Do you remember having sleepovers with your friends when you – fueled by loads of soda, Red Bull, chips and candy – would stay up all night playing video games? Well, BeachCon 2017 was like that, amplified tenfold.
The Cal State Long Beach Esports Association hosted its third BeachCon March 4 and 5 at The Pointe underneath Walter Pyramid. The day transitioned into evening on Saturday, as some gamers went strongly through the night, not leaving until 2 a.m. Then it was back to The Pointe to keep the video feeds streaming at 10 a.m. Sunday.
This year will perhaps be the last BeachCon to take place in The Pointe, according to organizer Cat Tompkins, a Master’s of Business Administration student at CSULB who says the expanding event is outgrowing the venue.
“Traditionally, BeachCon is always held at The Pointe under the Walter Pyramid,” Tompkins said. “But it looks like this is going to be the last year it’s ever going to be here, which is kind of bittersweet – but it’s time to move on to bigger and better things.”
It should be a welcome change, considering con-goers were shoulder-to-shoulder in The Pointe. Some people were dressed in cosplay, some were wearing various shirts for whatever sponsor they were with, while others rocked their casual garments. One thing everyone had in common was a love for gaming.
“We had [CSULB] President [Jane Close] Conoley come through here yesterday and she was amazed by [the event]. She was like, ‘Where has this been this whole time?’” Tompkins said.
As you make your way past the various booths full of tech or artwork, you wiggle your way into a giant, dark room that looks like a dimly-lit NASA headquarters. Row upon row of computers are paired with one to two sets of eyes, laser focused on the screen as twiddling thumbs rapidly click away on keyboards, joysticks and game controllers. Two large projectors display tournaments for “Super Smash Bros. for WiiU” and “League of Legends.”
The “League of Legends” semi-finals between e-sports clubs at UC Irvine and UC San Diego were wrapping up before Tompkins transitioned into an afternoon raffle. Not only could con-goers receive gifts from sponsors like Hearthstone online gaming, EVGA — an American computer hardware company — and Kind snacks, but the winner of the tournament will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
CSULB’s own e-sports club only started in 2013, but has grown exponentially.
“We encompass all kinds of casual, competitive gaming on campus,” Tompkins said. “We have a community of over 800 members online and offline. We have nine teams competing for scholarship money in these giant national leagues and then we also always give back to charity.”
Among the Red Bull mini fridges were products from other major sponsors, one of which was a gaming computer company Tompkins currently works for, iBUYPOWER. Not only did they provide the computers for the “League of Legends” tournament, but they also provided an iBUYPOWER desktop for the grand prize raffle.
All those who went to the free event received a raffle ticket, with the option to purchase extra for $1 a piece. Freshman engineering student at CSULB Griffin VanBeek won twice during the 3:30 p.m. drawing, taking home the game “Paragon” for PS4 and an EVGA Torq computer mouse.
“I purchased a few [tickets] … 50,” VanBeek said.
Proceeds from the raffle will go Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Anxiety Gaming, a nonprofit focusing on mental health issues operating out of Long Beach.
“Anxiety Gaming is a way of using video games and e-sports to talk about depression and anxiety within the gaming community,” CEO Jason Docton said. “A lot of us turn to gaming as a way to escape some of the things that are going on in our lives, as a way to get away from the stress in both a healthy and unhealthy way.”
Anxiety Gaming representatives were at BeachCon handing out sodas, chips and candy, hoping to have a chance to open up a dialogue about mental health issues.
“If you wanted to see a therapist, if you wanted to talk to someone on a professional level I help people get connected to therapists,” Docton said. “I can cover the cost for them too if they can’t afford it, it’s one of the big things that we do.”
It was Anxiety Gaming’s first year participating in BeachCon, but likely not its last as the event continues to grow larger every year. Tompkins shows no sign of slowing down.
“The biggest thing I look forward to is definitely bringing the whole community together,” she said. “That’s always been my biggest goal and that’s the whole reason why I do these events.”