IGC Questions
by John Vanderbeck · in General Discussion · 05/08/2004 (5:31 am) · 31 replies
I'm working my stuffing off hoping to make things fall together so that I can bring a playable demo or at the very least a 30-60minute demo reel of Mayhem 2090 to IGC this year, and I was wondering if I could get some questions answered about IGC since the IGC 04 website isn't up yet.
1) Will it still be $150 again this year?
2) What sort of facilities/equipment would I be able to use to demo Mayhem 2090? It is a multiplayer game so ideally we'd need to have at least a couple machines with either a LAN connection or access to the internet. How much of this would be available for use or rent at IGC and how much would I need to bring myself?
3) How much would the above cost?
4) Are booths available for rent? How much?
I think you can see the gist of what i'm asking. I'm just trying to get some advanced figures so I can plan things. Goal is to just get myself into IGC and be able to show off Mayhem 2090 by getting at least a few players up and playing at the same time. If that is just not possible then someway to run a looped DVD that would have like a 30-60minute demo on it.
Now ideally there would be a LAN setup there that we could use and or rent time on. Or maybe one that we just install Mayhem on it along with other companies demos and hope people choose to play ours :)
If machines aren't available, i'm going to look into renting 3 or 4 laptops but we'd still need some way to hook them up into a LAN or to the internet on site.
Anyway thanks for any information you can provide. I understand it may not all be locked down yet, but i'm trying to do as much advanced planning as I can because I have to work real hard to raise the funds between now and October.
1) Will it still be $150 again this year?
2) What sort of facilities/equipment would I be able to use to demo Mayhem 2090? It is a multiplayer game so ideally we'd need to have at least a couple machines with either a LAN connection or access to the internet. How much of this would be available for use or rent at IGC and how much would I need to bring myself?
3) How much would the above cost?
4) Are booths available for rent? How much?
I think you can see the gist of what i'm asking. I'm just trying to get some advanced figures so I can plan things. Goal is to just get myself into IGC and be able to show off Mayhem 2090 by getting at least a few players up and playing at the same time. If that is just not possible then someway to run a looped DVD that would have like a 30-60minute demo on it.
Now ideally there would be a LAN setup there that we could use and or rent time on. Or maybe one that we just install Mayhem on it along with other companies demos and hope people choose to play ours :)
If machines aren't available, i'm going to look into renting 3 or 4 laptops but we'd still need some way to hook them up into a LAN or to the internet on site.
Anyway thanks for any information you can provide. I understand it may not all be locked down yet, but i'm trying to do as much advanced planning as I can because I have to work real hard to raise the funds between now and October.
#2
The booths are more for vendors selling goods or services though. You won't need a booth to show off Mayhem. That is what the whole show is about:)
05/08/2004 (7:16 am)
Last year we actually had over 30 computers. THis year it will probably be over 50. Early Adopter price should still be $150 (we are trying really hard to keep it there, if it goes up it willnot be by much), this year we wiil have booths for rent, but we are still working out the details. We don't want to turn it into just another trade show, so we are exploring some interesting twists, such as, if you have a booth, you must sell your stuff at least 25% off. The booths are more for vendors selling goods or services though. You won't need a booth to show off Mayhem. That is what the whole show is about:)
#3
05/08/2004 (7:27 am)
I'm hoping to make it to this year's event.
#4
05/08/2004 (3:58 pm)
So I can just slap Mayhem onto the mini-lan provided there?
#5
05/08/2004 (4:08 pm)
Be cool to see you there Eric :) I'm still not positive i'll eb there but i'm sure working my butt off to try and get there. I figure it will cost me about $1,000 for tickets, lodging and airfare. I've got 4.5 months to save it up :) 
#6
05/08/2004 (4:46 pm)
Has a date been set for IGC yet?
#7
05/08/2004 (4:47 pm)
Oct 8-10 is what i'd heard someone from GG say. I hope that was right because I shceduled my vacation for Oct 7-11 :)
#8
We will have at least 25 highend Windows machines (thanks to nVIDIA as the title sponsor for these) and 25 G5's (Apple is onboard with us this year) all networked (still working on getting some Linux Desktop machines . The ShowOFF center is always the core / soul of the event (although some misguided attendees think its having a brewery as a sponsor). We make all machines available for people to load their games onto (Friday afternoon is setup time and always a lively affair). As other teams will tell you it helps to have some of your team available to showOFF the game and invite others to play and give you feedback (if you're the only one from your team you might want to recruite some IGC attendees to be early players to help you ShowOFF).
