MARYSVILLE There aint no cure for the summertime blues, but a new business in town says it can help alleviate the symptoms.
Space Station Games is a local computer game parlor where players can battle each other in-house or tackle adversaries around the globe.
They have two dozen state-of-the-art gaming stations wired together and several other proprietary consoles like Wii and X-box. The new parlor fills a market niche left open when the Galaxy Cafe in the same shopping center closed earlier this year.
The 1,600-square-foot parlor is pitched by owners to be a place for good, clean fun where parents can feel their children are safe. Marysville City Councilman Lee Phillips is an avid gamer who used to be a fixture at the Galaxy Cafe and is one of the owners of the new business.
Its been going awesome, Phillips said. Weve had a lot of people coming in. Weve been doing much better than we thought.
The goal isnt just to earn a chunk of change, but to have fun and also give kids a positive outlet for their energies and to provide an environment for teens to play and socialize. Thats a big deal for Phillips, who has had to deal with complaints about vandalism and graffiti in his role on the City Council. Much of that has been blamed on teens.
Now theres something for them to do, Phillips said. Now theres a safe place for them to do something productive, instead of something destructive.
Steven Pehling is a 15-year-old Marysville boy who used to play at the Galaxy Cafe. He was playing Battlefield II at a new workstation, conducting an unlimited killing spree in the cyber-world during grand opening ceremonies that included a ribbon cutting by Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall and Darth Vader.
Basically its just stat padding, Pehling explained as he worked the keyboard. Its just fun.
He said that playing at the parlor was a boon, since he could socialize and improve his chops at the same time. Its also easier on his wallet, since the parlor has a vast variety of games available and he doesnt have to sink his own funds into a franchise or series of games when they are included in the hourly fee.
I dont have to pay for the computer, Pehling said. I can play with people from around the world.
Owner Aimee Hagglund said things are changing in the industry and its not just a boys world anymore. She pointed to gamer Lindsay Taylor, a 20-year-old who is a big fan of the Guild Wars franchise, which is an RPG Final Fantasy type game, which stands for role playing game.
Im a gamer at heart, Taylor said. I played nine hours yesterday.
Her favorite game has two different ways to play; PVE or PVP. That stands for player versus environment and player versus player. In the former a gamer can select a character and even change their characteristics, including hairstyles, skin color, height, race, armor, etc. With player versus player teams can form guilds and battle each other.
Taylor has been playing this incarnation of the Guild Wars for about 18 months and her main character is a cyber-hottie named Shin Xiah, a glamorous and sophisticated cartoon-like character who looks like she could beat up Xena the Warrior Princess and not break a sweat.
Its a huge ego boost and playing dress-up combined, and thats part of the attraction.
If you have a great story line that men and women can enjoy, they will both like it, Taylor said. Its not just a guys thing to play games girls play too.
What helps is the social nature of the cyber world in many new games, according to Taylor. Sometimes the online community is like a big masked ball and players get into their characters and socialize with each other. From playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to huge raves in a sector of an online city.
Games are a great way to meet new friends, Taylor laughed.
In addition to chatting with each other, characters can earn titles, ranks and honors, even get selected for the Hall of Heroes, and in something called the Fissure of Woe they can earn virtual money.
The Space Station hosts several ongoing game tournaments and keeps a roster with statistics including standing and kill counts. In addition to birthday parties there will be all-nighters during the summer months and a couple of contests are already scheduled, one around the upcoming release of the long-awaited Halo 3 game. Phillips said they will have a team playoff for copies of the new game.