AdventureX 2010

[m0ds]

See end post for details on website, or just go to www.screen7.co.uk/adventurex  & not learn of all the errors

www.adventurex.eu
(may not work for you just yet)

Reserve your place by ordering a free ticket reservation at:
http://adventurex.eventbrite.com

!!!

Hello people! Well, it's a new year, new prospects - new things to do, new new new etc Yes there are plenty of old things for some of us to do but sometimes it's a passion towards other projects that rekindles the love in the old ones, if you know what I mean!

Anyway, enough rambling. Some may remember that back in 2003, after the first successful Mittens I thought about creating a small-time adventure game expo. In more recent years we've seen one in America try to happen, not sure if it did or not, but I've been thinking more recently how easy it now is to go ahead with a UK based expo aimed at adventure gamers and more specifically, AGS game developers who want to showcase their talent/projects to the public, as previews or what not.

Basically AdventureX is this. I hire out a suitable place with a main hall, seminar hall & bar. For 2 days, the main hall is for demonstrating games, chatting to people what not. The seminar hall is used for speeches throughout the day. And the bar...well, see you there

The show gives fans & developers the chance to meet one another, see each others works and attend some seminars on topics they might find interesting. 2 days means people can drop in one day or stay for both. Certain tickets would include accomodation.

Ok, so what would make this interesting, why might you attend?

The aim is for small time developers, who have a strong passion for what they do, to bring their latest projects along and have the time & space to show people who love point & click adventures what they're capable of. It could also serve as a place for UK game industries to source new talent, who knows. But I'm seriously looking for AGS developers who expect to release a game in 2010 to bring a preview - and get the spotlight. There will be a large projection screen in the main hall too for extra special previews

Who might be there?

Some of the people I'm very confident I could tempt to do a speech on adventure related subjects or AGS developing (but they dont know this yet, Im just bouncing ideas around here) are Charles Cecil, Broken Swords. Dave Gilbert, WadjetEyes. Miez, artworks. Chris Jones, AGS. Marek, AdventureGamers.

And some of the people I'm not confident I can get, but if enough people say yes, I think we could easily get them are Ben Croshaw, Yahtzee. Ron Gilbert, Monkey Islands. Bill Tiller, The Dig. David Gray, Hugo House of Horrors. John Purcell/Steve Stamatadis, Flight of the Amazon Queen. And at a super duper but I know I'd need a million pounds push; Hal Barwood, FoA. Steve Purcell, Sam n Max.

What games will be there?

Well, yours if you're not afraid to show it and represent yourself! I can really only speak for myself on this one, but if anyone feels their game will be released in 2010, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IMMEDIATELY! We need some exclusives Preference will go to larger AGS projects/the more ambitious AGS members/teams. I will be approaching major adventure game companies too and inviting them to display what they're working on. The 2010 show will be the official release of Kinky Island and there WILL be a playable look at the intro section of Fountain of Youth, for attendees only!!

How much will this cost?

You'd have to get to London yourself. On top of that, quite a reasonable amount, I reckon? Advance online tickets:
£20 - One day ticket, all access to seminars, bar etc
£40 - Two day ticket, same as above, no accomodation
£60 - Two day ticket, same as above with hotel room included (first come first serve)

There are lots of finer details with tickets and stuff but this isn't the time, but there may be limits on just how many tickets can be bought in advance. Ideally, if 50 people buy a 2 day ticket, the venue could be hired & a special guest's air fare could be covered.

So tell me.

- Would you be interested?
- Does my "dream" line up interest you? Try picking 3 names from the list and see if it works for you too
- Is it too pricey?
- Is it over ambitious?

The event would take place in January 2010, and if it works out, every January from then on.

If you have any other ideas or anything, please discuss them here! I'm willing to make them happen.

If you enjoy public speaking then please consider yourself for a 25 minute or 50 minute speech slot I'm looking at you Dave! And you Grundislav! And you Erin! Come and big yourselves up in the UK I'll also do my best to make sure the whole Screen 7 team are there too, I plan to do a 25 min speech on making music, if thats of any interest.

