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Assassins Ball at PAX East 2013! Feedback Requested!

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Posts

  • kemikalkemikal Registered User regular
    Question: Are you required to wear the armband/button/identifier/whatever the entire time at PAX?

    I participated during Prime last year, and my understanding was that you did not have to wear the armband at all times. When you weren't wearing the armband, you couldn't be killed, but you could not make kills either. I guess this would then allow people to put on their armband only when a target has been spotted. I kind of made up my own "honor system" where I wouldn't go after a target that I saw when I wasn't wearing my armband.

    And for those who are worried about not being able to enjoy PAX if they participate, I don't feel like there is a large enough percentage of PAX attendees playing for it to be a problem. I don't know how the crowds at East compare with Prime, but throughout the entire span of PAX, I only came across four other players, two of which matched my mission. None of these four were encountered in lines. I believe I even remember several people who played at Prime complaining about the lack of players and how hard it was to find a target.

    Assassin's Ball, Prime '13: @CowboyVerse
    TWDT '13: Hufflepuff OotP
  • JerkfishJerkfish NYCRegistered User regular
    peetsnack wrote: »
    You guys said it yourselves, we all spend a lot of time in lines at pax. If we cant play the game while in line, when can we play it? The fact is that pax is a lot of things crammed into one weekend, and i think we all know by now that, even if pax fell on groundhog day, we would never be able to do everything.

    Totally agree. I feel like the spirit of the game is "Assassins at PAX" and not "Assassins at specific parts of PAX that are deemed convenient". I can totally understand not wanting to deal with the stress that might bring, but I also think that adding a plethora of safe zones, including lines which make up so much of PAX, would be watering down the game so much.

  • N13N13 Registered User regular
    peetsnack wrote: »
    As for outside of pax, this is assassins ball at pax east, so i would say the game does not exist outside of pax east.
    Agreed. This should be in the rules.
    kemikal wrote: »
    Question: Are you required to wear the armband/button/identifier/whatever the entire time at PAX?

    I participated during Prime last year, and my understanding was that you did not have to wear the armband at all times. When you weren't wearing the armband, you couldn't be killed, but you could not make kills either. I guess this would then allow people to put on their armband only when a target has been spotted. I kind of made up my own "honor system" where I wouldn't go after a target that I saw when I wasn't wearing my armband.
    Good question, and good solution.
    kemikal wrote: »
    And for those who are worried about not being able to enjoy PAX if they participate, I don't feel like there is a large enough percentage of PAX attendees playing for it to be a problem. I don't know how the crowds at East compare with Prime, but throughout the entire span of PAX, I only came across four other players, two of which matched my mission. None of these four were encountered in lines. I believe I even remember several people who played at Prime complaining about the lack of players and how hard it was to find a target.
    Jerkfish wrote: »
    Totally agree. I feel like the spirit of the game is "Assassins at PAX" and not "Assassins at specific parts of PAX that are deemed convenient". I can totally understand not wanting to deal with the stress that might bring, but I also think that adding a plethora of safe zones, including lines which make up so much of PAX, would be watering down the game so much.
    I think I've been convinced. Thanks.

  • The_MadHatter_The_MadHatter_ Registered User regular
    Should be fun fun, definitely going to be getting in on this.

