AdventureX 2012 - early planning thread

[m0ds]

Free to exhibit: see http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=46214.msg629956#msg629956

AdventureX - for adventure game fans, game designers & those just curious!
     

     
Hi folks, I'd like to give you a heads up about a possible AdventureX event this year. With your help we can make it happen! No tickets this year, instead a funding campaign on good old IndieGoGo. With the goal met, we can hire a central London location and allow visitors to enter for free.
     
http://www.screen7.co.uk/adventurex
     
Another line up of well known and lesser known developers will be along to give talks, there'll be a bunch of new games to see and plenty more to do. Things are not finalized, and I'd welcome anyone with an interesting idea to get in touch.
     
http://www.indiegogo.com/adventurex2012
     
If you can spare a few dollars to make it happen in 2012, you'll help strengthen it for the future - so whether you may be able to turn up this year or not, you can certainly help others enjoy the event this year.
     
There is disabled access and we'll have a webcast running this year, on-site wifi and the famous Peticote Lane market is just outside the front door - so come along!
     
The Adventure Gamers write up of the first event last year:
http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18648
     
Features this year - help us reach the funding goal!
- Dave Gilbert, Wadjet Eye Games
- Stephen Marley, Martian Gothic & Dreamweb
- Alex Warren, creator of Quest (for text adventures)
- Jon Ingold CEO Inkle Studios
- ? ??, help us reach our goal to announce another special guest!
- Daily games showcasing, choose your own adventure game, short masterclasses
- Competitions, quiz & after-party
     
Thank you for your support - see you in London later this year?
     

     

Original post:

Smello. I am interested in doing this again later this year, but would be interested to have any ideas for speakers and anything else you feel can be improved. I know the location is a bit "bum" but I don't see much chance of changing that for the second run I'm afraid. Hopefully in the future though.

One speaker is certainly interested, see here - does this interest you? Who else might - preferably UK/Europeans though, can't really afford to fly Americans over I'm afraid! I've also got a couple of requests pending, and I guess it would be worth trying the people who couldn't make it last time (ie Charles Cecil, Jonathan Boakes).

If anyone thinks they may be interested in exhibiting let me know, and feel free to suggest ways to make the experience better for you. This time the schedule will be a bit more strict (meaning, I will try and stick to it!) and there will actually be tutorials this time.

One more thing to note: There are still 2 newsletters pending from the last event, which will be sent in the run up to the 2012 event (before tickets go on sale). Around the same time, everyone who contributed last year will be sent the former newsletters (you can expect this around July/August). Also many apologies to those awaiting a prize via post. I'm sending those out on the s7 relaunch around July 7th.

All comments/questions welcomed, just let me know if you have any ideas. Any games in production you'd particularly want to see? (I notice there are some that will still be in development that were featured last year, and some even got missed out of the show due to me not being overly organised).

Also dates - december good? And if so when, 8 & 9, 15 & 16, or 22 & 23?

EDIT: What AGS people would you be most thrilled to meet or have speak?

» It's still totally free to exhibit your game/company at AdventureX ! Get in touch if you want to represent

Notes by me for me

- More audio clips by developers
- London venues, Beckett's cave, universities

[WHAM]

When will this happend and how much for tickets?
I'm looking into travelling to the UK some time this year and this just might be the perfect chance!

[m0ds]

Most likely December again sir! Unless there is major objection to that (but it seemed to work out okay last time).

Tickets will be £15 for 2 day pass and £10 for one day pass. This includes the ticket system fee, which was added on top of the ticket price last year.

[CaptainD]

I missed last year so am definitely wanting to come this year - the location is actually quite handy for me, only about an hour's drive away.  Maybe first or second weekend in December?

I do hope to have at least 2 games to showcase at the event, depending on the stage of development they've reaching - Troll Song Episode 1: Completely Stoned and Captain Disaster in Death Has a Million Stomping Boots.

No particular ideas about speakers, unless you can bribe Steve Purcell into coming!! 

[WHAM]

Hell, I'll have plenty of time to gather up some money for the trip AND to build something new and cool to showcase!
Depending on the exact date I should have no problemt making the trip! Wheee!

[Radiant]

I'll consider joining this year, but december is too far away for me to make any promises on that.

[Peder 🚀]

I might try harder to make it this time lol . Doubt I'll have anything to show though..

[m0ds]

Cheers Gents. And I will try and run it better this time No definite dates for a while, but any interest and ideas at the moment is much appreciated.

[Darth Mandarb]

You should plan it for on/around 21 December... ring in the end of the world with the Mayans!!!

I would LOVE to attend but with it being across the pond my chances of attending are low  

And December is still a long way off . 

Love the idea and your commitment to it though!

[Jared]

EDIT: What AGS people would you be most thrilled to meet or have speak?

Keynote presentation from Icey?

[EchosofNezhyt]

EDIT: What AGS people would you be most thrilled to meet or have speak?

Keynote presentation from Icey?

Haha.

[CaptainD]

Keynote presentation from Icey?

Only if it's a complete annotated history of Oceanspirit Dennis and his roots in Norse mythology.  That should take several hours.

[m0ds]

With such a prestige guest I'd have to raise the ticket price to £100, at least.

In 2003, designer C. Cecil said "point & clicks are dead". In 2012, designer I. Games will announce "point & clicks r...p g."

[Chicky]

I'll be there! This year I plan to drink more beer and pester Ali less.

[Azure]

Oh oh me me! I wanna go! I've totally posted on the forums since last year. I'm def interested and will try to bring even more random people 

Charles Cecil sounds cool especially as they're hinting about a new game being announced soon. How about Steve Ince as well?

[m0ds]

Ah bollocks. I've just heard they're knocking down the Labour Club venue so it won't exist this Christmas time Thanks for the interest though, I'll have to look into some new venues 

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9667178.Labour_Club_sells_site_for_development/

[Technocrat]

That sucks. Looks like we'll have to resort to the Communist Party Club or the Monster Raving Loony Super-Happy Fun-Park

[m0ds]

Or the local happy whore-house

Trust me, this is Didcot we're talking about.

[Stee]

How about somewhere a little less country bumpkin and a little more accessible by transport?

If you can find a venue near a major transport hub, cheap, it makes it more attractive to customers, especially if it's commutable without relying on spending a fortune on accommodation.

Try and mingle with some other communities on the net - wintermute and the other rubbish   A big problem is that whilst we have a big community, we ironically only have a small footprint in the UK (that's the impression I get anyway) and it's unlikely the foreign folk are going to come over for a 2 day event. If the focus comes off AGS a little there might be a bit more interest elsewhere. As for speakers:

Dan Marshall seems to be in the middle of something that might be adventury but doesn't sound AGSy.

Maybe if the whole development shambles is settled by December there could be a talk on the future development roadpath for AGS by one of the codies.

Dave Gilbert's wife Janet is a Brit, so there's a possibility he/they may be floating around, especially around Xmas time. A more modern (read:active) developer might bring some fresh perspective than "the guy that developed this AAA game several years ago" - especially since adventure games these days are mostly indie / semi indie.

Technocrat has some nice stuff - Would be good to see what he's working on.

I'm not sure he'll pitch up but I'm sure you can bribe Yahtzee into contributing.

Give Davy some promo time on his Big Sheep game 

Bribe a few game journalists to attend with a free ticket and a beer.

[Radiant]

How about somewhere a little less country bumpkin and a little more accessible by transport?

Ah yes, that is a great idea. Anything within reach of the London subway would have my preference. And there's a lot in that reach.

[AGA]

I've taken a quite peek around for London venues, as that would obviously be the most accessible place in the UK.  However, I'm wondering what you paid last time / think you could raise this time?  And how long would you want this to last?

[straydogstrut]

I'd definitely be up for this again I wasn't that keen on the venue so i'm not too sorry to see it go, although admittedly I had to rush off at the end so I missed the bar entirely! I'll try to make a proper few days of it this time. Location-wise, anywhere within easy reach of London by train really, which opens up a lot of options as you can get an hour away from London at really reasonable prices. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the country though Liz didn't appreciate the long walk back to our B&B. I think something in town would open up more options for pub crawls, meals and stuff.

