Midwest Gaming Classic - Suggestions, Tips or Comments

[goatdan]

Hey everyone,

As was mentioned in the other thread, we are working very hard on putting together next year's MGC already. A lot of people on these boards have attended the past two events or a similar one. Some of you have not. What are you looking for in such an event?

What do you want in the way of location, displays, prizes, vendors, things to do, food, etc.?

The Midwest Gaming Classic caters to everyone that is at all interested in arcade machines, pinball machines, video games or computers, so if you have an idea, tip, suggestion or comment on any of those, it would really help. Also, if you have seen anything that you have really liked at the MGC or another gaming show, tell us so we make sure to repeat it :-)

[larsoncc]

Yeah, do it in Michigan. Or Indiana (Indianapolis might be a good town)

Jess is here, I'm here, and damn it, Michigan gets NO LOVE.

[Querjek]

Anywhere in Ohio would be nice. I'd prefer Columbus, but I could make it to most places. And, please, don't make it on a weekday.

[goatdan]

Heh, I mean more along the lines of, "What types of things would you like to see at the event," not "Where would you like it and on what day." Otherwise, I'll take my backyard anytime ;)

I'm looking for something like, "I went to CGE last year, and I loved _____ about it, but I think that they should change the _____ area into something else because... etc" or "I went to the Midwest Classic last year, and I really liked the fact that an arcade machine was given away, but I would have much rather preferred that something I could take home with me was given away instead."

Along with that, what is a fair price to pay for admission to an event? What would you expect at a free event? What would you expect for $5.00? What would you expect for $10.00 or more?

[Dan Iacovelli]

I know what you meant:

You need to have some sort of consession stand there or at least be close to some fast food place like bk or micky'ds.

the pizza and cockies at jagfest2k1 was ok but not really filling.
and the food at mwc this year(I don't know what you did last year for food)
but this year there hardly wasn't anything to eat. (chips and pop don't cut it for 8 hours).

beiseds that I think basicly everything else was ok.

Dan Iacovelli

[Dan Iacovelli]

Along with that, what is a fair price to pay for admission to an event? What would you expect at a free event? What would you expect for $5.00? What would you expect for $10.00 or more?

depends on how much you charging for tables and addmision.
live music is always a nice touch.
Dan Iacovelli

[goatdan]

I know what you meant:

You need to have some sort of consession stand there or at least be close to some fast food place like bk or micky'ds.

the pizza and cockies at jagfest2k1 was ok but not really filling.
and the food at mwc this year(I don't know what you did last year for food)
but this year there hardly wasn't anything to eat. (chips and pop don't cut it for 8 hours).

Thanks for the comments. This was actually our #1 complaint for this year. Last year, we had Chuck E Cheese deliver pizza, but last year we did just have chips and soda. We are working on finding a location with a competively priced resturaunt in the facility or nearby, and this is something that will change :)

[Dan Iacovelli]

kind of figured that was problem with mwc this year (the food).
Dan Iacovelli

[Balloon Fight]

I went to CGE last year, and loved the live retro game music, and all of the arcade machines set on freeplay. As well as the museum. The thing that could have been better was that there were no tables selling food, and the swap meet area was kind of jammed together. Hard to really look around with about 200 people in a small room.

Hope that helps somewhat.

[gulag picture radio]

I really enjoyed the event. I think that the size of it is really good, it just needed a lot more traffic. While I admire the 200 number, I'm sure that no one would argue that double or triple that would be nice. :)

I don't think taht the thing that keeps people away is the price of a ticket. Free is nice, but $5 isn't going to break anybody. Perhaps something like $5 per person, $10 per family would emphasize the family nature of the event.

The slight change in the name is a good idea to make it clear to regular folks what's going on. Simply "gaming" could mean RPG's, etc. To extend this idea, I think that it needs to be extra clear in advertising and even the layout of the event itself that there will be a lot of fun and gameplay available.

Imagine being a person who is not involved in the video game community... You look into a room and you can see boxes upon boxes of game cartridges, but you have to look much harder to find any games in action. I think that a person coming to an event like this wants to wax nostalgic over the games of their youth by seeing them in action... perhaps after that they may bust open their wallets and buy an old system. With this I'm saying that perhaps there should be far more systems avaialble for play concentrated around the entrance, and then some more scattered throughout the rest of the place.

While I really like the museum, I think that there could be more descriptions nearby. The video game timeline from last year was helpful, but a few descriptive cards - without getting into WAY too much detail would be nice. I like the way that the DP guys have each chapter in the bible introduced by a story about the system. this tells the average person lots more about a particular system than quoting processor speeds and component counts.

