Proposal: Shooting Game Tournament Live! (2008)

[Dave_K.]

With the very small community here we have built around shmups, its pretty much impossible to attempt a world wide meetup/gathering, even with the lure of $$$ prizes or combining with other national (USA) events like the "Midwest Gaming Classic" or "California Extreme: Classic Arcade and Pinball Show". I know I half-heartily tried (http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=12875) as well as goatdan (http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=17057).

So I'd like to propose something different, which combines the very successful STGT with the also successful local shmupmeets, to create a new STGTL (Shooting Game Tournament Live) competition. The idea being, local shmupmeets are coordinated to occur on the same day around the world, essentially acting as "teams", competing live on the actual games. This may happen at intervals over the course of the entire year, rather than a single timed event. Advantages to doing this are:

• - people don't have to travel great distances
  - real arcade hardware can now be used, opening up the possibility of Cave SH3 games, as well as console/mame.
  - real life competition feel and community/sharing of techniques for local groups
  - scores are validated live, no need for photos, inps, and the like...but still accepted in the light of sharing

Feedback?

[shoe-sama]

If someone wants to pick me up and drive me to the local place thing and drive me back, sure.

Actually I could probably take the metro or something but lulz

[Dave_K.]

People carpool to my shmupmeets all the time from San Francsico. Yeah, don't mean to lock out the underage, or without transportation, but when there is a will there is a way.

[sven666]

awesome idea dave!

i put my home arcade and all my games up for disposal, soon i will also have the possibility to record off PCBs and i also have a camera for making vids.

[Fighter17]

awesome idea dave!

i put my home arcade and all my games up for disposal, soon i will also have the possibility to record off PCBs and i also have a camera for making vids.

[Rob]

Can you stop doing that already?

[overkill55]

I like the idea, but there are holes in the theory.

1. There are members in the tournament that are not in the area of other tourny players, making it impossible for them to compete.

2. Not everyone will have the PCBs or hardware to play them on.

3. Even if all users were able to compete this way, scheduling is a huge conflict, especially concerning bigger groups.

I like the ingenuity of the idea, but I think that one of the strengths of the current set up is that it allows for the biggest range of games to be chosen (at the lowest price) via MAME if you don't have any of the ports. Also, having an entire week to play allows for a lot of flexibility because of scheduling.

Just my 2 cents

[Dave_K.]

i put my home arcade and all my games up for disposal, soon i will also have the possibility to record off PCBs and i also have a camera for making vids.

All righty, that covers Northern California and Sweden. Who else is down to host a combined STGTL?

[Dave_K.]

overkill55, good points. But this is not about replacing STGT competition, its about trying to do an additional LIVE competition. We all do shmupmeets already, why not try to coordinate them a bit more? No execptations here, but worth the try at least.

If we get enough interest, and it becomes successful, would this be worth traveling to if it was closer then coming to the USA in some small town somewhere?

[Zebra Airforce]

Does this mean I can come to Dave's Arcade for STGTL?!?

[Dave_K.]

Hell ya!

[Fighter17]

1. There are members in the tournament that are not in the area of other tourny players, making it impossible for them to compete.

Who's in Florida?

I think it's just me only in Florida.

If you live in the west coast then it's possible but in the east coast maybe except for New York City it's almost impossible.

[Ozymandiaz1260]

i put my home arcade and all my games up for disposal, soon i will also have the possibility to record off PCBs and i also have a camera for making vids.

All righty, that covers Northern California and Sweden. Who else is down to host a combined STGTL?

I probably could, but I don't think anyone on this forum lives close to me

[overkill55]

overkill55, good points. But this is not about replacing STGT competition, its about trying to do an additional LIVE competition. We all do shmupmeets already, why not try to coordinate them a bit more? No execptations here, but worth the try at least.

If we get enough interest, and it becomes successful, would this be worth traveling to if it was closer then coming to the USA in some small town somewhere?

Ah I understand, at first impression I thought you meant to interchange this format for the old one. I think it's a great idea as a supplement, although you'd still need to account for travel I suppose

[DEL]

The idea being, local shmupmeets are coordinated to occur on the same day around the world, essentially acting as "teams", competing live on the actual games.

Sounds good Dave. The only downside would be that its a 1 day comp. Progression usually takes weeks and true progression takes months.
Still, short-term challenges like your Ketsui X5 2 Player challenge can always be fitted in a 1 day comp .
So the answer is Yes, we could schedule a London Meet for such a Comp.

[Sonic R]

So I'd like to propose something different, which combines the very successful STGT with the also successful local shmupmeets…Feedback?

