CUSP Magazine: Winter Issue 2014

Since 2002, Ignite Gaming
Lounge has been the go-to place
in Chicago for as a “social gaming
experience” as described by a coowner
Sam Oanta.
Ignite is a place for game
enthusiasts to come together and share
a space where they can be passionate
about their hobbies and meet others
who share those same passions. Ignite
also offers private Rock Band studios
for those who might not be interested
in first-person shooting games, but
want to share a fun experience with
friends. It’s easy to spend the day at
the lounge, especially considering
their snack bar which has options
from paninis to milkshakes.
The lounge considers itself
to be welcoming of the modern day
gamer, while other similar businesses
style themselves as more of an oldtime
arcade with pinball machines
and other games rich with nostalgia.
Oanta explains Ignite’s support
for niche markets such as Dota 2,
League of Legends, Call of Duty,
and fighting games for Nintendo,
Playstation, and Xbox consoles.
Ignite hosts local tournaments
and qualifiers for national tournaments
which are recorded live on the website
Twitch, which allows users to watch
the screen that the gamer is using
along with their commentary of what
they see on the screen. Twitch is a
streaming service which was bought
by Amazon in September and has
over 60 million viewers each month
according to their website.
ignitegl.com
CUSP MAGAZINE WINTER ’14 ISSUE
43