PAX South 2020 Challenge Coin - It's Happening

crashmurphy

Fellow PAX Southers,

Today, we shed a tear for our fearless leader, @RILMS. Due to life simply getting busier, he is no longer able to heading up this operation. I would like to take a moment to simply say thank you to all of his hard work over the years. This has been a labor of love of his, and he has done an amazing job with it.

Secondly, know this: the PAX South 2020 Challenge Coin IS HAPPENING!

@RILMS has passed on the mantel of PAX South Challenge Coin Coordinator to @LadyDeath and myself. We have some might large shoes to fill, and we're going to desperately need some help doing so. Since time is of the essence, I'm going to cut to the chase:

Kiddercorp needs about 1.5 months to get these coins finalized and into your hands. This meant that the forum discussion process was usually started in August/September, in order to give time for opinions and voting. Unfortunately, we are on a massive time crunch. So, we will need opinions and voting complete no later than next Saturday, 11/16/19, by 11:59pm. We know that we're asking a lot of you as a community, but we also know that y'all are an awesome group of individuals. We know we can get this done.

@LadyDeath and I will be working this weekend to get drafts and voting forms ready. We are trying to get them posted ASAP. In the meantime, we need your ideas and opinions on what you want to see on the coin.

Let's do this, people!

Irsool

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! I know that it's hard to make time for stutt like this, but know that it's greatly appreciated.

I'll keep an eye on the thread to vote and participate in any way I can!

crashmurphy

I call on these heroes to help us in our quest!

@TheAggroCraig @orthancstone @BadCrumpany @shimwood @StinkyTurd @bierfellow @Josh5890 @OpSteel @Devereaux @futiles @DanQ @zeromyst @shdwcaster @DigitalCarnage @village alchemist @guyatthecounter @13th_mg_doctor @Megamaxmax @ImZelkova @Ikari_Langley @Christopher Huff @Hitchhiker Dent @ClannMorgan @alerttoast

Assemble, team! You have been chosen since you were vital in past coin decisions. You are needed once again, to save the future of the PAX South 2020 Challenge Coin!!!!

orthancstone

Let’s do this

For the SA side, maybe The Grotto? (Aka the basement level of Gonzalez where the river terminates) Not sure if there’s a good image out there of it.

For gaming, I almost want to joke around with a gaming chair (see recent Gabe retweet for context).

crashmurphy

This post is going to cover two things: what our progress is currently, and coin ideas.

First, for the housekeeping:

@LadyDeath and I have decided that I will handle the communications side of the house, and she'll cover the artwork portion. I have enjoyed how @RILMS ran this process in the past, so I'm going to try my very best to stick to it. I have gone ahead and emailed Kiddercorp to find out what all deets they will be needing for us to get this ball rolling. We're also adjusting the good ol' Google forms, and will be pushing those out very soon.

Now, for the fun stuff. We are trying to figure out what would look great on the coin. As always, one side will feature a portion of a landmark or image of the city where the PAX is hosted (San Antonio, in this case. The other side will feature some sort of gaming reference or photo. Here is a link to past challenge coins: https://wiki.paxcommunity.net/paxwiki/PAX_Challenge_Coin#Volunteer_OpportunitiesClick Me

This year's PAX theme is "university". LD and I were thinking that it might be cool to do something related to LAN parties and/or party games. Some ideas so far:

• Rock Band
• Halo
• CoD
• LAN party setup
• Multiple controllers
• Gaming chairs

Ideas for city landmarks so far are:

• The Grotto
• Six Flags: Fiesta Texas
• Tower of the Americas
• Alamo Dome
• Henry B. Gonzales center

That's all for the time being! We should have more updates tomorrow and Sunday.

orthancstone

Ooh, the LAN setup has some potential. Could have four boxes in a ring setup with ethernet connecting them.

Regarding SA locations, one thing about potentially using the new entrance of Gonzalez is that there’s some good color options with the way they light it up (a consideration if people want something that pops out like last year’s coin).

LadyDeath

Since I live here in town if there is a location we can't find any good images of I can go out and take some

DanQ

If it's a university theme i suggest Oregon trail. And the pioneer thing kinda fits into the Texas motif. A picture of the wagon being pulled. Or something which doesn't reference any specific game.

Txmoose

I'm partial to the location side incorporating the Alamo some way.

crashmurphy

@Txmoose so, I believe the very first South challenge coin incorporated the Alamo. I believe that the unofficial rule is to not repeat locations, if it can be helped.

SirUberNoobPwnr

orthancstone wrote: »

Let’s do this

For the SA side, maybe The Grotto? (Aka the basement level of Gonzalez where the river terminates) Not sure if there’s a good image out there of it.

