AdventureX 2011 roundup

Started by , Tue 01/11/2011 23:03:34

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m0ds

Mods' Roundup!

AdventureX for 2011 has come and gone. Watch this space for my full report! Special thanks to Chris Bateman, Neil Rennison, Chris Jones and Alasdair Beckett-King for their wonderful talks, some pretty eye opening stuff... Thanks also to Yahtzee for making a funny audio clip and Simon Love for playing a wonderful set of videogame medley's. Thank you of course to Joe and Sophie (boneyard audio) and James and Jack (infamous adventures), not forgetting Stuart and Sam (lightbulb games) who looked the part on Saturday. It was great to see some stalls at this first event! I could go on and name everyone because I AM thankful for all who turned up, sorry if I didn't say much to you - it was busy times, and I would have loved to have sat around and chatted a bit more... But I really do appreciate your support of this "trial run" :)

SATURDAY

Saturday morning was cold, wet & icy. After an hours sleep the night before (due to prepping time) I awoke in a groggy haze, but Charlie arrived early and we had his car packed quickly. After a quick stop at Tesco and a revitalizing cup of tea, we went on to the venue and quickly started to set up. Before long the guests were arriving and I was still setting some things up for the first hour of the event.

Will was the first to turn up, representing Cubed Gamers and gaining experience for journalism. Others followed shortly and after all the final checks the show kicked off with a video about an experimental adventure game called S3nses. The video by Tom spoke of the game which is set from a blind persons perspective. After this game showcasing begun, and our first prize draw took place with Matt winning a copy of The Book of Unwritten Tales.

As more people tickled in - some who turned up on the spot - the showcasing continued. Before long Chris Bateman arrived and shortly after so did Neil Rennison. Although some guests were held up in traffic, and one suffering a car breakdown just outside the venue - Neil kicked off the talks to a good crowd, with enthusiasm and interesting information on how his company and its strategy have developed. His key points were getting your name out there, marketting yourself and your brand to be sure to succeed.

He later explained how next year was very important for his company, with a lot of key projects in the pipeline including the rights to produce a Judge Dredd game book. We wish him all the best and were glad to hear he had enjoyed AdventureX. Neil had connections with the local area so perhaps we will see him at another one! His speech was followed by Chris Bateman.

Chris was pleased to deliver his first ever speech about Discworld Noir. He explained the origins of the story and a few tales from working with voice actors. He detailed Perfect Entertainment and how after the work was done, the team would end up in the pub on most nights. After that, he told us his views on the death of adventures with an in-depth look at the use of an audiences imagination in terms of defining where popularity in a game genre might fade and grow, particularly how the imagination of a player is exploited through visual aspects. He also plugged his new book, so be sure to get a copy!

Once he had finished Chris had to shoot off, but we were very pleased he could visit and we were glad to accomodate his speech about Discworld Noir and game making philosophy. Another prize draw followed and Azure's friend Spike won a copy of Gray Matter. Tales of Monkey Island was later won by Daniel.  The demonstrations continued, Technocrat giving us a brief insight into his new game The Rail. This was followed by Stu who spoke out about his Entrapment demo and the AGS Bake Sale. Another prize draw saw Technocrat win a copy of Back To The Future: The Game, thanks to TellTale Games.

Near the end of the evening Yahtzee's audio clip was played and raised a few laughs, and before the event ended Joe of Boneyard Audio explained aloud what it is he does and how he can help game makers with audio. Most departed after that, the lights were turned off and a few remained downstairs to have a few drinks. I was back home by 9pm and went straight to bed! The adventure would continue tomorrow...


Some pics from Saturday:




SUNDAY

After a good long sleep, Sunday morning was bright and calm, but cold. After collecting sandwiches from my mothers house I made my way to Didcot on the bus, the chimney's of the power station were spewing steam (and toxic chemicals) and in the cold morning sun looked epic. Today was going to be more relaxed, there was no setting up to do and I had a better idea of how to run proceedings. The Infamous Adventures lads were there early and set up their desk to promote the Space Quest 2 Remake. As guests trickled in once more, their table was very popular throughout the day.

To wake everyone up we started with Murran Chronicles 3, it's intro making sure everyone was wide awake. Alasdair Beckett and his fiancé Rachel (aka Nelly Cootalot) had arrived and were drawn to the screen and Ali began reading the lines of dialogue from various games being showcased, giving everyone a good chuckle. Because I suck at solving adventure puzzles, the crowd of AdventureXrs helped me solve various puzzles. Ask A Monkeyologist went down well with its humor and voice acting. Wretcher seen being played on the corner computer and Magintz kept himself busy working on a game project.

