do a simple Google search like, “Teenage Girl”, and if they have anything that comes up on the first few images, don’t continue to talk with them.

The internet, and its many online communities, can be a dangerous place, full of terrible people, but also has potential to help you find great people, who can be your friends and gaming partners that you spend your free time with. So watch out, and always remember the golden rule, don’t feed the trolls.

Story by: Ryan Thomas

DOMINATE THEM THE NEW MEKA G UNIT FROM THERMALTAKE

Computer Clip Art by: Sweetclipart.com

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a military first-peron shooter game where the player goes through a story mode, playing as different characters and performing different tasks.

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“To me, [video games] have always been a form of escape from the rest of the world�

Gaming

Boot Camp All you need to know about getting into gaming Story By: Collin Davis

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This is a map from the Call of Duty Multiplayer, which can be very hard for newer players considering the state of the CoD community.

In 2006, 558,074 PC games were played; in 2007, 2,920,185 PC games were played. That was a 420 percent increase. PC gaming is expanding, and lots of newcomers want to know how to get the best experience out of it. PC gaming has been a growing hobby in today’s society, and a lot of people want to stay mainstream.

More and more people are trying video games, and more and more console gamers are switching to PC. Gaming is much more than just downloading and playing any game; there is a whole strategic structure and community which gaming belongs to.

The first step is getting a computer to play on, and you have to spend a good amount of money to get good performance. But don’t spend too much, or you will be wasting money.

“Most games are optimized and built to run on most computers,” says Matthew Barnes, a gamer who built his own computer. This means not going over the top and spending money on parts that really won’t increase your performance.

“You do not have to go over

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$1,000 on a computer to be able to play any game,” Barnes says. The basic parts one needs to buy are a processor, a motherboard, a case, storage (an HDD [Hard Disk Drive] or an SSD [Solid State Drive]), memory/ RAM, a video card, and an operating system. The most expensive of these are the processor and the video card, these can range from just over $100, to up to $500 for GPUs (graphics processing unit). Balancing your spending between buying a more powerful CPU (central processing unit) or spending less on a CPU and more on a GPU. This applies to almost all computer users, but sometimes people like having a bit of fun. “Building your own computer is really for when you want to modify a game,” Barnes says. Modifying, or modding, is when one writes new code for the game in which new things are added or things are changed from the original. Modding can be really CPU intensive and can give you a lower fps, or frames per second, while playing games. Building your own computer usually means it will

CoD Scenes provided by: Activision

be more powerful and sometimes less costly, but a lot more work goes into it: spending time looking for parts, finding advice for good parts based on your interests, buying and waiting for the parts to be shipped, and finally assembling the computer in your own home. People new to gaming and the computer world mostly buy their computers due to not wanting to spend a lot of time on a project.

“If you want to really try to get the supreme experience out of it, try and get over 100 frames per second, then that’s where you build your own computer,” Barnes explains, “for nonintensive purposes of computer use, you don’t need to go above $800.”

With $800, one can get a computer which can do just about anything they need to do.

This covers most casual gamers, but, as Barnes says, “if you want to do stuff such as graphic design, you may want to go above.” For people who feel they might need to build their computer, you have to find and buy parts separately, and this can be stressful or confusing to some

people.

“Normally people online can tell you what parts work together,” says Barnes, who has gone through the process himself. Now, after the gauntlet that is getting your computer, it is time to begin the process of obtaining and playing the video games themselves.

Everybody wants to be good at a game when they first try, everyone knows this, but how can one escape the grasp of failure? Warren Zhou, an avid League of Legends player, says, “I focus on winning, even if we’re behind.” Focusing on winning can be a good way of removing the mind-set that newer players have, but some still get mad when they don’t win.

Zhou says, “I think, ‘it’s just a game, it really doesn’t matter’.” Even if games are a big part in your life, getting angry at the game won’t make you want to play, and might turn you away from video games.

Playing in the right mindset is important to keeping video games in your life as well as having fun playing them.

Just saying that you play video games because they are fun isn’t very exciting, lots of gamers want to know how gaming is really helping them out in the real world.

