Time to Start Planning The CGE2K12 DP After-Party

[Queen Of The Felines]

If anyone wants to attempt "Take on Me" I'd be happy to kick you in the nuts first.

[SegaAges]

I used to have a ton of karaoke (cd+g) discs on my hard drive, but I will have to look around to see if I can find those discs since I have burnt it all off to clear room.

As for a Rock Band setup. I have that covered. I guess I am going to need to see if K-Mart still has those $28 keytars since I do not own one.

My 80's selection in the game is very much lacking. If you guys want specific 80's songs, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complet...ck_Band_series and let me know which songs you are thinking about. I mean, about 10 songs or so and I can pay for it myself no problem, but if you guys list off more than that, than I will be honest, I don't feel like paying for more than about 10 songs, so somebody would have to shift some XBLA points my way for that.

I have Rock Band 3 and have all of the songs that they will allow you to transfer over from RB1 and RB2. I do not have the Lego RB songs transferred since I bought the game used and do not have the code to do it.

I am all for bringing my Rock Band stuff. Just because the sheer mass of stuff (2 guitars, a drum set, microphone, hopefully keytar and my 360), I honestly do not feel like bringing much else extra beyond that (I do have DJ Hero1 and 2, but I am guessing that RB will be used more). For my drums, I do have the pro setup (3 extra symbols), so it will work out great.

P.S. - Tune, I have Still Alive (it is a free download).

EDIT: If you want to do karaoke, then I would suggest having somebody bring a laptop that has wifi access or something and using YouTube since they have pretty much any karaoke song you are looking for (sure, they may be missing a couple, but they have a massive selection for the most part)

[digitpress Jim]

Outstanding! Thanks SegaAges, much appreciated! This is great, we have Karaoke covered and we have Rockband taken care of as well. If anybody has a karaoke machine with CD+Gs by all means please bring it with a couple microphones, if not, then between Rockband and Youtube Karaoke videos, we will be golden! So since we are all in agreement with Karaoke and 80's music, SegaAges I have you down for bringing the setup, thanks! BTW, my song for your top 10 is "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley =) I promise not to Rick Roll anyone between now and the show lol.

Lady Jaye, we'll totally have some 70's karaoke for ya

Queen of the Felines, I value my nuts lol but I really like "Take on Me" one of my fav 80s songs so I'm gonna have to sing it when your not looking haha.

[SegaAges]

Cool Breeze dude. Yeah, I am more than willing to purchase roughly 10 songs on my own for it

[ianoid]

Just to chime in about the after party.

I still reminisce about an after party I went to at Midwest Classic three years back. It was my favorite gaming show party. I didn't really know anyone but it was the best setup yet. It had some random company sponsor, but it wasn't a huge thing. There were maybe 25-30 people there but it still felt like a real party.

My suggestions for this year's party:

• Contribute as you can- suggested contribution amount is reasonable
• Dark room with party lighting, not overhead lighting, more disco lighting
• Loud music- probably too loud, which is good, they had a PA system, not a boom box
• A certain amount of food, not dinner, no big deal, in other words don't blow your wad on food, perhaps ample supply of nibble food
• Booze table- not as important as the atmosphere
• GAMES GAMES GAMES- they had a full Rock Band setup, and maybe a half dozen multiplayer setups with a few game choices - for example: Rockband with 4 instruments, a 2600 setup with Warlords, Boxing, 2k Minigame collection, X-man, Dreamcast with Chu-Chu Rocket, Rush 2049 (vs modes awesome), N64 with Mario Kart, etc.
• Tables, chairs and monitors for the game setups
• Room not too large- maybe the size of the previous DP party space, not on the show floor.

Things I suggest we NOT do:

• Pay for shot glasses- would rather contribute for a better party than a glass I have to worry about breaking on the way home, also it's overhead that doesn't improve the party
• Bright lights- you guys aren't that pretty and it doesn't feel as much like a party when it's bright
• Arcades- arcades rule but they are a single player experience much of the time, unless you pick the right games. We need to get together to GAME together!
• Tickets or required cover charge- I recommend a suggested contribution. If there is excess at the end of the night, it should get saved for next years party to make it better and better.
• Buy a ton of booze- sure, get a keg of something reasonable (OR NOT) and a good supply of mixers and cups- emphasize BYOB, then less worry about the ages of kids. People can organize booze as well as a non-official party of the function.
• Boombox for music- a party needs loud music. I know it's hard to talk. What does the hotel offer as far as PA systems, or does anyone have access to that kind of equipment? Also, you may be wondering how you'll hear your games? You can still hear your game sounds.

If we can agree that we should try this approach, we would need to organize these things primarily. Food and booze we can probably do closer to the last minute:

Party space
Loud music system
Party lights
Tables
Monitors/TVs
Game systems with 3-4 multiplayer games each, preferably 4 player

[skaar]

Shot glasses ftw!

[ianoid]

Shot glasses ftw!

Haha! They are cool, but then again for such a cash poor operation, loot should be the last priority. Would love it if we could put together a party that merits them. Perhaps they are the main attraction.

