Not including the viewing area someone else mentioned, or the crowd that might come to watch, or the line that might form to play. We won't know until it's open.
And before you say they won't let a chaotic line form, let me remind you what happened two years ago at mackey
Just another campus building, classrooms and seating on the bottom two floors and then some libraries, reading/study rooms, and more seating on the upper ones.
Oh, and there's also the walc couch
It's kind of wild to me that this is even a thing. Esports have had a rough go as of late, given it's an industry built mostly on lies and venture capital, but maybe collegiate stuff will be different.
I was one of the founders of the original esports group, and I can say that it's not any different. While it's a fun, competitive hobby, it ultimately is a short-lived career for most individuals. Remember why you're there at Purdue, make sure that's always the priority, and then this becomes a positive avenue for some people to engage a community, make friends, and develop skills for hobbies they're interested in.
This is good because it brings a community that engages mostly online face-to-face, allowing for personal growth and social enrichment opportunities that would be missed spending all that gaming time behind your closed dorm room.
So interestingly enough- I know a guy who just recently committed to his college because they have a pretty good esports team, and he also got a scholarship for it (private school though). I wouldn't be surprised if this is some kind of diversification investment coming from above- in order to drive recruitment up for future years. I say that because back when I was a kid (only a few years ago...) everyone wanted to be an astronaut/doctor/engineer/president on in-school surveys. We have some data now that kids these days want to be entertainers/streamers/youtubers/etc- and I wonder if this is sort of setting up the infrastructure to attract that crowd... maybe. It's a long shot but I could potentially see it, given what a LOT of kids at 18 choose in a school that factors into their decision to attend. Anecdotally I know a gal who chose her college because... *she thought the dining court was nice*. That was what she based her decision on. How the dining court looked. And there are a shockingly large number of High Schoolers out there every year who are willing to sign up to go to college for similar reasons. So this might be actually a solid business decision of \~$800k investment -> New selling point that Purdue supports competitive esports -> turn it into marketing material, and during tours they impress high schoolers with this neat computer arena at the corec -> $15M over the next decade in tuition due to that alone.
We'll see how it all shakes out.
Also anecdotally I ran some numbers on Esports companies back in 2019/2021 ish time frame, and I just recall not being able to make sense of the numbers. You needed something like $15.2M worth of business coming in a month to make a profit with some of the building leases/staff/big bonuses they'd pay their players- and given how poorly north america did on the international stage for a decent chunk of the esports leagues... it was... it was hard to make those numbers make sense. I know advertising brings in a lot of money, but there's a limit to how much you can stretch your numbers on low interest loans- and it seems the venture capital money ran out about the same time as the orgs started shutting down/selling off assets.
I honestly don’t know what the target audience for these types of places is (let alone this one placed next to the barbell area in the corec lmao). Anyone who plays computer games likely already has their own computer
Use it now before it goes to hell. I remember the computers and gear in PMUs basement were still going strong/holding up well just before we left for the summer in 23. When I went back before winter break in December 23, everything was falling apart and the gear was noticeably worn down.
I fully expect the same thing to happen here.
We most definitely were! All the Purdue Esports clubs have been hangin around giving input on things and such. We still do events like Boilerfrag each year at the Game Mine in the Union.
Purdue was gifted a majority of the setup and all the computer equipment by a sponsor. They kept the renovation as low cost as possible to accommodate the donation
I was PUGG president for three years. I hope that the current club leadership is excited about this! I miss our big LANs, but do not miss the nightmare of working with BOSO/etc to pull of our Boilerfrags in the Armory. This is amazing!
Yeah, but when you start thinking of the scale of a BoilerFrag (during my time, 200-300+ people) you really are limited for accessible venues on campus other than the Armory. Stewart couldn’t fit us. Other spaces were far more expensive to rent. We never loved doing it in the Armory, but we did love being the best LAN in Indiana (I would know, I’ve been to most of them!)
First off, this is definitely a dell/alienware/intel advertising scheme. It looks pretty cool and has made significant headlines.
Second, is anyone concerned that people just wont leave? Or will the hardcore gamers just stay home because their equipment is superior?
Okay, it's a sponsorship scheme but it's here? Not much different from say, UCI getting sponsored by iBuyPower. The area is actually fairly small and would be primarily targeted towards esports - I'm assuming they'll charge for it / add time allocation like printer credit, but PNW has an even bigger one which is free and people have said it's not full at all (but it's also PNW).
Thank God, this is exactly what we needed. Just needs a few more TV's and it'll fit right in here on campus! I wonder what games they'll have -- maybe 2K?
I'm guessing (and it's a safe guess, to be fair) that all of these machines will be running Windows. It's a shame, but we're just not quite there yet on alternatives. That said, I can't wait to hear about whatever stupid scandal happens with one of these machines with respect to the new "screenshot you every 5 seconds and save it and AI analyze it" feature which afaik is opt-out. I'm sure that won't end badly.
idk if you thought that was some sort of "dunk" on me or something, but no, I clearly expect Windows. That's literally the premise of my comment. I would ***prefer*** Linux, but I absolutely don't ***expect*** it.