“To me, [video games] have always been a form of escape from the rest of the world. Rather than taking to drinking or drugs, I’ve always played video games. In the world of video games, I can be whoever I wish to be in any game setting I can imagine,” Lucide (pronounced Loo-sid), the username of a Garry’s Mod server owner, says. Garry’s Mod is an indie sandbox game that uses graphics from Counter-Strike: Source, an FPS made by Valve. He believes video games have provided him with another outlet for bad feelings that doesn’t result in physical harm.

A lot of current gamers have a preferred genre of games that they

play. Lucide talks about the strategy genre and that Civilization is a great game for newcomers. “[Civilization] gives them a bit of time to get over the learning curve without worry of making mistakes based on the limit of time they are given to react to various scenarios.”

Lucide says.

This is just on the topic of strategy though. For people who don’t want to play strategy games, or who are unsure of what genre they should play, Lucide recommends to “base [what genre they should play] off of what they enjoy in reality.”

For recommending a game to

someone else, Lucide says, “If I was unsure of the person and their interests, I would suggest something that can be really casual for them and not be affected by other influences that would turn them away from video games.” Minecraft is a great example of a game that everyone can enjoy, it has sandbox qualities, action, adventure, strategy, and much more. Everybody can find something in Minecraft, and everyone can find something in video games. Once you find that something that fills your video game interests, you will be having an amazing time.

Photo By: Cromenco

This is a Cromemco CS-250 Computer System, which shows off some of the innards of a computer, which some gamers get to know very well.

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7-foot hyperlong wire 0.65 lbs of power Detachable microphone Over-ear boom cups

’sTop Ten A Guide Through the Top Gaming Channels

YouTube is the most popular video sharing website in the world and gaming is the fastest growing genre on YouTube. “People are spending more time watching videos about video games.” Laura Sydell from npr.org says in her December 2013 review of Youtube and its content. Some of the most subscribed to channels on YouTube are gaming related and learn here which channels are the best.

#1 Pewdiepie

Pewdiepie has more subscribers than Youtube itself; that’s a big achievement. He posts videos that are mostly montages of him playing various games and he posts one video per day usually. Many people enjoy his random funny comments, and I would recommend him to gamers who enjoy humorous commentary.

#4 RoosterTeeth #3 Skydoesminecraft Skydoesminecraft or Sky, has been one of the fastest growing channels ever, becoming popular off of his Minecraft videos of Custom maps and his “Let’s Play,” which is where the Youtuber plays the game, unmodified, by themselves.

He is also famous for calling gold “Butter” in the game and hating squids.

He is recommended for any Minecraft lover who likes watching people with a good sense of humor.

#2 Machinima

Machinima is a company that provides gaming video entertainment through Youtube and other websites. Many large Youtubers today started on Machinima, including Hutch and Seananners.

“Machinima is a lifestyle,” says the Machinima website; they reach out to the 18-34 year old male demographic.

I would recommend this channel to someone looking for a large variety in gaming related videos from gameplay, to animations, to reviews.

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RoosterTeeth is a company that posts many How-To videos of varying games, along with vlogs, Fails of the week, and a podcast. They are famous for their Red vs. Blue show, which started with them playing Halo.

This channel is recommended to the general gaming community and those who like a large variety of videos.

#5 CaptainSparklez CaptainSparklez is most known for his Minecraft parody videos, one of them being the most viewed gaming related video on the Internet. He posts about 2 videos per day, usually of Minecraft, but also of Garry’s mod, and recently, Trials Fusion. He refrains from cussing a lot, contrary to people like Pewds or the Yogscast, and Raging would definitely recommend Sparklez to viewers who love Minecraft and professional gameplay.

#6 TheSyndicateProject

Syndicate is the top subscribed-to Youtuber from the UK, followed closely

by BlueXephos. He posts videos of Minecraft, DayZ, and Garry’s Mod as of recently and is most known for his Minecraft series, The Minecraft Project.

He has been very close in subscribers to Sparklez for a long time, and he would be recommended for a similar audience to CaptainSparklez.

