Emma Bennett—Staff Writer  

Between hosting monthly get-togethers, Super Smash Bros. tournaments, and a recent trivia night, the number of attendees for the six-month-old Dordt University Gaming Guild has remained consistent. 

“[Gaming] is something that’s close to my heart,” sophomore and Gaming Guild President Ethan Haeder said. “Being able to see something that I’m passionate about be expanded upon and do good things at a place that I love is really something.”

Despite the guild’s recent formation, plans to expand the club’s operations are already in the works. The first and most imminent change is a transfer to a new space. Up until now, the guild has hosted most of its events in the basement of Covenant Hall. There, space is limited and students are required to relinquish it for events. Now, the guild plans to move to the basement of Kuyper Apartments. 

With additional space, the guild can decorate the area to their liking, gathering students’ opinions in the creation process. 

“I want this to be a community project,” Theology Professor and Guild Director Brad Hickey said. “So that when someone walks into that space, they realize they contributed to it in some way.” 

In addition to a larger, personalized space for the guild, the club may turn academic as well. Dordt has been considering creating a gaming major or minor, concentrating on using gaming to glorify God and play in a Christ-centered way. 

“What we find is students don’t often think through their gaming, because they feel like their gaming is separate from their Christian life,” Hickey said. “[The guild] should help build sensitivities to the Holy Spirit.”  

Looking forward, Dordt hopes to have its own gaming camp for middle schoolers during Dordt Discovery Days. 

“To be able to have this camp so [middle schoolers] can already begin to understand the language between gaming and faith,” Hickey said. “Especially since games are a place where people get their political and theological views.” 

Recently, the Gaming Guild had their student-designed logo, Locked In, accepted. This means Dordt will use the guild as a part of recruitment efforts in the fall.

“When I came [to Dordt] my goal was to say, ‘What is Dordt, what do we value?’” Hickey said. “‘And how do we produce that in way that can help gamers who want to be professional but also think about their relationship with God?’”