黑料网 engineering major Milo Ocampo got his start in video gaming at the ripe old age of 3, watching his dad play Street Fighter in the Philippines鈥 SM Mall of Asia before his family moved to the U.S. Throughout middle school and high school, Ocampo鈥檚 interest in esports expanded to games like Overwatch, League of Legends, and Super Smash Bros. 4, driving him to launch the Cyber Sports Club (because 鈥渆sports鈥 wasn鈥檛 a word back then) for fellow gamers with his brother.
At 黑料网, Ocampo and his brother worked with Riot Games 鈥 one of the world鈥檚 most popular video game developers 鈥 to launch an esports collegiate initiative. 黑料网 became one of the first 20 universities recognized by Riot when was founded Feb. 12, 2012.
Here are his thoughts on the phenomenal growth of 黑料网鈥檚 club, fostering a sense of community among gamers, and the upcoming Mountain West Esports Showdown.
My brother and I launched 8-bit Esports six years ago, and I began my journey as the club鈥檚 vice president and co-founder. My vision for the club was twofold: I wanted a place for those who never felt like they belonged to find community and opportunity, and I also wanted to achieve recognition and a name for myself in esports.
It sounds impossible. But through tenacity and determination, I was able to grow our small video gaming club to 150-plus members.
A stereotype that follows gamers is that of the socially awkward loner. The thing is, most gamers are just waiting for a chance to leave their houses. They want to become a part of something that鈥檚 bigger than themselves, to interact with a community of like-minded people.
Every time I saw a student in Lied Library playing a PC game or a gamer in a LAN center around town, I said, 鈥淗ey, I鈥檓 Milo. I play video games, too. If you don鈥檛 have anything to do this Friday, come to our club meeting.鈥
Most everyone I talked to showed up, and six years later, we are a strong community of 1,200-plus passionate gamers and friends just a few days away from competing against Boise State in the first-ever Mountain West Esports Showdown.
We have a team of highly skilled players, I鈥檓 confident in each of their abilities, and I know for a fact that we鈥檙e going to win.
No matter what happens, though, in the moments and weeks following the Showdown, I want all of the club members and players to feel much more pride in their journey with our club. I want 8-bit Esports alumni and former officers to tune into the Showdown on Twitch and say, 鈥淚 was part of that.鈥
I don鈥檛 want people to be afraid anymore to say, 鈥淚鈥檓 a gamer.鈥
Over the past six years, I鈥檝e achieved my personal mission of becoming someone. I鈥檝e become a better businessman, that鈥檚 for sure.
All of these experiences have left me with big dreams. They helped me realize that my scope of thinking had been too small and that I wasn鈥檛 taking enough risks. Now, instead of running small-scale weekly events for the community, I have dreams of running events in convention centers that attract people from all over the world, and I鈥檝e already succeeded in doing that twice.
For those who don鈥檛 know anything about esports, for those who are interested in getting more involved, and for everyone in between, I鈥檇 encourage you to come to a tournament, match, or even the Showdown. It鈥檚 an interactive experience unlike any other sporting event, and once you feel the sheer passion, drive, and love for the community and culture that all gamers are familiar with, who knows? Maybe you鈥檒l be playing at next year鈥檚 Showdown.