All those kind of things Naturally everyone at AGS is invited. Naturally it could flop as hard as AdventureVegas or whatever the other one's called But seriously, this can be done. I don't want to put up a temporary website or even approach other websites until I've heard what you guys & girls have to say If you think it's worth it, I can make it happen. I'm fairly certain that quite a lot of nice surprises, random people & things will happen if the message does get put out beyond the AGS boards. It did last time, and that was when AGS was still quite unheard of...

Oh, and a couple of final questions:
Who would you like to be a guest at AdventureX? Any famous names, please drop them
What games would you like to see at AdventureX? AGS, commercial, freeware, name them
Where would you be travelling from? And if you live abroard, would you visit?

Discuss!

CONFIRMED GUEST SPEAKERS
Jonathon Boakes (Dark Fall games)
Charles Cecil (Broken Sword games)

POSSIBLE GUESTS
Brian Moriarty (Loom)
Hal Barwood (Fate of Atlantis)
Dave Gilbert (WadjetEye Games)

AWAITING REPLY
Ron Gilbert - awaiting reply
Ben Croshaw - awaiting reply

[Stupot]

Do it!  I would be there.
Maybe try and get an advert in one or two of the big PC gaming magazines.  Invite a handful of journalists from magazines and websites.  Post messages similar to this one in all the Indie forums - especially UK-based ones.

I'd like to see Jonathan Boakes there (the guy behind Dark Fall 1&2 and The Lost Crown)... we could probably tempt him if the venue has a haunted past... he'd bring all his ghosthunting gear.

[Radiant]

Well, London is close enough, so I'd be happy to attend.

I'd love to have Brian Moriarty as a guest, although I'm not sure if that's an option.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

The UK's a bit far for me, though I like the idea.  Stop doing things so far away  :'(

[Trihan]

I give this idea two thumbs up.

Especially if you get Ron Gilbert.

[Layabout]

I' d like to see Tim Schaefer there. That would be awesome.

Progz, it's only 7 or 8 hours by plane and about $500. Not that bad and you get to see Merry ol England to boot.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

There are two problems with that suggestion:

1.  I loathe planes.

2.  I haven't that kind of money right now to spend and may not for some time, which may make attending Mittens impossible as well.

Going to the UK isn't an option for me at all, unless it is cheap/free and by boat  .

[Trihan]

You might have that kind of money by 2010!

[m0ds]

There are two problems with that suggestion:

1.  I loathe planes.

2.  I haven't that kind of money right now to spend and may not for some time, which may make attending Mittens impossible as well.

Going to the UK isn't an option for me at all, unless it is cheap/free and by boat  .

Which is a shame, because you have so much to share!! But then, you could always send some exclusives over to be shown even though you're absent. They plan to build a 36,000km tether into space so you never know, maybe they can do something inventive with the Atlantic ocean first

I'm glad there's interest, all the usual options of coming early or staying late are fine too. And as you say Stupot, approaching some of the magazines is a great idea, one of those random things I reckon could have positive effect. Thanks!

Thanks for all the other names too, keep suggesting! I will try everyone

Mods

[Pumaman]

I think it could work as a weekend thing, with reasonably priced tickets -- as you've suggested.

The main problem with that Vegas one was that it was all so expensive that nobody could afford to go -- whereas something modest based in London that people (well, northern Europeans) could get to easily might well prove popular.

Trying to organise something like this is a bit of a nightmare of course, because you need people to book before you know how much money you'll have to spend on the event; but if people don't know what's happening at the event they won't book.

I think the main thing to encouraging people to book would be having a good number of interesting speakers at the event. But what is a reasonable expectation of the number of people that might attend? How many people that live within easy reach of London would be into adventure gaming enough to turn up? Hard questions to answer, especially without a marketing team!

[m0ds]

Thanks CJ, it shouldn't be too hard, and getting SOME names early on would be quite easy. I'd need significant interest by about October to be sure it could go ahead, that would simply come down to a ticket reservation system - and of course all guest speakers would be told that if the ticket sales don't work out, the show might be called off. But full refunds will be possible (up until a week or two before the event takes place).

We've also seen that Ron Gilbert day pulled in a good 30 people, without fuss. Mittens, though longer, pulled in a bunch. And even the smaller events don't exactly struggle to find willing attendees. It's one of those curious but great things!!

