Fundraising Event for Childs Play

Waterborn

I am working with members of several online communities and industry reps to host a sizeable fundraising event for Childs Play sometime during PAX_EC week and would love to get some input from you folks. We have a musical group lined up for this event that we are confident will be a big draw (Hint: They have strong ties to a certain Boston-based game developer). We are also working on an incredibly cool venue very close to the Hynes Convention Center that is easily accessible by the T (subway) system or walking.

My questions for those of you who are going to be attending PAX_EC are:

What night would be best for such an event? Originally we were planning to host this event for sometime during the week leading up to PAX_EC. After taking to many who have attended the West Coast event, I have heard from several folks that things kind of slow down on Friday and Saturday nights after around 9 pm and that there is a void for things to do after everyone spends the day at the convention. In an effort to make this event accessible to as many PAX attendees as possible, we are considering moving to a weekend night. This event would include live music and food and alcohol (for those of age) would be available at the venue.

In addition to music, drinks and food, what would you, the PAX_EC attendees, like to see included in such an event. We will be working with industry reps to secure product for giveaway during this event and are also looking into the possibility of having classic coin-op cabs brought into the venue, either to be set on Free-play or to be set to quarters play, with all money collected going straight to Childs Play. If you were planning such an event, what you add to make it of interest to PAX attendees?

What would you be willing to pay for admission, knowing that all funds (after paying venue fees) would be donated directly to Childs Play? Please take into consideration that we plan to have loads of cool SWAG to be given away via random drawings and other means during this event for those that do attend.

Any other ideas or concerns that you may have regarding such an effort? Just so everyone knows, I have been in regular contact with Khoo regarding and have his support for this event.

Usagi

First of all, this is a great idea and I will absolutely do my best to attend! My only concern with a Fri/Sat date is conflicts with big-draw music events (I don't know if there will be one, two or zero for East) so maybe that would be a Khoo question. I'd shoot for Friday night as many people will be traveling/setting up Thursday and probably exhausted, and if there is decent music happening at the Hynes it will probably be Saturday night.

I'd love to see classic game cabinets and maybe even a competition, like a Pac-Man round robin or deathmatch pinball with some fun prizes by said Boston-based game developer and PA.

As for donations, if you want to attract the large swarm of young gamers that will be milling around for PAX, I'd think $10-20 would be fair. It's difficult to judge interest though because people will already be paying for admission to the convention, I don't know how many people would be willing to fork over extra cash unless something amazing was happening/being unveiled.

Waterborn

Usagi, thanks so much for the input. We really want to create an event that will add to the PAX_EC experience and not detract from what Khoo and the PA folks have in store for everyone. We are most definitely working closely with the PA team to make sure that anything we do does not conflict with any of the big events. One bit of input that I have gotten is that many people would love to have something to do on Fri/Sat evening, but do not wish to wait in the long lines that accompany the music events at PAX. Since we will be working with an online ticketing firm, folks can pre-order their tickets for this event (our fund raiser) and not have to worry about a line for tickets. Of course, once the announcement goes out, ticketing will be limited by the capacity of the venue.

I really can't wait to finalize the venue contracts and announce this event. Between the venue and the musical act, I think that people will be very excited about this addition to the PAX_EC experience in Boston.

Stay Tuned.

Arco

Well, the mystery in your speech has certainly piqued my interest.

I think your ideas are fantastic. The arcade cabinets would be a great addition. I organized a dinner for PAX Prime this most recent year, and we had two big projectors with SSBB and Rock Band on them. I can safely say that without those the party would have been significantly worse. They really made the night. Games just add a great energy and vibe to the room, especially Rock Band. Cabinets would have a similar effect, with the added bonus of retro nostalgia points.

Overall it sounds like you have an interesting venue picked out and a clear vision of what you want the thing to look and feel like, and that's the most important thing. If you have a clear vision of what you want, the rest is just time and effort.

As far as price goes: the Pre-PAX Dinner last year was $35. The Post-PAX Dinner was $37.50. In general, I feel like $30-$40 is the highest you could go without losing too many people to the expense. Even if it's still a great value, I think attendance will drop if the price is higher simply because many PAXers are on a budget. The ideal price point, in my opinion, would be around $20 or $25. Not sure if that's a number that you can achieve, but I feel like that would be high enough to promise something worthwhile and special, low enough to seem like a deal, and not so high that it's difficult to pay/budget for.

Be sure to keep us updated on the details. This sounds promising.

PS - If you have pinball, I will personally find you and hug you. Pinball is a big interest/hobby of mine, but I'm in a dying minority when it comes to that.

Waterborn

Arco, thanks for taking time to respond. We were contemplating an admission price of $20, which based on your comments seems like a good target. We definitely want this event to be affordable for everyone while still meeting the primary goal of raising a decent amount of money for Childs Play.

