I have been thinking of ways to inject myself into the Omaha gaming community which has been difficult because being a gamer means that I like spending time alone playing games. I have been going to Catalyst: A Weekly Social Gaming Meet-up at Portal LAN Arcade on 84th Street. Nerdtron, a local gaming group, is behind organizing Catalyst. Nerdtron is run by my buddy Cay who is forever working tirelessly to make nerd-dom more bearable in Omaha.
The event aims to get people together and do what they love – game. There is some emphasis on eSports at the event, which appealed to me, because I play Dota 2, while most of the other gamers were playing League of Legends, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm I did find a couple of Dota compatriots.
The coolest thing about the event is that Portal LAN Arcade really just feels like a Japanese Manga cafe. I loved going to Manga cafe’s in Japan. I always felt like I was at home. I didn’t need to try and be someone else. The biggest asset of playing games, for many people, is by playing a character you can be a different version of yourself – you can be the person you want to be instead of who you are.
Playing at Portal Lan Arcade is a welcoming experience with a bunch of networked PCs in one section of the building and console game in a separate section. They have a small selection of drinks and snacks at the front counter. The prices for admission are pretty fair in my opinion.
Since winter is coming around the corner, I really need a weekly event to keep me from going stir crazy during these awful winter months in Omaha. I think going to Portal LAN Arcade will keep me from becoming too much of a hermit. Come out of the darkness and join me at Portal LAN Arcade next Friday!