pic: Team 701 - Halo2 LAN Tournament Fundraiser Pic 2

[Doug G]

I sometimes grapple with the premise that it's promoting violence. But there's no doubt that these kids play these games regardless of what we think and by hosting it in a somewhat "social" and safe environment it gives some of these kids a way to be "involved". We have also discussed hosting a Madden Football Tournament as well.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Doug G

We have also discussed hosting a Madden Football Tournament as well.

Madden might be the way to go to keep the parents happy.

That said, has anyone tried to incorporate a permission slip into such endeavors? I've heard of some schools having them for R-rated movies, so I imagine that the standard would apply to M-rated games.

(Of course, if you're willing to sacrifice network play, there's always the T-rated GoldenEye 007 that might be more palatable, plus the team can probably afford the consoles at this point to keep. Don't tell me you've forgotten Paintball Mode or DK mode.)

[Doug G]

We do require parent permission slips and student contracts to attend this event. But mostly the permission slip and contract address behavior expectations. As for gore, Halo isn't that gorey like other titles I've seen.

[Dave McLaughlin]

Hey, Great idea, i was wondering how the administration responded to the idea of an M rated game... also, i was wondering if you knew if we could play through the computer network already in place at our school using consuls...

-Thanks

[Doug G]

My administration and myself didn't realize it was rated M (recommended for those 17+). Thank you for pointing that out. I feel bad now. I did specify on the permission slips what the game was and that it involves violence in a futuristic setting. I should have taken the extra time to actually read the box cover. I've played the game too and it didn't seem as bad as others I've heard about (GTA, etc...). I should have paid closer attention, and perhaps it will be the last time we choose this game or at least next time fully disclose the rating to parents and administration. This was an oversight, for which I feel bad about.

The Madden tournament sounds like a better alternative.

As far as using an existing network... we chose to create our own separate network so that there'd be no conflicts and no chance for students to get on the internet with X-Box live (which I don't think would work anyways). If you plug them into an existing network, you may have issues with 1) is your DHCP server ready to assign it an address, 2) will those assigned addresses be in the same subnet mask, and 3) can you access or control the assignment of either of the previous 2? I'm not a network expert, but I know if the only thing on the network is a bunch of X-box's, they will automatically assign themselves an address that makes them all work. X-Box Forums are helpful in understanding network settings... http://forums.xbox.com/9/ShowForum.aspx

[Alekat]

Personally I believe that the more competitive the environment, the less the gaming is focused on the violence and graphics, and more on the "sport" aspect of the matches.

Good memories in that library regardless

[DeAnnaC]

We've had 5 Xbox/Game console parties at church in the last 2 1/2 yrs.

The kids bring mostly Xboxes/Xbox 360's, so we network those together. We put the router/switches in the middle of the room and move the rest of the furniture out of the sanctuary and bring in folding tables. The sanctuary is perfect because we can show a movie or someone playing by connecting into the video projector and the lights dim in there, making it perfect for game playing.

The most popular game is Halo/Halo2, and it's the only M rated game allowed. All kids must turn in a permission slip about this game before they are allowed to attend. We've never had a problem with the permission slip approach and I think the wording of it (done by our pastor) shows that we care about the kids and realize they are going to play the game either with a group (that they could make friends in) or home alone anyway.

We usually have a group of Playstation/Game cube users and we usually set a spot aside for the ones who want to play DDR. We use another room for younger kids who want to play their own types of games (Pac-Man, Super Smash Bros, etc.) and we use the bean bag chairs in there.

The parties usually run about 5 hours on a Saturday night. We had 45 kids at our last one in November.

We do not charge for the parties - we ask the kids to pitch in $3 each for pizza and we order as many pizza's as we have cash for. The congregation volunteers to setup/take down/clean up and bring in soda/snacks for the kids.

To me, this is another outreach event like the Easter Egg Hunt, but it's super easy to do and doesn't cost much. The kids know how everything is supposed to be connected and where the best placement of the furniture goes, so us parents are just supervising.

We have alot of pics posted on our church website if anyone is interested, just PM me.


DeAnna