LAG event- Is it for everyone, or just 'nerds'?

Video gaming has long been seen as something lame, which ‘nerds’ waste their time with rather than getting on with their lives and engaging with society. It seems though, that with gaming becoming more mainstream, this conception is becoming less prevalent. All around the world, its bringing people together –be it in person or online- and in recent times a close-knit community has too developed within Canberra.
Local Area Games, or LAG, is a bi-annual LAN (local area network) gaming party where both hardcore and ‘newbie’ players alike come together to play video games. Advertised as a weekend long event where players can bring their own, or borrow computers, LAG acts as a hub for the Canberra gaming community which otherwise lacks a proper meeting point. Those who partake can join in various casual and competitive gaming competitions, play around on the provided consoles, simply play online with their friends, or even try out a virtual reality (VR) headset.
For those interested in attending the next event though, the question beckons- can anyone come along, or is it only for avid gamers? As organiser Kosta Kazias puts it, LAG actively tries to make itself inclusive of all. In regards to casual gamers, he explains:
“[LAG] should be for them and I want to encourage them to come along. That’s what we’ve been doing. If it’s not for them, then we’re not doing something right”.

During the event, a‘Lag-a-thon’ was held which aimed at bringing both casual and hardcore gamers together in a way which was fair for both. Played on the main projector, different games would cycle though every round so that no one would have a distinct advantage.
“No one’s expected to know what the game is. Even for the hardcore gamers that are here, there’s absolutely no expectation of having experience, which I think is a good indicator that we’re shooting for those [casual] kind of people”, he said.
Furthermore, with the change in societal attitudes towards ‘nerds’, people that are interested should not feel ashamed in attending.
“I think what we’ve noticed is that the reason why it’s so easy to get people [to come] now days, is I think just about anyone’s a nerd. People care a lot less than they used to. You can see all around Australia, a lot more people [are] playing games that might not have used to play games.
There’s even a number of girls that come along and engage in the event, which indicates that gaming is moving away from being an exclusively male dominated industry.
The most recent event occurred on the long weekend of April 23-25 at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE), with many avid gamers coming along to engage in festivities.
If you’re someone who enjoys gaming, wants to make some new friends, or just wants to try something different, LAG is an awesome event for you.
Written by Ryan de Souza
Images courtesy of Local Area Games