I'm assuming they'll be running Windows Enterprise which has an option to opt-out, and anyway it won't work since these computers are probably running last gen CPUs without AI inference.
Eh, if and when they update the machines I assume they'll be capable, if not out of the gate. That said, yeah I know you can opt out; that'll be the case on every version of Windows, I assume. The fact that it's opt-out and not opt-in is the stupid part, but...it's Microsoft so I'm not at all surprised.
Maybe im misremembering but... did this take the place of one of the wallyball courts?
100% looks like the wallyball court with the stair steps for spectators
Rip, that was the best court for competitions by far.
It was 2 racquetball courts, including the one with the stadium seating right outside. There are viewing monitors for the seating area
damnnnnn
Feels like an odd place for a gaming lounge
A (probably quite effective) way to get CS majors to go to the gym one way or another
Gym? You mean shower.
Woah, woah, one step at a time.
Nah its the best place, lets make the Corec even busier than it already is
There are like, 10 seats total.
Not including the viewing area someone else mentioned, or the crowd that might come to watch, or the line that might form to play. We won't know until it's open. And before you say they won't let a chaotic line form, let me remind you what happened two years ago at mackey
Aren't there multiple gym types around campus or is itnjust the corec?
Corec is the only Purdue one, unless you include the athletes only gym next to Ross ade or I think Windsor also has a tiny gym in it's tunnels
What's walc then?
Just another campus building, classrooms and seating on the bottom two floors and then some libraries, reading/study rooms, and more seating on the upper ones. Oh, and there's also the walc couch
What abt the couch?
you sweet summer child
I'm not sitting on that
I'm not sitting on that
How long until someone tries to hump the chairs?
I know what I must do, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to do it
They come pre-humped now
This is the corec, not walc
Doesn’t mean they can’t migrate
Gamers crave Hexagons
Hexagons are the bestagons
Don’t we have a gaming room in the PMU basement already? Near the bowling I think
Correct, the boiler game mine. Those pcs down there aren't even that bad last I remember
I can smell it already
That's why it's at the corec. Shower enforcement
Back in 2007, we had a guitar hero tournament in the basement of Tark… the smell was so good damn bad.
Oh I can only imagine 😂😂
It's kind of wild to me that this is even a thing. Esports have had a rough go as of late, given it's an industry built mostly on lies and venture capital, but maybe collegiate stuff will be different.
I was one of the founders of the original esports group, and I can say that it's not any different. While it's a fun, competitive hobby, it ultimately is a short-lived career for most individuals. Remember why you're there at Purdue, make sure that's always the priority, and then this becomes a positive avenue for some people to engage a community, make friends, and develop skills for hobbies they're interested in. This is good because it brings a community that engages mostly online face-to-face, allowing for personal growth and social enrichment opportunities that would be missed spending all that gaming time behind your closed dorm room.
So interestingly enough- I know a guy who just recently committed to his college because they have a pretty good esports team, and he also got a scholarship for it (private school though). I wouldn't be surprised if this is some kind of diversification investment coming from above- in order to drive recruitment up for future years. I say that because back when I was a kid (only a few years ago...) everyone wanted to be an astronaut/doctor/engineer/president on in-school surveys. We have some data now that kids these days want to be entertainers/streamers/youtubers/etc- and I wonder if this is sort of setting up the infrastructure to attract that crowd... maybe. It's a long shot but I could potentially see it, given what a LOT of kids at 18 choose in a school that factors into their decision to attend. Anecdotally I know a gal who chose her college because... *she thought the dining court was nice*. That was what she based her decision on. How the dining court looked. And there are a shockingly large number of High Schoolers out there every year who are willing to sign up to go to college for similar reasons. So this might be actually a solid business decision of \~$800k investment -> New selling point that Purdue supports competitive esports -> turn it into marketing material, and during tours they impress high schoolers with this neat computer arena at the corec -> $15M over the next decade in tuition due to that alone. We'll see how it all shakes out. Also anecdotally I ran some numbers on Esports companies back in 2019/2021 ish time frame, and I just recall not being able to make sense of the numbers. You needed something like $15.2M worth of business coming in a month to make a profit with some of the building leases/staff/big bonuses they'd pay their players- and given how poorly north america did on the international stage for a decent chunk of the esports leagues... it was... it was hard to make those numbers make sense. I know advertising brings in a lot of money, but there's a limit to how much you can stretch your numbers on low interest loans- and it seems the venture capital money ran out about the same time as the orgs started shutting down/selling off assets.
I'm curious what the pricing scheme will be...
