Glen Lake grads open ZeroHour Gaming

By Pat Stinson
Sun contributor
A little more than a year ago, Dustin Sielaff and Jason Lewis, (Glen Lake class of 1998), were just getting their bearings as new business owners on Traverse City’s west side. Fourteen months and a move across town later, the pair has established themselves as the twenty-something, low-key proprietors of ZeroHour Gaming, Traverse City’s premier center for social computer gaming. ZeroHour, defined as the point at which everything ends and everything begins, has become for its customers a place “where reality ends and gaming begins.”
Photo courtesy of Jason Lewis

Relocating from the way-cool but cavernous space at the Horizon Outlet Center to the friendly, local atmosphere of Colonial Square has had certain advantages. Colonial Square, on South Airport Road west of Garfield, is also the home of the Fun Factory, specializing in board and card games, such as Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Risk and Monopoly. All manner of game hobbyists weave in and out of the two shops. “It’s been good for business,” Jason said. A few doors west is J&S Hamburg, perfectly situated for gamers’ sometimes hungry forays into the “real” world.
What has enticed ZeroHour’s plugged-in gamers to follow the center to the ether-reaches? It could be the 16 high-end Dell computers, each with 50 of the newest games installed, or the fact that the ‘puters are networked, allowing a gamer to play against others in the room. Or, perhaps, it’s the center’s ultra-fast Internet connection that enables a gamer to join thousands of others across the globe in “real time,” interactive play.
“The difference between playing here and at home is, you can yell at the person here,” Dustin said with a chuckle. “It’s the interaction. You can play right next to the person playing against you.” He added that playing with or against a real person in the room, or online, offers endless possibilities — unlike the “finite” plays offered by computer programs.
Some ZeroHour customers prefer gaming on one of two Xbox 360s — Microsoft’s wireless, high-performance, digital videogame console. Each Xbox allows four people to play a game at the same time, as they lounge in comfortable AK Rockers, (high-back rolling chairs with arms).
The gaming center offers access to popular titles, including: Counterstrike, Battlefield 2, Warcraft III, Unreal Tournament, Command & Conquer 3, Oblivion, DotA … and one video arcade game called “Commando”.
“It’s the hardest game in the store,” Dustin said. “We let people play it for free, (a year ago). For the first month, no one could beat the high score set by the machine.”
The computer games are a mix of FPS or first-person shooters, (the gamer sees through the eyes of the character in a fast-paced shoot-‘em-up meant for solo players and smaller groups); RPG or role-playing games; team-based games, (one-on-one or up to 32 on a side); real-time strategy games like Warcraft III; and MMOs, massively multi-player online games. The MMOs are a tad more costly to play, with a $15 per month average fee in addition to the usual $5 per hour gaming charge. As a member of iGames, a collective of cybercafés, ZeroHour may purchase playing time for MMO games like Titan Quest at less expensive group rates. Gamers who are members can participate in any café-to-café tournaments that ZeroHour decides to host at the center.
If all of this leaves you mystified, chances are you’re over 25, or female, and/or your hobbies range more toward the low-tech or ambulatory type. (The average age of gamers is 16 to 25, and most are male.) If you have a quasi-understanding of the above, you’re probably a baby boomer with a dusty disc or two of Doom or Civilization in your collection. ZeroHour hosts “a couple” of female gamers and has a nice complement of customers “at either end” of the average playing age, according to Dustin. Those under 13, however, aren’t allowed in the store unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, and 12 house rules for gaming are followed, including one about swearing around youngsters. “We’re strict about what kids under 13 can play,” Dustin said. “They must be age appropriate. A majority of our games are rated T, (teen),” he added.
Dustin and Jason, who grew up “like cousins,” were young people, themselves, when their interest in computers and gaming began. Dustin said he was 12 years old when he plugged his first Radio Shack computer into his TV. “It had no memory, and it took me six hours to program it,” he said. “I melted my first real motherboard at age 14 … using tin foil for a jumper. I’ve destroyed many computers since.” When he reached high-school age, Dustin ran a computer system at Glen Lake Schools and even had an office with a phone number and a mailbox. He said he was often called out of the classroom to fix a teacher’s computer.
Jason remembers using “an ancient thing” to play his first games, including Nintendo, when he was much younger. Among his favorites today are Counterstrike, (pitting terrorists against the good guys who work to diffuse bombs and rescue hostages), and the latest version of Civilization, (where the player is ruler and must build an empire that is stronger than those of competing civilizations — through strategy, warring, diplomacy and by other means).
Gamers enjoy solving problems, and many are also sociable players, preferring to game in a group rather than sit at home, alone. As such, the reputation of the gamer as “geek” is almost passé. Though someone always wants to play the older games, Dustin said that games that aren’t played as regularly are put up for sale. Other items for sale through ZeroHour’s website (www.tczerohour.com) include logo wear t-shirts that are anything but geeky.
In addition to gaming, the center offers a connection to the Internet for those without access. An elderly couple renting a cabin came in last spring to check their email. Another person spent three hours making travel plans – obtaining maps, arranging flights and reserving rental cars.
The center has also hosted birthday parties, both private and “public,” (Sundays are best), and has occasionally offered tournaments for randomly-selected games, usually scheduled midweek, as ZeroHour’s busiest times are Friday and Saturday – though any night after 10 p.m. can be busy. The wee hours are also when most of the store’s 10-oz. bottles of Bawls Guarana, a high-octane caffeine drink, are sold.
“I like the atmosphere here,” Jason explained. “I get to hang out with cool people and game regularly. It’s laid back, and I’m my own boss. All in all, it’s a pretty good time.”
“I’d be sitting at home doing the same thing,” Dustin said of his game-playing, work-a-day duties. “This place is great for my social life. I’ve got lots and lots of new friends.” He also added, with a bit of a lament, “But none of them are girls.”
ZeroHour Gaming is located at 1045 S. Airport Rd, 933-6001, www.tczerohour.com