The goal is to make the machines as open as possible and the environment as community centered as possible. Meaning that those who come to learn and play always have a great time.
We're getting an interesting line-up of speakers, working on some new session tracks (probably more on TGE and Shaders this year as well as more biz oriented sessions) and an idea we're calling IGC "Clinics" (more one-on-one time with arts, coders and designers willing to schedule blocks of time for quick brainstorms, etc.) think of it as speed game development.
Its looking good on the $150 price (although we are seeing some new expenses looking at new venues) - we may have to pull the T-Shirt out of the included for free, but we're working to keep including the meals and beverages tickets.
Updated website and more announcements coming soon.
05/09/2004 (8:57 am)
IGC is set for Oct. 8-10th.We will have at least 25 highend Windows machines (thanks to nVIDIA as the title sponsor for these) and 25 G5's (Apple is onboard with us this year) all networked (still working on getting some Linux Desktop machines . The ShowOFF center is always the core / soul of the event (although some misguided attendees think its having a brewery as a sponsor). We make all machines available for people to load their games onto (Friday afternoon is setup time and always a lively affair). As other teams will tell you it helps to have some of your team available to showOFF the game and invite others to play and give you feedback (if you're the only one from your team you might want to recruite some IGC attendees to be early players to help you ShowOFF).
The goal is to make the machines as open as possible and the environment as community centered as possible. Meaning that those who come to learn and play always have a great time.
We're getting an interesting line-up of speakers, working on some new session tracks (probably more on TGE and Shaders this year as well as more biz oriented sessions) and an idea we're calling IGC "Clinics" (more one-on-one time with arts, coders and designers willing to schedule blocks of time for quick brainstorms, etc.) think of it as speed game development.
Its looking good on the $150 price (although we are seeing some new expenses looking at new venues) - we may have to pull the T-Shirt out of the included for free, but we're working to keep including the meals and beverages tickets.
Updated website and more announcements coming soon.
#9
Edit: Meals are included in that? Holy cow that's awesome! I was figuring on some padding in my expenses to cover 3 days worth of meals. If its included then that just plain rocks!
Edit 2: Can I volunteer some of my time to people wanting to learn more about Torque and get a discount? :p
05/09/2004 (2:36 pm)
Cool thanks for the detailed information Jay. It is very helpful. Most likely I will be the only one to attend of my team. I'd love for some of the others to go, but I can't afford to send them so its up to them. Recruiting some attendees sounds like a great idea because i'm sure i'll want to be in other places from time to time :) Also since it IS a multiplayer game, we kind of need at least two players at all times to show it off. I can't play two machines at once :)Edit: Meals are included in that? Holy cow that's awesome! I was figuring on some padding in my expenses to cover 3 days worth of meals. If its included then that just plain rocks!
Edit 2: Can I volunteer some of my time to people wanting to learn more about Torque and get a discount? :p
#10
@Jay- The venue was great! Good beer, and the arrangement for the break-outs was decent, not ideal, but decent. I think booths would sorta ruin the concept, maybe just have a bunch of tables set up where people can bring their rigs and set up a machine for showing off. And I dont think clinics would be a great idea, as a lot of people probably have techincal questions which could not be solved in 10 minutes. I would much rather see people submit a bunch of questions beforehand, consolidate those, and then have something like a series of "how-tos"... The informal nature of last year's overall seemed to work pretty well.
@John- plenty of opportunity to show off your goods and to do some multiplayer stress testing. Last year, basically anyone who had a playable game could install it on PCs and get people to play it.
-s
05/18/2004 (2:16 pm)
IndieCon last year was great. I didnt learn a hell of a lot (wanted more in-depth technical stuff), but it was very cool to meet some people and see what people are working on. I'll be there this year with a few buddies for sure. @Jay- The venue was great! Good beer, and the arrangement for the break-outs was decent, not ideal, but decent. I think booths would sorta ruin the concept, maybe just have a bunch of tables set up where people can bring their rigs and set up a machine for showing off. And I dont think clinics would be a great idea, as a lot of people probably have techincal questions which could not be solved in 10 minutes. I would much rather see people submit a bunch of questions beforehand, consolidate those, and then have something like a series of "how-tos"... The informal nature of last year's overall seemed to work pretty well.