    PSN ID, Steam: The_MadHatter_
  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    Wow, a lot happened while I was at lunch! Thanks to everyone for asking questions and please bear with me as I answer all of them!
    N13 wrote: »
    Schmulki wrote: »
    Sounds like fun....until I read that a) this lasts all weekend (so I'd be looking over my shoulder all weekend), b) people are safe who like to play some times of games, but not others (ie: things like PC/console areas being "safe" zones but not tabletop), and c) being on line not being safe (when a LOT of my time is spent on lines, where I'd be a sitting duck, since I sure as hell wouldn't want to leave a line to avoid being assassinated), it looks like I'll have to pass.
    Agreed. Unless the safe zones are reconsidered, one will basically be a sitting duck if he plans to enjoy PAX. This is doubly disappointing since one has to pay for the Assassin's kit. (If it were free, dying in my first line might be worth the risk.)
    As peetsnack astutely says the primary idea behind safe zones is not to protect players or let them relax in areas but to eliminate the non-public areas from a players search. This is why BYOC, PC and console freeplay, panels, concerts, bathrooms, and hotel rooms are considered safe zones. In all of these cases only a specific group of people can access these areas easily. While I can understand the argument for making areas like Tabletop a safe zone as a way to relax the fact is Tabletop at East is a huge general area and thoroughfare.
    N13 wrote: »
    Speaking of safe zones, what about hotels, the T, restaurants or anywhere else outside the BCEC?
    kemikal wrote: »
    Question: Are you required to wear the armband/button/identifier/whatever the entire time at PAX?
    You are required to wear the button if you have not been assassinated while inside the convention center. Outside you are free to take it off. Obviously there's no policing of this and it's common for people to forget to put their badge or button on when they come inside, just please put it on when you do notice it isn't. Assassins Ball only officialy takes place inside the convention center.

    A lot of people are remarking on the difference between # of players and # of attendees, it is HUGE. Even my push this year to get more players will do very little to change those numbers. I personally run into a lot of players (and die quickly) because I run the game but it's entirely possible you may not see anyone playing the first day or die within the first 15 mins.

    MarsChelios on
  • kemikalkemikal Registered User regular
    Thanks for answering my question @MarsChelios. I'll keep that in mind next time, although I believe I only ever took it off when we left the convention center for lunch. I'm assuming that if you do have the button on outside of the convention center, then you are fair game?

    Assassin's Ball, Prime '13: @CowboyVerse
    TWDT '13: Hufflepuff OotP
  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    kemikal wrote: »
    Thanks for answering my question @MarsChelios. I'll keep that in mind next time, although I believe I only ever took it off when we left the convention center for lunch. I'm assuming that if you do have the button on outside of the convention center, then you are fair game?
    No problem, let me know if you have any more! :)
    peetsnack wrote: »
    One other point I would like others to keep in mind is that the game doesnt end after a player has been assassinated. You can still get points for gathering intel. Case in point, I would have gotten first place once through intel alone if I had not been too busy to register it until a week after pax.
    I haven't mentioned this yet because I was still working out the particulars but as peetsnack says you will still be able to play the game if you are killed just not in the same capacity as before.

    In the past gathering intel worked by finding players, noting the 5-letter code on their badge and entering it online for points. One of the differences between the badges and buttons is that this code will now be printed on a label on the back of the button, making it unusable for gathering intel. However, this does not mean Gathering Intel will be removed, just changed.

    Each player will receive an intel card with a code on it. To gather intel for a player you will now need to trade your card with theirs and register the code on it. Each code can only be registered once per player but you can trade with as many players as you can find. I've updated the OP to reflect this piece of the kit.

    MarsChelios on
  • scrattatatscrattatat BostonRegistered User regular
    Definitely joining this year - sounds like fun! Assassinating people is one of my favorite passtimes I've never assassinated anyone before, so this should be an exciting and new experience.

    a4VADIl.png eDL5zgd.png
  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    scrattatat wrote: »
    Definitely joining this year - sounds like fun! Assassinating people is one of my favorite passtimes I've never assassinated anyone before, so this should be an exciting and new experience.
    Great! We've just launched our kickstarter campaign so you've come at the right time! You can find a link to the campaign on our website and please share with friends so we can make this the biggest Assassins Ball game yet!

  • WackBagWackBag Registered User regular
    Backed!!! East2013 can't come soon enough!