I had a little table at the last event, and I tried really hard to be interactive with everyone. I had typed up some descriptions of systems, and I rotated what I had on display so that folks who wandered past my table several times would see something different throughout the day. I also schlepped a Dreamcast store display that was on all day with a variety of games. Not that I'm saying that I'm perfect, but I got a number of complements on my table and we had a bunch of fun too.

I think that last year's event had most of the elements in place for a good show, they just need to be tweaked into place a little more to provide for more of an "experience". It would also be great to score some industry people for panels, maybe reps from a company like Nintnedo that bridge the modern and classic eras, more arcade standups, a local radio station doing a remote broadcast, TV coverage on the news...

Possibly most importantly I think that the event needs an MC or a host. Whie printed programs are nice, having the MC come on every hour or half hour to remind people of what's coming up and encouraging people to check out different parts of the show would be realyl valuable. It helps events seem more cohesive. I just MC'd a music performance at a community concert hall, and not only did it cover the time needed while musicians set up their gear, but I found that really no one was reading the program and they needed me there in order to emphasize upcoming events.

I have a lot of other ideas for the event in the future, but I've blathered on a good amount already. Goatdan, let me know if some of the ideas seem to be in the direction taht you want to take the event.

[goatdan]

I went to CGE last year, and loved the live retro game music, and all of the arcade machines set on freeplay. As well as the museum. The thing that could have been better was that there were no tables selling food, and the swap meet area was kind of jammed together. Hard to really look around with about 200 people in a small room.

Hope that helps somewhat.

What was the swap meet area? This is the first that I've heard of it, so I'm a little confused but would love to be told more :)

[goatdan]

Snipped some things in the reply for space issues...


I really enjoyed the event. I think that the size of it is really good, it just needed a lot more traffic. While I admire the 200 number, I'm sure that no one would argue that double or triple that would be nice. :)

Heh, we wouldn't argue that point at all. We actually had hoped that the show would draw 500+ people this year, but a few miscalculations and we ended up with what we ended up with. Not bad, but next year we already have plans in place to make the attendance bigger, we'll just have to see how they work out.


I don't think taht the thing that keeps people away is the price of a ticket.

The slight change in the name is a good idea to make it clear to regular folks what's going on. Simply "gaming" could mean RPG's, etc. To extend this idea, I think that it needs to be extra clear in advertising and even the layout of the event itself that there will be a lot of fun and gameplay available.

Both points are duly noted. We're busting our butts to get more major arcade people there for next year, and at least one of them has already pretty much committed to the show. The first year of the MWC, there was one arcade machine. Last year, there were about 12. At that type of growth, we should end up with over 100 this year ;) Well, that would be nice at least...


Imagine being a person who is not involved in the video game community...

While I really like the museum, I think that there could be more descriptions nearby...

Both points are duly noted.

I never thought about the games thing that you mentioned, but that is a point that will be taken to heart this year. Last year, we were in a location where you probably weren't just going to be strolling by and peeking in. This year we'll see if we can change that.

As for the museum, we actually meant to give out the Museum Guides from 2002 for free, but I left them at home. The guides basically do this throughout the museum, and we do plan on stepping up this feature of it.


I had a little table at the last event, and I tried really hard to be interactive with everyone. I had typed up some descriptions of systems, and I rotated what I had on display so that folks who wandered past my table several times would see something different throughout the day. I also schlepped a Dreamcast store display that was on all day with a variety of games. Not that I'm saying that I'm perfect, but I got a number of complements on my table and we had a bunch of fun too.

Obviously, a show's success hinges on people like yourself that are willing to do that with displays. That is one of those aspects of a show that is pretty much completely out of the hands of the organizers. Luckily, we've had a lot of really good people as vendors and displayers so far... a trend which we hope to continue.


Possibly most importantly I think that the event needs an MC or a host. Whie printed programs are nice, having the MC come on every hour or half hour to remind people of what's coming up and encouraging people to check out different parts of the show would be realyl valuable. It helps events seem more cohesive. I just MC'd a music performance at a community concert hall, and not only did it cover the time needed while musicians set up their gear, but I found that really no one was reading the program and they needed me there in order to emphasize upcoming events.

Agreed, but much harder to do. We had Max doing most of the MC work last year such announcing winning tickets and so on, but it wasn't so much a "set" thing. The problem with doing it on a regular basis at a show is that in some event-type shows, the announcements get tuned out because there is other things to see or do. If I'm sitting at a pinball that is turned up, racking up an awesome score the last thing that I'm caring about is the person on the speakers telling me something. At a musical show, since the attention is really only focused on the stage, it is easier to pull off.

