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PAX 04: The Good, The Bad & Making It Better

24567

Posts

  • Mr.Sci-FiMr.Sci-Fi Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    For those against BOOTH BABES , PAX already had them if you hadn't already noticed. The FRAG GIRLS were a great bunch and even kicked ass in thier Rainbow six game.


    My post was just to say PAX 2 needs more booth babes, even better if they're like the Frag Girls.

    Mr.Sci-Fi on
  • BandeckoBandecko Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Well, I was waiting in line since about 5-ish, for the concert. Around 6-ish they walked along the line, handing out tickets, then announced that they were handing out tickets so that people didn't have to wait in line, and could go get some eats, and such.

    Me... I was just fine with my Bawls.... oh man, there was Bawls everywhere...

    Yeah, next PAX needs more Bawls.

    Aw man, I was out of the building getting some eats at that time. No wonder I had no idea. :( I did stay and watch some of the piano performance on the television. Just made me wish I was in there so much more, so I left to stop torturing myself.

    Bandecko on
  • YoshuaYoshua Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    I'd think you could hand out tickets for stuff when folks pick up their badge or buy it at the door. If they mailed out badges ahead of time, just mail out the tickets with the badge. Moves some of the headache of handing out tickets and stuff to a non-critical time (i.e. before events have begun). There is the cost of making badges and tickets though (but tickets don't need to be anything fancy really).

    Yoshua on
  • FrowbakkFrowbakk Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Zig21 wrote:
    MAKE THE THEATER THE CONSOLE ROOM

    Hell no.

    Care to elaborate further?

    I think it would work in that you could get at least 2, maybe 3 TVs & consoles set up per row of 'unused' seats.

    What are your reservations as to why this wouldn't work?

    Not 'living room-esque' enough?

    Lack of elbow room for buttonmashers/contortionists?

    Possible lack of leg room for taller competitors?

    Is ventilation for that much warm equipment and warm bodies a concern?

    No 'Over the shoulder' spectating?

    Why do you think it would not work? Inquiring minds want to know...

    Frowbakk on
    Your sig was too tall.
  • Optimus WangOptimus Wang Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Frowbakk wrote:
    Zig21 wrote:
    MAKE THE THEATER THE CONSOLE ROOM

    Hell no.

    Care to elaborate further?

    I think it would work in that you could get at least 2, maybe 3 TVs & consoles set up per row of 'unused' seats.

    What are your reservations as to why this wouldn't work?

    Not 'living room-esque' enough?

    Lack of elbow room for buttonmashers/contortionists?

    Possible lack of leg room for taller competitors?

    Is ventilation for that much warm equipment and warm bodies a concern?

    No 'Over the shoulder' spectating?

    Why do you think it would not work? Inquiring minds want to know...
    It was hard enough getting around in the theatre as it was. Then you want to add TVS AND CONSOLES AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WILL GET IN THE FUCKING WAY. Oh, and then you have to move everything out when you want to actually use the theatre for a panel/show/etc.

    Optimus Wang on
    Din wrote:
    I'd be Optimus Wang, and come out with just a bathrobe on and drink maple syrup out of a coffee mug.
    ani-me.jpg
  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Running Power would be a nightmare. The main thing is probably the fact there are multiple exits from the theater and keeping the fucktards from taking shit would be more difficult.

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
  • coolpcoolp Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    First of all, I just weant to say thank you to everyone who put this on, it was incredible. The one thing that I will remember for a long time to come is when I played Halo 2, on the Xbox that was being piped to the projector and to the two live stream tv's downstairs, and when I took out that first warthog with the RL and used the tracking thing to take him down (I knew what to do, I've been in the beta), and the crowd started yelling and shit, and then later when I capped the flag, it was like the fucking E3 video, it was just awesome, and afterwards, I got to stay and take pics, and I even got to talk to frankie for a few seconds :shock: It was incredible, and I just want to thank you all for putting it on. The idea for PAX is utterly cool, get a bunch of people together who like games and PA, and give them a ton of unreleased games to play, tourneys, and a massive LAN, then throw in a bunch of cool panels and stuff. My suggestions for next time are pretty much just...

    -More arcade machines, they are great when you want to have something to do while waiting for your tourney or something

    -Have a section for the next concert just for people who were at PAX04, since almost none of us were at the concert this time

    -More real security, when I checked my bag before going into the console room, when I came back out 10 minutes later I just went over, grabbed my bag, and went, and the guy watching it didn’t even glance up, it was 3 o clock, and I totally understand it, but the bag area needs to be sectioned off with one little entrance, like at a ski-check in place

    -Lockers to store your bags, so that you can bring your stuff along for overnight, but not have to haul it around.