    Pax East 2014 checklist:
    3 Day Pass [X] - BYOC [X] - Accomodations [X] - Travel [ X ] - Time Off [ X ]
  • dyaballikldyaballikl PAX Main Theatre House & Security Manager • PAX Community Cartographer Gold Coast QLD AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited February 2013
    [removed]

    dyaballikl on
    a.k.a. dya
    "Riding a mongoose reminds me of having sex with a man, which is something I do frequently because I am gay!" -Gabe
  • dyaballikldyaballikl PAX Main Theatre House & Security Manager • PAX Community Cartographer Gold Coast QLD AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited February 2013
    [removed]

    dyaballikl on
    a.k.a. dya
    "Riding a mongoose reminds me of having sex with a man, which is something I do frequently because I am gay!" -Gabe
  • RaughnRaughn Registered User regular
    I backed that Ass(assins Ball) up.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited February 2013
    For anyone wondering, this has been given specific clearance versus the kickstarter ban on the forums from the Administrator. However, any questions related to the kickstarter itself would be best left to PM or on the kickstarter page. Please do not use this thread to discuss the kickstarter (other than if you want to post that you're participating in Assassins). You will also notice that @MarsChelios has been careful to not link to it directly, this is by design.

    zerzhul on
  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    Backed and shared. Here's hoping for a large turnout...

  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    WackBag wrote: »
    Backed!!! East2013 can't come soon enough!
    dyaballikl wrote: »
    Also, backed. Went for the 5-pack, maybe I can host a contest of sorts to give out the other 4.
    Raughn wrote: »
    I backed that Ass(assins Ball) up.
    vttym wrote: »
    Backed and shared. Here's hoping for a large turnout...
    Thanks a lot guys!

    MarsChelios on
  • scottyb1218scottyb1218 BostonRegistered User regular
    Totally backed this. Thanks!!

    sig.php?id=222
  • sassfactor4sassfactor4 Brooklyn, NYRegistered User regular
    @marschelios is there a way to pay for this outside of kickstarter?

    (I had the unforseen issue of when I deleted my facebook account being locked out of many sites\apps that used facebook authentication, this being one of them, their customer service hasn't gotten back to me about opening my account yet, and I'd like to participate again :] )

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    @marschelios is there a way to pay for this outside of kickstarter?

    (I had the unforseen issue of when I deleted my facebook account being locked out of many sites\apps that used facebook authentication, this being one of them, their customer service hasn't gotten back to me about opening my account yet, and I'd like to participate again :] )

    I think the easiest would be to get a friend or someone else you know that's going to PAX to get a double pack or something like that and give you one of the kits. (that's me not knowing if he has any recourse outside of the kickstarter).

  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    zerzhul wrote: »
    @marschelios is there a way to pay for this outside of kickstarter?

    (I had the unforseen issue of when I deleted my facebook account being locked out of many sites\apps that used facebook authentication, this being one of them, their customer service hasn't gotten back to me about opening my account yet, and I'd like to participate again :] )

    I think the easiest would be to get a friend or someone else you know that's going to PAX to get a double pack or something like that and give you one of the kits. (that's me not knowing if he has any recourse outside of the kickstarter).
    There will be a way to order on our site once the Kickstarters complete but until then through KS will be the only way to order. @zerzhuls suggestion would be your best course of action if you can't get your account issues straightened out. It's very easy to adjust a pledge from one tier to another and I'm sure someone on here would be willing to help you out.

    MarsChelios on
  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    Totally backed this. Thanks!!
    Thank you!

    Over the weekend I've been working on getting some examples of the new materials ready. I've updated the OP with a sample of the new badge design and also below. I'll have examples of the Mission, Assassination and Intel cards sometime tonight.

    Your Kit
    Your kit contains everything you need to play. The main item in your kit is a 3" button. This button has a symbol made up of a shape and a color printed prominently on it, a sticker placed below the symbol representing your chosen faction, and a 5-letter code printed on the back of the button.

    KS_SITE_BADGE.png

    The button has both a standard pinback and a clothing magnet to ensure that it stays on (Note: The example above does not show the clothing magnet). If you require a button without a clothing magnet please let me know. We'll be providing directions on where to wear the button so that players can identify each other easily.

