We’ve been getting this question a lot this week, so hopefully this answers all of your questions! This post has been edited to include PC gaming and the date/time edited as a result.
How to Play Console Games @ Lyons
(PS3, X-Box and Wii)
- Go to the following website: http://library.mcmaster.ca/mrbs_lnmc
- Click the Gaming Stations link. Choose the day, time and gaming station you wish to play at. (IMPORTANT: Whatever station you book is the station you
must play on. Please do not switch stations once you have arrived.)
- You will have to sign into the booking system using your MacID & password. Staff CANNOT book a game station for you! Fill out the necessary info (please keep your booking names “clean”).
- Arrive at Lyons at your specified booking date/time. If you are more than 15 minutes late for a booking, please be aware that your booking may be canceled/given away by staff.
- If playing a console game (Wii, PS3 or X-Box), choose your game(s) near the entrance. Please pick no more than 3 games at a time, all within the same game system. (You can trade these for other games at the Help Desk part-way through your booking if you would like.)
- Take the game case(s) to the Help Desk and sign out the game(s) and controller(s) using your McMaster ID card. Please leave your own games/controllers at home and only use the ones owned / provided by Lyons.
- Play for your allotted time. Please be prompt in vacating the station at the end of your booking to avoid fines / late fees & as a courtesy to the next gaming group / individual.
- Return all borrowed games, game boxes, controllers and cables to the Help Desk.
How to Play PC Games @ Lyons
- Check the games list here: http://library.mcmaster.ca/lyons/collections/games
Go to the following website to book a station: http://library.mcmaster.ca/mrbs_lnmc - Click the Gaming Stations link. Choose the day, time and gaming station you wish to play at. IMPORTANT: Whatever station you book is the station you must play on. Please do not switch stations once you have arrived. Also, be sure you are signing up for a PC station, not a console station.
- You will have to sign into the booking system using your MacID & password. Staff CANNOT book a game station for you! Fill out the necessary info (please keep your booking names “clean”). Remember the name of your booking to tell the desk staff.
- Arrive at Lyons at your specified booking date/time. If you are more than 15 minutes late for a booking, please be aware that your booking may be canceled/given away by staff.
- Check in at the Help Desk to have the PC Gaming Station signed out to you on your McMaster ID card, as well as any games that need the play discs in the drive (e.g. Sims Medieval). A Windows login password will be given to you at this time.
- Please do NOT attempt to install your own software. If we don’t have something you think we should have, please email us at media@mcmaster.ca and we’ll look into it. Software not licensed to Lyons will be removed.
- Play for your allotted time. Please be prompt in vacating the station at the end of your booking to avoid fines / late fees & as a courtesy to the next gamer. Remember to logoff or shutdown the machine when you are finished.
- IMPORTANT: When you are finished, check in at the desk even if you didn’t sign out a game disc. This is extremely important, because the station is signed out on your card. Fines/fees may occur if you do not check back in at the desk.
Why are we not allowed to use our own games and controllers? If its for liability issues then I’m sure you can tell people that they can’t hold mcmaster responsible if their own stuff was to break when they book a room. I’m just thinking about people being eager to play new games that come out that either lyons doesn’t have or that someone else is using.
Great question, Bradley, and it’s one that the Lyons team really struggled with over the last year since we initially opened. At first, we didn’t have a huge selection of games, so we allowed it initially. As our game collection grows and develops, we hope to be able to offer most of the games which are popular. In fact, we will be announcing today that we just put a new batch of games for all three console systems out on our shelves, as they just arrived from cataloguing this week!
Unfortunately, over the course of the last year, there were a few groups and individuals who abused the privilege of bringing in their own games from home. Stations were often monopolized and the space was being treated more and more like a personal living room or arcade, rather than the academic space it should be. Students enrolled in game-related classes were finding it difficult to book time for their coursework because groups would book all three stations to play the same game on several stations (using our copy and copies from home). First and foremost, the space has an academic purpose and we have to make sure that everyone is getting a fair turn, especially those who need it for research purposes.
As for controllers, we had some issues with synching of controllers, for one. Also, we’re trying to avoid “corded” controllers from being used in the room because of potential trip hazards. As of this week, we have purchased additional controllers. The charging stations just need to get wired up so we can add them, then we’ll have at least four controllers per station, per system — this should negate any need for additional controllers. Any more than about four players per station and things start getting rather crowded (which never makes a fire marshall happy!).
If there’s a game that we don’t have that you think we should, we are always open to suggestions! Feel free to either email your suggestion to mediaATmcmasterDOTca or mention it to the Help Desk staff. Thanks for the great question!
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