Roisin Woolnough visits one of London's brightest Internet gaming
bars, The Playing Fields
Internet gaming is often thought of as one of those things that
nerdy, anti-social Web-heads do in their bedrooms in the dead of
night. However, anyone who harbours such prejudices should take a
trip to The Playing Fields in Whitfield Street, off Tottenham Court
Road, London. Even if you are not into computer games, it is quite
fun to see a place that so obviously caters for gamers.
The Playing Fields, the UK's first gaming bar, was opened over
two years ago. Edward Watson was a co-founder. "We wanted to make
computer games accessible to everyone and to encourage people to
play others in a social environment," he says. "We welcome people
into the gaming bit as if they were friends and it is more like a
sports or social club than an Internet café."
Watson's desire to create a gaming centre stemmed from all the
prejudice he encountered over the years, simply because he plays
computer games. "I've been a gamer for about seven years and I
thought of all the times I've been ostracised as a geek with no
social skills, when I'm not like that at all," he explains.
Sure enough, when you walk into The Playing Fields everyone
seems to be very relaxed and chatty. There is a real community feel
and it has the atmosphere of a sixth form common room. Of course,
there are computers everywhere, but there is also a café-style
area, a bar, table football and a couple of TV screens blasting out
MTV music. It doesn't serve food, apart from standard snacks such
as crisps and peanuts, but it does serve soft drinks and
alcohol.
According to Watson, The Playing Fields is the premier place for
gaming in the UK. "We run most of the major tournaments." A couple
of weekends ago, it hosted the European Quake III Championships. It
has also recently introduced a Ladies' Night. This is only an
occasional event, but when the last one took place in July, Watson
decided to make a real thing of it. "The staff dressed up in black
tie and the women wore evening dresses," he says.
If the glamorous side appeals, keep an eye out for celebrity
gamers. Sujoy Roy, the UK's first professional gamer was doing a
spot of work there on my visit.