Written by Amber Turner-Brightman
For this interview, I met with Louis, the President of Gaming Society. We spoke about their lifelong passion for gaming, the society’s reputation, and their aim to establish an open and welcoming space for all students.
What’s your favourite game?
Disco Elysium. For years and years, I loved Fallout: New Vegas and that was my favourite game. The politics of everything, the dynamic, and how things are discussed really connected with me at a young age. In fact, it connected with me so much I bought the collectors edition of the game and for two years now, every night I’ve slept next to the collector’s edition in my drawer next to my bed. But about a year ago I played Disco Elysium for the first time, and it really resonated with me. Now I’m a massive shill for the game; I tell all my friends that they need to play this game!
Why did you join Gaming Society initially?
Games! I love games, I’ve always loved games, and I hopefully will always have time to enjoy them, even if to a lesser extent. Gaming has always been something that’s helped me out, it’s always supported me and had my back. I know that even if life is very hard, I always have an alternative. I’m not always forced to go out and see people constantly, I can just take a break, sit down, and play Devil May Cry for a few hours. I can feel like I’ve discovered something. I’ve had an experience which the real world can’t offer me. There’s also the social aspect to gaming, which Gaming Society offers you. For example, playing Sea of Thieves with mates I haven’t seen in a while because they’re all working full time and I’m at uni. When we play for a few hours I get to spend time with them, even if it’s not in person and I can’t be right next to them sharing a drink, I can sail the seven seas with them and goof around. It does give you that ability to explore places you realistically wouldn’t be able to. I couldn’t be a pirate! I’d die of scurvy in the first few weeks!
Louis, President of Gaming Society
How has Gaming Society positively impacted your university experience?
So, I’ve not always been socially awkward, but I’ve always struggled to find a group and find people. I was always told that when I got to uni, I was going to find my people and I was going to have such a good time. They weren’t wrong! It was my first session of Gaming Soc, and I came along and I sat next to one of the old committee members, Evan. He was playing Halo- and I’ve been a lifetime fan of Halo, since Halo 3 came out when I was around five- so I just sat down next to him and we were just talking about the games. It clicked for me then that now, uni is my time to find the people I like. I used Gaming Society as a vessel to do that: to find more people and play more games. That moment made me realise that I would keep going every week, as much as I could, so I could spend time with people I enjoy spending time with. That’s what I hope to do for other people as well.
What can people expect from Gaming Society?
We mostly just provide an environment for people to come in and play their games. We have consoles, we have monitors- mostly older stuff because it’s not reliant on the internet. We try to give people that space, and if people want to bring their own stuff in, they can. We can set things up, we can give you the tools to do it, and we’ll let you do it. We’re not exactly remaining core to the ‘code of gaming’, that you must show up and you must do certain things. If someone wants to play like, Tekken 7 for example, they want to come in and they just want to play a game, they can come in! We’ll get the stuff out, we’ll help you out. If you have any questions or you want us to get stuff, we’ll look for it and if there is any way for us to, we will put our budget towards it.
What kind of demographic are you aimed at?
Honestly, anyone. As long as you’re willing to cooperate, have a good time, and you’re not going to take everything too seriously. It’s just a place for you to come and play games with us, join a community full of likeminded people, and just have fun and make friends. If you want to cause drama with anyone or generally mess up our environment, you will be thrown out the door ASAP. And that’s a Gaming Society guarantee! In the society, we’ve got three hours to have a good time and enjoy ourselves. If you’re going to come around, make racist remarks, be homophobic, any of that shit, I am not interested in you being a part of this.
Do you have any plans for Freshers’ Week?
I’ve designed a brand-new flyer for Fresher’s, we’ve got a banner, we’ve got things ready to go overall. The week after Fresher's when people actually start university, we’re going to run two free weeks (Tuesday and Thursday from 7pm until 10pm) and try to get people involved. After that, we're five quid for the year. I think that’s pretty good value. But those two free weeks allow people to come in, explore, see if they like it- if they like the environment and just playing games with people.
Are there any misconceptions about Gaming Society you’d like to dispel?
I feel like the Gaming Society has been regarded mostly as overcompetitive, sweaty, overzealous, nerds- in the negative sense of the word- and has been seen as a place that regular people like you and I wouldn’t want to go, because it’s so intense. I feel like that isn’t just a symptom of ‘gamers’ as a term, I think that was the reputation that the Gaming Society had built up, as regrettable as that is to say. I don’t want that to be how we are anymore. Even before I was president, I spoke to many of my friends and asked them to come along with me, and they wouldn’t be sure about joining me. I had a friend who was misgendered several times without consequence last year and ever since then, they didn’t want to come. Frankly, why would you? Why would you want to be in an environment where you aren’t going to be treated nicely?
I don’t want any of that shit anymore. I have a zero-tolerance policy now. You should be allowed to just come, enjoy your games, see your friends, and enjoy what we have to offer! We’re giving you something that other societies can’t, because we’ve been going over ten years now and we have quite a big selection. We’re giving you the opportunity to just have fun for three hours and forget about the stresses of uni life. You shouldn’t have to feel like you can’t be yourself- I don’t want that anymore. I want it to be a place where everyone can just have fun. I’m very passionate about it. It felt that the environment at the time wasn’t as inclusive, but now is the time to change that! Now there’s an opportunity for everyone to come and be themselves.
Gaming Society is £5 to join for the year, which gives you access to socials, events, and a wide variety of games and equipment. You can sign up via their Union page or find out more on their Instagram page.
About the Author: Amber Turner-Brightman (they/them)
Hi, I'm Amber, EIC! I'm an MA Journalism student with an undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations. I'm particularly interested in current affairs and societal trends.
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