PAX Forumer Seattle Get Togethers- Spring/Summer Edition

MetaverseNomad

Bladed Cicada wrote: »

So I'm going to go ahead and assume that I'm not the only one who is going the the Wii tourney in Seattle this weekend and thought it might be cool to meet up with some people who are planning on going to PAX this year. So I suppose the most orderly way to do this would be to post your team name/date/time you intend to show up. As for myself:

Team Name: His Horse is Thunder
Date: 08/14/10
Time: 3:30 - 9:00 ( probably show up around 5)

I also realize that if anyone were to actually win for the region, that they would essentially miss PAX (boo) to make the trip to L.A. but hey, national glory? How can you pass that up?!



Good Luck Everyone!!

Wii tourney? Watchoo talkin bout? Im busy this weekend but seriously I've never heard of such a thing!

Bladed Cicada

MetaverseNomad wrote: »

Wii tourney? Watchoo talkin bout? Im busy this weekend but seriously I've never heard of such a thing!

www.wiigames2010.com

Check out the site. I don't know if they are still open to reg though. It's at Northgate Mall this weekend. Reminds me of the movie The Wizard which was one of the better marketing ploy movies for Nintendo.

Redwingedblackbird

Now that PAX is over... we all have that "what do I do now" feeling... So I would like to do a PAX'ers get together in Seattle, probably a friday night/saturday thing... and maybe all try to stay in the same hotel. Get some tabletop going, perhaps in a hotel lobby like we did in the Sheraton on Thursday and Sunday nights right before and after PAX. Setting up console or LAN play would be a bit harder; specifically finding a space. But I'm sure there's plenty of people that have experience setting of LAN parties. There's obviously gameworks as well...

I wanted to do something like this last year, but a pesky deployment got in the way I think it would not only fun, but great for networking for future events since everyone would be the same region. I'm thinking it would pretty informal... but who knows, if there's enough interest, maybe we could get a dedicated space for this . The ideas I was playing around with last year was renting a space, like a conference room, for tabletop, LAN or both. But for now I guess we'll see how much interest there is in this... please post any ideas or suggestions you may have.

Damian
(Spider-Man @ PAX 2009/10)

Heleor

If we're in Seattle, why do we need to stay in a hotel? O.o

Redwingedblackbird

If you're actually in Seattle... then you wouldn't. But for those who are not in the Seattle area itself, it would make sense. Like I live more than 3 hours from Seattle, so it's better to just stay the night in a hotel. Especially if it was something that starts on friday night and goes through saturday, it would be a pain to travel all the way home, just to come back the next day. I already asked some friends from Vancouver, BC who would be in interested in doing this kind of a get together... So we'll see how many people show interest...

Heleor

Ah, that's dedication.

I'd love to join up a few times, and there's a bunch of other people who I heard were interested.

TranceAddictFoX

I would totally be down to do this. I bought the WoW:TCG starter pack and I totally need people to play with haha. Always down to learn some new (board/card/ect) games or LAN it up too

Redwingedblackbird

Well... one of them was one of the last people left tabletop gaming on Sunday night/Monday morning in the Sheraton lobby I'd like to make this a two day thing, like a Friday night/Saturday... so it's worth it for people to come and worth the cost of hotel for a night or two... depending on how many people are involved and what not. That also makes more time for tabletop games, console games, and LAN games... if we could set it up. Deciding where to hold this would be the hardest part. If we can come up with a good location, that would help attract more people.

RoyceSraphim

There are enough little shops and cafes in the capitol hill and other niche areas that would not mind a large group of people buying food and playing video games at all hours of the night on a weekend. As it wears down to the holiday season, the extra money will be appreciated?

Lynx_

I say everyone should keep his/her PAX badges (if y'all weren't going to do so already) and wear them to any meetup in a public place so that everyone knows who to look for.

I think it'd be fun to do something bi-monthly at Gameworks or someplace like RoyceSeraphim recommended. That way, the costs and brunt of event planning (e.g., reserve a LAN space and pay up front) wouldn't fall on any particular person.

Houn

I keep my badges in my cube at work. I can't just take those down whenever I want, you know.

(Everyone knows me anyway.)

