QuakeCon Kicks Off Nation's Biggest BYOC Party
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DALLAS (CBS11) - If you think computer gaming is for introverts, then you haven't been to Dallas's annual QuakeCon.
Thousands have packed the four-day gaming convention that started Thursday at the Hilton Anatole.
They call the big hall the BYOC, and with 3,500 stations QuakeCon boasts the largest Bring Your Own Computer party in North America.
"Not one computer is the same here, and you can add your own personality to it," gamer Hunter Krieg said.
Krieg is humble about his five-year-old machine. But he says it starts to get intense when gamers install liquid coolant systems and radiators like the one Richard Quintero has.
"You enjoy the view, the graphics, all the lights, effects, and with a laptop you can't see that," Quintero said.
Gamers will tell you every modification to these high-powered towers is done to give them an edge.
Taylor Miller, who set up his computer in the BYOC early Thursday morning, says the annual event now in its twenty-first year, puts to rest the old image of gaming as a solitary pursuit in lonely room.
While multi-player games are social by design, the BYOC hall takes community to a whole new level.
"It feels like a lot more camaraderie comes out. You know, it's one thing to talk to a person through a microphone, but to sit here with your buddy and sit right next to him and coordinate things," Miller said.
And even though many plan to play around the clock over the next few days, the room is about more than just gaming.
"I can pretty much go to anyone here and have a good conversation about anything. We're all on the same level. Everybody gets along, and you know we're all just one big community," Krieg said.
Organizers point out you don't have to bring your own computer to check out a lot of what the convention has to offer. Admission is free, and non-gamers are encouraged to check it out.
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