They’re outgoing, passionate about what they do, and as the group likes to say, “they play with a purpose” — especially for their upcoming event at the United Spirit Arena in May.
Meet the Heads Up Display team. The group films videos and shares them on The Hub and their own YouTube channel about video games. Eric Van Allen, who is not only a part of HUD but is also a producer on the Double T Insider, said he found out about the student publication from EMC 4301, Professor Jimmie Reeves class.
“It was just a student project that they wanted to do a video game review show and I thought, ‘I’ve helped one publication get off the ground and I like games,'” Van Allen said. “How terrible could this be?”
Carmen Askerneese II, creator and head of Heads Up Display, said the student production started last April. He said the main reason he started it was because he didn’t see anything at any other universities that catered to gaming and production. Askerneese said around the same time his grandmother passed away. He said she was always encouraging him to go after what he wanted, and he knew she believed in him.
Askerneese said he decided to believe in himself for a change and used the inspiration his grandmother gave him to do something positive. He said after meeting people in Reeves’ class, the group took a chance on the production. Askerneese said along with himself and three other people, they produced their first Heads Up Display episode. He said the group was in the KTXT studio for at least 12 hours and did not leave until three or four in the morning. Askerneese said their goal was to get 100 likes on their page in 24 hours and that was exactly what they received.
Askerneese said when Heads Up Display started they wanted at least one view. Now, they have faithful viewers who watch their videos every week. He said it’s not as much as the group would like, but after the upcoming tournament they think their viewership is going to grow immensely.
Van Allen said the tournament is going to sponsor a charity called Child’s Play. He said the charity gives video games to kids who are very sick. Van Allen said since those kids are stuck in the hospital, it’s a way to put a smile on their faces.
He said Heads Up Display has worked with the charity before. Last year Heads Up Display hosted a live stream of a 24-hour video game-a-thon and people could donate to the money pot they had posted online for the charity. This year, not only are they doing a live stream (March 21), Van Allen said the production team is dreaming even bigger and is also hosting the first-ever Heads Up Display Tournament that is going to take place May 3 and 4 of this year in the City Bank Conference room at the United Spirit Arena.
Kyle Hughes, Heads Up Display member, said the tournament is going to consist of a series of brackets. Hughes said they have a bracket for each category of video games. He said participants are going to have the option of purchasing a spot for two brackets and then thee is the ultimate gamer category. Hughes said it boils down to who is the best and who has played the most.
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Askerneese said for him this is the final countdown. He said because many of the Heads Up Display members are graduating, they need more people to take it over. Askerneese said if they do not find people to continue the show, he will still be happy about Heads Up Display because he and the team left a positive mark of the show in people’s minds.
“I know when we started planning the tournament, we wanted to plan something that would really push the show forward,” he said. “We want it to be something more than just playing video games. We want people to know that we play with a purpose. We all look at this as an opportunity and not just an event.”
Askerneese said there have been many times where he wanted to be done with Heads Up Display, but he said he is glad he kept on pursuing it. Askerneese said the tournament is actually taking place the day after his grandmother’s birthday, which he said he considers to be poetic justice.
Hughes said Heads Up Display has found many sponsors for the tournament, such as Texas Tech Student Housing, Mana FYX (a local GameStop-like business in Lubbock) GameStop, Monster Energy, and Radiolab.
Van Allen said the prizes for the ultimate gamer bracket will win a PS4 and an Xbox One, which is $1,000 worth of prizes.
Asked if anyone could come by and help Heads Up Display or contribute to their videos, all of the members said yes. Hughes said it’s an open door policy and they are in Room 355 in the College of Media and Communication every Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. It is open to all majors (no experience required).
“It’s very much a labor of love,” Van Allen said. “We wouldn’t keep coming back to this if we didn’t love what we were doing. Like Kyle was saying, we built this from the ground up because we wanted it to be ours. Not to dis on student organizations, but we didn’t want limitations. We wanted to be a place for students and run by students. We’re all about being self-sustaining.”
About Heads Up Display