Redwingedblackbird

I like the idea of wearing the badges again to a meet up... gives it the illusion of being bigger and better organized than it actually is, lol. For those who collect buttons... it might be a good chance to share and trade as well. The hardest thing about this will be getting good venue. I was looking into renting a space like a conference room (which often come with internet connectivity) at a smaller hotel like a best western or something. Smaller hotels might be more appreciative of the business and give a better deal than a larger one. I even thought of renting one of those vacation houses for a weekend... which would make it easy for people who don't live in Seattle (like myself) to crash for the night. I'd like this to be a 2 day thing, if possible. Like starting on Friday night and going through Saturday night. A single tabletop game can last half the night depending on what it is, so having it over two days will give more time for PC play, tabletop, and maybe even console play. If we can get enough people to bring all that, that it... Lynx suggested gameworks... I know you can book them for private parties... but that's usually only for a couple hours isn't it? We'd probably want some place where we can set up for a day at least, since it's not practical for people to bring their computers, LAN gear, tabletop games, and whatever else if they'll have to pack it up a couple hours later. But gameworks would certainly make a good place to hit for a couple hours one of two nights... and we might even be able to get a group rate.

So what we need now is ideas for a venue... hopefully that has a low per person cost, or free would be better. But I think a low cost per person is worth it, if it means a better venue that will attract more people. I'm thinking of setting up a facebook page maybe... which would help in spreading the word about this idea.

Heleor

I think we've moved from get-together to mini-con there.

Sasha

Honestly, I think we could probably do it in a Hotel lobby like the Sheraton again; I didn't see any issues with that last time (we could do it at a different hotel if we'd like to, of course.)

Redwingedblackbird

yeah... lol. But who knows, someone could make an official get together between PAX events. Think of how many more people would be interested in going to something that sounds like a mini-pax, rather than a simple get together. I've never organized something like this, so I'm going off advice from friends in Vancouver who have allot of experience running LAN parties. The most important things they told me were... The Venue and getting the word out to way more people that you think you'll need to make it a success. That's because with these types of things, not everyone who says they'll show actually will. My friend talked about one LAN party where only 3 out of 60 showed... He actually suggested making a website for it, and a registration or RSVP system. Which would be easy to do on facebook. But right now, we just need to get people talking about it, throwing ideas around, and looking for something realistic... Then we advertise it on facebook or here, to get more people.

Heleor wrote: »

I think we've moved from get-together to mini-con there.

Zecro

MiniPax? That would be cool. Of course, instead of running on Khoo, it would have to run on sunshine and rainbows which presents its own brand of problems.

Redwingedblackbird

True... the hotel lobby worked out quite nicely. But there were also a bunch of PAX'ers staying at the hotel... I don't think they would have been as accommodating if none of us were staying there. But we could shop around and talk to different hotels... see which ones would accommodate us. We may be able to rent internet or dedicated tables from them. Again, I've never run a LAN before, so would we be able to set a small LAN up in a lobby? Not with full gaming towers, but with some laptops maybe?

Sasha wrote: »

Honestly, I think we could probably do it in a Hotel lobby like the Sheraton again; I didn't see any issues with that last time (we could do it at a different hotel if we'd like to, of course.)

Redwingedblackbird

ha ha ha... we could run it off the gold at the end of the rainbow. That's one advantage to a hotel lobby... low to no cost. A large meeting room, like the ones PAX uses for the tabletop free play would be great, but they are only rented until 6-8PM in most places. So we wouldn't have it long enough. We could always ask Khoo to sponsor our get together, lol.

Zecro wrote: »

MiniPax? That would be cool. Of course, instead of running on Khoo, it would have to run on sunshine and rainbows which presents its own brand of problems.

Kato_Arabel

I'm going to be raiding the Cheesecake Factory tomorrow at around 11AM-12, anyone else in the area is welcome to join me. Just be sure to bring a notepad and a pen! You can find me at the bar in there -- I'll have my PAX lanyard and badge with me, along with my Steel Battalion pins on it for identification's sake.

I just had a hankering for cheesecake, and I couldn't get my hands on some during PAX because the waiting line was just so dang long.

I'll probably be there for about an hour or so before I go raid Borders for some books to buy, and then head on home.

Kane

Would love to get a mini-con for Seattleites! I play just about every CCG/TCG, most minis games, am open to most RPGs and, naturally, video games of all flavors. If I can be of assistance, let me know. Sadly, I can't come to the CF tomorrow morning as I have work.

beta_angel

After FINALLY meeting BigRed, Nomad, eye_shuh and all the other Seattleites...I'm going to be *forcing* myself to hold my liquor at home so I can get out and meet/hang with everybody. It was way too much fun and I need more *good* friends.



