The CSUSB E-Sports Arena is hosting its first “Gamer Girl Mixer” to promote diversity in the male dominated gaming community. Set for Sept. 19, the E-Sports Arena located on the first floor of the San Manuel Student Union South (SMSU) will be assisting in breaking the stigma that playing video games is just an activity centered around men by hosting a mixer for women in collaboration with the Women’s Resource Center located on the third floor of the SMSU North. On their Instagram, they claim that it is for women to meet other women who also share the same interest in playing video games as a hobby with the availability to take home a goodie bag.
Along with hosting the “Gamer Girl” mixer, the E-Sports Arena also hosts a myriad of events throughout the semester. One past event included the E-Sports Arena “Welcome Back Event,” where its purpose was to get acquainted with the resident community on campus while also outlining what events will be scheduled ahead as the semester continues.
Upon interviewing Isaac T., the Student Assistant Lead with two years now working at the E-Sports Arena, he was able to provide additional details on the Arena’s developments and challenges they are presented with. To start off, he stated that one of the benefits of helping run the arena is being a place to network amongst one’s peers alongside building a community on campus for students with a similar interest in gaming. He then highlighted that despite the competitive nature that videogames may bring out in students, there isn’t any hostility amongst the people that frequent the place. Although these may come across as great aspects, Isaac also provided what are the present challenges affecting the space.
One of the challenges of running the place is not having enough space for additional PC’s. The sitting is quite limited to just 18 computers. The computers run on Intel CPU’s and Nvidia Graphics Card with 1 Terabyte of available storage. Another issue he presented was that, with the addition of newer games to the Arena’s roster, this poses a problem with the available storage capacity the computers have. Currently the Arena is upgrading the computer monitors.
The games at the E-Sports Arena that are available to play are: Valorant, Call of Duty, Overwatch 2, Counter-Strike 2, and Fortnite. A new title that was recently added to the Arena’s list of available games is, The Finals. The Finals is a competitive first-person shooter with destructible environments that change the topography of the map as the match progresses. Regulars at the E-Sports Arena have also made requests for various games. One popular title that is being highly requested is Deadlock, a hero shooter produced by Valve, the company behind the online storefront: Steam.
The Arena has also made steps to have more in-person gaming experiences by adding two flat screen televisions to incorporate couch Co-Op experiences. The titles available for gamers to partake in are: Smash Bros, Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Mortal Kombat 1, and when it releases: Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
With the semester at CSUSB still going strong, the Arena will continue to host more events, so don’t miss out!