[Creepy]

so, about the after party... it is my understanding that it is not a situation where you can just show up, you need an invitation of some sort. i think i saw somewhere that we have to track down a booth at CGE and ask for(or maybe pay for?) a pass/invitation? could someone provide the deets on how to get access to this party?

i would like to just stop by and have a few drinks and play a few arcade games before starting my trek down fremont street for the night.. having said that, please don't shut down the arcade cabinets, as ianoid suggested. while doing so may seem like a good way to force everyone to hang out with each other, it will probably make some people less likely to show up. i mean, if my only gaming option at the party is rock band with a bunch of strangers, i'll probably just skip it. don't get me wrong, if the vibe is right in the room, i will definitely jump in and do some group games. but hey, you made the effort to get all the damn cabs down there for one weekend, why shut them down prematurely? maybe i'm wrong, but doesn't the after party take place in the same location where the expo is? if that's the case, it seems silly to turn all the games off right before the transition into the party. if it's a matter of moving them all to a different location then by all means, just forget about it and bring the 360 and flat screen.

[digitpress Jim]

Hey Creepy,

Anyone who attends CGE is more than welcome to come to the After Party. All we ask is that you come to the Digital Press booth to sign up and donate $5.00. If you just show up at the front door of the After Party, the donation will be $15.00. Hope this helps and we look forward to seeing you at the party! I feel ya with the arcade games being turned off. Traditionally we have the CGE after party in a suite of some sort in the hotel so we usually have the expo closed. However, the place of the CGE after party has not been set in stone. I will say that if we have it in the expo like before, I'll see if we can keep the arcade games running. Chances are we will have a hotel room as per tradition. Also, I have been in touch with Adrian and Seth in regards to added entertainment for the after party and so far we have some cool stuff planned. Adrian has mentioned performing at the after party as the DJ playing remixed 8bit chip tune sets with popular genres of music. Also, we may partner with Insert Coins and see if we can get them as a sponsor for the After Party. I have to make some calls.

ianoid, thank you for your recommendations. If I envision it right, the after party this year should definitely be loud and entertaining especially if Adrian is our DJ. It's gonna be a blast! I'm not sure yet what kind of equipment the hotel offers or rental charges but regardless we'll make something work.

[Creepy]

thanks for the clarification, jim! i've never been to CGE, let alone a CGE after party so i really had no idea what to expect but i definitely will make a plan to stop in no matter where it is. getting so excited for CGE in vegas!!

[digitpress Jim]

You're very welcome! We look forward to seeing you at the show, be sure to visit the DP booth to say hi. It's gonna be a killer show this year =)

[wildo2ne]

Going to make sure to drop by, should be a blast!

[rudy j. ferretti 1979]

Last time the AFTER party was a blast but this year me being Italian and all let me pickup the pizza PLEASE real pizza cheap too, I can get 16 pies one topping 7.00 each maybe less for the group........... Domino's has come a long way I must say though..........

[digitpress Jim]

Hey everyone,

I do apologize for the lack of updates recently. Just got finished with E3 which was awesome! Just wish I woulda brought my white suite =/ The Video Game History Museum booth was super energized with a lot of excitement and visitors!!! Keith Robinson joined us, Walter Day stopped by, Will Wheaton interviewed Joe and the gang to name a few.

As soon as I get caught up, I will be making some updates here in regards to the after party! For those of you who have heard of Mega Ran, he played at our VGHM booth and rocked it with his rap/chiptune 8-bit mix. Cool stuff and there is a good chance he will be coming to CGE!!! Check out his site here http://megaran.com/ I'll catch up with everyone soon. Keep gaming til your thumbs are sore!

Digitpress Jim

[digitpress Jim]

I am totally game for Domino's pizza and let's face it we are gamers who have had A LOT worse pizza lol. rudy.j.ferretti, if you want to collaborate with me as it gets closer to show time, we HAVE to make sure we order the pizzas and have them hot n ready (sounds dirty I know lol) right as everyone shows up to the after party. Same with the booze as I keep mentioning a thousand times lol, I can't stress enough how important this is. Thanks for the suggestion!

Last time the AFTER party was a blast but this year me being Italian and all let me pickup the pizza PLEASE real pizza cheap too, I can get 16 pies one topping 7.00 each maybe less for the group........... Domino's has come a long way I must say though..........

[Adrian]

Oh, hi! Adrian here, long-time Atari 2600 collector, infrequent Digital Press poster.

As someone whose career is basically throwing parties -- http://BootieMashup.com if you need credentials -- I'm definitely down to help out however I can. Whether it be DJing mashups of 8-bit and 80s with current and classic pop, or providing expertise in organizing and producing, I'd like to help out. I'm actually taking the weekend off from my "day job" (which is running and DJing a weekly 1000+ Saturday night party in San Francisco, among other cities) to come to CGE instead!

My first thought was that Insert Coin(s) would be an ideal spot for an after-party, but my scouting missions to Vegas recently have shown that that place not only gets super busy (and super annoying) on the weekends, but there's also no incentive for them to host a CGE After-Party, since they get so much business there anyway. So it's probably better to keep it small, for attendees only, and to take over a smaller space, probably in the hotel.

LOVE ianoid's ideas, and think they're spot-on for this sort of event.

Looking forward to CGE!

[ianoid]

@Adrian

Thanks!

Let's make it the best CGE DP party yet! Music is key. And bright light is the enemy.

[RetroGaming Roundup]

And we should arm ourselves to the teeth.

[skaar]

Rrrrrrrum!

[MeTmKnice]

So, any current details about the after party? Guessing sat night?