Hardcore Gamers never hit pause

Generation "X" is so three consoles ago. Now, a new generation has found its ecstasy in more than its X-button; these gamers are trading zzz's for the Z-button, finding a sense of direction in the D-Pad and pressing Y as a "why not" to the sexy pleasures of virtual vice. We press the game's buttons; it presses ours.

Consoles like Sega Genesis were only the beginning. Sleeker graphics, advanced game play, bolder stories and better action have transformed video game followers into video game junkies. Whether it's on the PC or in front of the TV, there's simply more stuff for hardcore gamers to drool over - making the phenomenon that used to be a pastime an all-out lifestyle.

Twelve-step program

Or an addiction, in the case of senior Zack Podhorzer. He would come home and play the Internet sensation "Everquest" for 12 hours a day (or 14, during the time when he was stuck at home with mononucleosis). He did his homework while another player took a break or while the game was at a standstill. When he realized how obsessed he had become, Podhorzer cancelled his "Everquest" account. "When I was staying up 'til six o'clock in the morning, I was like, 'This is probably not healthy,'" he says.By the time he cancelled his account, Podhorzer was already finding friends in the Internet gaming community. Once, an English professor he was playing with sent him a pre-written essay that corresponded with Podhorzer's assignment. And last summer, when Podhorzer spoke with a new acquaintance at a camp in Vermont, they recognized each other's gaming screen names.

While Podhorzer's obsession is recent, senior John Chai's fascination with games began when he was in kindergarten. His mother would encourage him to read the dialogue between Nintendo characters out loud for learning purposes. Claiming "it grew from there," Chai now plays the popular Final Fantasy series on Sony PlayStation 2. He has logged over 300 hours on Final Fantasy VIII alone. "Oh boy, did I bite hard," he says. "I don't stop playing until my characters have perfect everything." Chai is referring to the maximum items and powers to be attained by the main characters in each Final Fantasy

game.

Junior Gu Khalsa is more interested in the online gaming world. He is a member of the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL), an Internet association that has garnered hundreds of thousands of other members worldwide. CAL gave a management position to his best friend Marcus, who dropped out of high school before his freshman year to play video games every day. Although Khalsa's case is less dramatic, he sometimes finds himself playing computer games until 1 or 2 a.m. - when he's feeling sane. "Sometimes I'll pull an all-nighter," he says. "Just to catch up."

Khalsa has most recently embraced an addiction to "World of Warcraft," the hottest new fantasy epic on the net. This popular sequel to the original "Warcraft" games has also grabbed the attention of junior Zack Wuerthner, who plays the game five hours a day with friends from Blair. Wuerthner is completely amazed by the rich environment, character customization and creature diversity. His playing time so far adds up to over 160 hours, or a week, in total. Wuerthner's intense love for "Warcraft" has forced him to reprioritize his daily activities.

"Homework?" he jokes. "What's a homework?"

Pressing "pause"

Junior Chris McNair knows academics and obsessive video-gaming don't always mix. Last year, McNair spent so much time playing "NBA Street" online that he was ranked eighth in the nation - so when it came to figuring out what was behind his declining grades, there wasn't much of a mystery. "When I played video games, school was like a second priority," he says. Once he stopped himself from playing during the school week, his grades improved "exponentially."

Chai's mother believes that the time John spends on video games could be put to better use. She once said to him, "If you studied as hard as you played video games, you'd be smarter than Einstein ever was." So for the sake of school and his sanity, sometimes Chai feels he needs to cut himself off from the games. "Gaming is a part of me that I acknowledge," he says. "[But] I'm not to the point where I'm completely engulfed by it."

Violent addiction

Yet letting video games take control is what seems healthiest for senior Lawrence Lyons, who sees playing violent video games as a way to vent his frustrations. Lyons is currently engrossed with "BloodRayne," a game about a "hot half-vampire, half-human chick" who tears apart a supernatural Nazi regime. His deep fascination with the game has even filtered into some of his CD demos: One of his tracks contains the lyrics, "...making blood rain / like the girl in the game."

Wuerthner is also drawn to the kill factor in the X-Box's "Halo 2." He attends "Halo 2" parties organized by senior Mike Sindall, who puts together tournaments as a hobby. After his friends introduced him to the original game, Sindall played "Halo" online for three hours a day. Eventually, he bought an X-Box specifically for "Halo."

Its sequel is one of the best-selling games at Game Stop, a video game store in Kensington. According to Senior Game Advisor Mauricio Rivera, most teenagers come into the store looking for shooting games like "Halo 2."

Now Sindall plays "Halo 2" an average of 10 hours a week, joining the hordes of "Halo" buffs that know a battlefield rifle is more effective once you've shot your opponent with a plasma pistol.

But tonight, on Feb. 12, all he wants to do is snipe.

Sindall and Wuerthner, playing as the red team, sit in the basement of a friend's house as the action roars on the screen. Sindall's fingers are playing a deadly Beethoven's Fifth on the X-Box controller.

"Double kill," the announcer bellows.

Upstairs is the yellow team - seniors Richard De Haven and Derek Willemstijn and junior William Gerhard play on their own television set. Local Area Network parties, common among hardcore "Halo" fans, allow larger groups like this one to link their X-Boxes while playing on separate screens. Despite the losses the yellow team is taking from Sindall, they've got this round in the bag.

"I'll take that rifle, please," says Willemstijn.

"I'll take that shotgun," says De Haven.

Downstairs: "We are getting owned," says Wuerthner. "How did Will get all the rockets, dude?" They restart the game, choose a new level and start shooting again. Such is the norm at "Halo 2" parties; they can continue for hours on end. Once hardcore fans like Sindall have begun, there's no stopping the onslaught - because "game over" is so three consoles ago.