LAN parties meet drug parties
The appropriately named TwitchGuru has kicked off a series of articles on the intersection of drug culture and gaming culture with an insider's look at a drug-fueled LAN party. Author Aaron Mckenna spent 48 hours stone-cold sober in a house full of gamers high on "marijuana, cocaine, mushrooms, acid, Ritalin, Adderall, Ephedrine," and more.Whether the gaming or the drugs was the party's real focus is up for the debate, but the drugs are definitely the focus of the article. Scenes of cocaine lines done off of a PlayStation 2 case, couples humping in the middle of the hallway, and four people stuffed awkwardly into a bathtub are recounted in full detail.
Given the number of young men who enjoy games and the equally high number that enjoy illegal drugs, the combination of the two into a weekend-long bacchanal seems inevitable. Still, we can only imagine how this report will be interpreted by the people who believe that video game use leads to drug use.
[Thanks Patrick]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GSI @ Aug 29th 2006 8:59PM
Jack Thompson saying video games lead to drugs use in 3...
2...
1...
sonofnone @ Aug 29th 2006 9:02PM
I guess that means Floyd Landis won't be taking up competative gaming anytime soon.
Geist @ Aug 29th 2006 9:03PM
Wow. I want to know where I can get in on the action. The only mind-altering substance I've seen at these things has been Mountain Dew. Though seriously, that shit'll mess you up.
dsub @ Aug 29th 2006 9:07PM
odds are it's not the video games that led to the drug use. If these kids were doing drugs while playing games, odds are they do drugs when not playing games as well. This is like saying that if someone goes to the movies stoned, the movie led to the drug use.
That being said, I have friends who will stay awake for 48 hours or more on end playing WoW. Only taking a break every hour or so to hit the bong, snort some pills and get back to playing the game. Adderall is a common pill when they do stuff like this because it keeps you awake for long periods of time in most cases. In the end though, these kids have been smoking weed and snorting pills long before they started playing WoW. WoW just seems to be something that brings them all together.
Patrick @ Aug 29th 2006 9:10PM
Was it so hard to figure out that drugs and games mix? I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that Tetris on pot is an interesting experience or for a scary and really trippy experience, pot and Doom III (or Silent Hill, any of them).
Not that I've experienced any of that. Drugs are bad.
qbix @ Aug 29th 2006 9:11PM
So more appropriately it was marijuana, cocaine, mushrooms, acid, Ritalin, Adderall, Ephedrine, AND hot coffee.
I hosted a Halo LAN party a few years back and one of my friends brought a whole bunch of people who started drinking and getting high. Luckily the neightbors didn't complain plus it was one of the few times when girls showed up and trust me, they weren't there to play Halo.
supersocialist @ Aug 29th 2006 9:15PM
Actually, drug use leads to gaming.
epobirs @ Aug 29th 2006 9:17PM
At first glance, I thought the writer was Terence McKenna, which would have been impossible for two reasons. First, the claim of being sober for 48 hours, and second, being dead for a few years.
Evan @ Aug 29th 2006 9:22PM
PS3 will fail because you can't snort cocaine off its curved top.
Psaakyrn @ Aug 29th 2006 9:27PM
But, is World of Warcrack and Evercrack worse than the other drugs? Stay tuned. :o
WhaleMenace @ Aug 29th 2006 9:30PM
hmm, Well all I can say is that I once had a very uniqe and absolutely beautiful mushroom trip while playing World of Warcraft. I was alone though.
Frosty22 @ Aug 29th 2006 9:38PM
I've been playin vids for many moons now and actually am studying to become a pastor.
Gosh... now that I think of it... maybe video games make people want to become pastors too.
I also have a friend who is an accountant... but he played video games before he was an accountant, so maybe...
Chris Taran @ Aug 29th 2006 9:39PM
@9
I'd give you a star if I could for that post!
bv @ Aug 29th 2006 10:02PM
Son of a bitch, I knew that guy looked suspicious!
R.U.Sirius @ Aug 29th 2006 10:05PM
What a coincidence.
Just last weekend I and a bunch of friends had a LONG spacecookie weekend. And all we were doing this weekend was eating "special" muffins and playing Katamari Damacy.
God, THAT game is trippy.
-R.U.Sirius
(ah, yeah, don't do drugs, kids)
HaMMeReD @ Aug 29th 2006 10:07PM
I wonder what would be the most performance enhancing drug in video game use. Probably ritalin I'd think, although I've probably raked about 5000 hours of counterstrike stoned.
Pal @ Aug 29th 2006 10:40PM
It amazes me how no one has figured out that you can practically do anything while being high. It doesn't make that activity a bad one! We would have to ban driving, music, shopping, napping, sex and more!
I'm glad my friends and I are clean :) I live on the Healthy Choices floor in my college! Woo!
tiremfej @ Aug 29th 2006 10:43PM
I used to play stoned all the time, then I got old and slow. Ganja made it worse, so I stopped.
I miss it sometimes though...:( Thanks to Xbox Live I can't compete while I'm high!!! Lousy Live, ruining my pot smoking days!!