For gaming, I almost want to joke around with a gaming chair (see recent Gabe retweet for context).

I love this idea!

SirUberNoobPwnr

I think the Grotto is a perfect location. And I am loving the gaming chair idea.

ArcSyn

Glad to see the community coming together for this!

crashmurphy

Alrighty, so here's a check-in post:

I have emailed Kiddercorp. I am still waiting for a reply.
Since we don't really have a ton of time to waste, we will probably have to skip the usual rounds of voting. We may be able to squeak by with one round, but it'll probably be super informal. We're honestly just trying to make sure that we actually have a coin ready for South 2020. So, please please please be patient with us and cut us some slack if you don't exactly agree with ever aspect of the coin. We're definitely trying our best to get a good product out.

So far, we have these two ideas we're tossing up:

Location side:
The Grotto
Blue Star Brewery

Game side:
Rock Band
Gaming Chair

@LadyDeath is currently working on mockups for these. We will get these up as soon as we can.

Voting will work like this:

We will post the mockups on here. We will then send out the Google form by Wednesday. You will be able to vote on the location side, game side, edging, color, and finish. The deadline will be Saturday by 11:59pm.

SirUberNoobPwnr

Just curious: What is the significance of Blue Star Brewery? Just a popular bar in the area?

crashmurphy

SirUberNoobPwnr wrote: »

Just curious: What is the significance of Blue Star Brewery? Just a popular bar in the area?

Oh shoot! I meant to post about that it that last update.

To answer your question, yes. According to @LadyDeath, it is where they have First Friday, art exhibits and other events. It is a popular hangout for college students as well. We thought that it might be cool to have a non-Riverwalk option. Nothing against the Riverwalk; just that there is more to San Antonio, you know? That being said, if the people want a Riverwalk icon on the coin, then that's what they shall get

mnemonictutor

If there is a major crunch here, remember that the Alamo and Tower of the Americas are the iconic images that represent San Antonio the most. You also have the Texas flag since South only happens in Texas. As far as the game side, there has been a massive surge in FPS/BR games on the digital side, as well as traditional P&P RPGs. So something like a cross hair or D20 would go a long way.

SirUberNoobPwnr

Im game for anything. Please don't take anything I say in this forum as more than just my opinion. With that being said, I feel like most people know the Riverwalk. And most people have probably been to, or have seen, the Grotto. Im not sure how many people know about Blue Star Brewery.

crashmurphy

mnemonictutor wrote: »

If there is a major crunch here, remember that the Alamo and Tower of the Americas are the iconic images that represent San Antonio the most. You also have the Texas flag since South only happens in Texas. As far as the game side, there has been a massive surge in FPS/BR games on the digital side, as well as traditional P&P RPGs. So something like a cross hair or D20 would go a long way.

We definitely agree about those locations being iconic. However, both locations and the dice have already been used on past coins (2015 & 2016) and we try to make each coin unique.

I know that may come across as being gatekeepy or snobbish, and that truly isn’t my intent. Just trying to explain the rationale.

crashmurphy

SirUberNoobPwnr wrote: »

Im game for anything. Please don't take anything I say in this forum as more than just my opinion. With that being said, I feel like most people know the Riverwalk. And most people have probably been to, or have seen, the Grotto. Im not sure how many people know about Blue Star Brewery.

Absolutely! No worries at all! And, I think you’re right. I think that’s why we’re going to make two mockups for the location to see what y’all think.

crashmurphy

Here are the current location mockups:




We are still needing help figuring out the game side. If a gaming chair is what y’all think would be best, we’ll need some help with the design. Neither of us knows how to make it look “cool” for the coin.
Otherwise, more game side suggestions !

crashmurphy

Here are some ideas we have for the game side:




We’re thinking the Switch might be a good idea.

SirUberNoobPwnr

crashmurphy wrote: »

mnemonictutor wrote: »

If there is a major crunch here, remember that the Alamo and Tower of the Americas are the iconic images that represent San Antonio the most. You also have the Texas flag since South only happens in Texas. As far as the game side, there has been a massive surge in FPS/BR games on the digital side, as well as traditional P&P RPGs. So something like a cross hair or D20 would go a long way.

We definitely agree about those locations being iconic. However, both locations and the dice have already been used on past coins (2015 & 2016) and we try to make each coin unique.

I know that may come across as being gatekeepy or snobbish, and that truly isn’t my intent. Just trying to explain the rationale.

Totally makes sense. Im new to this coin thing.

SirUberNoobPwnr

I like all the coin image options. If I were to vote I would pick the Grotto and the Switch. Do the coins typically come in color?