A nice idea but the "success" of the Great Lakes shooting community is soley on console gaming Between myself, Ayanami, and Zero.Otaku, we have every major console and quite alot of obscure console as well and the games to go with them. There is no one in the current Great Lakes shooting community that owns ANY arcade hardware or PCBs. So in the advent of arcade equipment and games to be used in an event, I regret that the Southeast Michigan/Ohio(Toledo) area will have severe difficulty in participation -- for myself I am sorry that I am a console fellow grown up on the NES

A nice concept being presented but it is only exclusive to the PCB and arcade people -- a segment which I am not part of or likely will be.

[Dave_K.]

DEL, I was looking to hold my next meet around Feb too. So we should try to coordinate something, not sure of the format/type of competition, but lets think about it some more.

Sonic R, there was an exclusive Wishi Washi meetup in your area (Detroit) not too long ago, and they had all the latest cave SH3 boards. We'd have to convince Bay to open this up and try coordinating their next one. http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=16790

[Sonic R]

Sonic R, there was an exclusive Wishi Washi meetup in your area (Detroit) not too long ago, and they had all the latest cave SH3 boards. We'd have to convince Bay to open this up and try coordinating their next one. http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=16790

That is the thing though, it was "exclusive" and the fellowship of the Great Lakes Shooting Club, were excluded. As is apparent on these boards there is a big divide between console and PCB players. And it is known that I personally am on the console side and have been look down upon for it

I enjoy the fellowship of people and video games but sometime others are place difference infront of that and is what is create the highbrow culture that is seem to be around PCB playing…

Anyway I am open and very flexable to what ever and for those who know of me I am indeed a friendly fellow and I am about anything that can bring people and games together for a time of enjoyment. It is just that sometime, epsecially for me, I get shit on for not being highbrow. Sorry for rant I am apologize for bring a good concept too far off topic I will see my way out now…

[DirtyMonk]

After long moments of thought, I think this could shape up to be a very great idea! With enough optimism and coordination, anything can happen.

I remember in your third meet, Dave, we had that Ketsui Cup tournament. That was especially fun, and I remember one guy who never played the game before had a chance against some skilled players. There was also that DDP Triathlon where we played DDP, DDP2, and DOJ back to back with just one credit and totalled the scores. That was great too.

I think playing a couple shooters and tallying up the total scores or averaging them helps make for a more balanced competition. Better than just focusing on just one, but who knows, there could be a reigning champ for one game too.

A nice idea but the "success" of the Great Lakes shooting community is soley on console gaming Between myself, Ayanami, and Zero.Otaku, we have every major console and quite alot of obscure console as well and the games to go with them. There is no one in the current Great Lakes shooting community that owns ANY arcade hardware or PCBs. So in the advent of arcade equipment and games to be used in an event, I regret that the Southeast Michigan/Ohio(Toledo) area will have severe difficulty in participation -- for myself I am sorry that I am a console fellow grown up on the NES

A nice concept being presented but it is only exclusive to the PCB and arcade people -- a segment which I am not part of or likely will be.

I don't think Dave was trying to exclude console gamers when he made this proposal. He did mention consoles as being part of the tournament.

What about PCB owners who don't own consoles? They wouldn't be able to play games like Gradius Gaiden or Gradius V. I personally don't like playing Ikaruga on a cab with a stick, since I'm so not used to the button layout.

If you don't have any PCBs, why not set up some kind of console-based competition? I think a lot of console games are fun with 2 players. Just throwing some ideas, why not play a 2P Ikaruga couple's match on GC or DC, or a drunken Gradius V/Gaiden survival fest with two players, but each player has to take 3 shots of hard liquor. Hmm, I think Drink and Fly would excel there. I know it sounds a little silly, but it looks like it would be a lot of fun. It's not as serious as the hardcore scoring arena capitalized by the PCB-users, but who cares, a different comp. for a different crowd.

[1up]

sounds like a blast but I think im the only person living in denmark on this forum. I would either have to go to sweden, england or germany to participate and thats $500 - $1000 in travel expenses depending on which country I plan on going to

my girlfriend would kill me

[Zebra Airforce]

sounds like a blast but I think im the only person living in denmark on this forum. I would either have to go to sweden, england or germany to participate and thats $500 - $1000 in travel expenses depending on which country I plan on going to

my girlfriend would kill me

Make your friends play! Then you can form Team Denmark!

[DirtyMonk]

sounds like a blast but I think im the only person living in denmark on this forum. I would either have to go to sweden, england or germany to participate and thats $500 - $1000 in travel expenses depending on which country I plan on going to

my girlfriend would kill me

Train your gf to play shmups better. This way, you can get her to travel with you! Team Denmark +1!

[Shatterhand]

Yeah, and what the brazilians would do?

