Suggestions for the next Classic Gaming Expo (CGE)

[Dan Iacovelli]

I also miss the freebee table not being there.
usally I would have some brochures for my club this year I didn't but it's nice to pick
up some free items.

[Oldskool]

The Daphne setup was pretty cool and a great idea. I'd like to see that implemented again in the future. I have a 50" big box TV here locally that I could *somehow* get there, just not sure of a way, but the picture on that is awesome and fairly large. It's too bad I didn't get a shot at Dragon's Lair though. Thanks for the tips on getting it set up on my computer, I still have yet to try it but will soon. It's too bad I was too busy on Sunday to come over to play some Mach like we had mentioned.

Yeah, as a 1st attempt for a Daphne setup I wasn't quite sure of the logistics of how it was going to work, but I think it went okay. As far as presentation goes I think the projector was actually pretty decent for the high-lighting conditions of the room. With 800 Watts worth of halogen bulbs in it, it would've looked FANTASTIC in a low-light situation, and I'll work to make that happen next time.

One of the reasons that you may not have been able to "hear" anything was that the speakers of the setup were actually donated to both the Ralph Baer panel AND the Joysticks director panel (come to think of it ... I never did retrieve the speakers from that, so I guess they were ultimately donated to the Tropicana hotel staff). So, for two major chunks of time there was no sound at all because there were no speakers!

I've discussed a desire for improvements for next time with Joe. I'll look to do what I can to get a real projector screen out there and ensure that the lighting is killed to the best we can in that immediate area. Consider this year a test run with promising results.

[Oldskool]

Another idea that I and others had mentioned, and I even heard was floating around was to dim the lights in the arcade and game station areas. The game stations were easy to see, and the arcade games were not so bad either, but it would have more had an arcade "feel" if the lights were dim. I should have made that a responsibility and asked the Tropicana staff if they could have dimmed or turned off the lights just in that area as I think it would have added to the atmosephere a bit more.

The only problem with that as Joe had mentioned, is there were a few vendors in that area as well, then you have the problem of their areas being a bit darker than everyone else's.

[teknohed]

this is something I have been thinking about a lot since I attended CGE. I am currently working a big blog post along the lines of "how to make CGE the expo it deserves to be". The statement that was printed on the back of the CGE poster that we all got in our "swag bags" really struck a chord with me. It's a pretty good point that in a world where people spend 41K on an NES game it's hard to find corporate sponsorship and vendor support. Having recently been to Comic Con and California Extreme it just doesn't seem logical that CGE wouldn't have five times the attendance that it had. Working in the games idustry myself, I find it disheartening that more modern game publishing companies aren't more involved in CGE, if not with booths, than at least with some kind of corporate sponsorship. Most of the major game developers and publishers have classic game collections or new games based on old properties and it just doesn't make sense that they wouldn't want to reach out to the crowd at CGE. I've got some ideas, but I'm trying to formulate them so that it's constructive rather than just the usual internet belly aching. Interesting thread for sure.

[katchoo]

The two things are still kinda bugging me even today.

First - it was almost impossible to read peoples DP handles on the special badges. I'm not even that crazy about having my real name on the front, but it has to be there, please make that the smaller font and have the nick be HUGE. Stu had the brilliant idea for us to bring badges from years prior and I am so glad we did.

Second - no group photo. That is so much fun and I really missed it this year. DP is a big family and the group photo really helps me feel connected to everyone.

[vectrexer]

My main complaint was that the trading room was poorly marked and hardly had anyone in it. I know that the vendors didn't want people setting up make shift booths on the convention floor, but I don't think having people trade in an poorly marked back room worked either. Maybe they can find a happy medium next year?

I also think the band was WAY too loud. I had to shout to be heard when they were playing and it completely drown out everything else. I know they want the sound to carry, but it was ridiculously loud at times (and that's coming from someone who is losing his hearing!).