By mid-afternoon Chris Jones arrived and soon after delivered a speech about AGS, his background and future. Explaining how the engine was devised as a way for HIM to make a point & click adventure, he told us how early and minimal feedback geared him up to work on the engine and make improvements. He explained the three versions, but also how his commitments in real life have led him to take a step back from working on the engine. We wish Chris the best for the future! Simon Loveridge turned up with his large keyboard and proceeded to play a set of medleys, including Super Mario and Metroid music, finishing with a Zelda Medley. It was very well played and moving, so thanks to Simon!

Alasdair Beckett-King took to the stage with a funny presentation about his work on Nelly Cootalot 2. One point he covered that excited the guests was his progression from 3D characters to a rather more pleasing look for the sequel. We must thank him for showing us exclusive material and delivering a great presentation! Just before he and Rachel had to leave, we played the Yahtzee audio clip (not to everyone's liking!) but again it was enjoyed by those who hadn't heard it previously. From here the Sunday edition wound down, Chris and Ali had gone home and others were departing.

By 7.30 the hall was empty, and so I packed everything up and had a final pint and a game of pool downstairs before heading home. Thanks to Birkey who helped me get all the equipment from the car back into my flat. And that's where it ended, a whole 2 days of adventure-goodness, plenty of projects to see that I know helped inspire others to begin their journey on creating adventure games. The days winners included both Joe and Rachel who won a copy of the Book of Unwritten Tales, followed by Rebecca and Steve who won copies of 15 Days. Two people won Tales of Monkey Island and two people one a copy of Gray Matter, but I forgot to write down who :P Some other old games were dished out as prizes, although I apologise to the chap who won the boxed quadrilogy with no CD's in it...

So that was it for year 1 of AdventureX. There was a lot to learn, but at the same time a lot of positive feedback enough to consider doing it again in 2012. It was great to see everyone and I hope people got something out of it, everything came together in the end to make a fun weekend. In the future, it would certainly need a little better structure, ideally some better equipment and more games machines - but the venue served us well, the bar was cheap and despite not realising the street to the venue was "No Entry" people managed to find their way to it easily. I certainly had a great time, so thank you for that! It was a mission trying to remember everyone's names but I hope I didn't offend anyone... My big apology is certainly to Jim Riley whose game A Hard Day's Knight I had not put on the machines.

That sums it up. Make sure you come to the next one, which will hopefully be arranged for a time more suitable for travellers. Lots of material still in the works to be dished out - so keep an eye out for updates here and of course, if you're recieving the newsletter - you'll get a first look.


Some pics from Sunday:



FULL LIST OF GAMES SHOWN (thank you to the developers!):
Egress: Test Of STS 417
Doc Apocalypse (rolling demo)
A Night At Camp Ravenwood (rolling demo)
The Visitor
The Visitor 2 (preview)
Wretcher
Byrne In Hell
Unga Needs Mumba
Roadworks
The Philanthropist
The Rail
City (demo)
Ben Jordan 8 (preview + trailer)
Then We Were Angels
He Watches
Quasar
Murran Chronicles 3
Far Corners of the World chapter 1
Venator
Timeless Journey (demo)
Ask A Monkeyologist
Reality on the Norm: Night And Day
Kinky Island
Fountain of Youth (tech tests)
11-11-11
Entrapment
Nelly Cootalot 2 (preview)
Space Quest 2 Remake

FULL LIST OF EXHIBITORS & SUPPORTERS:
Lightbulb Games.co.uk
Infamous Adventures.com
Boneyard Audio.com
Screen7.co.uk
Gamebook Adventures.com

PRIZE WINNERS:
Back To The Future The Game (courtesy of TellTale Games): James Dearden (Technocrat) & Will Ross
Book Of Unwritten Tales: Tier, Joe Gilder, Nelly Cootalot
Gray Matter: Magintz (and two others, didn't write down who)
15 Days: Spike, Azure, Steve Violich
Tales of Monkey Island: straydogstrut (and two others, didn't write down who)

STAY-AT-HOME PRIZE WINNERS (courtesy of Lace Mamba Global):
Book of Unwritten Tales: Peder Johnsen
Gray Matter: Armageddon
Tales of Monkey Island: Stuart Forbes
15 Days: Rikard Peterson

VISITORS:
Saturday - 29 people
Sunday - 19 people
Stay-At-Home - 10 people
Complimentary: 4 people
Total: 62
Videos being added below!

MEDIA:
New Alasdair Beckett-King full talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2KlPRIB7WI
Chris Jones full talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20pYaVjAV98
Yahtzee "adventure game retrospective" recorded especially for A-X 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpNSlzk80HY
Saturday short clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9x4oFKI24Q


ARTICLES
Cubed Gamers article http://www.cubedgamers.com/home/2012/01/03/adventure-x-2011/
Cubed Gamers interview with Chris Bateman http://www.cubedgamers.com/home/2011/12/20/an-interview-with-chris-bateman/
The Reticule article http://www.thereticule.com/adventurex-2011/
Adventure Gamers perspective: http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18648

m0ds

2 tickets sold (read it and weep teh Matthew Frith!1) .. 18 more and we have an event! Woop

Matt Frith

I have bought my ticket! (read it and weep teh mork lovegroove!1one).  Just got to make that demo now.... ahem!

