Mavericks Level Up! with Return of Gaming Series to UTA Libraries

Gamers were geared up for the return of Level Up! on Sept. 25, the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries’ premier gaming event.

Held in the Libraries’ gaming space, The Basement, Level Up! features a new game every month with playtime, community critique, and free food and drinks.

“This event is important to the community-building that makes The Basement so special,” said Andrew Doyle, Social Events Coordinator for UTA Libraries. “Our students need opportunities like Level Up! to make creative connections between what they are learning in the classroom and the games they enjoy in their down time. Plus, it’s a fun event that allows them to blow off some steam.”

The first event of the semester featured the game Sonic Colors: Ultimate (2021), a remaster of the 2010 game Sonic Colors. Students congregated in The Basement to play the game together and critique the game across a series of criteria, as well as play other games available via the Libraries.

Two raffles were also drawn throughout the day, with two winners taking home Libraries swag bags and one grand prize winner, Kyle Jones, taking home a Mortal Kombat mini arcade game.

Jones, a PhD student focusing on high energy particle physics, came to the event after seeing a poster in the University Center.

“I came to meet people,” Jones said. “This is the beginning of my third year, but through the years I wasn’t able to do a lot because of COVID, so I am just hoping to have fun.”

In addition to walking away with the grand prize of the raffle, Jones led the critique of Sonic Colors: Ultimate due to his knowledge of the game.

Not all of the students at the event knew about the game—or even the gaming space. Malu Devadasan, a graduate student in civil engineering, saw Level Up! in UTA’s TrailBlazer student newsletter and made it a priority to attend.

“I wanted to see it—I never knew there was something in the basement of the Libraries!” Devadasan said. “It’s so cool to see—it’s like professional gaming.”

Devadasan loves playing video games when she can—which isn’t often, given the demands of being a graduate student. Still, she came to the event hoping to connect with others of similar interests—and maybe distract herself from the pressures of academia.

“I’m hoping to meet someone who is interested in the same things [as me],” Devadasan said. “I also want to enjoy this time—it’s the weekend! [Pursuing] a PhD is not easy, so I want to de-stress myself.”

Omar Flores, a software engineering undergraduate student, heard about the event on social media, and was already familiar with The Basement before coming to Level Up!

He says the social aspect of the event is what makes Level Up! so unique—and why he’ll come back.

“I think it’s a great way to interact with other people,” Flores said. “A lot of people like different genres of games—it’s a broad topic. [They have] different viewpoints and different interests…that’s what I look for, and that’s probably the most interesting part of this event.”

Flores recommends that Mavericks attend events of all kinds, including Level Up!, for more than just the content of the events themselves.

“Attending events will [help] make new friends and grow your community,” Flores said. “Not just in gaming, but in any event. And you might also find a new interest.”

The Basement is the premier gaming space of the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Featuring console, PC, tabletop, augmented reality, and virtual reality gaming, The Basement is both a social space and experiential learning environment where students can mix their passions and their studies. The Basement hosts regular workshops on game design and critique that engages attendees in critical thinking, creative writing, world and map development, art making, and more. Students can also use the space to relax between classes by checking out one of the dozens of games we have available in our library. Learn more about The Basement on the Libraries website.