With the twiddling of thumbs and the intermixing of legs, three first-place students took home $60 in the "So you think you've got game?" video game challenge.
Students competed in video games such as Madden, Halo and Dance, Dance Revolution at the Student Center game room Aug. 22 as a part of Auburn University's Welcome Week festivities.
This year's "So you think you've got game?" challenge had 15 competitors sign-up to compete in various video games. Nine gamers competed in rounds for the title of first place for the video game Halo, a first-person shooter, science-fiction game against alien enemies filled with strategy and skill.
Two competitors made up each round and winners were determined by a tournament bracket system.
After two intense ties of Halo game play, Tyler Miller, a senior in biomedical sciences, and Jacob Gazaway, a senior in general science education, decided to split the first-place prize money with $30 each.
Students were allowed to compete in as many games as they wanted.
"I heard about the tournament and decided I would give it a shot," Joseph Carleton, a sophomore in electrical engineering, said after having lost in the fourth-round of Halo and advancing to the finals of Madden, a NFL video game simulation.
With only four competitors of Madden, each player scrimmaged their favorite NFL football teams leaving sophomore W.C. Davison, a sophmore in aerospace engineering, the title of first place after a large advance of yardage on the virtual football field.
This year's "So you think you've got game?" competition also featured a more physically intense arcade-style game, Dance, Dance Revolution.
Only two students competed in the Dance, Dance Revolution competition and after each song the points were added to determine the final winner.
Following an hour of extreme dancing on the highest expert level, Chris Nickell, a junior in secondary education, was crowned the winner.
"I feel pretty good about winning, and I didn't even know this a was money-driven event," Nickell said.
Nickell said he began playing Dance, Dance Revolution by beginning on expert to advance more quickly.
"If I failed, I failed," Nickell said.
Each year Welcome Week has been sponsored by Auburn's University Program Council and supported by the Auburn Leadership Team. The UPC provides various programs and activities for students to participate and explore on and around campus.
The Welcome Week video game tournament was held in the newly constructed game room located on the first-floor of the Student Center. Auburn University's game room is outfitted with more than six large, flat-screen TV's with various video games, gaming systems and couches for students to enjoy during the week.
"I think Welcome Week is a great opportunity for new and returning students that can help them get involved and ease the transition either into or back to college," said Michelle Murphy, program advisor for Welcome Week. "It gives students a great opportunity to learn about different departments on campus, student organizations and services that can be provided and shows ways that they can get involved."
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