The presentations last time were excellent so more waxing lyrical on your games please. Not too fussed about who you get though i'd rather hear from my fellow AGSers than anyone else. You're all celebrities in my eyes 

EDIT: Oh and throw up a donate button will ya?

[Ali]

I agree that Didcot is not ideal, London would be best for me. I've suggested St Andrew's Crypt to m0ds before. It has no wifi or alcohol, which is probably why it was rejected, but it's relatively cheap and spooky and near Holborn Circus:



I agree that it would be good to broaden out from AGS and try to draw a less super-cool-but-sort-of-narrow crowd, which I think is your original goal.

I think you could also focus on making things more developer-y. Some kind of 48 hour adventure game-making challenge? If the event did take place at an interesting location, you could make 'Adventure X: The Adventure!' as a way of drawing together / promoting the videos and material generated during the 2 days.

I think it would also benefit from a stronger itinerary. As well as a few more presentations, I think the raffle could be replaced by an adventure game pub-quiz, or a treasure hunt!

It would be great to have a documentary team with a mandate to shoot a full behind-the-scenes video, in addition to shooting the talks. A second camera and some mics would help up the production values and make a great advert for next Adventure XIII!

I'll be there! This year I plan to drink more beer and pester Ali less.

I demand to be pestered more!

[m0ds]

The thing with other venues is basically my ability to bring computers to that kind of place, or any equipment really. Maybe nearer the time that will be more possible, because I'm not saying I don't know people willing to lend equipment and such. But I'm personally not in the position to rent a van and take a load of stuff to London, mind you - I WOULD do that. I'm just not in that position.

I like Ali's location a lot and I won't write it off completely even if there isn't any beer There are some good places, and trust me it's my plan to try and bring it somewhere more commercial, more easily reachable in the future. But it could've done with one or two more in Didcot I think, so that it had a name for itself. I'm a bit sad that Didcot won't even see a second hosting but I guess that's life. The venue was practically free. They gave me 10 bags of crisps on the last day because I'd spent so much on drinks. I probably could've bought that upstairs room for £50 - they were really on the edge, as is now apparent - they've sold and are being demolished. It's a shame. But you can see why that kind of hire fare is a bonus compared to a charged venue, plus costs of hiring out equipment, getting to it (as the organiser), paying for guests, etc.

The "game jam" thing has been on my mind, but every time I look into it, it gets more convoluted and I see problems with it from many angles. I'm looking into it, for sure, but I don't think that is what AdventureX should be. A-X is the promotional side of things. Look at my game! Etc. Or, look at me, I'm Ali Beckett! I released some screenshots 2012. Etc.

I appreciate the comments, who you think I should ask etc, and the lineup and venue. I am going to look into it through the next month. I'll need to follow up some previous suggestions and offers especially if it means getting equipment elsewhere. So put it this way, any venue, anywhere in the UK is perfectly acceptable with me - it's just a matter of getting the equipment there. This was achieved last time with my friend, so by the end of this year I'm either going to need to be driving again or have a very responsible friend who'll take me. There ARE amicable venues out there, definitely. And I am certainly game for Ali's S&M dungeon. I need to look into transportation.

As I may have mentioned somewhere I'm also waiting on the Nottingham videogame festival to get back to me cos I think a smaller edition is perfectly possible in October if they get in touch sooner rather than later.

Thanks for your thoughts & ideas!

[Ali]

I am certainly game for Ali's S&M dungeon.

A Sam and Max dungeon would be great! Wait...

[Stupot]

There's a bar called The Adventure Bar in London (actually there's four of them) and it seems you can hire them out for functions/parties/meetings etc.
I imagine they're pretty expensive but it can't hurt enquiring.  Maybe you can wrangle a deal. It would be awesome to have AdventureX in a bar called The Adventure Bar :-)
http://www.adventurebar.co.uk/

[AGA]

Having looked at a couple of places in and near central London, you're looking at around £200 a day for a small room (~20 people), or £300-£400 for a large space (200+).  If you could get 200 people paying a fiver each that would be easy of course, but I suppose it depends just how many tickets you could sell.

[Azure]

If we suggest venues purely on name;



https://plus.google.com/101387783850594460428/about?gl=uk&hl=en

or
http://monkeyisland.co.uk/live/meetings
Which has a fruit bowl!

[AGA]

The second one is in London, and has been talked about here before.  Unfortunately it's £50 per head per day, so just a little unaffordable.

[Azure]

I was joking, I think a youth centre or university might be a better shot?

[Ali]

Having looked at a couple of places in and near central London, you're looking at around £200 a day for a small room (~20 people), or £300-£400 for a large space (200+).  If you could get 200 people paying a fiver each that would be easy of course, but I suppose it depends just how many tickets you could sell.

With a student discount, I hired the crypt at £50 a day for 3 days. I imagine the cost of arranging catering would knock it up a lot though.

[AGA]

I actually work for a university in central London.  I suppose it's theoretically possible we could rent some space.  I'll see what sort of price they look for from external people.

[Dave Gilbert]

If it's relatively easy to get to from London, than I'd definitely consider going.

[AGA]

So I looked into using my work for this.  Unfortunately even with a staff discount (50% off!) it would be £400 per day.  It is a super awesome location though, with digital projectors (two screens!), mics, and loads of space, right next to Liverpool Street station (where a train goes direct to Stansted Airport, and with good links to the rest of the country and the other airports), but it's obviously fairly pricey.  It might be worth considering, if we can get enough people to come (Central London is lot more likely to draw people than Didcot, I'd assume).  Even if it does cost us say £800 overall for the venue for two full days, the venue does hold 150 comfortably, which would be £5.33 a ticket if we could fill it up...

[m0ds]

Sounds possible Berian. As a two day event, we'd only require about 55 people to pay a two-day ticket fee (of about £15) to cover those costs. Of course though there are guest fees on top of that, usually just travel expense but get a designer down from B'ham and it could still be in the region of £70-100 a guest (f****** trains). It could certainly be set up in a kickstart manner in such that it will only run if enough tickets are sold to cover the costs. But the guests and itinerary are certainly going to have to be bigger and better this time round to pull in those kind of crowds. Also some photos of the location wouldn't go a miss (importantly, the space we can accomodate for the show). Thanks for looking into it!

Also - closest bar? And, it does have windows and natural light, right?

PS. It could also run an extra day minus the venue, but to help cover venue costs - for example, a meal or par-tay on Friday evening.

PPS. London may also open up the oppurtunity to do some proper rental exhibitor space, but that's "um" and "ah" at the moment because I'm not sure it'd be wise to charge exhibitors for what is only the second event.

Also Ali what are the chances of you forming a small "crack" tech team, ie to perhaps bring a few lights and gels and such to spice the venue up? As you are a Londoner with creative buddies..?

[Ali]

Also Ali what are the chances of you forming a small "crack" tech team, ie to perhaps bring a few lights and gels and such to spice the venue up? As you are a Londoner with creative buddies..?

It might be possible, depending on the whens and wheres. I don't have any kit myself, but I might be able to borrow a little. I probably can't get you any crack, though.

[AGA]

The lecture theatre (which is the space we'd likely be using) has three walls of windows - shitloads of natural light, and holds 150 people.  There's also a space right outside where you can set up tables for buffets / drinks / general chillaxery.  I'll take some photos tomorrow.  The room can also be split into two 75 seater rooms if you wanted to split off to have different themed rooms or something similar.  Each room has a projector screen, with separate (or cloned) HDMI / VGA and audio inputs.  It's all very modern and high tech.  The building isn't usually open on a Sunday, so there may be some extra costs involved in them putting a security guard on then (not sure if it's usually 24 hour security).  I'll look at getting a more definite costing if it sounds interesting to people after you've seen photos.

As for bars, there's one a few doors down, and one every twenty feet for miles around.  It's central London, so drinks are fairly expensive, but the building has drinks functions all the time, so I'm sure we could put on our own booze if it came to that.  There are also loads of restaurants in the area if we wanted to do a meal on the Friday as you suggested.

[AGA]

So it turns out that 12:00 - 21:00 only counts as a half day, so would only cost £200.  So if we were willing to start at midday rather than 07:00 the venue would only cost us £400 overall for two days - not bad at all.  I've taken a few photos here which show the lecture theatre and breakout space outside.  Unfortunately the little Asian girls probably wouldn't be there at the time.