Donutta @ Aug 29th 2006 10:47PM
How do I get invited to one of these parties? :D
Donutta @ Aug 29th 2006 10:52PM
"5. Was it so hard to figure out that drugs and games mix? I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that Tetris on pot is an interesting experience or for a scary and really trippy experience, pot and Doom III (or Silent Hill, any of them)."
I usually get high and watch Fantasia, but recently it's been replaced with Electroplankton. That said, it doesn't need to be a Geometry Wars/Fantavision type of experience to be fun; one of the best weeks of my life was where I got stoned and played KOTOR.
One I tried to play games while tripping, but that didn't really work that well. I just kept running around in circles wondering what the hell was going on. Additionally, at one point someone had left Silent Hill 2 on, and I was sweating and freaking out and with that music playing I seriously thought I was going to die. Fun times.
Of course, I'm not a 'Freshman' anymore, so my wild drug-filled days are over. But having a seizure while on crystal meth will do that to you. I just stick to the booze and the odd bit of pot now.
Matt @ Aug 29th 2006 11:04PM
Sure it's a sterotype about gamers, aided by films such as Grandma's Boy, but many gamers in the 15-30 range do smoke pot. Since gaming is an activity that doesn't involve going out, and it is popular among college age males, I wouldn't be suprised if there are many stoned gaming sessions out there. It's not that hard to tell, whenever you're playing a casual game on XBLA like UNO or Texas Hold 'Em tons of people talk about smoking up. You could just tell buy all the stupid Xbox Live names people have like SirSmokesALot420. And tiremfej, I know people that actually play games like Halo 2 better when they're high. They say it makes it easier to concentrate specifically on the game, and they have kicked my ass. I personally am not a regular, but I have tried it. Although somehow I have a feeling that cocaine and acid are a lot rarer among gamers. This was probably just an instance where there was a big drug party and there were game systems around.
MSH-Hitman @ Aug 29th 2006 11:05PM
Wow...That sounds like a horrible LAN party. Being around people who do drugs and alchohol is annoying enough, but to be playing against high and messed up people just sounds like a god awful experience.
LaughingMan @ Aug 29th 2006 11:14PM
A lot of great writers have taken mass amounts of drugs and written for days and days on end. Other people who've used drugs have great stories, some sad, some funny but it keeps you're interest.
I can't imagine hearing a story begin with "cocaine, speed" and end with "+1 Mace" Really? That's waht you did while high for days? No car wrecks, no random hook ups? Oh I guess you did type "LIL" by mistake. Crazy. (sarcasm)
Josh @ Aug 29th 2006 11:31PM
I don't even game anymore unless I'm on something. Never thought about using ritalin for gaming...
Pat @ Aug 29th 2006 11:34PM
katamari is sooo much more fun when you re high, as well as most NES game and 2D worms.
TeddyN @ Aug 29th 2006 11:54PM
Good. This just shows that gaming is being embraced by an ever-wider group of people. They were playing games and taking drugs. They are people who enjoy taking drugs.
Somehow, however, I don't think we'll be reading about 'poetry party meets LAN party' or anything positive along those lines.
Edmund @ Aug 30th 2006 12:17AM
Drug parties meet LAN parties? Wait... this is news?
Melonman @ Aug 30th 2006 1:41AM
@27. apparently so. i always figured gaming and drugs went together like peanut butter and jelly.
T-Bag @ Aug 30th 2006 2:43AM
Woah, this little piece of gaming news is mind boggling! I wonder why 1up, IGN and Gamespot aren't getting in on the action![/sarcasm]
Shady Space @ Aug 30th 2006 3:36AM
Wow, how obvious is it that the writer of this article desperately wants to be the Hunter S. Thompson of this genration?
rockintom99 @ Aug 30th 2006 4:06AM
People get high and listen to music, or watch tv, but those aren't generally called evil things for those reasons.
#21: Of course some people are better playing videogames high. Its how they learned to play. My mom learned pool in bars, and so whenever she is sober, I beat her instantly, but when she is drunk, there isn't a chance in hell I could come close.
...Sounds like a fun party, anyway ;)
Korey @ Aug 30th 2006 9:43AM
Yeah well you also have the wigger kids that think they're 50 cent who smoke up and then play bullet proof. i cant play that high or sober with the nasty camera and all. I've smoked and played tons of games before LANs cuz i have frends there that are only like my friends when i game that dont do drugs so idk its better high im more focused and i take the aderol cuz it does keep you up a bit later and hella more focused! but seriously kids dont do drugs!
The Intangible Fact @ Aug 30th 2006 9:45AM
Drugs have been apart of society since day one and always will be. Anybody with some intelligents knows this. The only reason why weed and coke are illegal is because the government can't make any money off of them. If they can't control it then it will become illegal. Fact! Look at alcohol and the prohibition. Or gambling and the lottery. They made these illegal at first then came back and made it okay after they put a little twist on things and had high degree of control on them. Hell the drugs the doctor prescribes for you are worst than weed. Why do you think prescrition and nonprescription drugs are so called okay? Because they make money off of them and are easily controlled.