    MarsChelios on
  • RichSoCashRichSoCash Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    Jerkfish wrote: »
    Totally agree. I feel like the spirit of the game is "Assassins at PAX" and not "Assassins at specific parts of PAX that are deemed convenient". I can totally understand not wanting to deal with the stress that might bring, but I also think that adding a plethora of safe zones, including lines which make up so much of PAX, would be watering down the game so much.

    The paranoia of possibly being killed at any time is a big part of the fun, at least for me.

    Also, I love the reactions of observers after you assassinate someone. They all have this "what the hell is going on?" look on their faces

    ^^ And those buttons look awesome!

  • sassfactor4sassfactor4 Brooklyn, NYRegistered User regular
    kickstarter resolved my issue after a day or so. New kits look great, and backed!

  • N13N13 Registered User regular
    Do we get all five faction stickers, or is there a formal declaration sometime post-KickStarting?

  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    RichSoCash wrote: »
    Jerkfish wrote: »
    Totally agree. I feel like the spirit of the game is "Assassins at PAX" and not "Assassins at specific parts of PAX that are deemed convenient". I can totally understand not wanting to deal with the stress that might bring, but I also think that adding a plethora of safe zones, including lines which make up so much of PAX, would be watering down the game so much.

    The paranoia of possibly being killed at any time is a big part of the fun, at least for me.

    Also, I love the reactions of observers after you assassinate someone. They all have this "what the hell is going on?" look on their faces

    ^^ And those buttons look awesome!
    Thanks @RichSoCash! I spent some time trying to come up with something clean but that would also stand out.
    kickstarter resolved my issue after a day or so. New kits look great, and backed!
    Good to hear and thanks!
    N13 wrote: »
    Do we get all five faction stickers, or is there a formal declaration sometime post-KickStarting?
    A survey will be sent out to players where you will select the factions for your kits, specify shipping addresses, etc.

  • dyaballikldyaballikl PAX Main Theatre House & Security Manager • PAX Community Cartographer Gold Coast QLD AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited February 2013
    [removed]

    dyaballikl on
    a.k.a. dya
    "Riding a mongoose reminds me of having sex with a man, which is something I do frequently because I am gay!" -Gabe
  • SnazzyGentSnazzyGent Registered User regular
    Double-backed. Can't wait!

  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    dyaballikl wrote: »
    Totally backed this. Thanks!!
    Thank you!

    Over the weekend I've been working on getting some examples of the new materials ready. I've updated the OP with a sample of the new badge design and also below. I'll have examples of the Mission, Assassination and Intel cards sometime tonight.

    Your Kit
    Your kit contains everything you need to play. The main item in your kit is a 3" button. This button has a symbol made up of a shape and a color printed prominently on it, a sticker placed below the symbol representing your chosen faction, and a 5-letter code printed on the back of the button.

    http://phenixone.com/wp-content/themes/yoko/resources/images/KS_SITE_BADGE.png

    The button has both a standard pinback and a clothing magnet to ensure that it stays on (Note: The example above does not show the clothing magnet). If you require a button without a clothing magnet please let me know. We'll be providing directions on where to wear the button so that players can identify each other easily.
    Any chance of the armbands coming back? I have bad rather bad eyesight, so a pin is very hard for me to see from any real distance. I fear it may also blend into whatever a person is wearing more than an armband would.
    No chance of armbands for this game though if the buttons do not meet expectations we'll see for future ones. The design of the button is still in progress however and I welcome feedback or discussion on ways to make it easier to recognize.
    SnazzyGent wrote: »
    Double-backed. Can't wait!
    Thanks @SnazzyGent!

    MarsChelios on
  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    dyaballikl wrote: »
    Totally backed this. Thanks!!
    Thank you!