#7 BlueXephos (Yogscast)

BlueXephos, or, the Yogscast, is a group of British gamers who upload mainly Minecraft related videos, but Don’t Starve, Trials Fusion, and animations are also uploaded. They are the second subscribed to channel from the UK, but do have the top spot for video views. Anyone who enjoys Rooster Teeth would also enjoy the Yogscast for the similarities in content and commentators.

#8 VanossGaming

VanossGaming is a solo gaming channel where Vanoss posts “Funny Moment” videos, which are montages of the funny moments while playing a game.

His thumbnails are characterized by a rainbow background and he mostly plays Grand Theft Auto V and Garry’s Mod. These “Funny Moment” videos have become very popular on Youtube recently, and anyone who enjoys those along with GTA or GMod, should consider subbing to him.

#9 TobyGames

TobyGames is a child channel to Tobuscus, and consists of Toby playing video games. The channel is primarily Happy Wheels, a browser platformer, but also includes Bioshock Infinite, and many iPad games. His content is similar to Pewdiepie’s and that probably explains why he is so popular.

Lot’s of LOLs, curses, and screams are contained in his videos, and gamers who appreciate Pewd’s videos will also like Toby’s.

#10 Speedyw03

Speedy has a channel very alike to Vanoss, in which he posts many of the “Funny Moment” videos. Contrary to Vanoss however, speedy specializes in GTA and Call of Duty videos. He plays with his friends a lot, which are called the crew, and, much like Vanoss, they are just having fun, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Anyone who likes montages and Funny Moment videos should check Speedy out, along with his second channel.

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GHOSTS

PICK UP YOUR WEAPONS AND JOIN THE FIGHT TODAY IN THE BEST GENERATION OF CALL OF DUTY YET

Gaming is becoming very popular because of the entertainment, ease of access, and the social aid that it provides.

Photo By: Luke Hayfield

Gaming Life Is It Wrong Or Right?

The Advantages and Disadvantages to Video Games.

Story by: Michael Yi

A TEEN sits in his room, hammering down on the keys while staring at a bright screen with cartoonish characters moving across his eyes. He concentrates deeply into the virtual world on a computer playing with millions of other players. His character attacks and moves at his command, but only with a click by the player. As his character fights another players, the teen eyes scrunch up as his fingers rapidly click on his keyboard. Suddenly, a victory pops up in the screen and the teen smiles in joy. His mother comes into his room and begins yelling at him. He quickly

moves to some papers, but when his mother leaves the room, he silently reopens the video game and continues the deep concentration.

With the rise of gamers, millions of people are feeling the impacts that video games have. These effects can vary from entertainment to addictive. The gaming industry has grown to enormous amounts in the past years and is reaching the level of sports such as football or baseball.

“Many professional sports players also recognize gaming to be one (sport) as well. It’s a

great start and is still a young community, but we are getting close to being up there,” says Kevin ‘Senoko’ Quach, a popular streamer on TwitchTV. Sixty-seven percent of American households have a gamer or someone who plays any type of video game in a study from the Entertainment Software Association. According to a news article from ESports, on October 2013, 32 million people watched the League of Legends ESports competition. A large number of students at LASA such as Andrew Kim, a gamer, believe that gaming is a great part of their life, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

but many people such as parents disagree, saying gaming is only negative and hurts the people who play. Gamers argue against this.

One of the largest impacts of gaming is the time that it takes.

Senoko has a firm belief that gaming’s largest impact is the amount of time it consumes. The time spent in gaming can be great for entertainment or social life, but it can also hurt the time spent in important tasks such as school work.

“Gaming hurts (my) grades a lot,” explains Matthew Prinz, an avid gamer. ”Time gaming could be time spent studying.”

Prinz believes if gaming becomes too major in someone’s life, it could take up valuable time that should be spent in

Photo By: Kevin Quach

Senoko, a popular streamer on Twitch.TV, often streams to many viewers. He usually plays League of Legends.

other activities such as studying or working. This can become an addiction that is difficult to stop and become a significant problem in someone’s life. Gaming can be entertaining and fantastic, but it cannot replace important work such as homework or jobs. There are priorities that should come ahead of gaming or it often becomes a barrier to success.

