I sling my guitar over my shoulder and strum through the opening of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” My drummer crashes the cymbals and Brad Witherspoon, Humboldt senior, takes the lead on vocals.

The band finishes the song strong, and I stand with my head held high after carrying my band mates through this rendition.

This chance performance can only happen in the world of Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I can barely play a real guitar, and let’s just say Witherspoon will not be winning the next American Idol. This new era of video games, though, is reaching the masses and connecting on a social level.

Matt Beck, coordinator of intramurals and special events at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center, pushed for a game night at the rec center. Beck says Associate Vice Provost Frank DeSalvo was a big promoter of the game night. “He had the idea that we should have recreational opportunities that people don’t have to necessarily sweat to do,” Beck says.

It’s true. Video games don’t make you sweat, and I would know. I’m one to get my workout from boxing on Wii Sports.

Ease of playing

Alan Flores, lead developer of Guitar Hero World Tour, is in the heart of the market and sees the draw that Nintendo’s Wii has on an unexpected group of people.

“My mom came over to our house and wanted to try Wii bowling with my kids,” Flores says.

The Wii’s simplicity is part of the reason it has attracted so many people to gaming and made gaming such a social activity. Flores says the ease of using the Wii controller is partly why it has that pull, and why his mom wanted to play the Wii.

“If you put a (Xbox) 360 controller in her hand, she would have no idea what to do with it,” Flores says.

Beck also sees the ease with which this generation can adapt to video games and how easy it would be for someone to go to the rec center’s game night and start playing. “Four-year-olds can come in and start playing,” Beck says.

The advent of online play and multiplayer games has also boosted the popularity of gaming.

Gene Nutt, owner of Game Nut, 844 Massachusetts Street, says that’s part of the reason the game lounge at his store is such a hit. With so many multiplayer games, players are usually online but still in isolation. His game lounge gives players the opportunity to interact with others while playing.

Nutt also says that Game Nut hosts tournaments from time to time in the game lounge, and that it doesn’t hurt that the store has 14 TVs with sizes ranging from 42 inches to 60 inches.

I played Rock Band for the first time in the game lounge, and there’s something extremely satisfying about playing on a huge freakin’ screen.

Rec center coordinator Beck says he realizes students don’t always have the facilities or hardware, such as big TVs or multiple controllers, to make gaming with friends possible, but the rec center is trying to provide that.

Playing online

Online gaming has become very popular in recent years. The Wii even recently added online gaming, something no Nintendo console had done previously. Flores says social gaming started with puzzle games on the Internet.

Professional gamer and Lawrence resident Leland Jones says when he first came to Lawrence, he was known for his Halo 2 skills and that got him some attention online. “A lot of kids in the area, they look up to me and ask me to play with them all the time,” Jones says. Jones also says the new Xbox set-up promotes social interaction between games with the different venues for communication.

Paul Schmitz, Marysville freshman, says he plays online mostly, but sees where some games can be played socially. “Rock Band and Guitar Hero are allowing people to get together and do it for social reasons,” Schmitz says.

Aaron Fast, Hutchinson junior, says sometimes school can get in the way, but he hasn’t been able to resist since his roommate’s brother brought over his Xbox 360. “We’ve been addicted to it since we got it,” Fast says.

Some games’ addictive and popular natures go hand-in-hand. I know I’ve had stretches when I couldn’t put my guitar controller down, and when I’d move my eyes away from the TV, everything in the room would be swirling.

Flores, lead developer of Guitar Hero World Tour, says some people in the video game industry figured Guitar Hero had peaked with Guitar Hero 2. “I never questioned for a minute that it was going to get bigger,” Flores says.

In terms of overall video games, Game Nut owner Nutt says he sees an expanding demographic. “It’s not just the nerds playing video games anymore,” Nutt says. He says he also sees more and more women playing video games.

Chances are you have at least one friend with a video game system. Don’t be afraid to have some group fun with whatever games they have. If the rec center, a place synonymous with physical exercise, is hosting a video game night, it’s OK for you to relax and indulge yourself in some simple, brain-melting fun.