In pictures: Adversity Gaming: Auckland LAN 2012

Over the weekend of 7-8 July, local Xbox gaming organisation Adversity Gaming (AvT) ran its first Auckland LAN event.

For the uninitiated, a gaming LAN (the term appropriated from the acronym for "local area network") is a social gathering where participants bring along computers, or in this case Xbox 360s, and network them together in order to play games. The reason for the gathering is twofold: firstly, playing together on a local network greatly reduces the lag associated with online play. Secondly, the social element: gamers may partake in ceremonial 'trash talk', and the sharing of Red Bull, Mountain Dew and other such caffeinated beverages.

Tournaments were held for Halo: Reach and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: These were the central features of the event. The Fighting Game National Championships were also incorporated, which includedSuper Street Fighter IV: AE 2012, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter x Tekken and Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting.

We stopped by on the Sunday, camera at the ready.



AvT Auckland 2012 was held at Albany's North Harbour Stadium, on Auckland's North Shore. Free parking, plenty of space, and several flights of stairs to provide the only physical exercise participants were likely to get during the two-day event.


Winner prizes and spot prizes filled a large, barred-off alcove to one side of the venue... coincidentally located next to the fighting-game players: an additional layer of protection against rogues?

Plenty of awesome stuff was up for grabs, including a large amount of Xbox peripherals from Razer.


The players were well settled in when we showed up on Sunday.

Note the PC-style setups, with monitor-on-console. If not for the lack of keyboards, it would look and feel just like the PC LANs this photographer is more far more familiar with.


Headsets were a must for all attendees: fighting-game players were allowed to use speakers, but only at low volume so as not to unduly disturb their fellow gamers.


It's not all Halo and CoD, you know... we spent a bit of time watching the Minecraft-ers do their thing. Watching is frighteningly hypnotic, though not quite as addictive as actually getting your hands on the controller and playing. We left the Xbox at home for that reason... hard to get photographs when you're busy digging your way down to the bedrock in search of precious gems.



Concentration: he has it. Looks like someone's been getting kills with the Gnasher in Gears of War 3.


Semi-finals and finals were held up on the big screen: note the clever arrangement, where each four-player team sits separated by the large banner in the centre to prevent screen-watching.


One team came all the way from Australia to show off their CoD skills. We couldn't poke our lens in close enough to get a good shot, but the four are rocking an Australian flag across their desks in an impressive and daring display of national pride.


When you've gotta take a nap, you've gotta take a nap.


As the night wears on, the Minecrafters keep crafting.


Team Legacy, in their personalised team shirts: now that's commitment. Legacy were the winners of the CoD tournament.


Could you play with someone standing behind you, taking photographs, watching, and occasionally failing to stifle their laughter when you get shot directly in the face?


Or several someones.


Or, you know, a full-on crowd of spectators.


Daylight fades: the gamer's natural habitat emerges.


As it draws closer to the event's Sunday-night close, more and more gamers pack up their areas... many becoming spectators to the intense battles that lead up to the various finals.


When you've been gaming for forty-eight hours, the fact that you're wondering around in your bathrobe is probably the least of your worries... and apparently goes wholly unnoticed by your peers.


How do you celebrate the birthday of the gaming organisation's founder? Why, with logo-shaped cake, of course!