Many people fall into the trap of gaming addiction. This leads to a substantial amount of problems that can vary from losing touch to reality to problems with work.

“I was so addicted to gaming that I did not watch my eating habits during college which caused me to gain almost 20 pounds of fat not muscle,” confesses Senoko.

Senoko has felt the addictive power that video games can induce which

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caused him to gain a huge amount of unhealthy weight. Because of the immense amount of time that games can take, the addictive powers and social benefits, it become a hobby that took up more time than it should. This can take place of important activities such as exercising in Senoko’s case.

Another problem with gaming is how simple it is to access. Many video games are in places where work is done such as on the computers or just few steps away like a TV. Senoko believes that it is difficult to not access something so entertaining instead of working on important tasks.

“It is so hard not to click a desktop icon and start gaming,” explains Senoko.

With all the benefits that gaming can bring such as social help and enjoying yourself, it is difficult to not to be addicted to gaming. This addiction brings many problems with it from taking up important activities such as school work and exercising, to losing touch to reality.

“It’s a great way to sink time, but more importantly I can play with my friends,” said Prinz.

Gaming can help with social life and entertainment despite the time it can potentially take if played for long periods of time. Prinz believes that even though gaming can hurt his grades or take time in other task, it can help with passing time and interacting with his friends.

Managing time between playing and important activities is vital to keeping a healthy lifestyle with video games. Gaming can teach a fantastic trait to managing time. Many players have ease with managing time such as Senoko or Kim. “I have an easy time managing my time because a game I play will last between 30 minutes to an hour which gives me a rough estimate on how long I played and makes it easier to manage my time,” said Kim. Many gamers such as Kim, believe that if time is managed well through video games, it can become an essential trait in the future. Managing time is perfect for any type of work or job. But of course, if the time is not

managed well, it will be negative and interrupt other necessary tasks such as school in Prinz’s case. Many people face the addictive power of gaming and how the entertainment can be so overwhelming that is replaces other hobbies. Recent studies from Entertainment Software Association shows that an average American gamer plays 13 hours a week. This time can be beneficial for having fun once in a while, but it also takes valuable time that could be spent in other priorities.

“It’s very easy to get addicted, however, it’s just as easy to stop,” explains Prinz. “Gaming has been compared to drugs multiple times, and they’re not similar in the slightest.”

Even though video games can be extremely addicting in Senoko’s and Prinz’s case, it can’t be compared to other popular addictions such as drugs.

Prinz knows that gaming is difficult to stop, but with a determined mindset and some help, it can be avoided very quickly. Simply uninstalling or throwing away the game can prevent more time invested into the game and will stop the addiction. Time spent in gaming has to be managed well, or it can be destructive to important task that need to be done.

If time is managed well while gaming, it can help with certain activities such as school. Many gamers such as Kim believe that gaming can aid them with school.

“I think strategy games can benefit people because it helps them with their logic decision making skills,” said Kim Gaming can assist students with problem solving and decision skills, but can’t replace studying itself which was shown through Prinz. Too much gaming can hurt studying and school work, but if managed well, it should have a decent amount benefits with the negatives such as losing useful time.

Many video games have a competitive aspect to them. Games such as League of Legends or Call of Duty often have the player compete with other gamers to fight and beat each other. There have been many

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

video game competitions that have become popular and often have fame and money as the prize. These competitive games can also influence people outside of games such as Senoko.

“My favorite thing about gaming is the competitive aspect of it. It makes you want to keep playing and improving,” said Senoko. “When you finally see results you can prove it to others and yourself.”

Gaming can inspire competing with others and create ambition to work harder towards a goal. This trait can carry out in other activities such as school work and sports which could help boost someone’s success.

Being competitive could make some work harder to be better than others which can come on school work or in jobs. Even though gaming can help with school studies, it cannot replace the it. Prinz and Senoko believe that gaming has to be managed well or it will be damaging.

Kim, Senoko and Prinz say gaming can help with someone’s social life.