So what do we reckon, would this make a decent venue?  If you think so, I can look into getting a more accurate costing, and working out deposits and such.

[m0ds]

That doesn't look too bad. A tad clinical, but then the labour club wasn't much cozier. Can you see if they'd hire it from 10:00 to 19:00 instead of 12 to 21? Is it frequently hired at weekends by more than one group?

[AGA]

It is all very modern and stark, yeah.  At least there's a horrible carpet to liven things up a bit!  We could always put some banners and posters and such up to make it a bit more colourful.

As far as I know they don't often use it at weekends.  There certainly isn't any university teaching going on then.  If we did book it we'd have the whole area (if not the whole floor) to ourselves at very least.  I'll look into the times you suggested.

[m0ds]

Thanks. Starting and finishing earlier would be better, definitely. And if those computers (in breakout jpgs) are readily available for use that would make things pretty awesome too. Could work well having two spaces to be honest, so people playing games don't disturb the speeches and vice versa. If you're able to whip up a crude floor plan (or acquire one) that would be a lot of help. M

[AGA]

The PCs are only usually usable by staff and students.  We can sometimes get guest logins set up, but I can't promise that'd be allowed for external people.  I'll look into it though.  The policies are fairly restrictive, so while they do run AGS and AGS games (they're Windows 7, so do it by default), we wouldn't be able to install anything useful like Photoshop and such for game dev.

I'm looking into the 10:00 - 19:00 thing, and will investigate a more solid price.

[AGA]

Oh, and there a floorplan here.  This is from the architect's designs, with my own guesstimations of the measurements scrawled on.

[m0ds]

Thanks Berian. But what's that Mars rover supposed to imply?

[AGA]

If you mean the two things in the centre right, those are lifts.  The thingy on the centre left is where the dividing wall sits when the room is fully open (I think you can see this in the photos I posted).

[straydogstrut]

Looks seriously very cool to me If a timing can be found to suit and it's practical to get some gear there, I vote yes to this. Unfortunately I don't drive, but I am willing to offer my wimpy muscles for equipment lugging duty around the London Underground. Just don't ask me for directions

[Azure]

Ooh nice work on the location scouting, I think it can be prettied up fairly easy with some posters and stuff.

[m0ds]

And fluffy animal toys that only Rachel Cootalot will notice! 

[Ali]

All your toy animals are belong to her.

[m0ds]

A London (AGA) location won't come cheap. It needn't be expensive for interested folks, but please speak up if you think AX would interest you this year, so that we can compare interest to the cost of the venue. Thanks! End of Nov or Dec 16/17 weekend.

[Chicky]

I'll be coming! AGA's location looks super slick, but lacks a bar. To amend this i plan on bringing Labrini and those posh tall glasses that are too small to drink out of. This way we can all dress up and pull funny faces when sipping from our small glasses! I'm exited.

[Disco]

Does it have to be in December? I would very much love to go, but will be coming over to London for 3-4 weeks just after the New Year. Of course it wouldn't technically be AX2012, but is December a done deal?

[AGA]

While there's no definite date yet, I have only so far suggested the two dates to the room bookings people.  I won't speak for m0ds as to when he's willing to consider though.

For anyone desperate to drink, bear in mind there are about twenty pubs within spitting distance, from fancy City bars to old fashioned East End boozers.

[Dave Gilbert]

It's London. There are more pubs per block than almost anywhere in the world!

Either way, I'd be interested in attending (and presenting, if you want me) if it's in London. The other place, not so much. Late November is fine, as long as it doesn't happen during the Thanksgiving holiday.

[AGA]

This seems like as good an opportunity as any to test out polls.  The forum staff have been half considering having them for a while.

[AGA]

I just modified the questions to make it more relevant, so the votes were reset.

[WHAM]

I can't be sure what dates I can travel on, due to work related issues, but I am putting in my papers to get a passport by end of next week!
Exciting times!

[Peder 🚀]

I hope to make it this year!

M0ds: Have you thought about trying to find some sponsors to help cover some costs?
If my finances pick up in time I'll be interested in sponsoring AdventureX through AGSArchives.com.
(Though only if like I said my finances start picking up in time).

[Stupot]

As things stand, any date is fine for me. But, in the words of Benjamin Linus, destiny is a fickle bitch.

[Matt Frith]

I should be able to attend again this year.  That venue looks pretty sweet!

[Jimbob]

Depends if Matt finishes a game...

[Mati256]

Count me in for one of those stay at home tickets. 

[m0ds]

Thanks! Good to see there is some interest. Not quite sure why it says '18 members voted' yet there are 21 votes, but what the hey!

Peder, I'll look into sponsorship.

[AGA]

Because you can vote up to twice.  I let people do that just in case they could make the Nov or Dec dates, but not 'any'.

[Peder 🚀]

So, since I'm planning on going this year if AdventureX happens I wanted to see if there are any fellow AGSers in London who might have a spare room (be it a bedroom, sofa or just a patch of floor) that I could kip in during the nights while I'm there?

[cat]

So is it really scheduled for Sunday and Monday in December? What days of the week would the November date be? I'm interested to come, but it depends if I get off from work, a cheap flight and a place to sleep.

[Stee]

I am available in London 28th December - 4th Jan. I had a right headache trying to get those off in work. It's normally the same time round for me every year, I'm around the new year but not before or after. I normally spend new years in London and go home a few days after.

So it's unlikely I will be coming again this year, but I hope you all have fun 

[AGA]

So is it really scheduled for Sunday and Monday in December? What days of the week would the November date be? I'm interested to come, but it depends if I get off from work, a cheap flight and a place to sleep.

Er, that should be the Saturday and Sunday.  So the 15th and 16th.  The November would also be those days.

[m0ds]

No problem. I'm open on discussion as to whether it should just be a kickstarter-esque campaign to cover the venue and VIP costs and then just have no entry fee, so that anyone can attend, as all costs are covered prior to the event and there is no worry about whether enough tickets will be sold or not. A pledge is your ticket, kind of thing. And may even come with perks like "signed photo by Dave Gilbert" (please select the $10,000 option)

[m0ds]

It's safe to say that Dave Gilbert will be in attendance as will Stephen Marley, and perhaps someone from this studio. Hopefully Rem will also come along to talk about The Cat Lady. I'm looking for some other special guests still but I'm pretty sure the "kickstarter campaign" will be launched shortly after Mittens. It'll be free to attend as the KS will cover all the costs and guest travel expenses.

I would drop the "oh no, not another kickstarter" line, but aren't adventure gamers the pioneers? When does a day pass that an adventure game project DOESN'T become a funding campaign? It's quite a clever financial tool to add to your inventory. If there are any strong objections and people would prefer a ticketed process please speak up

And of course - who will have something to show/demonstrate around December and what is it? Full games, new demos and specially made builds are most welcome, along with any particular info (like PDF's, printouts and such) will help really improve the showcasing this year. If anyone actually wants to make an appearance and talk about their project in front of the audience, let me know - and if anyone wants a table reserved for your business, something you want to demonstrate, etc etc, please let me know ASAP Thanks!!

[WHAM]

Trying to make some preparations, to ensure I can travel for this.
Quoting the Finnish police website: "...to be able to apply for a passport, you must have a passport or other means of ID (driver's license not valid for this purpose)".

...

Looks like I'll be phoning the police station tomorrow...

[m0ds]

It's done through the police? I had no idea! Good luck! I'm in a similar boat, staying firmly on British soil this year..! Plenty of time though. Start panic mode in about a month and a half

[Peder 🚀]

I'm not sure making this a kickstarter and FREE entry if the kickstarter is a success.. What will you do if lets say 600 people arrive?
I'm all for a kickstarter, but as a form of pre-ordering tickets. Giving different rewards for higher pledges is also not a bad idea, but like I said I think it is smart not to do a FREE entry thing, because it very well could become a problem with too many people showing up..

[m0ds]

I see your point, it could be any pledge for free entry then. It's just dealing with who turns up and who doesn't from a ticketed guest list that becomes a pain, it was a bit awkward last time and there weren't even too many people. 5 or 500 will be the same nuisance without someone permanently posted on the door. Not too sure, need to think about it, but like I said I know what you mean!!

