Gaming club at USU originated from winter blues
Students feeling down because of winter weather and yearning for something to do aren’t out of options. If watching anime or playing a role-playing game is the only thing in the agenda, students can join the Shinseng-Gumi club and do all of that with a group of friends instead of alone.
When most people hear about a club on campus which focuses primarily on role-playing games (RPG’s) and anime, they usually think of the usual stereotype of the nerds who have entirely too much time on their hands.
Carl Ellsworth, one of the original founders of the club and a junior majoring in physics and computer science, said two years ago during the winter months, the weather was not good enough to allow people to get out very much. Because of this, it created a “sadness disorder” which resulted in many people being thrown into pits of depression. At that time, Ellsworth and a group of friends with a similar interest in gaming and watching anime got together to relieve themselves of the boredom and sadness that came with the winter weather.
This gathering quickly spread and resulted in a club named after an order of ancient Chinese warriors during the Me Jin period, whose sole purpose was to be the constant defenders of law and innocence, Ellsworth said. Each of the original members is called by the rank of captain to keep with this theme.
This year marks the club’s homecoming year in that all of the original framers of the club have returned from their missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shinseng-Gumi offers a great social atmosphere for majors in sciences, math and engineering, as well as those who enjoy playing games, RPG’s or watching anime.
They have multiple gaming “groups” based on the type of game being played, and in addition to the gaming and anime, the members also act as a study group for each other.
“It’s a great way to meet people with similar interests and has, so far, turned out well for me,” said Walter Bunn, a freshman majoring in biochemistry.
The club also does various service projects including operating booths at many historical reenactments, Ellsworth said.
Contrary to many opinions, Shinseng-Gumi is not a part of the Gaming Guild. Many of these other clubs only offer games on Friday nights while Shinseng-Gumi offers gaming on multiple nights of the week.
“No one wants to sit at home with a bunch of fat, hairy guys on Friday night. Fridays should be for partying and dates,” said Ellsworth, who is a captain in Shinseng-Gumi.
Ellsworth said since the overall interest in gaming is high and rising, that is the primary focus of the group. The second focus of the club is to keep stress levels low, with the goal of overcoming the gamer’s stereotype in a close third. Most people who come into the club are surprised by how much they will learn about military tactics and history, such as the history of the battle of Sterling, the advantage of attacking on the flanks and so forth, he said. The whole premise behind the gaming aspect is to be able to combine history and fantasy into one game and create some type of a story to enthrall the players into the gaming world. This premise is what appeals to most of the new players who stumble into the club by way of meeting the members and discovering their similarities with them. Ellsworth said many others are interested with the anime portion of the club, which through carefully picked films, shows the club members many accurate fighting styles while at the same time offering an entertaining story.
The overall idea of a gaming club may or may not appeal to many but it’s a chance to get outside of the dorm room and do something fun with a lot of people of similar interests. Ellsworth said not only will members and visitors find a lot to do, but also a lot of friends and if they need it, someone to help them with their homework while they are involved in a game or watching a movie. No matter what year or what major, the Shinseng-Gumi is a great club to meet friends, play games and get some actual studying done, he said.