    -An area for people to sleep in, maybe with a bunch of foam mattresses or something

    -More deathmatch games in the PC room, I understand that Lanwerx didn’t have Ut2k4, and the Atari shipment just didn’t make it in time, but some good DM games would be great for next time, it seemed like all the games were strategic team games and shit

    -More everything, more consoles, more computers, bigger areas for stuff, more air conditioning, and most of all, MORE BAWLS!!! That shit totally ruled, try to get them to come back next time too ;)

    Thanks again to everyone that ran this, and I can’t wait until PAX05!

    coolp on
    sig.php?tag=coolp1
  • CerriusCerrius Registered User regular
    edited August 2004

    Me... I was just fine with my Bawls.... oh man, there was Bawls everywhere...

    Yeah, next PAX needs more Bawls.

    Yeah, if people can throw the bottles away. When I went to spectate Halo 2, one of the volunteers was picking up a bunch of empty Bawls bottles. He's not your mother, clean up after yourselves you little shits.

    Cerrius on
    [SIGPIC]image.php?type=sigpic&userid=5578&dateline=1219903129[/SIGPIC]
  • AfflictionAffliction Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    I was only there for the Sunday and still had a truly awesome time. I ran into Robert at one point and Jerry at another and had to shake their hands and thank them for putting it on. Most fun I've had in months. Also, despite my fears that it would be a complete nightmare due to overcrowding, the Lanwerx guys did an awesome job of the Call of Duty tournament I participated in, and I'm sure the UT2004 tournament would've been the same if it had actually happened. I also liked how it wasn't on too tight of a schedule, so it wasn't Stressmania 2004.

    However, I do have a few suggestions:
    - More slots in the BYOC room, and more comps in the Lanwerx room. Also, unused comps in Lanwerx should have been available for free play, even during tournaments. And the BYOC room should provide monitors, because my CRT weighs like 45 pounds.

    - The venue was cramped, but I digged the layout in general.

    - All the performances and panels and stuff should have been held on one of those mezzanines so that everyone can hear them, not just those who were lucky or patient enough to line up in front of the theatre hours beforehand. The movies would be okay in there, though.

    - The massive, overbearing NVIDIA presence was not nice. Seriously, those guys got on my nerves sometimes. Where was AMD?

    - More variety in the exhibition room. Also, Halo 2 should've been in the exhibition room, maybe in that spot where they did Ghost Recon 3.

    - TWO BUCKS AMERICAN FOR A FUCKING BOTTLE OF COKE?!

    - Security. I personally didn't mind, but I noticed that the security was totally lax. My dad forgot to wear his media badge when he came back in later in the day and was never bothered about it.

    - Holy shit, people, make more programs. I'm told they ran out of programs on the first day.

    - TWENTY BUCKS AMERICAN FOR A FUCKING T-SHIRT?!!

    - Broken ATMs. I came in with a hundred Canadian dollars, a debit card and 20 bucks American. I expected to be able to get more American money from the ATM. I was wrong.

    - The group of burly men from Microsoft that swooped in and forced me to take a survey freaked the hell out of me. I thought they were going to fuck me in the ass for piracy.

    - A Goddamned shower room or something would've been nice. Or at least someone roaming around handing out free sticks of deodorant.


    Other than that, it was truly awesome. I won't repeat everything that's already been said, except for the fact that I am SO doing this again next year. Hopefully they'll move to a bigger venue, but still in the Seattle area.

    Affliction on
  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Affliction wrote:
    However, I do have a few suggestions:
    - More slots in the BYOC room, and more comps in the Lanwerx room. Also, unused comps in Lanwerx should have been available for free play, even during tournaments. And the BYOC room should provide monitors, because my CRT weighs like 45 pounds.

    - The massive, overbearing NVIDIA presence was not nice.

    - Security. I personally didn't mind, but I noticed that the security was totally lax. My dad forgot to wear his media badge when he came back in later in the day and was never bothered about it.

    - Holy shit, people, make more programs. I'm told they ran out of programs on the first day.

    BOYC = bring your OWN computer
    aka, lan parties. Ever been to one? :P
    45lbs? quit yer bitching. I know people that haul 80lbs 21" sony trinitron monitors (I used to be one before my lcd) to Lans.
    Lanwerx provided computers out of an unopened new store of theirs. Cant really ask them to sacrafice business in their open stores for pax.

    Nvidia:
    Dont you mean where was ATI? AMD is a processor company. ATI should have been there along with Nvidia.
    /me wants to see teh fanboys duke it out

    Security:
    Pax was understaffed for the amount of people that showed up.