Plus, I owe Nomad and BigRed a few drinks.

Redwingedblackbird

I think the best idea for this right now is the hotel lobby idea... It worked for PAX, and although it may be more of an issue outside of PAX, it's still the most realistic idea.

So lets start with this basic idea, and then make changes as needed. Make a full day thing, with tabletop gaming in a hotel lobby. Then possibly some console or LAN play in hotel rooms, since I know I would have to get a room. We could also throw in going to gameworks that night as well. Gameworks and food would probably be the only cost for most people.

So we would need to good hotel lobby, that will have enough table space for us, and would let us do it, even though very few would actually be staying at the hotel. For the console/LAN, we should figure out if we can even run a LAN in hotel rooms, or if we can rent internet connectivity from the hotel. For console play, all we need is the consoles, and monitors, since allot of hotels won't let you hook up stuff to their TV's.

I think I'm going to make a facebook page for this, so it's easy for people to post info, and refer others to.
Sound good to everyone?

Kane

Redwingedblackbird wrote: »

I think the best idea for this right now is the hotel lobby idea... It worked for PAX, and although it may be more of an issue outside of PAX, it's still the most realistic idea.

So lets start with this basic idea, and then make changes as needed. Make a full day thing, with tabletop gaming in a hotel lobby. Then possibly some console or LAN play in hotel rooms, since I know I would have to get a room. We could also throw in going to gameworks that night as well. Gameworks and food would probably be the only cost for most people.

So we would need to good hotel lobby, that will have enough table space for us, and would let us do it, even though very few would actually be staying at the hotel. For the console/LAN, we should figure out if we can even run a LAN in hotel rooms, or if we can rent internet connectivity from the hotel. For console play, all we need is the consoles, and monitors, since allot of hotels won't let you hook up stuff to their TV's.

I think I'm going to make a facebook page for this, so it's easy for people to post info, and refer others to.
Sound good to everyone?

Was thinking the same thing. Facebook would make organizing much easier.

Sasha

Yeah, I think that sounds good. I think those hotel lobbies are basically an "anyone can come" sort of deal, though of course they can ask us to leave. If we order drinks and stuff, though, they should be okay with us staying... They seemed to be okay with us at the pre/post-PAX events, and I don't know how they'd know a lot of people were staying there.

alegria

I think myself and my husband would be interested in this!

Nullthread

*shows interest

Matev

This is relevant to my interests.

Shloppydugan

New around here so don't know any of you but would be up for it!

Sarahstrasza

Today, 07:48 AM

Oh my god.. it's been 8 hours.. where's the facebook page? lol. So.. the vibe and what not at pax is amazing.. IRL MIGHT actually be as amazing as PAX who knows? But the fact that it means I can meet people and have friends who have the same/similar interests as me and actually want to hang out and talk nerdy? Um..... OK! I am so down for general gatherings and fun times. I've only met a select few seattle liverers (yeah.. I said liverers.) and it can only improve!

Enigmas

I am always interested in meeting more gamers in the Seattle area. I have a pretty good group I hang with, we all met at Gamma Ray Games on the Hill. If any of you stop in there and see a short brown hair girl with a 60's style bob, say 'hi'.
Also, if anyone is interested in playing board games every week, Sunday is the day, 12-6pm. I'm almost always there.

Redwingedblackbird

I like that idea as well... keeping our PAX badges or PAX Forum Badges if you have them... obviously, it's not a big deal, but it would also make it look more official. If we want to do this more than once, the more organized we look, the more people we'll be likely to attract for a 2nd event and so on. Doing business with venues may also be easier in the future if we at least look like an organized event.

Lynx_ wrote: »

I say everyone should keep his/her PAX badges (if y'all weren't going to do so already) and wear them to any meetup in a public place so that everyone knows who to look for.

I think it'd be fun to do something bi-monthly at Gameworks or someplace like RoyceSeraphim recommended. That way, the costs and brunt of event planning (e.g., reserve a LAN space and pay up front) wouldn't fall on any particular person.

Redwingedblackbird

Here is the facebook page... I just put a basic overview and stated that its in the planning stages right now, with no specific dates other than being on a Saturday.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153200951374572

xythen

beta_angel wrote: »

It was way too much fun and I need more *good* friends.
.

I'd like to be involved, but I'm one of those icky, old friends Beta is trying to ditch.