Even though many people view gamers as a person who stays in solitude all day, this is often not true.

“My favorite thing about gaming is that it is fun and I can play with lots of people and make new friends just off of common interests in games,” said Kim. Gaming can help people talk to friends and make new ones. Playing with friends can create stronger friendships by working together and communicating with each other. Team games such as League of Legends can help people communicate and have fun together. Of course, gaming can also hurt someone’s social life if they play by themselves. Video Games can both helpful and damaging with social life, but with a good balance between playing with friends and communicating face to face, it can be very beneficial to someone’s friends.

But gaming can also be looked down by people. Kim has experienced people who look down at him for playing certain games or being a gamer.

“What I hate most about gaming is

Photo By: Eugene Ter-Avakyan

Gamers take about 58 percent of the United States population. These people play games from smartphones to consoles. Gaming has been becoming very popular.

Photo By: ToffelGinkgo

A Dreamhack Lan party in 2004 where many gamers come together to play video games. Gaming has advanced immensely from consoles to smart phones.

Photo By: Allison Johnston

Video games often include interaction with other players. Sixty-two percent of gamers interact with other gamers while playing video games.

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when people hate on you for liking a certain game or just playing it,” said Andrew Kim, a gamer at LASA. Gaming is often looked down at by parents and other non-gamers.

People believe that gaming is often a waste of time and treat people differently because it, but gaming can often strengthen friendships which was shown by Kim and Prinz.

One of the clearest reasons to play video games is to have fun.

“Some people game for fun,” says Prinz. “Some people game for stress relief.”

Gaming has obvious benefits that people often see as bad, but is just like any other hobby. Gaming can help with having fun just like sports or other hobbies, but it is viewed as fully negative. Gaming has benefits that are significant such as stress relief and fun that could help the player be more optimistic and work harder on other tasks. Having these benefits are essential to be optimistic and taking

a break which video games can bring.

Gaming can also replace important activities. There are many examples such as exercising and work. Video games can replace activities that are important to the body such as exercise. Having an addiction to video games will take up valuable time that is needed in other ways.

“Physically there is no real major benefit to you,” says Kim. Unless someone is playing a physically demanding game, gaming cannot replace significant activities such as exercising. But this is only if gaming becomes an addiction. If the time is managed well and gaming does not take an immense part of someone’s life, it won’t affect these needed tasks. Senoko believes that gaming needs to balance with other tasks such as exercising or work.

In many cases, gaming becomes negative after a certain amount of time is put into it. People often forget that video games don’t have any

significant impacts in our life and losing a game won’t actually harm them.

“Any game has the potential to negatively harm you mentally and physically,” explains Senoko. “Just have to remember it’s just a game.”

Senoko believes that video games should not be viewed as a job or requirement, but rather a hobby.

Important tasks should be prioritized such as work or school. If the game is the priority, this will hinder the progress “Best thing to do is take care of your priorities first. Gaming is a form of entertainment, not a job for most so it should come last,” said Senoko.

Senoko believes that unless gaming provides income or has an major positive impact on someone’s life, it should be behind the priorities. Once gaming becomes an addiction, it begins to become overwhelmed with negative effects. But if managed well and is just a hobby, it can bring many benefits to the user. ∆

Photo By: Sergey Galyonkin

With the rise of gaming, many conventions are held to introduce games. The picture shows a recent game “Titanfall” at Gamescon 2013.

DOTA 2 the most intense MOBA known to man

The Ever-Changing Consoles Story By: Michael Yi FOR THE PAST 50 YEARS, consoles have changed tremendously from pixelated arcade games in the 1960s, to the futuristic modern consoles we have, such as Playstation 4. Video games have made huge improvements in graphics, gameplay, speed and many other areas, but these changes came from a long generation of improving consoles. In 2005, Time Magazine published an in depth timeline of console history on their website. “Sony, IBM and Toshiba recently unveiled the newCell chip, which companies say can run 10 times faster than the current computer chips will power the next-generation Playstation 3,” the timeline states. Consoles are always improving with each generation from 8-bit graphics in the Atari 2600 to the high definition graphics we have now.

