AsylumLAN 28

There aren’t too many events that gamers enjoy more than a good LAN party. When posed with the question of skill, most people will exaggerate their abilities, prompting anyone around who knows them to submissively nod their head in agreement or even better, call bullshit. It’s these kinds of debates that LAN parties were made for.

What better venue is there than one that brings gamers together under one roof to duke it out for honor and glory. Without a latency issue, one can’t blame lag, so the LAN party is the perfect stage for the gaming elite. Then there is the everyday gamer like most of us who just flat out enjoy playing games. My personal favorites are real time strategy and first person shooters. These games just so happen to also be the most popular at such events which makes it convenient because most people are going to have similar games as you.

Each year we read about the big ones, most notably QuakeCON, but how often do any of you actually get to experience the real deal? Here in the Midwest (I live in Indiana), we have a handful of larger events but nothing quite like QuakeCON.

Last year we were in attendance at Stompfest, a LAN party held roughly once a year that usually draws a few hundred gamers to the north side of Indianapolis. Between each event there are smaller events on various college campuses and at people’s homes and for the most part, these tide us over for the big one each summer.

One event that has enjoyed not only longevity, but also a devout following is AsylumLAN. Held once every quarter in Evansville, Indiana, AsylumLAN is one of the largest LAN party in the Midwest. For those of you that don’t know, Evansville is located in the south western corner of the state and is roughly 3 hours from Indianapolis.

Another area that AsylumLAN draws a great deal of gamers from is Louisville, Kentucky. With drive time from Louisville under 2 hours, it makes for a quick road trip in the name of gaming. Right there, you have two large cities in driving distance and this has undoubtedly helped the event grow in popularity.

Now on their 28th party, AsylumLAN is currently managed by the team of Derek “Grymskull” Moore and his wife Kimberly “Devlar” Hall-Moore. With Derek’s organizational skills, Kim’s networking ability and a small crew of hard working staff members the attendees of AsylumLAN 28 were greeted with a network ready to deal with the all that the weekend gamers could throw at it. AsylumLAN was the brain child of Rick “Insane” Trevino, and started in his home over five years ago. As this was my first AsylumLAN, I wasn’t sure what to expect but once there, all my worries were put to rest. Between Derek, his wife Kimberly and the AsylumLAN staff, the party kicked with a bang and Techgage was there to enjoy it all.

My day started a bit earlier than I would have liked. Getting up at 5:30 am to prepare for the three hour trip I quickly realized that there wasn’t enough coffee in the state to get me into the “there isn’t enough coffee in the world right now to get me pumped for this drive” mood. As I packed my gear into the car, I checked off everything on my list and once I was ready, I hit the road.

Now most of you reading this might not realize how terribly boring the drive from Indianapolis to Evansville is. The first hour is heading west, straight down I-70. I know this route well because it’s the way to Terre Haute, Indiana, home of Indiana State University. Go Sycamores! From there it’s a two hour drive south to Evansville.