[magintz]

The Cave sounds awesome.  I don't think WiFi is a necessity in a venue. Most people have phones these days that can access the internet. I can turn my phone into a wireless access point if we need access to something.

As for speakers, Charles Cecil would be AMAZING! Especially with his recent Kickstarter for a Broken Sword revival.

[Snarky]

Internet access over the phone isn't great for anyone not from the UK, who'll be hit with hefty data roaming charges.

[SSH]

Or you could buy a giffgaff sim, and get unlimited data for a month for 10 quid...

[m0ds]

Berian is asking the uni if we can use the 5 or so computers located in one of the rooms. Hopefully then some light web browsing will be possible (and hands-on game playing). Of course, if they say no, considering we're running a computer convention at their cost of £750, I will probably throw a tantrum.

[neon]

Actually I'd love to come. But won't be possible on 15th/16th December. It would be my birthday.

[Azure]

I can do a short thing on working with amateur voice actors if you'd like? ( and if people are interested) I already did one panel at an anime con this year so won't be too much work to sort a presentation out.

[m0ds]

Thanks, sorry Mr Stein, those are the most prominent dates. But It would be great if you could be there, definitely. I just don't think I'll be able to do November myself. And yes Azure, thanks - that sounds good to me!

[Radiant]

So since we have Dave G already, can we get Ron G to attend too?

[CaptainD]

So since we have Dave G already, can we get Ron G to attend too?

Just so long as we don't have Ali G...

[Ali]

We have Ali B.

[m0ds]

Finchley massiv!

[AGA]

There is WiFi, whether or not we're allowed to use the PCs. We'd easily be able to rustle up a handful of laptops to use even if we aren't. I know you think £750 is a lot of money, but it's really a pittance for two days in central London. Most places this good would charge way more, and probably an extra fee for using any projection equipment and IT. We're only getting this rate as a favour to me, it'd be double the cost otherwise!

[mätzyboy]

Hello folks. Long time no see...

Olympics, Paralympics and now this?? 2012 is full of London action!

This looks fun. And if it's in London I should be able to attend since I live here... eh... You get it... Consider me added to the tentative list. I voted in the poll.

[Peder 🚀]

I also think we should try and go for the venue AGA has mentioned.

[m0ds]

Hm, sure - but we could try and hold it in the Ecuadorian embassy for shits and giggles! 

AssangerX.

^ Very strange word.

[m0ds]

Everything seems fine with the venue, so just about ready to launch the campaign and hopefully run another event! There will also be a chance to see the in development game Quest For Infamy! Thanks to James for letting me know. Please do let me know if you want your game featured at the show in 2012.

[Trumgottist]

Try and mingle with some other communities on the net - wintermute and the other rubbish

As one of the other rubbish, I approve of this post.

I'd love to come, but unfortunately I have a concert on the 16th of December, so that weekend is not possible for me. (Same for nov 25.)

If it ends up on another date, I'll be having a serious discussion with my wallet, to decide if I can afford the trip, but most other weekends in nov-dec would be theoretically possible as far as I'm concerned.

[theSynapse]

I know this is a late suggestion. I've only just come to the forums for the first time since just after AdventureX last year!

And mOds - I can't believe you didn't give me the chance to be the first to get a ticket for the second year in a row!

Anyway, you may want to speak to some of the guys on the Games Culture course at London South Bank University (LSBU) and/or Gamecamp. The campus is in Elephant and Castle which is in central London and near a number of overland train stations and is on the Northern line (for Londoners like me) so it's dead easy to get to.

They have held the GameCamp event a coupe times at the Keyworth building. For those that don't know, it's an (un)conference (http://gamecamp.org.uk/). I went to the last one and it had a couple hundred people, so they can cater for that, plus there are a few rooms of different sizes to choose from in the complex (no offence, no sure AdventureX is going to draw quite such a crowd!) to suit your purposes.

They would be very friendly I'm sure to giving advice on venues and running the event if you need it. Hope the advice helps. Keep me posted on what happens.

I think the main thing you need to do this year m0ds is to do more marketing. it doesn't have to be you per se, just get someone else to do if you like. Definitely take advantage of facebook, advertise on websites. Get a press pack to send out to magazine websites to make it easy for them to do a post about AdventureX so you'll get easy publicity (once you've made the pack up and a template email, it's just a case of sending it out to various people).

Look forward to making it again this year!

Cheers

Tom (random dude from last year who came!).

(EDIT: I've also just noticed that I haven't received an email about AdventureX 2012 yet....has one been sent or is there something wrong with the email list? Obviously the first port of call for publicity...)

[AGA]

You chose the worst possible time to mention this, theSynapse, as I sent an email this morning confirming our booking of a different venue!

Tickets aren't actually available yet, so you haven't missed your chance.  While Elephant might be a good location (albeit a bit iffy), the venue we've booked is actually only a few minutes from Liverpool Street station, which is on the Stansted Express line, as well as four Underground lines.  It certainly could be worth m0ds speaking to these GameCamp people though, at least to get some advice, if not some attendees and publicity...

[cat]

So is the date fixed now? When will AdventureX take place?

[AGA]

m0ds is gearing up to announce that, so I won't spoil the surprise.

[m0ds]

No big surprises, the date will be 15 & 16 Dec - of course, this is all down to a successful campaign which will go online in the next few days!

Tom - thanks for that, I'll look into it. As AGA says, the location is sorted, its now a matter of securing funds. No tickets this year, providing we reach the goal, it'll be free to enter. And no emails were sent out yet but you will still get one or two via your previous ticket sale in the coming weeks. Hopefully see you there!

Yes - any date!
    15 (39.5%)
Yes - late November!
    9 (23.7%)
Yes - 15 & 16 December!
    7 (18.4%)
Yes - but only on another date (discuss below)!
    3 (7.9%)
No - only if it was hosted elsewhere in England
    4 (10.5%)

[straydogstrut]

Woo! Your timing couldn't be better! I fly out to New York on the 17th Will definitely try to make this one!

[Trumgottist]

Good luck to you all! I wish I wasn't the only tuba player in our brass band - as it is it's pretty much impossible for me to skip a concert (a British style brass band like ours should have four tubas).

Ah well. Maybe next year.

[Stupot]

Well you've got 3 months to find 3 tubists and write a sicknote

[Trumgottist]

I did fill in for a tubist at the polar prize ceremony*. I could ask him to fill in for me at the Christmas concert...

* Not as glamourous as it sounds. We played brass sextet outside the Grand Hotel when Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon and the other celebrities arrived for the fancy dinner after the actual ceremony. It was pretty fun, though.

[theSynapse]

You chose the worst possible time to mention this, theSynapse, as I sent an email this morning confirming our booking of a different venue!

Tickets aren't actually available yet, so you haven't missed your chance.  While Elephant might be a good location (albeit a bit iffy), the venue we've booked is actually only a few minutes from Liverpool Street station, which is on the Stansted Express line, as well as four Underground lines.  It certainly could be worth m0ds speaking to these GameCamp people though, at least to get some advice, if not some attendees and publicity...

Sorry! Wasn't trying to mess things up! It's just that I was thinking about starting to get into AGS and came to the forums, but for the first time in about 8/9 months!

How are we securing funds then? I'm intrigued as to how this is going to be a free event!

What is the venue then if you don't mind me asking. I live quite nearby (South Woodford) so Liverpool St. is much better for me anyway!

Incidentally, I hope that someone's already thought of it (I'm sure you have!) but something that will be different from last year will be the level of security required...

[m0ds]

Why, are we going to have to throw you out for heckling? There will be several team members this year making sure everyone's having a safe & groovy time

Funds are being secured through IndieGoGo, the idea is that instead of a ticket you make a pledge and help us reach the goal, and in effect bring the 2012 event into fruition that way. If it works it works, if not, everyone's money is returned and it's a quiet Christmas

I'm not sure if you can see the page, you certainly can't pledge yet but if it works take a peek at the campaign page: (see below)

I'm still waiting on a couple of little aspects before setting the final campaign goal, so it might go down between now and its launch (it certainly won't go up). Also I'm open to ideas for perks.