1962 Photo By: Joi Ito

Spacewar! : Steve Russel

Spacewar! is a two-player game where players control a space ship and attempt to destroy each other.

Developed by Steve Russel, this game became the first popular computer game and one of the first video games.

This video game took 200 hours to write and program.

1967

Photo By: George Hotelling

Brown Box : Ralph Baer

The Brown Box set the precedent for video games we now have today.

This was the first console created that worked on a television. The Brown Box was created by Ralph Baer and included 12 games. It also had two controllers and a multigame program system similar to modern consoles.

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1972 Pong : Atari

Pong is a game where two paddles are controlled to return a ball back and forth to see who has the most points at the end.

This video game led to the start of the video game industry. Because of the huge success in Pong, they also created a console for the game in 1975 which is shown below. This was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity and set the precedent for future games.

1977

Photo By: Evan Amos

Atari 2600 : Atari

After realizing that the Pong console wouldn’t last because of the lack of different games, Atari released a console that could play multiple games. After the public realized that the console could play more than one game, it sold very well. By 1982, Atari sold 10 million systems with games like Pac-Man or Space Invaders.

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Photo By: Joi Ito

1975

Photo By: Evan Amos

Pong Console : Atari

After the huge success on the arcade Pong games, Harold Lee, an Atari engineer, proposed an idea to create a home version of Pong that would connect to the television. Time magazine said that the system helped catapult Atari to a household-name status and introduced home video games to the masses.

1980

Photo By: Evan Amos

Intellivision : Mattel

Intellivision was one of the main competitors of the Atari 2600. Even though it wasn’t the first console to challenge Atari, it was first to pose a threat. Time Magazine’s timeline noted that the Intellivision featured slightly better graphics than the Atari and the first synthesized voices in games. The console earned $100 million by 1982.

1991

1985

Photo By: Evan Amos

Photo By: Evan Amos

NES : Nintendo

According to IGN, the NES is the greatest video game console in history. It is the best selling console at its time and helped the video game industry after the crash in 1983. It included games such as Super Mario Bros. and Metroid.

1989 Photo By: Evan Amos

Game Boy : Nintendo

Nintendo’s second major hit is the Game Boy. This became the first major handheld game console. The Gameboy went through many changes from the Game Boy color in 1998 to the Nintendo DS in 2004.

Super NES

The Super NES was Nintendo’s second video game console. This console introduced advanced graphics and better sound capability compared to other consoles at the time. It was the best selling console of the 16-bit era.

1995

Photo By: Evan Amos

PlayStation : Sony

Launched by Sony, the Playstation is a 32-bit console that started stressing 3-D graphics and dominated the 2-D games and 16-bit consoles. Because of the use of CD-Roms instead of the traditional cartridges, the prices of games began to cost less. Playstation was the most popular console of its time.

Photo By: Evan Amos

Playstation 2 : Sony

The Playstation 2 is the most popular and best-selling console of all time, selling over 155 million consoles. It remained popular well into late 2000s and was continued to be produced until January 2013.

2001

Photo By: Evan Amos

Xbox : Microsoft

The Xbox was Microsoft’s first product into the gaming console industry. The Xbox competed with the GameCube and the Playstation 2. The Xbox Live, which allowed online play, competed mainly with Playstation 2’s. Even though Xbox live required cash, it was a success because of fine servers and interface.

2010

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Photos By: Evan Amos

Photo By: Evan Amos

With the Xbox 360 created in 2005 and the Wii and Playstation 3 in 2006, all three consoles competed with each other. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 sold about 80 million consoles and the Wii sold over 100 million consoles. The Wii had the ability to have a motionsensor controller which allowed a larger demographic with fitness games which interested more types of people.. All the consoles introduced new functions such as Xbox 360 used to stream music and television programs or the Playstation 3 using Blu-ray Disc as the primary storage.