    Programs:
    Goes with security. I beleive I heard they printed 2,000 of those programs and stuffed 2000 of the door prize bags.
    All gone saturday afternoon.
    FAR more people came than expected. No way to predict that and if you overpredict it then you end up with leftover stuff that you dished out $$ to get.

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
  • seppuku FDseppuku FD Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Ubisoft showed off some new games and brought their team of "Frag Dolls" to beat the crap out of "hardcore" gamers

    i guess we did beat the crap out of them, didn't we? it was really fun though... meeting and talking to people! :wink: come find us on XBL! "seppuku FD" 8)

    seppuku FD on
    1-Get a frisbee from the store or friend.
    2-Clean the Frisbee
    3-Put something slippery on it, like butter or cream
    4-Get really super pissed
    5-Fold Frisbee hard
    6-Insert Frisbee into mouth hard
    7-Push hard until you can’t see it
    8-Wait
    9-Die
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2004
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    For those against BOOTH BABES , PAX already had them if you hadn't already noticed. The FRAG GIRLS were a great bunch and even kicked ass in thier Rainbow six game.


    My post was just to say PAX 2 needs more booth babes, even better if they're like the Frag Girls.

    Dude, they're not 'Booth Babes' if they can actually play. And those girls pwned. BTW, I think they're called the Frag Dolls. Makes a lot more sense that way anyhow.

    Unknown User on
  • seppuku FDseppuku FD Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    For those against BOOTH BABES , PAX already had them if you hadn't already noticed. The FRAG GIRLS were a great bunch and even kicked ass in thier Rainbow six game.


    My post was just to say PAX 2 needs more booth babes, even better if they're like the Frag Girls.

    yo mr. sci-fi. just to clarify, we ARE NOT booth babes. we weren't there just to stand around and look pretty. we were there to game. um, who won the BA tournament again? :P

    seppuku FD on
    1-Get a frisbee from the store or friend.
    2-Clean the Frisbee
    3-Put something slippery on it, like butter or cream
    4-Get really super pissed
    5-Fold Frisbee hard
    6-Insert Frisbee into mouth hard
    7-Push hard until you can’t see it
    8-Wait
    9-Die
  • TheMountieTheMountie Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Frowbakk wrote:
    Since getting into the theater sucked, it had fixed seating,etc...

    MAKE THE THEATER THE CONSOLE ROOM

    :roll:

    actually, i think i said it elsewhere...
    if they put the exhibition shit in the main ball room, that would leave the upstairs for nothing but active games.

    the left side, once again, for PC
    the right side for console tournys
    and the middle room for free play

    table top would have to be more organized downstairs, cuz i actually liked walking thru that, since i know nothing about table top games, i dug it.

    the elevators...eh...those things are so damn slow. and cause too much trouble than they are worth.
    they usually always have them with signs that say do not use.
    if one of those gets fucked while someones in it, my god. If an escalator stops while people are on it, they use them as "stairs" if an elevator stops while people are on it, we call the fucking fire department. or janitorial services :D

    this is just satire..but you know in kindergarden or preschool, they had nap time and shit? or at least a napping area? they need that too.
    like..just have airline pillows for people that come into that room to sleep.
    have it with a sticker that say's penny arcade, make people pay like...a dollar for it. it can be a little PA only thing. PA airline pillows. Im a fucking genius.

    and people, for the love of shit, bring deoderant. When you hover over me while we sign people up for the tournaments, and i smell you, i want to fucking kill myself with zig's head. its not that hard, most of you have pockets all over the place anyways.

    i know most of you cant leave to go shower or anything, and i personally live 8 minutes away, and chose to stay for about...37 total hours of the convention, 9 am saturday till 9 am sunday, so i know you dont want to leave. just bring a speedstick with you, or cologne.

    oh ya, the $1.25 for cans of pop was disgusting, but the water was free :D
    too bad the fragdolls werent playing DOA beach volleyball instead :cough:
    jk
    that busted ATM shit was stupid. Stairs? CMON MAN i want teleportation pads. ITS THE FUCKING 21st CENTURY. one, more, DDR pad plz. in the same spot, so they can mingle. More prizes please :( and umm..the shirts were a good price i thought. 20 bucks for a graphic tee? not bad.
    the shirts i was wearing cost me at least 16 bucks, and there was nothing but 2 colors, EASY COLORS, and text.

    good convention, loved it, thought it was sexy, the dude with the shirt that said I have the dick, i make the rules. Umm..since i was running your tourny, i justified that my dick was in fact larger than yours, and more pronounced. :lol: jk, i just know a lot of girls that commented they wanted to beat your face in :(

    TheMountie on
    Dear PAX, next year may i have an enforcer shirt instead of just a staff badge. Love, Tyler.
  • NintoNinto Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    TheMountie wrote:
    or cologne.

