Matt Steiner: E-sports is more than just playing video games
The Boys & Girls Club has always been a place for youth to come, be safe, enjoy time with their friends or make new friends.
One thing is for sure, and they will have fun. As we all know, electronics have become a significant role in most of our daily lives and entertainment is no exception. Video gaming has become the premier form of youth entertainment, but it is quickly becoming a potential and very successful career opportunity. When a Boys & Girls Club hears the word opportunity, we jump at it!
The Boys & Girls Club has found new ways to provide our youth with unique opportunities through gaming. Members can experience something they may never get the chance to, such as flying over the pyramids of Egypt in the Microsoft Flight Simulator game or solving puzzles and riddles to escape a medieval castle on the Oculus Quest VR gaming headset.
Gaming is becoming more than just a pastime. It is becoming a career. Suppose you have not heard of such names as Nick Mercs or Ninja, to name just a few people who have made careers in playing video games but are now using Esports to create pathways for other young people looking to get into the field of gaming.
Colleges across the country are creating Esports leagues, and some are evening offering scholarships.
Companies are looking at gamers to be our future problem solvers of the world. If you have ever tried playing the game Portal, you would understand why. With vast landscapes of buildings, bridges and views, game creators of Spiderman use physics to create the most realistic gaming experience possible. Engineers, artists and architects are what we could call them, but they do it in a virtual landscape.
The Boys & Girls Club of Watertown’s e-sports program can help provide these types of opportunities while having some fun doing it.
Matt Steiner is the program director at the Boys & Girls Club of Watertown.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: E-sports available at Watertown Boys & Girls Club aren't just games
