Halo 4 Heroes: Students Organize Game Tournament to Support Charity
By Abby P. Metzger
Video game excitement and philanthropy come together during the Halo 4 Heroes tournament held November 16 & 17 in OSU's Bexell Hall. Organized by students from the College of Business's project management class, the competition gives gamers a chance to battle alien forces and win a number of prizes. Proceeds from the $10 registration fee will support the National Military Family Association, Inc.
The competition is part of College of Business professor Erik Larson's project management class, which encourages students to use classroom theories in real-life situations. "The college believes in learning by doing, and this provides an opportunity for students to use project management tools and techniques to come up with a real project for a worthy cause," said Larson.
Lai Wai Ho (Leo), Robert Middaugh, Brian Rosenbalm, Andrew Weekly, Craig Wilcox, and Sher Fenn in Larson's project management class set out to plan, coordinate, and publicize a competition based on the newly released and hugely popular video game, Halo 3.
"Our group, Halo 4 Heroes, came up with the idea of putting on a Halo tournament for several reasons. One, it was something we all enjoyed doing, and thought others would enjoy as well. Two, it was for a good cause that we thought was important. And three, we felt it was the best way to tie the event to a similar charity," explained Middaugh.
Brian Rosenbalm said his team picked the National Military Family Association because of the game's war theme. "The charity parallels closely to the fact that there's a military force in the game, so supporting military families seemed like a nice fit," he said. NMFA is the only organization that represents officer and enlisted families of all uniformed services at the national level.
The tournament begins Nov 16, 6pm-12am. All rounds consist of three matches played between four players. Players with the highest cumulative kill count advance to the next and final rounds on November 17, 6pm-12am. Victorious alien slayers can win a variety of prizes, including an Xbox 360 Grand Prize, Xbox 360 games and controllers, gift certificates, and more.
With the tournament quickly approaching, the Halo team encourages gamers to sign up now, as space is limited. Those who want to participate non-competitively can pay $3 for open play.
"It's a good excuse to get out of the house, have some fun, and support a charity," said Rosenbalm. "There's a cheaper way to play Halo. You could go to your buddy's house and play for free, but we're supporting a good cause."
So far, organizing the tournament has been a hefty learning experience for the team. "I've learned quite a bit about project management from this project, much more than any book could teach me. It's one thing to read somewhere that you need to do X and Y to make projects go well, but Professor Erik Larson's support has really allowed us to put the ideas we've learned in the classroom to use for a worthy cause," relayed Middaugh.
Event details:
What: Halo 3 Tournament ($10 per contestant, $3 for non-competitive, open play). Donations welcomed.
When: Nov. 16th - 17th 6pm - 12am
Where: 200 Bexell, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-2603.
First Round: Nov 16th, 6pm - 12am
Second / Final Rounds: Nov 17th, 6pm - 12am
Deadline to sign up: Nov. 10
Visit http://www.halo4heroes.110mb.com/ for details.
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