    Hell, NO. Cologne+BO = rancid, worse than BO by itself by far. Can you feel the burn? I bet you can.

    And for those of you that didn't have a hotel room or place to shower : bring washcloths, wet and wash yourself down in a bathroom stall or something. I know it feels gross after you've been sweating a while, but a long sleeve shirt and clean jeans is best, that way the stench doesn't escape. Change of clothes wouldn't hurt, too. This is basic stuff, folks, how is it that you can master 20 button combos and not know how to keep from smelling?

    I can only assume that you don't notice. Some staffers should have "pollution control" shirts and hand out pamphlets....

    Ninto on
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2004
    Good:
    -Great event, it is the most fun at a con I have had in a long time
    -I had a lot of fun in the PA Q&A. Gabe and Tycho are hilarious. This was my #1 highlight
    -I loved the Exhibition Room. I spent most of my time there.

    Suggestions:
    -I would have liked an official Gabe and Tycho autograph session. Sure I could try to track them down on the con floor, but I feel bad about it as they do deserve some time to do things like eat and game and go to the bathroom. :)
    -I would have liked to see more PA stuff there besides T-shirts. I would love to see some posters and the like (much easier to get signed!)
    -More single player tourneys in addition to the team stuff

    Anyway, great event guys and I am looking forward to PAX 2005. :D

    Unknown User on
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2004
    There was a time I didn't pay attention to hygeine. It is surprisingly easy to bathe normally and still play games 'round the clock. If someone who takes showers as long as I can do it, I know you other folks can too.

    Unknown User on
  • Mr.Sci-FiMr.Sci-Fi Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Belacua wrote:
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    For those against BOOTH BABES , PAX already had them if you hadn't already noticed. The FRAG GIRLS were a great bunch and even kicked ass in thier Rainbow six game.


    My post was just to say PAX 2 needs more booth babes, even better if they're like the Frag Girls.

    Dude, they're not 'Booth Babes' if they can actually play. And those girls pwned. BTW, I think they're called the Frag Dolls. Makes a lot more sense that way anyhow.

    Oh come on you can't say that the Frag Dolls aren't Booth Babes, they're just the next logical evolutionary step the companies will take in the booth babe technology to pull us males into their demos. Sure they have great skill in their own game but they also aren't bad to look at too.


    And to seppuku FD, If your Frag Doll team isn't just made up of booth babes then where in the heck was the ugly or fat one of ya that can kick my butt at PAX?


    Sorry to the rest of you for being off topic.

    Mr.Sci-Fi on
  • mojomonkeemojomonkee Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    i honestly don't think it was that the kids normally don't shower. i think it's that they didn't have time to do it (and they normally DO shower!) and didn't think ahead.

    even i became a little rank midway through the day and i'm not much of a sweater myself.

    mojomonkee on
    Q: Mac or PC?

    A: Um, we like to play games.
  • Mr.Sci-FiMr.Sci-Fi Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    mojomonkee wrote:
    i honestly don't think it was that the kids normally don't shower. i think it's that they didn't have time to do it (and they normally DO shower!) and didn't think ahead.

    even i became a little rank midway through the day and i'm not much of a sweater myself.

    I agree with you, take a group of people running around into warm rooms for a whole day (even two since the con was continuos into the next day) and I doubt eveyone will be smelling sweet. Continual gaming and events will cause stuff like smelly people, trash around and people sleeping in the halways. Only when a show ends for the night does everyone and the con itself get the chance to refresh themselves properly and prepare for the next day of events.

    Mr.Sci-Fi on
  • LincolnLincoln Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    I think everything was great. Aside from some technical problems, it was all good.

    The Pong match was the best.