Stee

I'd love to go but pre xmas events arent good when money is tight. Just thought I'd share my 2p if it's worth anything. I'll probably be down in London come new year visiting friends if anyone wants to meet up
<Babar> do me, do me, do me! :D
<ProgZMax> I got an idea - I reached in my pocket and pulled out my Galen. <timofonic2> Maybe I'm a bit gay, enough for do multitask and being romantical

m0ds

#4
No problem, I realize it's not the most convinient time of year, but its certainly the only AGS xmas gathering I'll be going to :) Maybe another time? Maybe early in the new year next time.. And thanks Matt!! Haha, made me chuckle seeing your order:)

Technocrat


m0ds

Considered :) Please send me a screenshot!

Technocrat


straydogstrut

Yeah, feeling the pinch already and it's only early November :(

But to hell with it, the family's getting a lump of coal for Christmas.

Got my accommodation sorted - in Didcot itself so I can stagger back from the pub - trains booked and i've just bought my AdventureX pass. My partner's coming up to spend a couple of days in Oxford while I enjoy this thing ;D

Well done on organising all this so far Mark, and for the website too which seems to be brimming with more adventure-gamey goodness since i last checked. On with the show!

m0ds

#9
Great, thank you!! Good that you have made a thing of it - Oxford is certainly good for a bit of tourism ;) I hope the accomodation is good - look forward to seeing you there!

C. Bateman has blogged about his appearance at the event, so that's confirmed that quite nicely  :D

m0ds

Added a Day Ticket to try and increase sales, so peeps can visit on just one day. You can still use ONIONRINGS11 with it to get a discount :)

cat

Is there going to be some "Stay at home" ticket? You could record the live talks on video and offer them as a download after the event.

m0ds

I'm sure it'll be videoed to a degree, but that doesn't really help build a budget for the event to happen in the first place :-\

But yeah, I see what you mean about a 'can't make it' ticket... Hmm.

Azure

I booked, I'm looking into hotels and stuff now. Anyone got any recommendations?
www.voiceacting.space - Casting Calls for voice actors

cat

Quote from: m0ds on Thu 10/11/2011 17:21:02
I'm sure it'll be videoed to a degree, but that doesn't really help build a budget for the event to happen in the first place :-\

Well, if it is of any help, I could buy such a ticket before the event to help funding and get the video afterwards.

m0ds

#15
Hi cat, it's a good idea - I still need to think about it, and the extra setup + effort it would involve. A live event over the net with video etc would be fantastic, but as that wouldn't be possible this time round, I think it's more appropriate to just stick any videos that get made on the website for free. And not to mention most of the games on show will be out in due course  8) I really like the concept but my hands are tied this time round with just getting tables and chairs... Maybe in the future, if the event is succesful and repeats, there can be more of a team so things like live streams can be arranged! That said, I will still look into costs behind your idea over the coming days. I'd need to sell about 40-50 tickets to consider any kind of conferencing setup. Next time round it might be worth doing an indiegogo funding thing alongside it. Just depends how popular/necessary it is for such an event in the future :P

Azure - awesome, thanks! I'd recommend Ibis hotel in Reading for cheapest, premier inn Didcot for closest - or blag a friend from the area? You could look around for a b&b in Didcot? straydogstrut found a place in Didcot itself. The hotels I could find are on the "map" page of the website. Any major problems send me an email. See you there!


m0ds

#16
Right cat! And anyone else who wants to "stay at home" but enjoy the benefits of AdventureX, I've decided to trial cat's idea to a degree whereby apart from the eventbrite fee, you can get goodies from the event for yourself for an amount of your choosing. I can see good things with it, but I can see problems. Hence why it's a trial. No matter though, you can still be refunded no matter how much you donate to your stay at home ticket.

http://adventurex.eventbrite.co.uk/

Of course, a pound or two means the show can be even better, and there can be even more content to send your way "offline". My concern is not to make the benefits of staying at home TOO good, otherwise no-one will come :P

Oh and I realize the ticket fee is a bit crummy. Next time round when I'm more confident with the way it all works I'll use the PayPal method. The ticket fee is basically covering my ass with technical help and stuff, and means refunds can be dealt with very easily. Also, it was the only way I could get an advance payout (to be able to pay the event bar staff, etc).

m0ds

Chris Jones of AGS land will be making a guest appearance on Sunday. He only cost $500,000. Oh no wait, that was a tunnel in transport tycoon.

Technocrat

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 21/11/2011 22:31:54
Chris Jones of AGS land will be making a guest appearance on Sunday. He only cost $500,000. Oh no wait, that was a tunnel in transport tycoon.

The man himself?!  :o   Well then, I shall definitely atte...oh wait I'm already coming

Armageddon

Someone better film this, I must hear his voice!

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