Nintendo 64 : Nintendo

Named after the 64-bit graphics, the Nintendo 64 was Nintendo’s third home video game console. It was named Time Magazine’s Machine of the Year in 1996. The console had many advantages but some drawbacks. It still used ROM cartridges which could not hold as much memory as CDs that other consoles were using. The Nintendo 64 also did not have as many games as the Playstation 2, but had impressive graphics. According to IGN, even though it was a small disappointment, it still had many innovations such as 3-D images.

Sources -Time Magazine, International Center for the History of Electronic Games, Infoplease, Tech Rader

2005-2006

Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3

2013

Photos By: Evan Amos

Xbox 1 and Playstation 4

In 2014, both consoles are tied in sales.

In a recent review by Will Shanklin, a technology writer, believes that the consoles have improvements to graphics but they are not too significant. He currently thinks the best console is the PS4.

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FUEL YOUR BODY

MONSTER ENERGY Vitamins, Energy, Delicious

THE NEW AMD RADEON R9 290X OBLITERATE THE COMPETITION

PConsole Wars Old Conflict, New Faces STORY BY: RYAN THOMAS

Photo by: Intel Free Press creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Below is a computer running the new Windows 8. These computers are faster and cheaper then their older versions and are becoming more and more common for today’s gamers to use.

Photos by: Evan-Amos

Above are the two newest models of consoles, the Playstation Four and the Xbox One. Below, the iconic Super Nintendo, a console that many gamers today grew up with.

Awaiting his next victims, the silent killer prepares his gun. His patience finally pays off when they file out the building. Bullets come pouring out of his rifle, but all the while the killer moves. He doesn’t miss his targets. The thrill of success goes through his mind, even though he knows he has yet to face the largest challenge, staying alive. Half way across the world another man puts on a mask and starts a bank heist. He gets the tellers on the ground and opens the vault door. His partners guard the doors as the police arrive, all the while he bags the cash and delivers it to a van waiting outside.

Once he’s done he calls his partners-in-crime and they speed off into the night. This is the day and age we live in. The age of gaming.

Historically consoles have been the dominating choice for consumers, but that is rapidly changing.

PCs are getting cheaper and cheaper to use, and they are replacing the consoles. This is the evershifting face of gaming. This new style of gaming is a very controversial item for the community, as many arguments break out every day. More and more people turn to PC gaming and turn their back on the “outdated” console style, with a 5,862 percent increase since 2005, while consoles have has a 23 percent decrease in the past three years.

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Some people, however, continue to believe consoles will control the markets, “That’s why I believe that the next gen and so on will continue to be console dominated.

Because they’re normal. People don’t like change and that’s been proven, so I sit with that.”

Ben Anderson, an avid gamer, mainly plays Call of Duty on his Xbox continues to believe in the console style of gaming, was one of the experts due to his extensive playing.

“I put in up to 5 hours a day during the school days, and all day and night on the weekends,” Ben exclaimed.

Ben plays as a sniper on Call of Duty and has been with some big sniping clans, most notably, OpTic and SOAR. He finds his Xbox to be cheaper since he only has to buy one game every year, as to get the most recent of Call of Duty. This is contrasted by PC users and their playing of many games.

Mathew Heighway, a PC gamer, plays DOTA 2 mainly, but also a whole other host of games, much different than most console users.

“I prefer PC gaming because... the fact that I can play a game and watch Netflix at the same time,” Mathew said.

He’s been playing on his PC for four years and finds that Steam, an online video game store, has allowed him to try out many new games, such as indies, and loves his PC. He’s spent about $1,200 on his computer and his games since first purchasing his computer.

The newest consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, are the newest in console technology.

“I prefer it (console gaming) due to the cheapness of the console,” said Ben, who plays on his new Xbox One. The PS4 and Xbox One range upwards of $400. The consoles replaced the Xbox 360 and PS3, which were released in 2005/2006 respectively, had been the top consoles for 7 years. This means it costs about $60 a year to play on the top of the line consoles at $400 for 7 years. Add that to the $140 a year to get the latest games, coming in at $30-$60 a game, and you’ll get the cost of gaming on a console.

Computer gaming has rapidly been taking over the market compared to consoles, with its massive booms.