And with regard to pinball, I am right there with you and will do everything I can to get at least one machine there for enthusiasts such as yourself. To give a little cred to this statement, check out this T-shirt from this year's Pin-Maine event.

feitocomfruta

Follow the lead of Desert Bus for Hope: make people to rediculous, humiliating, and yet legal stuff for donations.

Some examples:
-Shaving one's body hair
-Going to watch Twilight 8+ times
-Shaving a 6 year old beard that has been part of your persona for years
-Wearing a dress
-and of course, playing the worst video game known to man for 4 hour shifts.

If you need more ideas, just watch the DBFH feed when they do it again in November.

Another thing they do is auctions and contests for neat stuff (this year I'm part of the forum community over with LRR and we are organizing a craft auction for them to do, but you can do whatever you can think of.) Just follow three simple steps:
1) Know what your target ppl want.
2)Find ways to get that stuff.
3) [non]PROFIT!

MetaverseNomad

feitocomfruta wrote: »

Follow the lead of Desert Bus for Hope: make people to ridiculous, humiliating, and yet legal stuff for donations.

Some examples:
-Shaving one's body hair
-Going to watch Twilight 8+ times
-Shaving a 6 year old beard that has been part of your persona for years
-Wearing a dress
-and of course, playing the worst video game known to man for 4 hour shifts.

Please don't do that. Not only is it bordering on annoying, it's not original! I think you'll be able to come up with something better and more fun!

Waterborn

Hmm feit, thanks for the input, but I don't think that those activities, as intriguing as they may seem, would really fit into the vision for what we have planned for our event. ;?)

But I did have a meeting with the venue and music folks today and things are looking VERY promising. We should have contract confirmation very soon. Once we do, we will make an initial announcement a send out a call for sponsors. The coin-op element is 90% guaranteed, just need to confirm and hammer out some of the logistics. We are also looking at some very cool "active" contests that will be run during the event.

This event will be presented by a collective of East Coast video game communities and companies and designed for gaming enthusiasts. It will be a combination fundraiser, ice breaker and pure party. As thing are beginning to fall into place, I am getting very excited about this event and can't wait to unveil it to everyone. Stay tuned and keep the input coming.

Thanks!

Usagi

Very cool Waterborn, looking forward to this!

Arco

Waterborn wrote: »

Hmm feit, thanks for the input, but I don't think that those activities, as intriguing as they may seem, would really fit into the vision for what we have planned for our event. ;?)

But I did have a meeting with the venue and music folks today and things are looking VERY promising. We should have contract confirmation very soon. Once we do, we will make an initial announcement a send out a call for sponsors. The coin-op element is 90% guaranteed, just need to confirm and hammer out some of the logistics. We are also looking at some very cool "active" contests that will be run during the event.

This event will be presented by a collective of East Coast video game communities and companies and designed for gaming enthusiasts. It will be a combination fundraiser, ice breaker and pure party. As thing are beginning to fall into place, I am getting very excited about this event and can't wait to unveil it to everyone. Stay tuned and keep the input coming.

Thanks!

How much contact have you had with Khoos and the PA folks? I only ask because sponsorship is something that I've asked about in the past, and the answer has been something along the lines of, "don't do anything during PAX that involves sponsors, because PAX needs all the sponsors it can get." I was going to see if I could get some sponsors for the dinner/party last year, and that got shut down pretty fast.

Just looking out for you, I want this thing to happen.

Some shots of pinball from PAX in Seattle, at a place called Shorty's (completely unrelated to the topic, spoilered):

Waterborn

Arco, thanks for the concern. As I mentioned, I have been communicating with Khoo on a regular basis and he is fully aware of what we are working on. We are not doing anything that would in any way detract from the main PAX event. We are working off of the relationships that we have built with various organizations and companies independently and are not representing ourselves as directly affiliated with PA. This event is being built as a regionally supported community event that is celebrating PAX coming to the East Coast. It will be unlike anything that you have seen on the west coast during PAX week simply because all of the principle players are based here in the East. Our goal is to celebrate the greater gaming community at large with a focus on organizations and companies based on this side of the country while raising money for Childs Play. Consider this the East Coast Gaming Communities' welcome party for PAX_EC.

Oh and thanks for posting the pinball pics. Luv em.