    Over the weekend I've been working on getting some examples of the new materials ready. I've updated the OP with a sample of the new badge design and also below. I'll have examples of the Mission, Assassination and Intel cards sometime tonight.

    Your Kit
    Your kit contains everything you need to play. The main item in your kit is a 3" button. This button has a symbol made up of a shape and a color printed prominently on it, a sticker placed below the symbol representing your chosen faction, and a 5-letter code printed on the back of the button.

    http://phenixone.com/wp-content/themes/yoko/resources/images/KS_SITE_BADGE.png

    The button has both a standard pinback and a clothing magnet to ensure that it stays on (Note: The example above does not show the clothing magnet). If you require a button without a clothing magnet please let me know. We'll be providing directions on where to wear the button so that players can identify each other easily.
    Any chance of the armbands coming back? I have bad rather bad eyesight, so a pin is very hard for me to see from any real distance. I fear it may also blend into whatever a person is wearing more than an armband would.
    No chance of armbands for this game though if the buttons do not meet expectations we'll see for future ones. The design of the button is still in progress however and I welcome feedback or discussion on ways to make it easier to recognize.
    SnazzyGent wrote: »
    Double-backed. Can't wait!
    Thanks @SnazzyGent!

    I guess it would depend on the clothes someone is wearing, but I'd think that a white background would stand out more than a black one. Standard placement suggestions might include wearing it over your heart, or in the middle of your chest, or on your arm in a similar place where the armband would have been.

    Just my .02.

  • ThirteenThirteen Registered User regular
    Also double-backed. Is there a Hapless Victims faction?

  • EchoZeroEchoZero Registered User regular
    Man i just need to make sure i actually register kills this year the site was giving me some issues at the time (plus i confused what death card matched what mission card and even with only 5 kills i got confused since if i logged it wrong it would have been a generic vs a perfect kill). That being said, would be nice to have the persons badge symbol and stuff on their death card or perhaps a quicker and easier way to log them, mobile app perhaps :-P

  • LinkSmashLinkSmash Registered User regular
    I <3 the buttons and I'm almost tempted to get them all just to have the buttons haha

  • SnazzyGentSnazzyGent Registered User regular
    I second the idea of wearing a button on the arm in lieu of an armband.

  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    vttym wrote: »
    I guess it would depend on the clothes someone is wearing, but I'd think that a white background would stand out more than a black one. Standard placement suggestions might include wearing it over your heart, or in the middle of your chest, or on your arm in a similar place where the armband would have been.

    Just my .02.
    I'll play around with a lighter background and see how that looks. I like the idea of having the button on the left side above the heart.
    Thirteen wrote: »
    Also double-backed. Is there a Hapless Victims faction?
    Thanks!
    EchoZero wrote: »
    Man i just need to make sure i actually register kills this year the site was giving me some issues at the time (plus i confused what death card matched what mission card and even with only 5 kills i got confused since if i logged it wrong it would have been a generic vs a perfect kill). That being said, would be nice to have the persons badge symbol and stuff on their death card or perhaps a quicker and easier way to log them, mobile app perhaps :-P

    That's a great idea @EchoZero! Adding the players symbol to the assassination card (death card) would have been tough to do in the past but should not be a problem now. I'm working on mockups for the Mission, Assassination, and Intel cards and will try to have an example of how they will look tonight or tomorrow but in the meantime here's an early look at the Mission card.

    KS_SITE_CARDS.png

    Speaking of missions I'd like to simplify the rules for identifying targets to make things more accessible to players. In previous games you would be given a shape and and a color (or two) that were your specific target(s) but you would be able to assassinate anyone with that shape. I'm removing that rule and instead having the mission cards list all the possible color combinations that a player can eliminate. You can see how this will look above; the larger symbol is the primary target, smaller ones list secondary targets and then the optional faction emblem.

