The First Day - Lights Out

As soon as the doors opened on March 19th, they rushed in—six-thousand or so people: eager, anxious and ready to give motionless equipment life with constant flows of electrons. Each person, some old, most young, paid the man, the system, 837 NOK ($139.5) to reserve one of the available seats located on the cement floor of the arena. These seats went on sale December 1, 2007; all seats sold out by January 13, 2008.

During the event’s first day, most participants spent time setting up their assigned areas. To liven things up, the participants erected large wooden structures atop the tables, placing theater speakers, disco balls and plastic women within earshot and view of all. After going through a series of makeovers, each section became a different spectacle; instead of existing as Plain Jane places to sit, these areas became colorful, loud and power-hungry thrones—each area inviting others to visit while also daring each to outdo the next.

The participants—mostly gamers, demosceners and geeks of other degrees—came here to play, download and “chat.” Most participants stated that they liked talking to familiar faces (or pseudonyms) while also becoming acquainted with new ones. Additionally, these participants explained that they liked exchanging music, movies and applications over the network—all of these electronic fruits being available after a few clicks of the mouse (most participants used p2p programs).

As far as cyberathletes go, the gamers spent the first night practicing and preparing for the schedule of duels that were slated to ensue. Games like Counterstrike, Warcraft III, and Quake’s III and IV, could be seen on a majority of the monitor screens. Most of the screens were in sync as the players fought in team-based battlegs; however, some gamers, straying from the pack, chose to play 1 vs. 1 game types instead—these individuals preferred to be an army of one.

At 1 o’clock in the morning, participants gathered around the stage for a videogame showcase, involving a new game developed by Funcom, The Age of Conan. After the showcase, the floor was opened up for Q&A. The audience, who took a break from other activities to listen, showed a strong interest in the game.

After the presentation, the participants retired to their sleeping bags which had been laid out in various places: within the rows of stadium seats, underneath business banners, in heated tents outside, and in hallway nooks and crannies. Similarly, Andrew and I retreated to the press office for sleep. As a final note, if you ever attend The Gathering, do not say the word “sleep” in public; it carries the same weight as a curse word.