GoCrossCampus back for more virtual battles
Rachel Carlson
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: News
This Monday, the residential colleges will form armies and the campus itself will become a battlefield as GoCrossCampus, a virtual war game analogous to the board game Risk, launches into its second year at Rice. In GXC, student players log on to a Web site and acquire virtual armies, which they build and direct strategically in a campus-wide war lasting several months. Founded by Yale University students and piloted at Rice last year, the game serves as a new channel for college system rivalries.
The game's Web site includes a detailed map of the Rice campus, upon which students place armies in accordance with instructions from college commanders. Each day, players read a posted battle plan from their commanders and are granted one turn for deploying armies. Colleges compete for campus territories and alternatively form alliances and mobilize against each other, stoking inter-college competition.
Rice GXC director Eastman Landry said the game gained high popularity last year. Of the 40 universities nationwide that participated in the game, Rice was the second-smallest school but achieved the second-highest percentage of students participating. Around 1,000 students created accounts, and 800-900 players were regular participants, Landry, a Will Rice College senior, said. Wiess College counted the most participants.
Landry said GXC taps into the competitive spirit of the college system and appeals to people who don't normally engage in inter-college contests like intramural sports.
"Within the college system, there's more to it," Landry said. "It brings out rivalries; last year, Will Rice and Jones were against each other from the very start […] An online game is one of those things where reputation in the college, or whether someone is an athlete or not, doesn't really matter. If you're enthusiastic about it and want to make a commitment, anyone can become a commander."
However, he said the average participant does not need to dedicate substantial time to the game.
The game's Web site includes a detailed map of the Rice campus, upon which students place armies in accordance with instructions from college commanders. Each day, players read a posted battle plan from their commanders and are granted one turn for deploying armies. Colleges compete for campus territories and alternatively form alliances and mobilize against each other, stoking inter-college competition.
Rice GXC director Eastman Landry said the game gained high popularity last year. Of the 40 universities nationwide that participated in the game, Rice was the second-smallest school but achieved the second-highest percentage of students participating. Around 1,000 students created accounts, and 800-900 players were regular participants, Landry, a Will Rice College senior, said. Wiess College counted the most participants.
Landry said GXC taps into the competitive spirit of the college system and appeals to people who don't normally engage in inter-college contests like intramural sports.
"Within the college system, there's more to it," Landry said. "It brings out rivalries; last year, Will Rice and Jones were against each other from the very start […] An online game is one of those things where reputation in the college, or whether someone is an athlete or not, doesn't really matter. If you're enthusiastic about it and want to make a commitment, anyone can become a commander."
However, he said the average participant does not need to dedicate substantial time to the game.
Comments from unregistered users are subject to editor approval. Log in or register now to post a comment immediately. Alternatively, you may now even post a comment anonymously.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
R.J. O'Hara
R.J. O'Hara
posted 9/18/08 @ 7:06 PM CST
For deep analytical reflections (or something) on the relationship between GXC and residential colleges see "The Regimental College":
http://collegiateway. (Continued…)
Post a Comment