EDIT: Appears that page can't be viewed just yet. It's a wall of unformatted text, but here's a heads up:

ABOUT ADVENTURE-X 2012:

A variety of new games will be showcased and available to play over both days, with a focus on adventure games, especially point & clicks of mainstream and indie design.

We have special guests who will give a talk & answer questions about past, present & future projects. A variety of other features help AdventureX stand out as the must-visit event for adventure game fans this Christmas!

Located 3 mins from Liverpool St. Station, London - you'll be able to reach the venue easily using the Tube or Bus. Visit London in it's celebratory 2012 year, join us on SATURDAY 15th DECEMBER & SUNDAY 16th DECEMBER.

FREE ENTRY, ALL AGES ARE WELCOME (We ask that under 16's be accompanied by an adult, we reserve the right to refuse entry)

AFTERPARTY on SATURDAY NIGHT for Over 18's only

GUEST SPEAKERS

Special guest confirmed: DAVE GILBERT (Wadjet Eye Games)
PUBLISHER: Resonance, Gemini Rue, Puzzlebots, Primordia
WRITER: The Blackwell Series, The Shivah

Special guest confirmed: STEPHEN MARLEY (UK Author)
CREDITS: Martian Gothic, Dreamweb, Warhammer: Dark Omen

Charles Cecil (Revolution Software) has also shown an interest so please help us reach our goal and convince the man to make an appearance and tell us all about Broken Sword 5 at AdventureX !!

MORE SPECIAL GUESTS TO BE ANNOUNCED!!

CONFIRMED GAMES/EXHIBITORS/HANDS-ON:
Quest For Infamy (Infamous Quests)
Screen 7

OTHER 2012 FEATURES:

Little Lectures (on game-design for n00bs) including
> Artwork - to be confirmed
> Music composition techniques, how to have a better soundtrack
> Breaking into Voice Acting
> Sound design and audio services
> Starting out with AGS (Adventure Game Studio)
> Advanced AGS programming session
> An introduction to forming a UK business

If you're an artist and want to showcase your works, please get in touch with Mark on mark at screen7.co.uk - whether your artwork is game related or not!

Ali's Amazing Adventure Game
A humorous interactive 'choose your own adventure' game with Alasdair Beckett-King, creator of freeware fancy Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy. Join in and see just where Ali and his amazing adventure take you!!

Hands-On Gaming
A selection of PC's allow you and your friends to play adventure games, see previews and trailers and many other exciting surprises!

> Station 1: Indie Adventure Game Showcase
> Station 2: Indie Adventure Game Showcase
> Station 3: Featured Indie/mainstream game
> Station 4: Featured Mainstream game
> Station 5: General internet use

Competitions. Take part in our "pub quiz" and also compete for prizes on our specially hosted console challenges throughout the day!

Prize draws. More info on this and the prizes will appear on the website. We hold prize draws at various times on both days.

Big bundle. One lucky person will win a bumper selection of hard-copies and digital copies of adventure games!

Swap shop. Bring your old adventure games and swap them with others!

Afterparty. Join us in the pub next door to the venue on the Saturday night (7-Late)! We might even hold a pub quiz! The only extra cost is whatever you buy from the bar!

MORE FEATURES & A FULL ITINERARY WILL BE ONLINE MID-NOVEMBER, LISTING TIMES OF SPEECHES AND FEATURES - IF THE CAMPAIGN IS SUCCESSFUL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT!

THE HISTORY OF ADVENTUREX

In 2011 I hosted the first AdventureX after many years of trying to get the thing running. Inspired by London's old ECTS games show, it's basically a small convention for adventure game enthusiasts and developers to come along, meet, greet, listen to talks and masterclasses and of course see all the latest adventure games in development.

I'm thankful for everyone who supported it and helped make it happen last year, all the visitors who made the journey, and the support from Lace Mamba, TellTale, Lightbulb Games, Boneyard Audio, AGS and the developers who sent me their games to show or came along themselves to present.

Quite a few people came last year and there is expressed interest in holding it again in 2012. Unfortunately, the former location is being bulldozed, and so we have to locate AdventureX somewhere new. Thankfully a new venue has been sourced in central London, next to Liverpool St. station.

The facility has an area for discussion and show and tell, plus a seminar room for presentations and speeches. Of course, central London comes at a cost. This campaign has been formed to raise the funds to cover the venue and also to pay any travel expenses our special guests may need.

With the funds secured beforehand, it also means we can open the event up as free entry so there will be no need to pre-book a ticket, just turn up!

Once again there will be speeches by developers of well known mainstream titles, freeware and other indie games. There will be a selection of games to see and play for yourself, plus many other quirky features that make AdventureX a must visit event for adventure game fans near Christmas!

READ MY ROUNDUP OF THE 2011 EVENT HERE:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=44754.0

To breakdown the costs to you: £1365 target (= $2200)

£750 venue hire for a Saturday & Sunday
£250 special guest travel expenses
£250 setup costs, prizes, catering & crew expenses, signage & marketting
£165 IndieGoGo & PayPal fees

AFTERPARTY: If we exceed our goal and reach $2600 we will be hiring a pub basement on Saturday evening, with private bar & toilets + AV system. Otherwise we will just use the normal bit of the pub

I hope to put some of my own funds into it nearer the time.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can use PayPal or your debit or credit card to pledge to the AdventureX campaign. With your help, if we reach our goal we can go ahead and run the show in 2012. Get your friends involved, mention it on Facebook and Twitter and any other means necessary!

Even if you can't attend your pledge will still get the news to your inbox, and help us produce other material from the show. We hope to have videos of the show, online interviews with the guests and other funky technological aspects. Please keep in mind we are not specifically budgeting for this in 2012 but it is our intention over the years to make the show completely accessable via the interwebs.

If you might be interested in working on a digital aspect for the show, filming or anything else - please get in touch with Mark at mark at screen7.co.uk .

[WHAM]

Payday is friday, expect money then.

[Chicky]

Afterparty! Now we're talking

Is 'theSynapse' the guy who was dissing 320? He's in my bad books

Also welcome to the forums

[Radiant]

Okay, I like the way this is shaping up. You can tentatively list me as an attendee for Crystal Shard and our upcoming game, Heroine's Quest (The Herald Of Ragnarok). Depending on what you need, I could be a regular guest, or give a hands-on demo, or prepare some kind of presentation as a guest speaker (although I'm not nearly as famous as Dave G). It's tentative because it depends on my schedule, I can be more clear about this in two or three weeks.

[AGA]

You chose the worst possible time to mention this, theSynapse, as I sent an email this morning confirming our booking of a different venue!

Tickets aren't actually available yet, so you haven't missed your chance.  While Elephant might be a good location (albeit a bit iffy), the venue we've booked is actually only a few minutes from Liverpool Street station, which is on the Stansted Express line, as well as four Underground lines.  It certainly could be worth m0ds speaking to these GameCamp people though, at least to get some advice, if not some attendees and publicity...

Sorry! Wasn't trying to mess things up! It's just that I was thinking about starting to get into AGS and came to the forums, but for the first time in about 8/9 months!

How are we securing funds then? I'm intrigued as to how this is going to be a free event!

What is the venue then if you don't mind me asking. I live quite nearby (South Woodford) so Liverpool St. is much better for me anyway!

Incidentally, I hope that someone's already thought of it (I'm sure you have!) but something that will be different from last year will be the level of security required...

Most of the details are further up in this thread.  It's at UEA London (much smaller university building!), on Middlesex Street, across Bishopsgate from Liverpool Street station.  Only 7 stops on the Central Line!

[theSynapse]

I know the road well (although I never bought any petticoats....). I shall be there!

And for anyone who's worried - there are so many pubs and bars round there you couldn't crawl round all of them in a week!

[theSynapse]

Afterparty! Now we're talking

Is 'theSynapse' the guy who was dissing 320? He's in my bad books

Also welcome to the forums

Since I don't even know what 320 is, I'm presuming that I'm not your guy! :-)

I was one of the few who wasn't part of the AGS community at all. I just saw a post on indiegames.com and booked a ticket immediately last year!

And yes, after party certainly sounds good! We can acquaint ourselves then!

EDIT: Looking forward to spreading the word. Get that link up quick m0ds!

