It takes a second knock at Surya’s door for him to open it, revealing a room with books strewn about and an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine playing on the laptop sitting on his desk. He takes a moment to make us comfortable.

We begin with his experience in gaming. He fondly recalls Road Rash, Pinball, and Burnout Paradise. He joined the Gaming Club playing Call of Duty, one of the club’s five major games; the others being CS:GO, FIFA, DOTA and Blur. “FIFA is by far the most popular” he adds, as an afterthought.

So how does the Gaming Club hold its own in the outdoor-dominated BOSM? “We hold Ignition during BOSM, which lasts throughout the fest. Most first-years are introduced to gaming through Ignition.” He tells us about last year, when the Club introduced Mini Militia, ” The turnout was much lower than expected. I guess people weren’t as enthusiastic as we’d thought” he laughs. However, the Club is expecting a turnout of more than 300 people this BOSM.

He laments the spread of Wi-Fi in bhavans, and the problems it’s created. “Ping shoots up very quickly, and hosting is a difficult task. Our seniors talk about their LAN days and how Wi-Fi has completely ruined the experience.” He muses that the Gaming Club might soon die out if they don’t find a workaround.

What is the Gaming Club planning for the rest of the year? “We don’t really have any events except Armageddon in APOGEE, but we keep playing all through the year.” Again, he recalls how the scene has changed since Wi-Fi pervaded the campus bhavans. “We had to cancel Crossfire last year due to lag problems – and things aren’t looking good this year either.

Gaming is how Surya deals with college. “My CG would’ve probably been a lot lower if I didn’t have the Gaming Club.” he admits. He hopes more people will give it a shot. “It’s just like anime, TV shows, books or movies – it’s a great stressbuster.”

So, what now? “The Wi-Fi issue is here to stay; we’re just going to have to find our way through it. If our members take the initiative, we can expand to other colleges and enter the circuit.” IIT Roorkee recently contacted them for an event, but they didn’t have five people free enough to send. Surya hopes that will change soon. “We’re encouraging our juniors to have wing matches – SR Bhavan is the perfect recruiting ground that way. We’ve begun taking in developers this year, and we’re working on a game. We hope to have it ready for an APOGEE exhibition.”

On that optimistic note, the interview ends. One can only hope the Gaming Club wins its fight against modernization.