By Xander Swain

While COVID-19 continues to dominate social lives, student organizations have been adapting in different ways. Among these, the Montevallo Organization of Gaming has looked to online gaming.  

Recently, they hosted a Zoom “Among Us” event where participants joined a Zoom call and were split into breakout rooms to play the widely popular video game, “Among Us.” 

“Among Us” is an online multiplayer game where players are randomly assigned to be an Imposter or a Crewmate. Imposters have to kill the rest of the crewmates, while the crewmates either have to finish their assigned tasks across the map or find out who the Imposters are. The catch is that the only time players are allowed to speak is during group meetings, either called through an emergency button or when a player reports a dead body. The game is filled with deception, lies and is the perfect recipe for a viral video game.  

Payton Kerr, treasurer for MOG, said, “I think the event ran quite well. We had a couple issues relating to Wi-Fi and some participants losing their connection, but we were always able to get them back for the next game.” 

Kerr continued, “After talking to the MOG members who attended the event, the overwhelming majority said that they enjoyed it and would love for us to do another at some point.” 

Before the pandemic, MOG would host several events throughout the week where students could come and play any number of tabletop games. “Despite being held virtually, I think this event stacks up nicely when compared to previous events we hosted in person.”  

“The reason is rather simple: MOG’s chief purpose is to create a space where students can come together to play games in a friendly and supportive environment. This space doesn’t need to be a physical location and judging from the jokes and general talking I heard between games and in emergency meetings, we created a comfortable space for participants to play games,” said Kerr. 

MOG has plans for future online events and games.  

Other than “Among Us,” Kerr said they are looking for other online games.  

One of these ideas is a two-part event of Dungeons and Dragons. The first session would be a “Character Creation Workshop” where people can learn about D&D with MOG members. The second part would be a “One-Shot Event” where players can use the characters they previously created in a “short, new-players-friendly adventure.” 

Overall, the “Among Us” event lasted two hours, but some participants like Cody Hodge said, “Once I resolved my connection issues, the event ran so smoothly, I lost track of time.”  

Hodge said, “It was the most fun I have had on campus since COVID happened. I cannot imagine it going any better with the current state of things.”  

“I was able to interact with students I have never seen before on campus. That is what college should be,” he continued. “By participating in this event, I felt like I had a connection with strangers I have not really experienced since the pandemic began.” 

Students want to be back in person, but in the meanwhile, student organizations are doing everything they can to bring back some level of normalcy.  

“MOG is probably my favorite nonacademic club on campus, and I am not even a member. Everyone should try to participate in at least one of their events. I guarantee they will have fun,” Hodge said.