I loved the projector DAPHNE setup, but you could hardly see what was going on due to the bright lights in the room and the wrinkled bed sheet it was being displayed on. Maybe it could be setup in a darkened corner next year, preferably AWAY from the band.

Tempest

Since the Trading Room was for quick trades and short table time I think it was not too bad. The time I went into the Trading room there were people doing business. But yes, maybe some small whiteboards to provide a quick ID of the traders. I can remember other years when I went to look for a person in the swap meet areas and had no idea of the face to go with the name. Nick have been nice to see at least a name.


Band too loud? Nah,,, just back off a little. (also an ex Navy guy whose hearing was affected by my time in the service next to noisy equipment)

[Mitch]

Band too loud? Nah,,, just back off a little. (also an ex Navy guy whose hearing was affected by my time in the service next to noisy equipment)

Yes, the band was too loud. Having to shout into someone ear to be heard is ridiculous. It makes trying to purchase something at one of the booths difficult. This is an expo with a band for ambient music, not a concert with an expo for ambience. It has been much better balanced at previous CGE's, we need to get it back to that level.

Mitch

[buzz_n64]

The two things are still kinda bugging me even today.

First - it was almost impossible to read peoples DP handles on the special badges. I'm not even that crazy about having my real name on the front, but it has to be there, please make that the smaller font and have the nick be HUGE. Stu had the brilliant idea for us to bring badges from years prior and I am so glad we did.

Second - no group photo. That is so much fun and I really missed it this year. DP is a big family and the group photo really helps me feel connected to everyone.

Hell yeah! Totally agree. We need a badge with our dp name in HUGE font, and a group photo.

Also, an arcade gaming competition or tournament would be cool.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Yes, the band was too loud. Having to shout into someone ear to be heard is ridiculous. It makes trying to purchase something at one of the booths difficult. This is an expo with a band for ambient music, not a concert with an expo for ambience. It has been much better balanced at previous CGE's, we need to get it back to that level.

Mitch

I think that the electronic acts weren't too loud. They seemd to be just right in terms of volume, but as far as Decendents of Erdrick go,

asking a rock band to play quietly is no easy task ... and almost defeats the purpose of asking them to play at all.

The only thing I could think of would be to request an all acoustic set or put them in their own room.

Personally I had no problem with the volume levels of any of the acts, especially since the set times were short, and Seth of 8 Bit Weapon was very accomodating to my personal audio needs.

[SegaAges]

*** NUMBER ONE TIP ***

To repeat something mentioned above:
If your significant other isn't into things, don't bring her/him. Just like talking your wife into the car you think she should buy, this is probably something everyone must learn for themselves, but try to believe me and take my advice. I spent a lot of time both at CGE and at wife-things feeling uneasy because I needed/wanted to be elsewhere.

QFE

Apparently alot of fun and stuff happened when I left. The major reason I left early was because the people I brought were wanting to do normal Vegas stuff and not as into games as me. I missed a good chunk of Saturday.

I also agree that the name badges should say our handles much bigger

[digitpress Jim]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the awesome suggestions for improvements for the next show! We greatly appreciate it. I have been reading all your posts and have been compiling a list of all the improvements you would like to see next year. I will personally make sure that Digital Press handles are made for every one to wear and of course that the beer and pizza are on time at the After party. We will work hard to make sure we can fix as many issues as possible that we encountered this year while of course tackling the new ones we may face Keep those suggestions coming! Thanks everyone =D

Digitpress Jim

[teknohed]

So this is a little belated. I started it right when I got home from the show, but work has been pretty crazy and I didn't really have time to get it finished until today. As it is it's still a rough draft.

I was planning on posting it on my blog, but figured I'd let you guys take a look at it first to get your feedback. It's too easy to just complain on the internet, and I'd rather have this piece end up as more "constructive criticism".

Anyway, here is a link to a rough draft of my "Suggestions for improving CGE post".

Feedback greatly appreciated.