;P

Redwingedblackbird

Well... they may not have known who specifically was going to PAX and staying in the hotel But they knew that a good number people in general were staying there for PAX, and they even had a special PAX rate. So it was good business to let us game in the lobby. So if we're going to use a lobby... we may want to actually do some business with the hotel, like ordering food, renting internet connectivity, ect. Think of it from a hotel's point of view... What's in it for them to let a group of gamers take over their lobby for a whole day, if none of them or at most, only a few of them, are staying in the hotel? But if we're doing some kind of business with them, then they're far less likely to kick us out. And it would suck to have people show, and then not be able to use the space we planned on. This all depends on how many people we think we're going to get. If we get enough to completely take over the lobby, then we may want to make some arrangements with the hotel before hand. Instead of just showing up and taking over the place...

Sasha wrote: »

Yeah, I think that sounds good. I think those hotel lobbies are basically an "anyone can come" sort of deal, though of course they can ask us to leave. If we order drinks and stuff, though, they should be okay with us staying... They seemed to be okay with us at the pre/post-PAX events, and I don't know how they'd know a lot of people were staying there.

Kwisatz Haderach

Not totally unrelated to a post-PAX meetup, but Microsoft just announced they're gonna do a repeat of ODST and hold midnight launch events in NYC and Seattle:

http://epicbattleaxe.com/halo-reach-launch-to-be-the-biggest-of-them-all-nationwide/

Now THAT would be something to sport your PAX badges to!

MetaverseNomad

beta_angel wrote: »

After FINALLY meeting BigRed, Nomad, eye_shuh and all the other Seattleites...I'm going to be *forcing* myself to hold my liquor at home so I can get out and meet/hang with everybody. It was way too much fun and I need more *good* friends.



Plus, I owe Nomad and BigRed a few drinks.

Woohoo!! *Great* job on the dinner, by the way! Move closer to Seattle so you can drink with us MORE!

Speaking of which, who is down for a Happy Hour? Maybe NEXT Saturday? The 18th?

Redwingedblackbird

Since I don't live in Seattle, I can't really do this, but we definitely need to do some scouting of hotel lobbies and other venues that we could use... I know the Sheraton is a good choice because of its size and the amount of tables/chairs. So if anyone has a suggestion, throw it out there. Again, the facebook page is up and already has a couple people RSVP'ing... So that will probably be the main way we'll figure out how many people we're looking at... Once we decide on a good location, I will hopefully get a hotel room at the same location, so we can use it for console gaming, if desired.

Houn

Redwingedblackbird wrote: »

Here is the facebook page... I just put a basic overview and stated that its in the planning stages right now, with no specific dates other than being on a Saturday.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153200951374572

Some of us hate the Facebooks. This thread is specifically for event planning. Keep it in here, not on some site that many of us (ok, just me) refuse to use!

Kane

Houn wrote: »

Redwingedblackbird wrote: »

Here is the facebook page... I just put a basic overview and stated that its in the planning stages right now, with no specific dates other than being on a Saturday.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153200951374572

Some of us hate the Facebooks. This thread is specifically for event planning. Keep it in here, not on some site that many of us (ok, just me) refuse to use!

The problem with keeping it in this thread is that its really hard to follow and dig through 20+ pages to figure out details...

Redwingedblackbird

I'm not switching the discussion from here to the facebook page... the planning will still most likely be done here on the forums. A couple people agreed that facebook would be good in addition to the forums, for additional networking and advertising basically. So why not use both... I'm going to post relevant updates both here and there. The facebook is more to give this thing a consolidated face... someplace where people can go to find out about the event, without having to scroll through pages of forum posts just to get an idea of what's going. It also makes it easier to refer others, as well as RSVP, so we can all have some kind of idea how many people we might we looking at. I just put it up today, and already have 7 RSVP's besides myself; which I'm assuming are from people here on the forums. But by no means does anyone have to use the facebook, this is still probably the best place to make plans. I just want to make it easy to spread the word, because one big thing that my friends who have experience running LAN parties told me, was that rarely does everyone actually show who said they'll show. And to get the word to more people than you think you'll need to make it a success.

Houn wrote: »

Redwingedblackbird wrote: »

Here is the facebook page... I just put a basic overview and stated that its in the planning stages right now, with no specific dates other than being on a Saturday.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153200951374572

Some of us hate the Facebooks. This thread is specifically for event planning. Keep it in here, not on some site that many of us (ok, just me) refuse to use!