ACM will be revamping its efforts from last years Live Pac-Man. This year, it will go from a single event to an extravaganza, and this event will come to be known as g33kfest. This will take place on Saturday, April 4th in Swearingen starting at 1PM. g33kfest will be an amalgamation of last years Live Pac-Man, and this year's ACM gaming tournaments. g33kfest will include: New and improved Live Pac-Man, a 4 vs. 4 Gears of War tournament, a 1 vs 1 Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament, a 4 vs. 4 Rock Band tournament, and a head to head Guitar Hero tournament! In addition to this there will also be casual, non-tournament games available for play, and abounding shenaniganry. For the winners of each of the tournaments, Visa gifts cards, trophies, and more geek-cred than you have room for will be your reward. For those less fortunate, you will still have a shot at one of ACM's door prizes. Full entry will include participation in Live Pac-Man, as well as any tournament or non-tournament game and will cost $10. Casual entry will include Live Pac-Man and casual games and will cost $5.

For more information please contact me at:

willi272@mailbox.sc.edu

The Gamecock has a front page report on the tournament, with a photo of JJ!

Brian Jones saw his opening and he was ready to spring his trap.The second-year biology student slammed his control stick over, moving his pink blob of a character named Kirby to the edge of a floating platform. His opponent, controlling a blue-haired swordsman named Ike, met his charge, swinging his sword. Jones dodged the strike, opening his mouth and sucking in his opponent's character in the process.

Jones then jumped off the edge of the platform and spit out Ike. Jones's character could still lift himself back to the safety of the platform. Ike couldn't.

And as Ike fell to his doom, the participants and spectators of the Association for Computer Machinery's Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament simultaneously erupted in cheers and groans.

The tournament, sponsored by donations of equipment by ACM members and held in the Swearingen School of Engineering, was held to raise awareness for the computer science and engineering group and to raise funds.

The ACM offers tutoring and hosts events specifically for computer science and engineering students.

J.J. Shepherd, co-president of ACM, said the club is working to get the club back on its feet.

"When I was a freshman, there was no ACM," Shepherd said. "It gives us a place to go to discuss our common interests."

The game Super Smash Brothers Brawl, a fighting game that pits famous Nintendo characters against each other in death match style fights, was chosen because of its popularity.

Ben Fine, a fifth-year computer science student and ACM co-president said the club debated about which game to host.

"We had a Halo 3 tournament last year, but we didn't want to do again as it's not as big this year," Fine said. "We started thinking about other party games we could use. Brawl is fairly new and very popular, so decided to go with it."

Though 50 people registered for the tournament, approximately 100 attended. Participants could register to enter by e-mail or at the event. Pizza and soda was provided for those who registered.

Participants fought against each other in one-on-one five minute matches, with three lives given to each opponent. The final match had no time limit, and the life count was increased to five.

The winner of the tournament, Jones, received a trophy made of computer circuit boards.

"I've been playing Super Smash since the first game came out on the Nintendo 64," Jones said. "Kirby was the first character I've ever played with, and I've stuck with himever since. I came to get some good competition. I enjoyed it."

Those who attended the tournament universally approved of the event.

"I saw a poster for it, and I thought I could do it," Ethan Beard, a first-year chemical engineering student, said. "I didn't know about the group, but if they keep doing things like this I'm sure I'll be back."

Others came to the tournament to test their abilities.

Anna Hodgson, a first-year visual communications student, said the game is popular in her dorm.

"Everybody on our floor in Preston plays this, we do it almost every night," Hodgson said. "We wanted to come and see how we ranked against everybody else."

Some even came to people watch, including second-year geophysics student Chris Bruce.

"I saw a flyer for the tournament, and I thought it would be fun," Bruce said. "It's always interesting to see the kind of characters that come out to things like this."

Most participants loved the sense of community the event created.

"It proves that we aren't just stereotypical, antisocial nerds," Beard said.

Our newspaper reported on the live pac-man:

Yellow pellets, blue energizers, ghosts and the three-quarter dot we've all come to love. Wakka, wakka, wakka. Here comes Pac-Man.

If you were anywhere around the West Quad courtyard Saturday afternoon, you'd initially notice the song "Pac-Man Fever" by Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia on repeat. But then you'd ask yourself, "Why are people dressed as shiny ghosts chasing a guy wearing a Pac-Man helmet through a maze?"

Because it's fun!

Hosted by the university's chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Pac-Man Competition may have been the first that the school has ever seen of a live recreation of a classic arcade video game.

ACM chapter president Ben Fine said this event that he and the group have been advertising for about three weeks - by handing out fliers all around campus while wearing a crafty homemade Pac-Man head - was a chance for them to get the word out about their newly reformed club.

"You could hold talks, but this (holding a Pac-Man Competition) brings the people out," said the fourth-year computer science student.

Fine is also a photographer for The Daily Gamecock.

The competition started out as an idea by one of the ACM members to do a live-action video game - one that is universally recognized. Last semester, the chapter hosted a Halo 3 tournament (on Xbox 360) among other small events.

Other people have held live Pac-Man games, particularly a group of college students from New York University who have a site called pacmanhattan.com and plays on a larger scale around the blocks of Washington Square Park with slightly different rules.

The rules that the ACM has adopted to its interpretation of the video game are almost similar to the actual game. Pac-Man must collect all the pellets (yellow-taped plastic balls) he can without being caught by a ghost. Blue power-up pellets are worth 10 points and allow Pac-Man to tag the ghosts for a limited amount of time.

The game is a true test of one's "ghost avoidance skills." While some people came pre-registered and ready to test those skills, there were some passersby that joined in the fun, too.

Sarah Fuentes, 20, was walking by to do her laundry and finally just stopped to see what was going on, she said. She was persuaded to play and ended up racking up more than 100 points.

With the Pac-Man helmet on, "you cannot see. There's no peripheral vision," the second-year marketing student said. "But it's funny, and it's a brilliant idea."

Michael Tyson, 28, a graduate student studying higher education and student affairs, said he had a lot of fun playing even though he was tagged pretty early on by a ghost.

"I wish had a better strategy," Tyson said. "But it's definitely a creative idea."

Fine said the competition may become an annual event for ACM.

"It is fun, lots of fun," he said. "Where else are you going to be able to act out a video game?"

Interested in joining ACM? Anyone is welcome to the weekly meetings Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Swearingen Engineering Center room 2A17 or contact Ben Fine at fineb@mailbox.sc.edu.

From the Gamecock

ACM, Microsoft sponsor 'Halo 3' party, tournament

Association for Computing Machinery hopes to attract new members through speakers, demonstrations of gaming prowess

Sean Gruber

The Daily Gamecock

Andrew Bartlett, a second-year Nursing student, reloads his shotgun. The bodies of his opponents are scattered around him.

He starts to run down the corridors of the docking station he is fighting in. He's seeking other opponents. His one point lead over his closest competitor is fragile. And to stay still in Halo 3 is to die.