@John- plenty of opportunity to show off your goods and to do some multiplayer stress testing. Last year, basically anyone who had a playable game could install it on PCs and get people to play it.
-s
#11
07/16/2004 (9:46 pm)
... won't be going after all ...
#12
If anyone wants to go explore the area, then I got a rented car with room for 3 more. I'll most likely want to see some of the nature at the coast, visit GG and whatever else there is to see up to the venue.
@Jeff/@Jim - at what latest point do we need to announce the displaying of a demo? We are very unsure if we can make it or not with a demo worth displaying, and wont know until very close to IGC
07/17/2004 (12:16 am)
I'm booking plane tickets this upcomming week. Will be in the area from Tuesday till Sunday evening. I'm most likely going alone as none of the other team members have $1300 to spend + living costs..... (duh)If anyone wants to go explore the area, then I got a rented car with room for 3 more. I'll most likely want to see some of the nature at the coast, visit GG and whatever else there is to see up to the venue.
@Jeff/@Jim - at what latest point do we need to announce the displaying of a demo? We are very unsure if we can make it or not with a demo worth displaying, and wont know until very close to IGC
#13
Of course from a PR perspective it's a whole different ball game :)
I booked a car the first time to explore Eugene and it's great fun, bit cold though so bring warm clothes ;)
07/17/2004 (5:49 am)
The show off center is really ad hoc. The day you have to 'book' to show off a demo will be a grim one indeed.Of course from a PR perspective it's a whole different ball game :)
I booked a car the first time to explore Eugene and it's great fun, bit cold though so bring warm clothes ;)
#14
07/17/2004 (7:05 am)
I'm in the same boat as Thomas, demo-wise. Also, can I safely assume that a game server for a PW can be hooked up to the LAN?
#15
Getting people to play your games and give feedback is largely up to you. Go and install it on all the machines, it seems if you have a mac version you'll get 2x the exposure ;) Then you have to go and shake hands and ask for feedback from people you would value feedback from. You can count on Jeff to be blunt, and the producers from the various portals to be tactful. You sort of mix it all together and you should have get some invaluable feedback about your game.
07/17/2004 (8:39 am)
IGC is the best, just a word about costs. In the past a lot of people stayed in the Ramada Inn, you could get a room with two beds for $60 a night. So that's $30 a night if you room with someone. The food at IGC has been top notch in the past so there's no need to skulk off to the nearest McDonalds to dodge a sketchy meal. The also have options for more discerning pallets (vegetarian etc.) as well.Getting people to play your games and give feedback is largely up to you. Go and install it on all the machines, it seems if you have a mac version you'll get 2x the exposure ;) Then you have to go and shake hands and ask for feedback from people you would value feedback from. You can count on Jeff to be blunt, and the producers from the various portals to be tactful. You sort of mix it all together and you should have get some invaluable feedback about your game.
#16
But it's a rare chance to get such a broad variety of game developers and players to poke at your creation. Some of us have been making games for twenty years... and some of us have just started. But all of us love new toys, so please bring some! ;)
07/17/2004 (10:15 am)
"You can count on Jeff to be blunt" - So true! :)But it's a rare chance to get such a broad variety of game developers and players to poke at your creation. Some of us have been making games for twenty years... and some of us have just started. But all of us love new toys, so please bring some! ;)
#17
07/20/2004 (11:52 am)
Maybe I missed something. Where do we register? 
#18
07/20/2004 (12:39 pm)
I don't believe that the IGC 04 site has been setup yet. When it is you can be certain that there will be a news item regarding it.
#19
Which Ramada Inn? Is there only one? I would like to start booking all my travel arrangements to avoid inflated costs, so I hope you folks have the details and links out soon ;)
I can't wait!
07/22/2004 (8:24 am)
Dan,Which Ramada Inn? Is there only one? I would like to start booking all my travel arrangements to avoid inflated costs, so I hope you folks have the details and links out soon ;)
I can't wait!
Associate Kevin Ryan
Top Meadow Inc.