Even a brazilian shmupmeet would be nearly impossible for the Pele Shooting Team. Me and Rorschach live on the same city (We even played together a couple of times, he's my bitch on Marvel vs Capcom 2 ), but the other players from the team live very apart from each other, and our country is huge! I bet taking a plane from where Coffejoerx is to where I live is more expensive than travelling through Europe

[Dave_K.]

Even a brazilian shmupmeet would be nearly impossible for the Pele Shooting Team.

STGTL location rankings will be different than STGT team rankings for exactly this reason, its highly location dependent. So you may need to find hosts for multiple locations in Brazil. Again, I don't expect this to be as big as STGT, and it would be a shame to exclude anyone who is not near a community of other shmuppers.

If all goes well, and we get some good competition going between shmupmeet locations, then we can still have a final world-wide "shmupapalooza" at one of these Midwest Gaming Classic or California Extreme shows....so people who only want to spend money to travel, can only do it once and get the most bang for their buck.

[overkill55]

A drunken Gradius V/Gaiden survival fest with two players, but each player has to take 3 shots of hard liquor.

I REALLY like that idea

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Even a brazilian shmupmeet would be nearly impossible for the Pele Shooting Team.

STGTL location rankings will be different than STGT team rankings for exactly this reason, its highly location dependent. So you may need to find hosts for multiple locations in Brazil. Again, I don't expect this to be as big as STGT, and it would be a shame to exclude anyone who is not near a community of other shmuppers.

If all goes well, and we get some good competition going between shmupmeet locations, then we can still have a final world-wide "shmupapalooza" at one of these Midwest Gaming Classic or California Extreme shows....so people who only want to spend money to travel, can only do it once and get the most bang for their buck.

The folks who do put together the annual California Extreme show are open to new ideas -- Dave K., your STGTL idea is brilliant. Why not invite the Twin Galaxies' Walter Day to offiiciate the "end-result" scores and they'll go in the record books. (Of course, this would be different from the ace Japanese shmup Superplays records...) ^_~

I'd have to say that this year's 2007 California Extreme show was a resounding success in the fact that it hosted the very first arcade games/pinball documentaries and related films event. Nothing like that has ever been done before in all the years that the California Extreme event has been in existence since it's first year back in 1997...it gets better each passing year!

Such a "Shmupalooza" event at the upcoming 2008 California Extreme could become a reality -- it would take some careful planning and working out the necessary kinks, I'm all for it... ^_~

What arcade shmup PCB titles did you have in mind for this CAX Shmupalooza type of event, Dave K.? Perhaps, a mixture of old classic shmup PCB titles mixed in with some of the newest & current shmup PCBs would be cool...

Would be nice if Cave Co. Ltd. could offer some special one-of-a-kind prizes or something for the eventual Shmupalooza winner & runner-ups...

And not to mention the free major media publicity that this Shmupalooza event could/would generate...a few Bay Area media stations + Coin-op T.V. & even possibly G4TV could show up and film this cool shmup contest event...the possibilities are endless. ^_~

I spotted a couple of professional camera crews and reporters at this 2007 CAX show...so yeah, it's all possible for maximum exposure nationwide (and worldwide.....) ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[1up]

Isnt it Sven666 who has a sweet arcade in Sweden? I would be willing to go there and participate if I could afford the expenses

And to those who suggested that I teach my gf and force my friends to play shmups. NO GO!! All I ever got my gf to play was super mario brothers 1 and all my friends suck at shmups big time. They are more into party games and sportgames

[sven666]

Isnt it Sven666 who has a sweet arcade in Sweden? I would be willing to go there and participate if I could afford the expenses

its closed down im afaraid, it would have been an ideal place otherwise since at its peak it had about 2 dozen SD cabs and plenty of other stuff to keep one interested.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Isnt it Sven666 who has a sweet arcade in Sweden? I would be willing to go there and participate if I could afford the expenses

its closed down im afaraid, it would have been an ideal place otherwise since at its peak it had about 2 dozen SD cabs and plenty of other stuff to keep one interested.

For sven666,

Sounds like your arcade, when it was still in business, was better than most USA arcade hangouts period -- tis a shame it had to close. Today's Japanese gaming centers are the places to be at.....

The glory days of the early 1980's arcades are long gone and remain pleasant memories in our hearts...keep them alive. The ol' retro arcade gamer will never fade away..... ^_~

[sven666]

For sven666,

Sounds like your arcade, when it was still in business, was better than most USA arcade hangouts period -- tis a shame. Today's Japanese gaming centers are the places to be at..... ^_~

oh it most certainly was, we opened it and aimed for japanese standards and at its prime id say ours was even better or atleast equal to most japanese arcades.
people travelled all over nordic europe even to attend (mostly bemani fans) and ofcourse the SF3:3S cabs were always packed.

nowdays its all sold tho, i only have my personal collection left.
the guys i ran it with still have a few cabs for the occational fair but nothing much and no shmups.