[Mati256]

You must record everything on video and offer it as a perk.

[m0ds]

Thanks Radiant, I'll put your game on the list!

Mati - anyone who pledges will get access to videos, quite who will shoot those videos I don't know at this point..

Campaign will go live a bit later today I hope

[theSynapse]

Reprise of special exclusive Yahtzee commentary? That was pretty darn cool last year.

[m0ds]

Official announcement in a new thread soon but it's possible to pledge now!

http://www.indiegogo.com/adventurex2012

Also, be sure to "like" http://www.facebook.com/adventurexpo

PS. And with some luck, AGA is going to test spamming your PM inbox

[Azure]

Telling everyone I know about this Gimme a shout if there's anything else I can do to help.

[m0ds]

Thanks Azure! And all others who have contributed this early. I'm going to try and update that page to look a lot nicer which requires some time working on the HTML, but it should be in a decent state between now & tomorrow. And at that point I'll go around and promote the campaign beyond AGS

[Ali]

The forums died, and now the picture of Nelly is gone from this thread.

HAVE WE GONE BACK IN TIME?!

[Eric]

My disappeared message encouraged you to make formal plans to video and distribute AdvX2012 panels for those of use who won't be able to attend (but donated partially because of the potential for videos).

[AGA]

My disappeared message encouraged you to make formal plans to video and distribute AdvX2012 panels for those of use who won't be able to attend (but donated partially because of the potential for videos).

There are plans, at very least.

[m0ds]

Aye, it seems anything created in the last few days (threads, db entries, PM's) have suffered, missing presumed dead...!

Though - I got the email of your gfx, thank yous ali!

Eric - Much obliged. My handycam will record the talks but whether someone with a more professional setup is available, not sure yet. We'll also have a webcam streaming the event but what the sound quality is like who knows. However, thanks to your contribution and others - the more that's raised, we'll be able to hire that pro cinematographer and get the best usb webcam on the market

[m0ds]

If you want to exhibit then please get in touch! That means - perhaps you run a business, development studio or just have a great game you've made that you want people to be able to focus on at the event. As an exhibitor, you'll get a table, some chairs and power outlet. From there, you can decorate and turn your space into whatever kind of promotional atrocity you want

This costs you nothing, but please get in touch with me about it as soon as you can, and remember to include cover images/promo images for the games you want to exhibit and a nice clear company logo for the AdventureX website. If you can't make it, but still want your company to stand out, or have you game included in a showcase - do get in touch with me...thanks!!

mark at screen7.co.uk

New special guest confirmed! Alex Warren, creator of 'Quest', an online text & gamebook adventure tool will be at the event.

Website is also coming very soon!

[Andail]

I just claimed something excitable
Probably won't show up though, but you never know! Good luck guys!

[AGA]

You will have all received a spam an important message from me about this today.  Thanks to everyone who responded; I'll keep m0ds updated of the info, but won't reply to everyone individually as that'd take forever!

[m0ds]

My disappeared message encouraged you to make formal plans to video and distribute AdvX2012 panels for those of use who won't be able to attend (but donated partially because of the potential for videos).

Your post also mentioned some kind of error, but I'm sorry sir - as far as I can tell it doesn't stem from my end. I've looked into it and couldn't find any issues. You'll also notice that no-one else has had a problem with it so it's possibly an issue your end?

Andail, thank you!Happy to show TSP on your behalf in some shape or form too if you want.

[magintz]

I've just donated, but I'm sceptical about the pricing structure. If everyone donates $50 (a reasonable but generous average amount) then you're expecting ~45 people to attend. I think last year we had about 15?

I like the idea of it being free, but I think more emphasis needs to be made on the people who actually want to attend i.e. that a $15 contribution is only about £4.50 a day and this could put a lot of burden on either other supporters or on there needing to be greater numbers e.g. if everyone donates $15 you'd need about 150 people to donate. I think having it in dollars might confuse some people about the worth of their donation. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for 150 avid adventure fans meeting, but not sure if it's a reality (on the norm).

I really want to be a part of this and see this thing succeed but I am slightly worried about it meeting its targets without some kind of big marketing strategy. Also the jump from £30 ($50) to £60 ($100) is quite large.

These are my thoughts, thought I'd voice my concerns. Have you reached out to the indie communities (IGDA et al) or got in contact with any blogs or digital publishers about trying to get a little shameless plug?

[m0ds]

Good points Gary. Going to add a whole bunch of other pledge amounts, we have lots of promotion on the go at the mo, should be a few articles going up this week, still early days but a few people are involved and you're welcome to get in behind the scenes and help with promotion if you want. IndieGoGo won't show pounds for some reason, annoying.

I'll get in touch with them about it. And I understand your concern about the numbers and stuff. Wasn't really enough time to figure it all out beforehand, just get on with it and try make it happen...time is short! We can get 250 people in a day, of course if 250 have pledged they're the ones allowed in!!

As you know we're still dipping our toes in the water running a public event like this - still early days of refinement in all areas, but it's going to be a fun event if it does happen this year, certainly. Thanks for pledging Your money returned if it doesn't work out, and I can't gamble the risk of running a ticketed event - unless you or Berian wants to front £750?

PS. The total number of visitors last year was about 50 individuals over the weekend. But guessing the number of people isn't worth it, it's too random, and now we have a new venue, new location, it'd be even harder to try and guess. But if we can get 50 individuals passing through the doors a day, that'd be excellent!

[magintz]

Cool stuff, glad to hear. Will be spreading the good word. That word being adventure.

[Eric]

Your post also mentioned some kind of error, but I'm sorry sir - as far as I can tell it doesn't stem from my end.

I think the issue must have been with IndieGogo then. When I submitted, it said, "Campaign owner may not have set up Paypal correctly." Probably a server error or something. I resubmitted today. You should now have my (meager) donation!

[m0ds]

Thanks Eric! Every little helps

[m0ds]

You'll be able to see & listen to the designer giving a short presentation on his upcoming game Johnny Hurricane..



His name is Technocrat of course!

[The Donut]

Have you considered contacting the fine gentlemen at Rock Paper Shotgun in order to help spread the word? I'm sure this is something they would gladly write about. I'll definitely be there if it doesn't clash with my graduation dates.

[Azure]

RPS is on our to contact list thanks for the reminder, do you know if there's a specific person we should contact or if we just need to use the generic contact information?

[m0ds]

I have a couple of contacts there I will try.

[SelakSalamSalak]

I guess you guys already booked the venue so is probably too late but I just found out about this event. Maybe for 2013 you can book Google Campus for free. Read HOLDING YOUR EVENT AT CAMPUS http://www.campuslondon.com/events/
The company I work for asked if they can hold a gamejam in December when Ludum Dare announces the date and googlecampus said yes.

[m0ds]

Nice! People have mentioned Google before... so it's certainly one to keep on the list for future events, thanks!

[m0ds]

Anyone who's contributed via IndieGoGo, did the update reach your inbox? It begins with:

Hooray! The AdventureX campaign passed the $500 mark, thank you!

I'm asking because it didn't come through to my email, which is unusual because updates on my other campaigns go to email fine.

[Ali]

No email for me...

[Eric]

I also did not get an email.

[Privateer Puddin']

No email.

[m0ds]

Cheers guys, I've emailed their support team because it should have been delivered to all.

[Peder 🚀]

Looks like I won't be able to help fund this for this year nor attend.
My current financial status is not very good atm

I hope this becomes funded though and that AdventureX 2012 becomes a success .

[m0ds]

We've passed the half way mark, thanks AGS!! I'll be writing the first full newsletter with special guest interviews and game previews over this week, contributors will be sent a link very soon (and there's still time to pledge and get the first newsletter).

Various folk have got in touch about showcasing their games, exhibiting or just willing to send me a build for people to play at the event - if that includes you, do get in touch with me here or through email. Thanks

Also, it took a while, and I still owe 2 videos, but here is:

A PDF of all the 2011 newsletters (46 pages) with lots of interviews, AGS games and previous event info. And enjoy how I refer to Nick Garafola as a woman. I will be checking facts with 1% more scrutiny this time round, I promise!

[m0ds]

Well, it was worth a shot... 

