February 15, 2013 - Look out video gamers, the best thing to hit the local gaming scene is coming back to California State University, Bakersfield on Friday, March 1, 2013. The Campus Gamers student organization at CSU Bakersfield has announced "Gamer Education Day 2013," a three-hour event that will share insight into the art of making video games with CSUB students and the greater Bakersfield community alike. "GED '13" will feature an assortment of guest speakers from the video game industry, a student musical performance, and more.

CSUB students founded Campus Gamers, a student club, in 2011 as an outlet to discuss and enjoy a common interest in gaming. In 2012 the club presented the "2012 Education and Gaming Symposium" to much success.

"Last year's education and gaming event was actually about education," says Ed Webb, founder of Campus Gamers. "This year, 'Gamer Education Day' will be educating attendees about the art of games. There's currently a big discussion among game fans and members of the game industry whether video games are really art. We're going to hear from some of those artists, and judge for ourselves. It's an educational event, but it will be a lot of fun, too."

"GED '13" will open with two student efforts on display. The CSUB art club, the Working Artists Collective, will have a game-related art project available for viewing. CSUB Sociology students will present posters that reflect their original, video game themed research projects. "Cosplaying" or "costume playing" is popular among many game fans, and a brief parade and costume contest will be held immediately before speaker presentations begin.

The event will formally begin at 6 PM with a discussion led by CSUB Music Professor, Jim Scully. Prof. Scully will be joined in a discussion with two of the most important game music composers in the industry: Christopher Tin, Grammy-winning composer of "Baba Yetu" from Civilization IV and Jack Wall, composer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II the fastest selling game of all time, which reached one billion dollars in sales in only fifteen days.

Their discussion will be followed by an a cappella performance featuring CSUB student group, "Living Harmony." Other CSUB and area high school students from a number of local choirs will join forces and up to 100 students will perform 5-6 different musical selections from popular video games including Tin's song, "Baba Yetu" and the main theme from the game Skyrim.

Earlier this school year, Campus Gamers held a 12-hour "Extra Life Gaming Marathon" that raised $4,300 for the Lauren Small Children's Medical Center at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. There will be an official check presentation to members of the hospital and Children's Miracle Network, with CSUB Vice-President of Student Affairs, Dr. Thomas Wallace making the presentation on behalf of CSUB and Campus Gamers.

Rounding out the evening will be speaker Susan O'Connor. O'Connor is a legendary game writer, having written or co-written the storylines for numerous best-selling games, including Gears of War and the new Tomb Raider game, which will release five days after "GED '13."

O'Connor will be a featured speaker at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film, Music and Interactive Conference and Festival, which takes place in Austin, TX. As a special treat for "GED '13" attendees, O'Connor will preview her presentation, titled "Angry Nerds: Being Human in the Digital Age", exclusively at CSUB, one week before she shares it with the rest of the world at SXSW. "Angry Nerds" is an insightful look at the world of video game development, and what it can tell us about our machines - and our selves.

Finally, Campus Gamers will close the event with a drawing for fifty gift bags filled with prizes donated by game companies, and a limited edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 console, autographed by members of 343 industries who made the Halo 4 game. The console will come with an assortment of other games and a Kinect motion sensor. Over $5,000 in prizes have already been donated for the event.

"Gamer Education Day 2013" will be held March 1, 2013 at the CSUB Student Recreation Center gymnasium. Doors open at 5 PM, with the cosplay contest at 5:45 PM and the main event beginning at 6 PM. The art display and student research projects will be available for viewing before the event. Admission is free and will be first-come, first-served. Parking is free in Lot K on the CSUB campus. Cosplayers should arrive by 5:30 PM.