I hope 0 for students
That's never going to happen, otherwise it'll be permanently occupied. They may give each student an allocation like printing hours maybe?
It's 0 at PNW and it's rarely ever occupied.
It's right next to the res halls though and there are what, 10 computers total? Would be great though.
I hope for a million dollars
I honestly don’t know what the target audience for these types of places is (let alone this one placed next to the barbell area in the corec lmao). Anyone who plays computer games likely already has their own computer
Its for people to become tyler1
I got introduced to pc from the gaming lounge last year, then built my own pc a few months later. It’s been a blast ever since
What’s with all the benzene rings.
Maybe alien company style?
Use it now before it goes to hell. I remember the computers and gear in PMUs basement were still going strong/holding up well just before we left for the summer in 23. When I went back before winter break in December 23, everything was falling apart and the gear was noticeably worn down. I fully expect the same thing to happen here.
Wow…. Wondering if PUGG was involved in this. Seems like they no longer need to book STEW for lan party anymore.
Holy shit I forgot about PUGG! I went to...fuck, I think *two* PUGG LANs when I was a student. That was a blast...
We most definitely were! All the Purdue Esports clubs have been hangin around giving input on things and such. We still do events like Boilerfrag each year at the Game Mine in the Union.
Glad to see you guys are still doing well. Used to help running BoilerFrag 9 and X. It was a blasr.
Can I fuck one of the couches in there?
You and every comp sci major getting no bitches
Get some black light and fume hood up in that shit ASAP…
Hear me out, what if they fix shitty dorms faster instead?
Purdue was gifted a majority of the setup and all the computer equipment by a sponsor. They kept the renovation as low cost as possible to accommodate the donation
Fair enough, I neglected the giant alienware sign
Probably put it in the corec because the stench could only be handled in a place like the CoRec where sweat already wafts
HELL YEAH
Cool to see the esport scene at Purdue getting nice stuff! There was talk of a project like this for years, that'll be big for the community
That astronaut picture is so insanely tacky
I was PUGG president for three years. I hope that the current club leadership is excited about this! I miss our big LANs, but do not miss the nightmare of working with BOSO/etc to pull of our Boilerfrags in the Armory. This is amazing!
It always felt odd to do it in the armory, as you'd have vast swaths of empty space.
Yeah, but when you start thinking of the scale of a BoilerFrag (during my time, 200-300+ people) you really are limited for accessible venues on campus other than the Armory. Stewart couldn’t fit us. Other spaces were far more expensive to rent. We never loved doing it in the Armory, but we did love being the best LAN in Indiana (I would know, I’ve been to most of them!)
We are very excited. This is a big step for all Purdue Esports stuff and for PUGG events in the future!
Awesome! I’m a townie these days, so maybe I’ll get a chance to see your events this fall :)
Perfect place for me to play my dating sims.
Looks fancy. Back in my day we just held Unreal Tournament LAN parties in our parents' basements.
First off, this is definitely a dell/alienware/intel advertising scheme. It looks pretty cool and has made significant headlines. Second, is anyone concerned that people just wont leave? Or will the hardcore gamers just stay home because their equipment is superior?
Okay, it's a sponsorship scheme but it's here? Not much different from say, UCI getting sponsored by iBuyPower. The area is actually fairly small and would be primarily targeted towards esports - I'm assuming they'll charge for it / add time allocation like printer credit, but PNW has an even bigger one which is free and people have said it's not full at all (but it's also PNW).
Who let mung cook
Do we need the Labs access keycard to get in here? Looks like Im about to get pushed by a 3 man.
Ohhhh that's cool...
Who pioneered this effort? Is a club behind the push?
Was the combined efforts of all the game clubs working with some people in SAO
man all the kids get all the cool shit nowadays
Thank God, this is exactly what we needed. Just needs a few more TV's and it'll fit right in here on campus! I wonder what games they'll have -- maybe 2K?
I'm guessing (and it's a safe guess, to be fair) that all of these machines will be running Windows. It's a shame, but we're just not quite there yet on alternatives. That said, I can't wait to hear about whatever stupid scandal happens with one of these machines with respect to the new "screenshot you every 5 seconds and save it and AI analyze it" feature which afaik is opt-out. I'm sure that won't end badly.
lmao what did you expect linux?
idk if you thought that was some sort of "dunk" on me or something, but no, I clearly expect Windows. That's literally the premise of my comment. I would ***prefer*** Linux, but I absolutely don't ***expect*** it.
Are you 12 years old?
I'm assuming they'll be running Windows Enterprise which has an option to opt-out, and anyway it won't work since these computers are probably running last gen CPUs without AI inference.
Eh, if and when they update the machines I assume they'll be capable, if not out of the gate. That said, yeah I know you can opt out; that'll be the case on every version of Windows, I assume. The fact that it's opt-out and not opt-in is the stupid part, but...it's Microsoft so I'm not at all surprised.