Chris Koppenhaver, Youth Services Librarian, gathered Runescape players together to exchange information, swap stories and brag. Chris describes the event in his own words.

"This afternoon at 4:00 I hosted a program titled, 'Mustering of the Realm: RuneScape.' I had some ideas to pull from, but really wasn't quite sure what exactly we would be doing until it happened.

"Bandwidth and technology limitations essentially eliminated playing the game or having any kind of a tournament (other than after hours, which is an option I'm considering for in the future), so it had to consist primarily of talk.

"Last week I created an account, read some of the introductory material, took my character through "Tutorial Island," and played the game for just a bit. From that and watching the kids play all the time I had a basic idea about the game, but I didn't really know a lot.

"When they (14 teen boys, in all) came in I had them make a nametag with both their real name and their game name. As we gathered I noticed everyone asking each other what level they were, so I had them write their name, game name, and level on the white board for everyone to see.

"I introduced myself and what we were about a bit, but I really think I could have done nothing and they would have been happy for a while; one of them called it a "RuneScape Party," and that idea could have worked. They would have been happy to mix and mingle, asking about character levels, quests completed, items obtained, etc. I asked if they wanted to do that or talk one at a time with everyone listening and they voted for the latter.

"We went around the table a few times (with frequent outbursts and interruptions) talking about game experiences--character, style, most powerful enemy defeated, whether they kill noobs (new characters/players) for fun or not, etc. They were each eager to have the spotlight and brag about who they are/what they've done.

"Based on what I saw and heard, I'd summarize with the following conclusions.

• The most important accomplishment was simply acknowledging their interest and letting them know the library has a place for them.

• They liked the idea of a tournament or mass competition, but seemed even more excited about individual challenges.

• They wrote down each other's names to take home so they could continue talking in the game (it has a built in chat feature).

• After 45 minutes they got restless with the talk and started trickling out to the computers so they could actually play.

• I wonder if a program would work with 2-4 computers where they took turns logging on and showing off their characters and/or challenging each other."

Chris Koppenhaver
Youth Services Librarian
Lackman Branch, Johnson County Library
(913) 495-7540