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Posted by  TheArtrix on 05/12/2006, 13:15 CET (@510 BMT) |
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 Every self-respecting gamer knows what it is: a LAN party. In case you don't know, a LAN party is when a bunch of gamers (or just computer enthusiasts) get together, bring their computers, and hook those computers to a so called LAN, which stands for Local Area Network, hence the term "LAN party". LAN parties can range from just a bunch of gamers to organized events with hundreds of contestants.
Even though I mainly focus my activities on art and animation, I'm quite a computer geek. Although I don't play games as often as I used to, gamer blood is still running through my veins, and I still enjoy spending hours just fragging the shit out of everything in the virtual world.
 The last time I hosted a LAN party was in 2003, as a way to celebrate my 20th birthday. My 23rd birthday was months ago, but I was still determined to organize such an event.
Basically, there were two contestants: Dante/CabalcoTech and Forau. I could've invited other friends, but they're no gamers, or don't have the intention to bring their computers. I decided to let the LAN take place in the garage, which was basically a very wise decision. The garage is considerably bigger than my room, it's generally cooler there, and there's a fridge. So I took a long UTP cable, hooked it up to the router in my room, and have it go through my window to the garage. Not only does this hook the garage up to the house's LAN, but also the Internet. At a real LAN party, the guests should be able to rape the Internet connection :]
 Put some tables in there, bought some snacks, tested everything on my laptop and things seemed to be working. Dante, who initially planned to arrive in the evening, dropped in around 17:00 and brought his laptop and a 19" 100Mbit hub. It might look awesome, being so big, having all those LEDs and making this cool humming noise, but it's still a hub. It's better than nothing though, and it was able to connect all the, by then, three computers to the LAN and the Internet.
 After dinner, Forau and his desktop computer arrived, with twelve power sockets and a UTP cable, it didn't take long to hook him up to the party, and chaos was ready to begin. Except for his monitor, it needs 15 minutes and a few beatings before the screen shows a proper image.
We mostly played Unreal Tournament 2004, followed by Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour and Worms World Party. For UT2K4, I was introduced to the Jailbreak custom game type, which is rather addicting, and I hope it becomes a standard feature in Unreal Tournament 2007. Especially the larger maps are an indication that it's starting to become a sensible option to upgrade my computer. It's almost 5 years since the last upgrade, so it's rather efficient.
 Command and Conquer was quite funny, we didn't play against each other, but we fought against the computer. Command and Conquer still kicks ass, even though it's 3 years old.
We didn't just play games, but we also spent a large bulk of time watching episodes of Thundercats, laughing at the cheesiness and then realizing people actually took this serious back then. Hmmm, nostalgic.
After three days of living on nothing but junk food and playing hours of UT, the party ended, because, y'know, everything must come to an end... and I had to go to work in the morning. It sure was fun and it bet it's going to be just as fun next time, probably at Dante's place. Hopefully after I upgrade my computer...
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