So, does that mean you're prepared to do a 25 minute AGS & onion rings speech?

I would effectively need some help with this, mostly a few stewards for the day. But again if there is interest I don't think it'll be a problem to get a few people to come along and help out. Well, thanks for the positive replies already - I'm glad some people might enjoy a day out like this

[Vince Twelve]

I'd do it if I could convince my wife that the price would be paid back in Resonance sales.  Hell, I'd bring ProgZ.  God knows I owe him.  As long as he can get over his loathing of planes.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I do like the idea of agsers (and other people, presumably) could get together and basically talk about their games without wasting precious Mittens time (though I'm told there's a night reserved for such things during Mittens, anyway).  I'm not really sold by 'celebrities' like Ron Gilbert, personally.  Actually, I could care less if I ever meet the man, really.  I just don't see Ron Gilbert or most of the oldbies to be relevant to adventure gaming today -- and even if they are -- I'm not really turned on by meeting people like that.  I'd much rather meet people active now, like Dave Gilbert and that wonderful Mark Lovegrove person, who has finally finished a game!


Vince:  That's a nice offer, but no planes.  *A plane crashed into a friend of mine's house and destroyed them when I was a kid, and ever since I shake my fist at those infernal machines and roar 'NEVER!'



*true story.  Also, there were a shitload of televised passenger plane crashes on tv when I was young for some reason and they have convinced me that those planes are risky sons of bitches...WITHOUT PARACHUTES!

[Stupot]

Take a a boat and make a holiday out of it.
http://www.cunard.co.uk/Destinations/default.asp?Sub=&Region=7

[Vince Twelve]

Mayhaps we could go by trebuchet?

[m0ds]

Agreed, celebrities don't necessarily make the event any better for people like you and me, but the whole thing would need "substance". A bunch of computers showcasing AGS games would be good for some, but a seminar room with some great speeches from known people would be interesting for the general public.

The fact adventure games are becomming successful again is part down to developers like us, but it's also down to the fact loads more people are just playing! At RonFest it was funny that loads of people had nothing to do with game making, not even necessarily in playing computer games today - they just knew who he was and wanted to meet him.

Planes aren't so bad. I used to be terrified of them but they're quite thrilling nowadays! And I wouldn't miss visiting places abroard for anything! The worst flight was probably UK - USA for Mittens, but that was simply because we chose the cheapest airline. Hehehe.

Thanks for the comments. Resonance is one of the biggies that it'd be nice to include, if you think it will be ready sometime in 2010, and if your wife lets you attend, Vince Thanks for the all the comments though people, I'm taking it all on board!!

[Pumaman]

Agreed, celebrities don't necessarily make the event any better for people like you and me, but the whole thing would need "substance". A bunch of computers showcasing AGS games would be good for some, but a seminar room with some great speeches from known people would be interesting for the general public.

Yes exactly, we don't need AdventureX for ourselves -- we've already got Mittens for that. What it would be good for is drawing in the wider public who don't necessarily know about the modern adventure game scene -- and having some celebrities who worked on classics like Monkey Island that a lot of people would remember, would be a draw for the crowds.

The worst flight was probably UK - USA for Mittens, but that was simply because we chose the cheapest airline.

How dare you! Air India was top notch, I've never had curry for the in-flight meal before or since!

[Darth Mandarb]

I would be very interested in attending as my last trip to London consisted only of the tube from Heathrow to the train station!

Might even give Team Hasselhoff some inspiration to kick Amulet of Kings back into full-speed!

As for public speaking ... well I'm not opposed to it but I'm not good enough (or knowledgeable enough) about anything worth discussing at such a venue   I could do an interpretive dance maybe...

[LimpingFish]

Hooray for this idea!

I think if a sponsor could be secured, you'd be sailing.

As for tempting the UK gaming media, the no-brainer approach would be PC Zone and PC Gamer. Both have covered AGS extensively (relatively speaking) over the years, and both still have a fondness for the good old days of PC adventuring. Securing Yathzee, who writes for the US edition of PC Gamer and some Australian thing, might also help in that respect. Ditto Dan Marshall, who writes for PC Zone.

[Nickydude]

THE place to advertise this would be in the magazine RetroGamer which deals with games of days gone by.