A haven for 'Halo' in New York City

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"Sugar and more sugar," said 20-year-old Marc Stubbs, one of the competitive Halo players, as he ate some kind of bite-size, cake-like confection and then fed another one to a grateful Nike. "No caffeine. I mostly do an energy drink or something." Caffeine, he said, "will give you a rush, but it's a short rush." Not all of his fellow players were in agreement, however, as a few of them began to swap stories about how many Red Bulls they'd chugged before big professional gaming events in Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas.

Stubbs has been gaming competitively since July 2005, and when he's not at the Xbox 360, he's a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is signed with the Major League Gaming professional league, and is captain of a team called Shook1 Gaming that regularly places in the top six to eight spots in major Halo competitions. Stubbs admitted to not being a Nyclan regular.

"Usually, I'm online practicing with my team," he said. He added that the informal tournaments at Nyclan serve a low-key form of recreation for pro gamers, for whom Halo has become an occupation. Such recreation doesn't always appeal to him these days.

"Ever since I started playing competitively, I wouldn't say I lost my love for the game, but I stopped playing it as much," he said.

Another in the room, 18-year-old Eldy Martinez, had a different perspective. This was his fourth straight week playing at Nyclan He showed no signs of wanting to cut back on recreational Halo even though he had already been signed to Major League Gaming and is looking to form his own professional team. Being able to go to Nyclan and just play casually is appealing in part because the professional gaming lifestyle isn't easy, Martinez said.

"Any professional could tell you that from the beginning it's hard," Martinez said. "Trying to get sponsorships, getting to events, it's hard." Plus, there's the frequent woe of being stereotyped as a lazy couch potato, he added. Being able to find girlfriends is the "worry of a lot of competitive gamers."

The gamers at Nyclan seemed to be having plenty of good-natured fun, but there was one more serious subject that I wanted to investigate: addiction. Did the "overlords" of this gaming center ever have to deal with people who were playing Halo or Gears of War to an unhealthy level? According to Song, it's a non-issue because of the inherent social factor in not only Nyclan's atmosphere, but in console gaming overall.

"If you look at console versus PC games, console by their nature has always been the more social of the two. PC is more immersive," she explained. "The crowd for consoles is absolutely a more social crowd."

Though there were already plenty of regulars at Nyclan, the gaming center didn't have problems with addiction--yet. Martinez was in agreement. "I actually don't play that much," he said, warning me to "stay away from" online role-playing games like World of Warcraft. "Console games can be addictive, but nothing like that." In addition, potential addictions may be curtailed by the fact that Nyclan isn't free: long-term memberships are available, or day passes can be purchased for between $8 and $12.

On my way out, I saw a familiar face: Triforce Johnson, the local gaming guru I had interviewed when he was the first person in the United States to obtain a Wii console, and who always accessorizes with a Nintendo Power Glove on his right arm. According to Johnson, a gaming community center like Nyclan is a much-needed fixture in a city like New York.

Gaming is "not a hobby anymore," he said. "This is a full-fledged community, and there is a culture to this."

He walked over to a bulletin board on the wall that displayed photos from the smattering of gaming parties that Nyclan had thrown in its fewer than two months of existence, and pointed out some highlights: an "8-Bit Zombie" party on Halloween and a Christmas party the week before. Nyclan has plans for a Valentine's Day party "geared toward females," Johnson said.

In the back room, the Halo pros were about to start the night's tournament, but Song halted them for a moment to make an announcement.

"We'll have two extras tonight," she said as though talking about last-minute guests at a party. "Predator and Solace are on their way."