Dear Mr Lovegrove

Thank you for your email kindly inviting the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to attend and speak at your event on 15 & 16 December 2012.

I am very sorry but, much as the Mayor is very grateful for the invitation, I regret that it is not possible for him to accept on this occasion.

He has asked me to pass on his apologies and best wishes for a successful event.

Yours sincerely

[Chicky]

Lol Mods, that would have been amazing! Good effort

I promise to donate as soon as i find some sort of employment, so that i have money to donate. Do you accept pixels?

[AGA]

We will accept your first born child in exchange.

[Ali]

Congratulations on reaching the half-way point! I must say, I'm glad Boris Johnson isn't coming. I say you ban him from all future AdventureX events, in response to his snub!

[AGA]

Maybe we should invite Ken Livingston instead, he's probably more accessible.

[Azure]

Does anyone have any newt based games?

[m0ds]

...and 7 days to reach it!

[WHAM]

Once I hear how much my car's maintenance will cost, I might be able to shell out another 50$. Let's make this happen, I wanna visit the UK!

[Mati256]

Just 9 days left and still 519 shorts. Come on guys, spread the word!

[m0ds]

Perhaps everyone has spent their hard earned cash on the other 6 million adventure game related campaigns this year?

That said - we are working on getting that final figure covered... and there are a bunch of higher tiers for anyone that wants to specifically promote their business or such. Anyway getting close, I think we can do this

Ah, Kitchne-- Berian is on the case

DO THINGS RED WRITING TELLS YOU TO DO!

[Azure]

Just a small thing here, Taleweaver on the Lemmasoft/Renpy forums looking for a room buddy for the Liverpool St Travelodge ( see our discussion here, and has asked me to let you know they are looking for a room buddy. I'm merely forwarding this on as they are having trouble finding a single and thought others may have the same problem.

[Stee]

Come on people, just over $200 left to go! 

Hurry up I need to sort my train tickets out before the prices increase 

And I need to know the event is going ahead before I sort my tickets out   

[Privateer Puddin']

Yup, need to book train and hotel..

[m0ds]

The goal has been reached! Woohoo!! Guess I can cross November off my 'social life' calendar now

There is of course still a week if anyone else wants in on some perks or sponsorship deals

[Taleweaver]

Hi, Taleweaver here. First visit to these forums - I'm usually a Lemmasoft Forums native (yes, one of these weird visual novel types), but I hugely enjoy any sort of game with a gripping storyline. So I look forward to coming to AdventureX 2012 too and getting to know all of you people, sharing stories, skills and secrets - it's gonna be great! Azure already told you I was looking for a roommate, so if you're willing to invest 60 GBP for two days in a London Travelodge hotel, contact me!

[Stupot]

Dayum! Last time I looked there was still 500-odd quid to go.  I was going to donate today.  I still will even though the goal is reached. Put it towards the bar-fund or something

[WHAM]

Hooray! I'll start making preparations! I'll need to make sure I have the free time, and I need to book plain tickets, and I need to ensure I have a place to sleep and... *hassle hassle hassle*

[Dave Gilbert]

SWEET! You made it. I'll see you all there.

[Technocrat]

Hurrah! I'll get my adventuring hat.

[CaptainD]

Will there be a series of irrational inventory-based puzzles to solve in order to be able to enter the exhibition?

[AGA]

Will there be a series of irrational inventory-based puzzles to solve in order to be able to enter the exhibition?

The building does have a security guard and security gates.  I could make it so that each of you has to find a way of getting past these before you gain entry, if you'd like.

[Andail]

Congratulations! Now you can finally stop being annoyed with other adventure game-related crowdfunding campaigns... 

Oh and I'll try to be there, however unlikely it seems at the moment!

Edit:
Hehe, guilt trip accomplished

[adm244]

Hey! You made it.
My congratulations

[MurrayL]

Awesome to hear it's definitely going ahead!

I'll be there with Astroloco: Worst Contact!

[Ali]

Woo!

[Yeppoh]

Will there be a series of irrational inventory-based puzzles to solve in order to be able to enter the exhibition?

That would be awesome. But I have to ask : Discworld kind of irrational, Broken Sword kind of irrational or King's Quest kind of irrational inventory-based puzzles?

[m0ds]

Thanks everyone! Don't worry Andail, Berian will continue to advertise the event on your facebook page. Taleweaver, what about hostels nearby? Anyway, I'll speak to someone who did mention looking for a room. And thanks for your interest (and signing up here!)

Nice one Dave! WIth the funding complete, as I said to the team:

[embed=640,360]<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IUH3JQjcweM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/embed]

[Taleweaver]

Taleweaver, what about hostels nearby?

I've yet to find a nearby hostel with a better-than-awful rating. And really, it's not that I cannot afford a hotel. I just don't want to waste money if I can avoid it. The place I have in mind is basically just around the corner to AdventureX, and I think GBP 60 for two nights is quite a good deal for London.

Thanks for helping me find a roommate, though. I really appreciate that.

[YicklePigeon]

It's good to see that the target was not so much reached...but breached (boom boom! Thank you! I'll be here all week... ), tossed a few coins into the pot anyway.

Regards,

Yickle

[Andail]

I'm seriously considering attending, seeing now that Ryanair will fly me to London for virtually nothing.

Any suggestions where I could stretch out nightly are appreciated.

[cat]

Great, I'll book a flight within the next days.

[CaptainD]

Will there be a series of irrational inventory-based puzzles to solve in order to be able to enter the exhibition?

That would be awesome. But I have to ask : Discworld kind of irrational, Broken Sword kind of irrational or King's Quest kind of irrational inventory-based puzzles?

A combination of all three, with a bit of Ocean Spirit Dennis thrown in!! 

SEARCH pile of leaves - find ancient amulet
STEAL breadcrumbs from small child
USE breadcrumbs to attract pigeon
USE ipod on pigeon to frighten it
USE frightened pigeon on ancient amulet
TALK TO ancient amulet
Receive wisdom of the ancients
USE wisdom of the ancients on tree
tree becomes ent
TALK TO ent
PICK UP paperclip
USE paperclip to unlock gardener's shed
PICK UP shovel
USE shovel on lake in Hyde Park to create channel diverting water to ent
ent will now distract guard for you
PICK UP kipper from residual waters of channel
SLAP Ocean Spirit Dennis with kipper
ENTER ADVENTURE-X

[AGA]

I'm seriously considering attending, seeing now that Ryanair will fly me to London for virtually nothing.

Any suggestions where I could stretch out nightly are appreciated.

Unfortunately the two spaces I can offer have already been bagsied.  The flat's too small to fit any more in comfortably anyway; it's all tile and wood flooring besides, which would probably be remarkably uncomfortable to sleep on.  Plus Jen probably wouldn't be too happy about having hundreds of sweaty nerds taking up her space.

[Taleweaver]

SEARCH pile of leaves - find ancient amulet
STEAL breadcrumbs from small child
USE breadcrumbs to attract pigeon
USE ipod on pigeon to frighten it
USE frightened pigeon on ancient amulet
TALK TO ancient amulet
Receive wisdom of the ancients
USE wisdom of the ancients on tree
tree becomes ent
TALK TO ent
PICK UP paperclip
USE paperclip to unlock gardener's shed
PICK UP shovel
USE shovel on lake in Hyde Park to create channel diverting water to ent
ent will now distract guard for you
PICK UP kipper from residual waters of channel
SLAP Ocean Spirit Dennis with kipper
ENTER ADVENTURE-X

That sounds more like Interactive Fiction than like something Sierra would have done. I think it should be more like...

USE emergency brake
(train stops quite abruptly)
USE guy who fell on you
(whoa, he's not too happy)
USE Ben Croshaw autograph ON guy who fell on you
(that should calm him down)
TAKE crooked umbrella
(looks more like a crowbar? hmm)
USE crooked umbrella ON stuck doors
(leave the train)
LOOK metal slot
(what could fit in there?)
USE British flag ON metal slot
(yeah, but how open the panel?
USE crooked umbrella
(opened it; it's going to fall apart if you look at it too closely?)
LOOK crooked umbrella
(there, it fell apart)
TAKE metal rod
(how could I make this into a screwdriver)
USE metal rod ON train tracks
(whoosh! now it has a nice flat end!)
USE flattened metal rod ON panel
USE flattened metal rod ON screw
(argh, have to click the exact spot)
USE flattened metal rod ON screw
USE flattened metal rod ON screw
USE flattened metal rod ON screw
(hmm, colored buttons! Looks like the British flag comes into play here!)
PUSH white
PUSH red
PUSH white
PUSH blue
PUSH white
PUSH red
PUSH white
PUSH blue
PUSH white
PUSH red
PUSH white
(phew, long combination)
USE ladder
...and you're inside!