“It’s cheaper to get a good computer for gaming instead of an Xbox,” says Mathew Heighway.

You’ll find it possible to get a computer that works for $900 and it’ll run most games for five to ten years. After that you can just replace parts to get the computer running efficiently again. Combine that with the newest client in PC gaming, “Steam,” which allows for gamers to buy almost every game out there for insanely low prices; through their amazing daily sales, it’s proved a combination that draws many gamers to PC, both casual and pros.

Major League Gaming, or MLG, has taken a major shift within the past few years.

“I find that more pro gaming is going to PC and is going away from console... because of the complexity of LoL and DOTA,” said Ben, who has been trying to play professionally for many years now.

Previously, most games considered for MLG were only on the console. Recently however many games on PC have become the new super stars of the international community. Games such as League of Legends, DOTA 2, and Starcraft 2 are the new poster children for the community.

There are many people who play these games and these games only for a living, such as Cloud 9, an

A screen shot of Call of Duty: Ghosts,the image shows the improving graphics that many games run.

Photo by: Activision

American based team who plays League of Legends professionally.

Meanwhile console gaming has been shifting where there is only one or two games played, most notably Call of Duty, as seen by the 2014 MLG circuits. This has greatly reduced the number of players looking to compete competitively from going to console.

Joshua Walker, a PC and console gamer, as well as a high school student, gave us his views on the future of MLG and gaming in general.

Photo by: Activision “I think both actually have solid platforms and it’ll just be who A screenshot from Call of Duty Black Ops 2 multiplayer, a game filled with action and outdoes the other with something violence, is a major game for both PC users and console users. so great it can never be beat,” Walker said.

“They (consoles) will be the gaming aside from the few games Consoles and PC have been future because [they were] the I do play when I get a chance.

But I think I’d like console still, as rapidly updating many things norm,” Ben said. in the ever expanding needs of This rings true because the I am part of a great community.” the community, most notably, origins of gaming that can be Walker said. the graphics and the speed of traced back to their early console He, like many others, has found the system. Currently however, roots in the early ‘70s. Ever since his place with online friends. neither of the players has been the consoles have been the top of This bond is one made through able to outdo the other so much the market and haven’t seen any countless hours being spent with as to make them stop production. competition until the late 2000’s people. This too, will also decide There have also been faults but with the introduction of PCs as a the future. Not only the games these again have been reversed gaming option. and consoles themselves, but the Heighway however had a community associated with the to become some of the new and better consoles and PCs, such as differing view, “I think PC gaming two. the Xbox One, whose prerelease is the future because of how it The battle might just settle caused quite a stir in the online integrates into our day to day lives out over time, with no obvious community. But the communities already.” victor seen in the future. There It’s true however as more and could be possible flaws within the still stand behind their respective default gaming systems. more people make the switch, or next generation of consoles, or “The community will love it are taught how to use a computer advances in graphics and speed of no matter what. Unless it’s the for typing or research for school. the computers that are becoming Xbox One pre-redesign,” Walker This has allowed more and more readily available. people to get PCs and a large “It’s not set in stone and we (the said.

There have been some times opportunity for those who make community) will take to whichever when the platform was not up to PC games. It might also be the key one.” Walker said. standards and the community was for the future. As more and more So, which one is better? Do you able to get the changes they want people switch from consoles and choose the long time reigning for it to be the next best thing, like learn how to use PCs in turn their champion or do you choose the newcomer who has been quickly the upgrading of consoles due to children will also turn to PC. their inability to keep up with the However it’s not always about rising to the top? It simply boils PCs. This power of the players how it integrates with our day to down to your needs for gaming, will allow for both to continue day life. whether it is graphics, speed or “In all honesty I don’t think I games, and how much money you prospering. So the future is still know nearly enough about PC will be able to spend on these. ∆ up for grabs.

Spring 2014

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Google fiber Coming to Austin Soon

- Will be built where demand is highest - Choose from 3 distinct plans: Gigabit + Tv, Gigabit, and Free Internet - Will provide service to small businesses

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The Wii U

THe first five controller console!