    You may notice that we don't list the colors for these symbols like in the past, instead there are marks next to each symbol. These marks are an additive symbol system to define colors to identify each one. These symbols will also be displayed on the badge as well so they can be matched.
    LinkSmash wrote: »
    I <3 the buttons and I'm almost tempted to get them all just to have the buttons haha
    Thanks! :)

    MarsChelios on
  • N13N13 Registered User regular
    Speaking of missions I'd like to simplify the rules for identifying targets to make things more accessible to players. In previous games you would be given a shape and and a color (or two) that were your specific target(s) but you would be able to assassinate anyone with that shape. I'm removing that rule and instead having the mission cards list all the possible color combinations that a player can eliminate. You can see how this will look above; the larger symbol is the primary target, smaller ones list secondary targets and then the optional faction emblem.
    This might be a silly question, but is your mission generation system random, or does it guarantee there's a primary target+faction match for each mission?
    You may notice that we don't list the colors for these symbols like in the past, instead there are marks next to each symbol. These marks are an additive symbol system to define colors to identify each one. These symbols will also be displayed on the badge as well so they can be matched.
    I'm confused. Why have both? Does that mean we can only get points, in this example, for blue if it only has that specific white mark, or do all blue instances of this pattern have that same mark (making the color or mark redundant)?

  • LordBraska1999LordBraska1999 Bahston, MARegistered User regular
    edited February 2013
    Kiashien wrote: »
    I will not be participating this year. Sorry, buttons don't fly for me- I liked at least knowing where to look on a person. And Lines not being safe basically means "Go to Pax, or play Assassins."

    I choose to attend Pax, sorry.

    I'm not seeing how you got to that conclusion...it just means be on your guard...buttons are actually not to bad when NVidia did the button thing like 2 or 3 years ago it worked out pretty well. This is technically the same concept with a game attached to it. Besides you don't stop earning points just cause your dead, You still get points for gathering intel.

    EDIT:
    My wife and I are in as well!!! We'll see you guys there!

    LordBraska1999 on
  • LordBraska1999LordBraska1999 Bahston, MARegistered User regular
    edited February 2013
    Sorry about the Double Post...Unintentional

    LordBraska1999 on
  • MarsCheliosMarsChelios Registered User regular
    N13 wrote: »
    Speaking of missions I'd like to simplify the rules for identifying targets to make things more accessible to players. In previous games you would be given a shape and and a color (or two) that were your specific target(s) but you would be able to assassinate anyone with that shape. I'm removing that rule and instead having the mission cards list all the possible color combinations that a player can eliminate. You can see how this will look above; the larger symbol is the primary target, smaller ones list secondary targets and then the optional faction emblem.
    This might be a silly question, but is your mission generation system random, or does it guarantee there's a primary target+faction match for each mission?
    Missions are tied to the player symbols on other kits, so there's always at least one player symbol that will match up. There is not however a guaranteed faction since that is player selected.
    N13 wrote: »
    You may notice that we don't list the colors for these symbols like in the past, instead there are marks next to each symbol. These marks are an additive symbol system to define colors to identify each one. These symbols will also be displayed on the badge as well so they can be matched.
    I'm confused. Why have both? Does that mean we can only get points, in this example, for blue if it only has that specific white mark, or do all blue instances of this pattern have that same mark (making the color or mark redundant)?
    The marks correlate to the colors of the symbol, so there's no extra work involved. The symbols and the names of the colors are there for people who are color-blind and may not be able to distinguish the hues.
    My wife and I are in as well!!! We'll see you guys there!
    Thanks!

  • RichSoCashRichSoCash Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    Mission card is a huge improvement

  • TechGamingNewsTechGamingNews CEO Cape May, NJ.Registered User regular
    Just got the 35$ pack cant wait.

    DALTON DOOLY | CEO | T&G News
    http://techandgamingnews.com
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    [x]Media Pass [x] Hotel [x] Rental

    I am not an exhibitor I am press I am not trying to step on toes, I am attending some Community functions to meet new people and have a good time.
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