[m0ds]

There's a price slider here and some of them do have single rooms, of course, sharing with more people you pay much less.

http://www.hostelworld.com/search?city=London&country=England

[straydogstrut]

Congrats on reaching the funding target!! I'll only be able to make the Sunday and i'm jetting off to NYC the next morning, but I'm super excited this is going ahead. Especially looking forward to Rebecca's VA talk 

[m0ds]

If you want to showcase your game in person and haven't gotten in touch with me already please email me mark at screen7.co.uk - you'll be designated a 15 min slot on Sat or Sun (or both if you want), but I won't be able to schedule anyone in AFTER Nov 31st so do let me know ASAP if you think you can attend and show your game.

Alternatively, if you want your game to be seen/played by others then you'll need to send me builds by around Dec 10th at the latest. It'll be put on the gaming machines and if you send us some thorough information on the game we may be able to present it too. So if you're considering it, please prepare that build now! We're particularly interested in unreleased games and new games around the December period, but will happily include any other games you've released in 2012 on the machines.

We're also happy to receive:
> A video presentation (no more than 10 minutes please) whether it be about your game, a masterclass etc
> Game trailers. We're looking for exclusive/unseen content but any new trailers relating to your games are welcome.
> Written info. Send us something to print off and leave lying around for people to read!
> Screenshots. For our webcast slideshow, our in-house slideshow and other promotional material.

You are also more than welcome to dedicate someone else you know is going with the task of presenting your game, you must let me know who's doing your presentation again by Nov 31st. Thank you!

Oh, and if you want to give a masterclass/tutorial you'll also be given a dedicated 15 min or so time slot, again let me know the subject and which day you'd be most happy to present it.

Finally, if you've emailed me recently about the event PLEASE NOTE I have lost all my emails after re-installing Windows, so I will need to hear from you again before Nov 31st so I've got your contact details (in fact, please drop me an email as soon as you can) - thanks!

PS: AdvX is made up of 3 quadrants this year, Main Hall A will have VIP speeches, masterclasses & special features in it, Main Hall B will have exhibitors & game demonstrations, the Breakout Area is for chilling, playing dedicated games machines and refreshments. Please be aware that some items will overlap others, except VIP speeches. We have more to fit in this time. Also note I will not be doing demonstrations of games sent to me (unless you send me a decent page of info to use for talking notes!!!), you'll need to turn up or dedicate someone else who's turning up if you want your game properly presented.

[Taleweaver]

By the way, I spread the word a little about AdventureX. I guess some more advertising can't hurt.

[cat]

Before I book the flights - is anyone interested in doing a day of sight-seeing before or after AdventureX?

[LimpingFish]

I'll be booking my flights this week, but I've yet to locate accommodation. As soon as somebody finds a decent hotel near the venue, please post about it here.

- is anyone interested in doing a day of sight-seeing before or after AdventureX?

With decent accommodation, I'm open to an extra day or two in London. Anybody else?

[Azure]

For accommodation how about the Travelodge  http://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/44/London-Central-Liverpool-Street-hotel it's three mins walk away
Hotel brick lane ( 7 mins walk) http://www.hotelbricklane.com/search.aspx


and also yay at least one person for my VA talk

[AGA]

There are of course hotels all over London that may be cheaper.  It'd 'only' cost you a few pound to get to anywhere within half an hour's tube journey.

[m0ds]

Indeed, Greenwich had a cheaper one going on Travel Lodge (well, about 10-15 cheaper) and thats literally just across the river from liverpool st. Anywhere near an underground tube station will be easy to get to the venue, even if it's 20 miles on the other side of London!

[Andail]

Just posting to confirm that I'll definitely attend! Both trip and accommodation sorted out.
Looking forward to meeting you all

[WHAM]

Plane tickets booked, it's official!

[CaptainD]

I'd appreciate it if you can both come dressed as your avatars so that I can recognise you.

[Taleweaver]

I'd appreciate it if you can both come dressed as your avatars so that I can recognise you.

If you know a place in London where I can rent an oversized tux...

[WHAM]

I'd appreciate it if you can both come dressed as your avatars so that I can recognise you.

I'll see what I can do.

[Dave Gilbert]

My plane tickets are BOOKED! I'll see you all there.

edit: I get there early on Friday and will be checking into the Andaz Liverpool Street. If anyone is around at that time and wants to hang out, let me know.

[cat]

Flight is booked! I'll arrive Friday in the early afternoon, so there should be some time for sightseeing.

Also, if there is another female attending, I'm looking for someone to share a hotel or hostel room.

[Yeppoh]

Flight and hostel booked too! I'll be landing on Saturday morning. That will be a fun week-end. I can't wait for it.

[AGA]

My plane tickets are BOOKED! I'll see you all there.

edit: I get there early on Friday and will be checking into the Andaz Liverpool Street. If anyone is around at that time and wants to hang out, let me know.

I'll be at work (the venue!) on Friday, but a few of us are planning to meet up and see the scenery and run through the plans in the evening.

[Matt Frith]

I am open to some sightseeing after AdventureX despite living quite close by.  Would be good to catch up with some people ^_^

[m0ds]

Great! I've been working on the schedule a little and Berian is a busy bee doing busy berian bee things. Thanks to everyone who's been in touch about presenting games, talks and such. I hope to mailshot you all in the near future with a proper update.

[AGA]

Bzz!

[WHAM]

I'll be arriving in the UK on monday, will spend the week visiting the many museums of London. Probably will spend most of Friday in a museum or other attraction as well, but most of these close at 1800, so after that I would gladly meet up with someone!

EDIT: if you are around, have time to spare and are interested in any of the following on the week prior to AdventureX, let me know!
> Imperial war Museum
> British Museum
> Natural History Museum
> Science Museum
> HM Tower of London

[AGA]

There's also the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum), which is near the Science Museum and others.  It's quite random, you might find some things of interest.

[m0ds]

Thank you all who've been emailing, PMing etc asking stuff about the event.

Everyone who's been in touch about demonstrating/talking/exhibiting etc, and those who may be thinking about it - I urge you to please go to this "Active Visitor" application form and fill it out so that I have all the details in one place. Those who have already been in touch will be emailed about this in the next day or so, but you can get a head start if you read this post

http://www.screen7.co.uk/adventurex/apply

Many thanks

[Radiant]

Is there an attendee list? I'm curious if some people I know from mittens are going.

[m0ds]

There is no attendee list, but look over the last couple of pages and you'll see some people who are attending. One month to go...jesus h christ 

[m0ds]

The British Library would like to archive the following website:
http://screen7.co.uk/adventurex/

Dear Sir/Madam

The British Library would like to archive your website in the UK Web Archive. The UK Web Archive was established in 2004 to capture and archive websites from the UK domain, responding to the challenge of a ‘digital black hole’ in the nation’s memory.

AdventureX just filled a digital black hole!!!

[m0ds]

A final reminder that if you want a dedicated time slot to present your game at AdventureX please hurry and fill in this form if you haven't already!

http://screen7.co.uk/adventurex/apply/

Finalizing the schedule very soon, it looks good! If you just want to send something playable for people to have a go on one of the dedicated computers, let me know! (no need to fill in that form above)

Thanks a lot

[MurrayL]

Really looking forward to taking part. Any hints on what the panels will be about?

[m0ds]

It's still a bit up in the air MurrayL.

I'm going to lay this thread to rest & start a new one full of up to date info, so I would urge anyone else thinking of coming to please vote in the poll above

In the new thread, I'll take a vote on the panels people would be interested in, as there are a few topics on the cards, but some feedback wouldn't go amiss.

[m0ds]

New thread with full details and schedule in just a day or two at the most