LadyDeath

SirUberNoobPwnr wrote: »

I like all the coin image options. If I were to vote I would pick the Grotto and the Switch. Do the coins typically come in color?

They can come in just metal finish or have color on them, did you check out the past coins?

crashmurphy

Alrighty y'all! We will be posting the Google form for voting tonight. However, in the meantime, we are needing help deciding on a good photo for the game side. We think that the Switch would be a great concept on that side, but we're trying to find something that translates well for the coin. We also want something that people will easily recognize. Post up photos that you think would work well.

ArcSyn

Ring topology isn't really used anymore, but you could use something like this to communicate LAN parties.


If you wanted to do Switch multiplayer, I would take a plain image of a switch and put it in a ring/square form like this.

crashmurphy

ArcSyn wrote: »

Ring topology isn't really used anymore, but you could use something like this to communicate LAN parties.


If you wanted to do Switch multiplayer, I would take a plain image of a switch and put it in a ring/square form like this.

GET OUT OF MY MIND!!!

This is so crazy that you posted this! I sent this to @LadyDeath this morning:

ArcSyn

Hahaha! That's fantastic!

LadyDeath

It would be cool to do something for the 5 year anniversary....like maybe a game token type look with the number 5 on it?

mnemonictutor

LadyDeath wrote: »

It would be cool to do something for the 5 year anniversary....like maybe a game token type look with the number 5 on it?

That sounds like a great idea.

orthancstone

ArcSyn wrote: »

Ring topology isn't really used anymore

To say it is outdated would be an understatement, but I was considering the shape of the coin in design. The more we try to cram into the image, the smaller the details will be in the final product.

But I think the group Switch party idea works much better overall.

orthancstone

BTW, still partial to The Grotto but I hit up Blue Star every time I’m in SA so I like the idea 😁

crashmurphy

Thoughts on these?

crashmurphy

We are still getting the game side mockups finished, so we will have the voting forms up as soon as we can.

crashmurphy

@RILMS notified us that even though 2020 is 5 years from when the first PAX South began (in 2015), 2020's con will be the 6th PAX South.

crashmurphy

Here are some updated mockups:

ArcSyn

A few thoughts/observations:
Unless it's screen printed onto the center of the coin (think a printed picture as the center - which is a possibility if you wanted to go that direction), you'll lose the image on the screens of the Switches when converting to coins.
It's also likely that they won't be able to paint any of it, except maybe the background color. So the hands/switches will be 3D metal and whatever color the metal is. This isn't bad, just making sure you're aware.

I think also we've usually avoided the PAX logo proper, as it's not an officially endorsed piece of merch. Maybe they'd be fine with it, but you may want to reach out if you want to use it.

What about something in the middle like, "Play together" or something that would indicate joy/fun in local multiplayer?

Another thought is putting a simple star in the middle, though "Lone Star" is a bit opposite of multiplayer. :biggrin:

crashmurphy

ArcSyn wrote: »

A few thoughts/observations:
Unless it's screen printed onto the center of the coin (think a printed picture as the center - which is a possibility if you wanted to go that direction), you'll lose the image on the screens of the Switches when converting to coins.
It's also likely that they won't be able to paint any of it, except maybe the background color. So the hands/switches will be 3D metal and whatever color the metal is. This isn't bad, just making sure you're aware.

I think also we've usually avoided the PAX logo proper, as it's not an officially endorsed piece of merch. Maybe they'd be fine with it, but you may want to reach out if you want to use it.

What about something in the middle like, "Play together" or something that would indicate joy/fun in local multiplayer?

Another thought is putting a simple star in the middle, though "Lone Star" is a bit opposite of multiplayer. :biggrin:

Thanks for the input! Here's my thoughts:

• I figure for the screens, we could just turn them into colored blocks. No reason they need to display anything specific. Thoughts?
• Good to know about how they would print it. That's extremely helpful to know.
• I was wondering about the use of the logo. Thanks for this information. I looked on their website and didn't see anything against it, but I figure there's a necessity to ask for permission first.
• I think the ideas of "Play together", or the Lone Star are great!

SirUberNoobPwnr

LadyDeath wrote: »

SirUberNoobPwnr wrote: »

I like all the coin image options. If I were to vote I would pick the Grotto and the Switch. Do the coins typically come in color?

They can come in just metal finish or have color on them, did you check out the past coins?

I just did.

shdwcaster

I love the gaming image with the Switches. I think I like the Lone Star better than Play Together, just for less visual clutter though. But regardless, I'm really glad this is happening again. I've started presenting my kids with a challenge coin for whenever their first PAX happens, and this will be Adventure Girl's first year.