    Lincoln on
  • SquallSeeD31SquallSeeD31 Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Con stench has been an issue for far longer than PAX, guys. I work at Sci-Fi/Fantasy cons, and for the sake of not sounding too harsh, imagine an extra day or two of even more crowded conditions, with people who are on the average a bit…larger. We've been getting a heck of a lot better at managing it, but it starts with having a hotel room and /using/ that shower. Failing that, it wouldn't be a bad idea to stock a can of Right Guard spray. I know it's not that great for the environment, but the convenience of a quick spray here and there to be sure that you're not the one offending the group is well-appreciated.
    To switch gears a little bit and touch back on the Frag Dolls issue, I'll start by admitting I don't really know the deal there. So please, if there's a Frag Doll representative active, go ahead and step in to correct me. It is my understanding that these ladies just happen to be an all-female Xbox Live Clan that was fortunate enough to garner a reputation as being impressive with their games, and acquire the ever-coveted sponsorship. Sponsored gaming is a very new concept that hasn't really reached fruition in America yet, but take for example Paintball and Laser Tag. I'm a semi-professional laser tag player, and we need sponsors to offset the high cost of tournament entry fees. Again, it is my understanding that UbiSoft didn't hire these ladies to learn the game and market it, but rather picked up a team of skilled players, probably outfitted them with some equipment and other benefits, and asked them to promote the game they love under the banner of the company that made it.
    I still think it's a brilliant move for UbiSoft, if you're going to sponsor a team, sponsor the best team you can find. If memory serves, they won the tournament. If that team /happens/ to be composed of the upper echelon of female gamers, you'll get more for your buck. I personally hope to see them on XBL, a team is a team, competition is fun.

    SquallSeeD31 on
    FFXIV: Alchemy Stuff Character:
    8229_48d6215903dff562.png
  • Zig21Zig21 Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Free play after hours... I dunno I'm a little miffed about it. We had a great 8 on 8 halo game going, and it got zoned off for smash brothers. It's free play right? I dunno maybe its easier in the long run that way, but it seemed weird to have regulated free play.

    The problems with freeplay actually stemed from it not being regulated beforehand. I wound up having to impose rules as it happened. Plus, a lot of shit was just spilling over from delays and issues with running the tournaments beforehand.

    I wanted to assign at least 4 stations to Halo, possibly more, but I didn't have a good estimate of the demand for any game. Shit, there were a lot of stations still going with GGXX, yet maybe 30% of the people who signed up actually bothered to show for the tourney. Hella random.

    Expect things to be MUCH better next year. If I get it organized and regulated, I can keep track of which TV's are actually being used. That way, if there's extra demand for Halo or Smash or whatever, we can assign it to more stations. Plus, depending on how much room and/or TV's we have, odds are there'll be an entire area dedicated to just freeplay.

    Zig21 on
    Born to Duck
  • BorfaseBorfase __BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2004
    seppuku FD wrote:
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    For those against BOOTH BABES , PAX already had them if you hadn't already noticed. The FRAG GIRLS were a great bunch and even kicked ass in thier Rainbow six game.


    My post was just to say PAX 2 needs more booth babes, even better if they're like the Frag Girls.

    yo mr. sci-fi. just to clarify, we ARE NOT booth babes. we weren't there just to stand around and look pretty. we were there to game. um, who won the BA tournament again? :P

    whatever, booth babe

    when they try to hook people to play in the R63 tounrnament by saying you get a chance to "play with the delectable frag dolls," that's booth babe material



    but anyways, i had a great time at this thing. i didn't play any games except MKDD and diceland, spent my time wandering around and socializing. it was just a huge party, and i had a great time. the only problem was there was so many people (which when you think about it, isn't really a problem)

    Borfase on
    duhhhh i like spaghetti-o's lolz
  • JinxJinx Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    Oh come on you can't say that the Frag Dolls aren't Booth Babes, they're just the next logical evolutionary step the companies will take in the booth babe technology to pull us males into their demos. Sure they have great skill in their own game but they also aren't bad to look at too.


    And to seppuku FD, If your Frag Doll team isn't just made up of booth babes then where in the heck was the ugly or fat one of ya that can kick my butt at PAX?


    Sorry to the rest of you for being off topic.

    Sci-Fi, any one of us *could* have kicked your butt at PAX, if you played against us. We were there as gamers for the tournament and to have our first chance at playing face-to-face with other BA players. We're not some highly paid models who are there to smile and look pretty. In fact, you would have found us scowling in concentration most of the time. Actual gaming doesn't usually call for perfectly composed looks. ;)

    We're serious about our gaming and every one of us has grown up doing it. Saying that we're nothing but eye candy is a huge mistake. Come play us on LIVE, where we're at just about every day, and then say we're skill-less girls who don't really play. We're addicts, and we're proud of it.

    Jinx on
    The Guitar Zeros << My friend's rad band that everyone should <3
    linkstick.gif
  • Zig21Zig21 Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Care to elaborate further?

    For starters, supporting a lot of heavy equipment with dinky little arm rests attached to seats designed to hold people and not televisions would require a shitload of tape and extra material just to make it's stable. That's a lot of extra time and money spent on something that's little more than a gimmicky disaster waiting to happen.