Gonzo @ Aug 30th 2006 10:35AM
I had no idea. When/where's the next one?
It's not really surprising. Both games and drugs can be used to escape reality. And let's face it, some games (especially Rez [and anything else by Q], Ribbit King, Katamari, Loco Roco, and most of the other games I own) are enhanced quite a bit by a few puffs off a blunt or a little shroomage but once you're using stuff all the time just so you can play longer without sleep, you need a little help with substance abuse and game addiction or you just really need a good night's rest.
That and how the hell do you play games on acid? Does that work? Last time I saw someone try that, he went running out into the night only to be found the next morning several miles down the road trying to shave with the dreamcast pad he ran off with while wondering why the broken piece of glass he found and was using as a mirror wasn't working. As we dragged him back to our friend's house, he kept shouting like an auctioneer into the dreamcast microphone trying to sell an imaginary audience articles of clothing he kept trying to relieve himself of. He has flashbacks every time he sees footage of Seaman or even a whole fish now. He's become a vegan and a priest since then, mostly just because it's too painful to go into that section of the supermarket. To be fair, he thought we were joking when we showed him the acid, stuffed a whole sheet of it in his mouth and said: "very funnyguys, give me some paper and tell me it's drugs. What am I supposed to see things?"
Don't do drugs kids. As they said on South Park, there's a time and a place for everything, and that's college. Another bit of advise, try hanging out with a cokehead before trying it. That's the best deterrent. And just don't do meth, that stuff is horrable; worse than dust.
I got my satchle packed, here I go; Fear & Loathing in Quakecon.
p-diddy @ Aug 30th 2006 11:10AM
I guess I'm a prude: I find this horrifying. I did shrooms in Amsterdam and pot a couple times in college, but that party just sounds crazy, and not in a good way.
I'm not passing judgment, that scene just ain't for me.
-p-
Magnj @ Aug 30th 2006 11:26AM
never heard of this, then again I've never been to any LAN Parties besides the 2 I've organized and most of those kids were in the 14-17 year old range so no suprises that I haven't encountered it. As some others have said, it's not the games that have lead to this. Kids that do drugs are doing drugs for a different reason than staying up for the next leel, ven if they don't know it. Drug use is a result of trying to escape from something. However the KINDS of drugs they are doing could be influenced by games. I know that the perscription pills for ADD are often abused in college to stay awake for finals and such. My point is that the people doing this aren't limiting their drug use to LAN's. They are smoking weed during the week and then poppin pills and doin lines on the weekend to stay up for lots of gaming.
Bazza @ Aug 30th 2006 12:34PM
But i dont get high to do anything...it doesnt lesen the experience!! i dont get it. my ex tried t get me stoned but i felt nothing whatsoever.
well, i guess i'm immune. Good luck to you guys if you really need that stuff to live.
blank @ Aug 30th 2006 3:18PM
"30. Wow, how obvious is it that the writer of this article desperately wants to be the Hunter S. Thompson of this genration?"
You noticed that too? The more I think about this article, the more it sounds like fiction. The situations the author finds himself in, the encounters, the dialogue, all of it sounds too fake, too make up from reading too much Hunter S. Thompson (something I myself can be accused of doing) and seeing movies like Blow (I haven't ever seen Blow, however).
Don Jose @ Aug 31st 2006 7:56AM
My friends and I do this every once in a while on Xbox Live. We tried to start a stoner clan, but just couldn't find the motivation. (nudge nudge wink)
It's not like this sort of behavior is uncommon. I hear the flick of a lighter or the gurgle of a bong almost every match on XBL. Maybe it's just because I usually play waaayyyy late at night.
PhrawzT @ Aug 31st 2006 10:56AM
Talk about being waaaay behind. I used to throw all night game and drug parties back when I was in college. Liquor, pot, pills, opium, mushrooms and a Dreamcast or PS1 (it was before the PS2 and Xbox were released).
I have lost interest in drugs after graduating. I did spend some time last weekend liquored up and playing Dead Rising and Final Fantasy Tactics for a few hours.
Tomas @ Aug 31st 2006 12:31PM
Acid and Rez(tm), not just a trend anymore.
EatingPie @ Sep 1st 2006 6:57PM
I've had 3 LAN Parties. All of them were drug/alcohol free by my request. Not everyone liked the rule, and a few guys "snuck in" alcohol -- I knew and let it slide. Didn't make a big deal about it, outside of telling everyone ahead of time I preferred no drugs/alcohol.
These parties all involved people a mix of local friends (became friends after 1st LAN), those from 500 miles away, and those from the opposite coast. Some were Ex-Gang Members. Some drug users. Some non-drug users. Christians. Atheists. All races and nationalities.
A hugely diverse group, they were there for the LAN, and drugs were so secondary in everyone's minds, it wasn't an issue at all.
-Pie
John Lucas @ Sep 3rd 2006 9:14AM
Quick joke:
Nintendo drug gameparties involve "milk".
Sometimes "coffee".
Gotta love those euphemisms, eh folks?
(Thinking of Majora's Mask & one of the townfolk walking home tipsy after leaving the "milk bar". Say huh?!)
John Lucas