Arco

Waterborn wrote: »

Arco, thanks for the concern. As I mentioned, I have been communicating with Khoo on a regular basis and he is fully aware of what we are working on. We are not doing anything that would in any way detract from the main PAX event. We are working off of the relationships that we have built with various organizations and companies independently and are not representing ourselves as directly affiliated with PA. This event is being built as a regionally supported community event that is celebrating PAX coming to the East Coast. It will be unlike anything that you have seen on the west coast during PAX week simply because all of the principle players are based here in the East. Our goal is to celebrate the greater gaming community at large with a focus on organizations and companies based on this side of the country while raising money for Childs Play. Consider this the East Coast Gaming Communities' welcome party for PAX_EC.

Oh and thanks for posting the pinball pics. Luv em.

Sounds like you've covered your bases well. Can't wait to see more details on the event. Right on!

feitocomfruta

Fair enoof. Good luck with planning it, and maybe I'll come up with better ideas for you.

VThornheart

Aye, I'd be down for such an event if the proceeds are all going to Child's Play! When more details are available, keep us posted!

Arco

Me wants more updates.

Waterborn

Working on venues contracts right now. We are hoping to have a formal announcement very soon. Please bear with us. It will be worth the wait.

Usagi

Waterborn, out of curiosity are you thinking of having any age restrictions for this?

Waterborn

Usagi wrote: »

Waterborn, out of curiosity are you thinking of having any age restrictions for this?

I believe the venue is 18 & over due to the fact that they serve alcohol.

Usagi

Waterborn wrote: »

Usagi wrote: »

Waterborn, out of curiosity are you thinking of having any age restrictions for this?

I believe the venue is 18 & over due to the fact that they serve alcohol.

That makes sense, though it does subdue my suggestion.

There's a high school robotics competition going on that weekend down at BU and while maybe the students won't be able to come, a lot of the volunteers and coaches might be interested.

Zuki

This sounds pretty exciting--pinball machines, coin-ops, live music, food, and the chance to donate my dollar to Child's Play?

Keep us posted!

Waterborn

Sorry for the lack of updates folks. We are working on the venue contract as I type and really hope to have it secured sometime in the coming week. Once the venue is locked down, then we will be making a formal announcement. Stay tuned and hopefully I will have more for you soon.

Atlus Parker

Waterborn wrote: »

Sorry for the lack of updates folks. We are working on the venue contract as I type and really hope to have it secured sometime in the coming week. Once the venue is locked down, then we will be making a formal announcement. Stay tuned and hopefully I will have more for you soon.

I got a preview of the event and I think everyone here will be pleased.

Waterborn

Atlus Parker wrote: »

Waterborn wrote: »

Sorry for the lack of updates folks. We are working on the venue contract as I type and really hope to have it secured sometime in the coming week. Once the venue is locked down, then we will be making a formal announcement. Stay tuned and hopefully I will have more for you soon.

I got a preview of the event and I think everyone here will be pleased.

Shhh, no telling. Not just yet.

Arco

Bumping so we don't let Waterborn forget to update us.

Waterborn

My apologies for the lack of updates on this folks. My home computer went dowd and I currently only have access from work (which makes logging into my favorite site a bit tricky ).

We recently experienced some obstacles regarding our initial venue choice and are working with some sponsors to see if we can salvage the location or if we will need to look elsewhere for a hosting site. Rest assured, we are still moving forward. Updates will come as soon as we can confirm the venue, hopefully VERY soon.

VisionOfClarity

Let me know if you need anything, the offer to help front some deposits still stands.

SpYkMo

Waterborn, this sounds really cool and a great idea, especially since its going to help out a charity. as someone from the Boston Area who has never been to seattle for PAX, i wanna take in every aspect of PAX and the days leading up to it. i look forward to more information from you and cant wait til the end of march.

Arco

I'm not trying to rush you or anything, Waterborn. But you aren't getting let off the hook.

Waterborn

Arco wrote: »

I'm not trying to rush you or anything, Waterborn. But you aren't getting let off the hook.

Hehe no chance of that eh? My home computer bit the dust a few weeks ago (dead ps) and I just got back up and online this evening. Things are moving forward. We have moved the event to the Saturday night of PAX, after the main PAX concerts. Wednesday was just too early in the week and we were going to miss a lot of people. Due to the change in date, we lost our original venue, which was incredible. however, we are working on a new venue which is closer to the Hynes, but has substantially less room. So we are looking at options regarding the scope and nature of the event. As much as we want to work with and benefit Childs Play, if we can't shoehorn enough people into the venue to raise the desired amount of money, we may redirect the event to be primarily a party/social event and focus on fundraising in the future. Much is still under discussion, but fear not. We will proceed and it will be very cool. 4 sylables "8-bit music" for starters. More to come.

Arco

Awesome, awesome.

Arco

wtb updates plz.

Waterborn

Unfortunately, I don't have any updates at this time. With the Holidays full upon us, it has been difficult to get people together and aligned on this. I am still working hard on it and will update everyone as I get more info. Sorry for the delays.