Bloomington North is a very diverse school in many ways. From ethnicities, to families, to nationalities, North students are a diverse crowd, even with video games.

Personally, I have played video games since I was four years old, the first being Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. I had lots of fun playing it back then. Its 3D graphics were beautiful for its time. Nowadays, I love playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and more often than not, I want to see myself as a professional Counter-Strike player someday.

I talked to three North game aficionados, and they shared their preferences and experience.

AJ Trusler, junior

Q:Since when you have played video games?

A: You might not believe it, but the very first game that I’ve ever played was Pong for the Atari.

Q: Are you a solo player or do you play with friends?

A: Actually, I have a group of friends on PC, Xbox and sometimes the Wii. But, I’m never a solo player.

Q: If you play with friends, would you rather play co-op or fight against each other?

A: Depends on the game. We do a lot of co-ops, but then again we also do a lot of solo and competitive things.

Q: What’s your favorite game platform?

A: Well, it really depends on what game that I’m playing. If I’m playing Call of Duty then it would be the Xbox; if I play Destiny then it would be the PlayStation; then if I play Overwatch it would be the PC. So, really, I don’t have a favorite.

Q: What’s your online nickname and what’s the story behind it?

A: It’s kind of funny, but my online nickname is Taco, (because) as a kid I really liked tacos and it kind of just stuck with me, so my username has taco in there. So, then a lot of people just call me Taco, and whenever I hear ‘Taco’ I’m always like ‘what’s up?’

Q: In 2018, we will expect a lot of new games coming out, so what game releases that you are really looking forward to?

A: Quite honestly, I’m looking forward to God of War and the new Super Smash Brothers.

Landon Gabriel Williams, sophomore

Q: What was the first video game that you’ve ever played, and when did you play it?

A: Minecraft, that was around 2012 in July.

Q: What’s your favorite game genre?

A: Somewhere in between action and strategy.

Q: Are you a solo player or do you tend to play with friends?

A: I kind of do both, but I mostly play multiplayer.

Q: If you play with friends, would you rather fight against each other or play co-op?

A: Co-op, because you can share some collective information everyone has with different skills to accomplish a goal.

Q: Favorite video game platform?

A: PC.

Q: What’s your online nickname?

A: Odyssey12 is my handle. I like adventures and do lots of different stories, doing all kinds of storylines like that (2001: A Space Odyssey).

Gideon Brooks, junior

Q: What was the first video game that you’ve ever played?

A: Banjo-Kazooie for the Game Boy Advance. I played that twelve years ago, so I was like five years old.

Q: What’s your favorite video game genre?

A: First-person shooters

Q: Are you a solo player or do you play with your friends?

A: I usually play solo, but I recently play a lot of multiplayer, especially in game Fortnite.

Q: When you play with friends, would you rather play co-op or fight against each other?

A: I usually play co-op.

Q: What’s your favorite video game platform?

A: PC.

Q: What’s your online handle and what’s the story behind it?

A: First Galaxy. It used to be Doggy Man because I like dogs. And then First Galaxy. My dad just gave me that name, and then I’ve been using that name a lot recently.

Q: In 2018, we will expect a lot of video game releases coming out. Which video game release are you looking forward to?

A: Smash 5, and I really hope it has lots of characters in it.