It will be something that is looked into though :)


I have a lot of other ideas for the event in the future, but I've blathered on a good amount already. Goatdan, let me know if some of the ideas seem to be in the direction taht you want to take the event.

Feel free to PM me or email me (loosen@goatstore.com). As I said, we're open to all ideas and I'm really happy that people like yourself, Dan I and Balloon Fight have been contributing them. It is a HUGE help.

[VinnyT]

Mabye not just arcade games, but console games could be set up too.

And mabye swap booths for trading, but renting a booth may cost a bit extra.

[goatdan]

Mabye not just arcade games, but console games could be set up too.

And mabye swap booths for trading, but renting a booth may cost a bit extra.

As for the consoles, we're working on that. We're hoping to implement an "Adopt a Console" method this year to get every system in the museum hooked up and playing which would be mighty impressive. The museum has one of everything that was anything, basically!

The swap booths will be on their way!

Question about renting a booth.. we're thinking about letting people that pre-order their tickets "rent" a booth for an hour or two to trade from for free. The would get a set location to show off their stuff and trade.

If you were trading at an event, would you be interested in doing this, or would you rather just have a bunch of tables and more of a "free-for-all" attitude?

Thanks!

[death1024]

I think Chicago would be a great location. Can you tell me how to register for the show once it is final?

[goatdan]

I think Chicago would be a great location. Can you tell me how to register for the show once it is final?

It will be at http://www.midwestclassic.net/ starting December 1st :)

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[1noohpyT]

I live here in Milwaukee, WI and haven't seen many shows come anywhere near here. So I am nominating the State Fair Grounds as they have a brand new facility there just off the main Highway and with many restauraunts in walking distance. There is a large parking lot and also they have an area inside the building that does serve food. We would just have to discuss it over with the powers that may be who run that place to find out if we could get wait staff there to make the food.

Like my title says just my 2 Cents..

Besides the Home of the lowly BREWERS deserves something instead of always holding events in such major market cities.. Because it is us the middle of the road individuals out there who keep this market alive...

[Balloon Fight]

I went to CGE last year, and loved the live retro game music, and all of the arcade machines set on freeplay. As well as the museum. The thing that could have been better was that there were no tables selling food, and the swap meet area was kind of jammed together. Hard to really look around with about 200 people in a small room.

Hope that helps somewhat.

What was the swap meet area? This is the first that I've heard of it, so I'm a little confused but would love to be told more :)

It was just an area on Sunday, in the same place basically as the CGE, where people just put all of their stuff on the ground and sell and trade. I picked up a few things i have been wanting, and met many nice people. It was almost like a trade meet, but with people selling and trading.

[goatdan]

I live here in Milwaukee, WI and haven't seen many shows come anywhere near here. So I am nominating the State Fair Grounds as they have a brand new facility there just off the main Highway and with many restauraunts in walking distance. There is a large parking lot and also they have an area inside the building that does serve food. We would just have to discuss it over with the powers that may be who run that place to find out if we could get wait staff there to make the food.

Hehehe, you highlighted one of our biggest problems in the last three years. The show actually started two years ago, but we haven't found the best way to get the word out. It will get out better this year though.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the State Fair Park complex. It has the floorspace and it is relatively nice looking from the outside, but the fact that it is basically one big cement building makes it horrible to try to do anything in the way of speeches or music there. It is a good facility for some things (if you happened to go to Trainfest, that event fits perfectly in there.)

We've actually already signed for this year's facility. The Brookfield Sheraton (or the Milwaukee West Sheraton, as it was called until just recently) will be the site of this years Midwest Gaming Classic. You can check out more about the hotel at http://www.sheratonbrkfld.com/


Besides the Home of the lowly BREWERS deserves something instead of always holding events in such major market cities.. Because it is us the middle of the road individuals out there who keep this market alive...

Well, Milwaukee had GenCon for years. Interestingly enough, did you know that the Pac-Man world championships were held at Milwaukee County Stadium on the scoreboard? I found that out recently and think that's pretty cool. I wish I could find a picture of that...

There are also a bunch of other interesting tid-bits about Milwaukee and the surrounding area. Great America was bought by Midway/Bally when they owned the Six Flags chain to test market many of their new games (they were producing in Chicago). MIDI Maze was a huge hit at Gen-Con for years. And there's quite a bit more that I'm just not remembering.

If you'd like to help with this year's show in any way, or have any input for us to look into, please email me or PM me :)