    Then you got issues with accessability. Say you're in the middle of the row, and you need to go to the bathroom, or the concert's about to start, or any other event which would require someone to leave. If there's any good amount of people playing, moving around becomes a nightmare. You could provide an extra row for players to travel between stations and the aisle, but that results in just wasting a lot of space.

    Also, anything that falls to the floor is going to be a lot harder to find, and potential thieves will have a field day with the inferior visibility.

    Seriously, it's just a really stupid idea once you think about it, no offense.

    Zig21 on
    Born to Duck
  • TheresaTheresa Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Sure they have great skill in their own game but they also aren't bad to look at too.


    Um... I'd just like to say I was on the team (Frag Dolls) that won the tourney and BA is not "my game." I'm a PC gamer, just picked up XBL recently. :) We pick up games naturally. Didn't you see us kick everyones ass at our first try in Halo 2? :D

    Theresa on
  • TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Having read the thread over again after my last comment, I'm just going to say that mailing badges to people beforehand sounds like the way to go, just make sure there's always a list of people onhand at registration so there isn't a "You lost your badge? Well, you're fucked" way of thinking. And I think that letting pre-regs in a couple hours before everyone else would definitely be extra awesome. I think they do that at Disneyland, where you can get in a few hours before normal folk. It would definitely encourage people to pre-register and give a better feel for the attendance numbers next year.

    Taramoor on
  • Mr.Sci-FiMr.Sci-Fi Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Jinx FD wrote:
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    Oh come on you can't say that the Frag Dolls aren't Booth Babes, they're just the next logical evolutionary step the companies will take in the booth babe technology to pull us males into their demos. Sure they have great skill in their own game but they also aren't bad to look at too.


    And to seppuku FD, If your Frag Doll team isn't just made up of booth babes then where in the heck was the ugly or fat one of ya that can kick my butt at PAX?


    Sorry to the rest of you for being off topic.

    We're serious about our gaming and every one of us has grown up doing it. Saying that we're nothing but eye candy is a huge mistake. Come play us on LIVE, where we're at just about every day, and then say we're skill-less girls who don't really play. We're addicts, and we're proud of it.

    PLEASE Reread my post, I give you yout credit where credit is due, I never said you are JUST eye candy and don't have skills. Frag Dolls can kick some ass like I said in my first post, you just also have good looks and I bet that does matter with your sponsor/employer.
    eekers wrote:
    Sure they have great skill in their own game but they also aren't bad to look at too.


    Um... I'd just like to say I was on the team (Frag Dolls) that won the tourney and BA is not "my game." I'm a PC gamer, just picked up XBL recently. :) We pick up games naturally. Didn't you see us kick everyones ass at our first try in Halo 2? :D


    Ok your group (that has palyed together before, quite a few times before) kicked some halo 2 ass against a team made up of several pax guys and a a couple of audience members that had NEVER played together before. Yeah that's some bragg'n rights earned there!

    Mr.Sci-Fi on
  • Rufus_ShinraRufus_Shinra Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    OK here's things that should be added next year:

    1) A freeplay room all the time
    2) Having brackets posted up on a projector or board so that tourneys can start quicker.
    3) Announcements for when things are actually going to start. If the program says a tourney is starting at 9:00 and the staff knows its going to be delayed till 9:30, just announce the delay. It's better to know you can show up a bit late then get there and have it still be the last tournament.
    4) Tell people before hand that halo tickets are going on sale in the morning. People showing up after smash brothers got effed, badly.
    5) If tournaments run smoother/quicker try and make there less scheduling conflicts. I wanted to sign up for some PC tournaments but they were always at the same time as others.
    6) MORE FREEPLAY (yes I already mentioned that, but this is the most important thing by far)
    7) Let zig run the tourneys again. Honestly, I would have gone insane if I had run those tourneys, thanks a bunch.
    8) Mario kart was fun, but due to the randomness it would have been nice to do a grand prix and have only the top 2 advance, so the consistently good players advance.
    9) Don't let companies make their own rules that set back the console room by 2.5 hours, tell them politely if we have one person per TV, the vast majority of people get bored waiting.
    10) Keep the exhibition room open longer

    I might add to the list later, but thats all I can think of for now.

    Rufus_Shinra on
  • FrowbakkFrowbakk Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Zig21 wrote:
    Care to elaborate further?

    Seriously, it's just a really stupid idea once you think about it, no offense.

    None taken.

    I've noticed that unless actual reasons are given, the person who says'It can't be done' is rapidly overshadowed by someone actually doing it.

    I will gladly bow to your expertise in this, and go back to making wild-ass sugeestions on the hope someone would say "Y'know... that would actually work..."

    Frowbakk on
    Your sig was too tall.
  • Mr.Sci-FiMr.Sci-Fi Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Get some LARGE dry erease boards up in the tourney rooms. Post news about scheduling and flow charts of the game tourneys being ran.

    Contest use flow charts so people can see the progress of the tourney, heck I bet some people left because they weren't sure if they were still in or not or who in the heck to play against.

    Mr.Sci-Fi on
  • Valkyrie FDValkyrie FD Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Hey, this is Valkyrie FD, i just havent gotten an opportunity to change my name yet!

    I was just going to bring up us kicking the the guys butts on Halo 2 as well Sep, good job girl! Not to mention we played against some of their testers and whooped some butt.

    Frag Dolls is composed of top girl gamers from ALL platforms and only 2 were true xbox players before we were grouped together only a month ago that also belong to a female xbox clan. Between the seven of us, we play almost every game out there on any console/pc. We have very different preferences and tastes and many of us also work in the industry in other areas as well (development, journalism, etc.)

    While of course we are flattered by you finding us "attractive" it is not our purpose nor do we want to be considered booth babes. We are hard core gamers that beat won a 32 man team tourny on BA with NO TEAM winning even a ROUND on us- even the next day at the small tourney we ran all day. I really think that speaks for itself!

    My most important clarifacation that I would also like to add is that we arent put together for you boys even if that is a side bonus, if we have ANY marketing initiative at all it would be to attract more FEMALES into games that are traditionaly dominated by males. Females comprise of around 40% if the market as it is, why cant we try to show them that girls can play and be good at FPS games as well?

    Once again, we are flattered by you thinking we are "cute" but not by being called booth babes as we demonstrated at the tourny we should be considered serious gamers! I dont even care if we would have been paraded around in swim suits, you cant take away our skill and ability in gameing nor should judge by appearences in ANY form. Why do you think we worked 26 hours in two days and the ENTIRE time stayed playing and owning on the games- if you cant answer that already it is because we DIDNT want to be called booth babes, lol! :) I also want to think everyone for thier support of us through the entire event, you all made it absolutly fabulous for us and made us very comfortable!

    Valkyrie FD on
    FD_sig_Valkyrie.jpg
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2004
    I just want to point out that I find the Frag Dolls very inspiring and I'm totally behind the idea of the Frag Dolls existing partially as a way to attract more women to games. I didn't know who or what they were at first, and man was I excited when I realized they could and did actually kick ass instead of being eye candy.

    It amazes me how often people think girls who kick ass and dress well must be aimed at men instead of at other women.

    Anyhow, this morning I was jumping up and down saying, "I wanna be a Frag Doll!" But I've been tracking this thread and I see them repeatedly called booth babes even when they say they don't like it. WTF? My desire to take another stab at those kind of games (instead of the puzzle and RPGs I usually play) has been all over the charts today. Up... and then down...

    Unknown User on
  • mojomonkeemojomonkee Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Taramoor wrote:
    Having read the thread over again after my last comment, I'm just going to say that mailing badges to people beforehand sounds like the way to go, just make sure there's always a list of people onhand at registration so there isn't a "You lost your badge? Well, you're fucked" way of thinking. And I think that letting pre-regs in a couple hours before everyone else would definitely be extra awesome. I think they do that at Disneyland, where you can get in a few hours before normal folk. It would definitely encourage people to pre-register and give a better feel for the attendance numbers next year.

    the way i feel about it is this:

    i pre-registered MONTHS ago with the hope that i would get some kind of break in price, a chance at a prize, maybe an easy way to enter the venue with a badge or a wristband, and maybe an extra goodie (kinda like when you preorder CoH you got an extra enhancement).

    all pre-regs got were 10 percent off the door price and a 20 in 1337 chance at playing in the omegathon (and then a 1 in 20 chance of winning that, but that took some skills).

    i'm not saying i'm ungrateful for these offers since i'm all for price breaks and chances at winning stuff, it just would have been nice to get a tangible "thanks for believing in this con" gift at the door. and that gift could have been a nice little badge i could prance with and frollick in merriment past the lines of putrescence.

    mojomonkee on
    Q: Mac or PC?

    A: Um, we like to play games.
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2004
    Mr.Sci-Fi wrote:
    Ok your group (that has palyed together before, quite a few times before) kicked some halo 2 ass against a team made up of several pax guys and a a couple of audience members that had NEVER played together before. Yeah that's some bragg'n rights earned there!

    The team we played against had at least one player who had been in the demo for weeks who works for Microsoft, and the other players had been watching the map for hours. We walked in and did not even know where the freaking flag was. I think we represented well.

    Unknown User on
  • TheMountieTheMountie Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    good job ladies.
    nothing wrong with being smart :)

    i was just disappointed that fragdolls didnt play other games, mario kart for instance.

    TheMountie on
    Dear PAX, next year may i have an enforcer shirt instead of just a staff badge. Love, Tyler.
  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2004
    First, I'm against the introduction of Booth Babes to PAX. Primarily for the "every table is ours" thing that Tycho was talking about in the post today. The "few" girls that do show up, really should be there for what's there. (on a similar note, to the (thorough) extent that the FragDolls were there to game, rather than to pose-for pictures, (or whatever else) they were not booth babes). Not that I'm going to a gaming convention to hook-up or something, but it's still a basically better deal if the girls there are there to game, or at least as a personal friend of a gamer.

    Second, getting some internet onto the PCs would be nice. For the people who want to do a LAN/Massive thing (having your whole group/team/task-force in the room is fun) and for:

    Third, also a PC sugg. would be to set up an IRC, or other chat-room thing for people trying to find a game that ISN'T Counterstrike. For whatever reason, sitting in a room-full of strangers it's not easy to stand up and say, "Hey, who wants to throw down some Frozen Throne?" (Maybe that's just me). Wherever possible, have that chat open on screen when people sit down, so even if they intend to load up CS, they are at least aware that other games are forming up.

    Regarding Console space... late Saturday night, the console room was basically great. There were a lot of people playing a lot of different games, and, at least with the fighters, it was easy to stroll up to strangers and jump into a rotation. Let's be frank here, I love my friends, but I went to the convention to be shamefully abused in games by complete strangers. If there were too many consoles, or always open consoles, it may become insular to some extent, where people would not be to some extent forced to socialize with strangers. But, maybe this is just me... maybe the rest of you are actually good at talking to strangers when there is any other option at all. However there was entirely too litle space available for free play during tournaments. How to balance these two things is pretty much beyond me. Except perhaps having a separate tournament room (with pie-in-the-sky below) which was "sorry, the tourny room is closed now" when there were no tournaments.

    It'd also be rather nice if there were a way to effectively, lazily watch tournament play. Projection screens, elevated stages, etc. The way the Pong Tourny was, should be for any of the tourny finals, space/scheduling permitting.

    Last sugg... if we take for granted that the panels, shows, and whatnot in the theater are going to fill up, there should be a more organized TV simulcast.

    Unknown User on
  • TheMountieTheMountie Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    I absolutely back the IRC idea. Or at least like...PA announcements. something like, If you want to play frozen throne, please go to the PC room now.

    stuff like that

    no DOTA or footies :( lol

    umm...IRC would be a great idea...or like...a huge bullitine board with like dry erase markers, tied to the board so that people cant jack them.
    next year i want to write down, all people who want to go to the bar with me at midnight please put your name down and meet outside the west entrance. GG NO RE. thx.

    TheMountie on
    Dear PAX, next year may i have an enforcer shirt instead of just a staff badge. Love, Tyler.
  • Zig21Zig21 Registered User regular
    edited August 2004
    Rufus-Almost everything you suggested, I plan on incorporating next year. Basically, what I did for Smash is going to be the basis for everything. Also, it'd be better if we only made online registration a rough gauge of overall turnout, then have an "official" check-in the morning of the tournies, then close registration for tournies at least an hour before the FIRST tournament starts. That way, I can post up brackets hours ahead of time, so no time is wasted on that shit.
    Get some LARGE dry erease boards up in the tourney rooms. Post news about scheduling and flow charts of the game tourneys being ran.

    Dry erase boards are a bit too much hassle for me, but at the very least, it'll be more organized, and I REALLY wanna get a projecter.
    heck I bet some people left because they weren't sure if they were still in or not or who in the heck to play against.

    To be honest, those people can go screw themselves. Despite all the hassle, I DID make sure everybody knew which station to go to, so randomly leaving without telling anybody is just ugly 'cause now you're a name who hasn't played yet and is just wasting our time. One of the top 32 Smash players just disappeared after he WON his first match, and that just pisses me off. If you don't wanna play anymore, just say so, and we'll gladly proceed without you.

    As for free play.....I'm all for making more free play available during the day, but I needed every last station for tournies and we never guaranteed anything would be free before the last tournament on Saturday anyways. Truth is, I'm there to get those tournies done, and I honestly don't give a shit if someone wants to play Halo with their buddies. Last thing I need is random people wondering in and booting up games on stations I may or may not need, especially when I don't know how many stations might be available during later rounds because the turn outs were so inconsistent.

    Zig21 on
    Born to Duck
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