Live SDA Charity event at MAGFest

2009-09-07 02:37:56 am

I survived MIKE-Fest 1

I coude do Links Awakening (DX). I only have the Pal cartrige of DX I never played the black and wihte version.
For DX I woude say ~ 1:35 woud be deffenitly + 10 min credits so time = 1:45
we coude also do a syncrone DX and B&W (if you want VorpalEdge)

Emptyeye

2009-09-07 09:16:02 pm

Talk to the Hand

So, um, I played TMNT today:

Good news: My memory of the hardest part being the inside of the Technodrome is accurate.

Bad news: See good news.

Also, this is going to be quite a bit more conservative in terms of grabbing pizzas than the SDA run. Especially in levels 3 and 5.

VorpalEdge

2009-09-07 10:29:43 pm

welcome to the machine

Quote from Tigger77:

we coude also do a syncrone DX and B&W (if you want VorpalEdge)

Sounds good to me. If that doesn't work out, though, I'd prefer to let you run the game, since I haven't played the game in years and I'm not really that fond of it anymore.

mikwuyma

2009-09-10 01:38:06 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

It doesn't seem like anyone has made up their mind about which charity to pick, so I'll take action and just choose International Medical Corps. Yes, I know I am doing this without consulting anyone, but it doesn't seem like we'll choose any other way. I'll contact them this weekend or early next week. If it doesn't work out with them, then I'll probably try St. Jude's.

Also, if you disagree with me then you hate third-world countries, poor people, and medical aid. You also love kicking puppies. Wink

Xfubx: Okay, I'll put you on the list. I would rather have people at MAGFest announcing than people outside, but we'll definitely need some outside announcers.

Tigger77: Glad you're willing to run Link's Awakening. I think a PAL cartridge will work on an NTSC Game Boy Player because there's no region-protection for Game Boy games, IIRC.

kareshi

2009-09-10 09:07:56 pm

We need a big poster outside the room that says "Videogame Speedrunning Marathon for Charity" and lists "Games Completed:" with the times and "Current Game:"
Maybe a big dry-erase board so we could keep "Current Game:" current without too much hassle. It'll draw people into the room who are walking by.

Emptyeye

2009-09-10 09:21:17 pm

Talk to the Hand

I was thinking some kind of Speed Gamers-esque banner might not be a bad idea either.

@ Mike: That works charity-wise. I'd say "But I still like my charity idea", except that I'd have to look up what that idea was in the conversation, so I obviously couldn't have liked it that much. Tongue

UltimateDarius

2009-09-10 10:17:27 pm

Back in the game!

Quote from mikwuyma:

You hate third-world countries, poor people, and medical aid. You also love kicking puppies.

This sounds like something I would put in a Fortune Cookie.

sinister1

2009-09-10 11:56:10 pm

sinister1

so pro u don't even know

Quote from kareshi:

We need a big poster outside the room that says "Videogame Speedrunning Marathon for Charity" and lists "Games Completed:" with the times and "Current Game:"
Maybe a big dry-erase board so we could keep "Current Game:" current without too much hassle. It'll draw people into the room who are walking by.

This sounds like a really good idea Kareshi. I would also say that we should list ALL games being run during the marathon in order so people can look to see if a game they like is going to be run and when it will be coming up.

I guess it would look like this:

Current game: Mega Man

Game:	Completed:	Time:
Super Mario Bros	[ X ]	5:00
Super Mario Bros 2	[ X ]	10:00
Super Mario Bros 3	[ X ]	12:00
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Etc.

[table][tr][td]

If we get a dry erase board then its like you said, all we would have to do is update the current game, check off completed games and fill in the times as we went along.

[quote="kareshi"]
We need a big poster outside the room that says "Videogame Speedrunning Marathon for Charity" and lists "Games Completed:" with the times and "Current Game:"
[b]Maybe a big dry-erase board [/b]so we could keep "Current Game:" current without too much hassle. It'll draw people into the room who are walking by.
[/quote]
This sounds like a really good idea Kareshi. I would also say that we should list ALL games being run during the marathon in order so people can look to see if a game they like is going to be run and when it will be coming up.

I guess it would look like this:

[table][tr][td][b]Current game:[/b] Mega Man[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Game:[/td][td]Completed:[/td][td]Time:[/td][/tr][tr][td]Super Mario Bros[/td][td][ X ][/td][td]5:00[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Super Mario Bros 2[/td][td][ X ][/td][td]10:00[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Super Mario Bros 3[/td][td][ X ][/td][td]12:00[/td][/tr][tr][td]Mega Man[/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Mega Man 2[/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Etc.[/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][td]

If we get a dry erase board then its like you said, all we would have to do is update the current game, check off completed games and fill in the times as we went along.

Emptyeye

2009-09-13 10:16:26 am

Talk to the Hand

Well, for the dry-erase board, my fiance brought up a good point: Keep the markers in the hands of SDA people, lest we want the board to become overwhelmed with drawings of penises.

Note that if dry-erase representations of male anatomy are something we want on the board, then by all means, leave markers accessible to the general public. Smiley

On a more serious note, it took me 38 minutes, 43 seconds, and 1 continue, but I managed a complete playthrough of TMNT for the second time in my life today. Still not exactly sure how to consistently get the laser soldiers to not engage you after that hallway narrows for the first time (At the start, and after it narrows for the second time, are easy), even after watching videos.

Breakdown

2009-09-15 01:34:07 pm

Haters gonna hate

2nd post updated, we're creeping up on the 48 hour mark here. Let me know if I missed anything.

nate

2009-09-15 01:52:51 pm

i'm definitely able to do metroid prime. dunno if that's still needed.

Ekudeht

2009-09-19 12:45:12 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Quote from mikwuyma:

Charities

I know a lot of people want to donate to the Red Cross, and I still think it's a good charity, but I'm not sure if it's a good charity for an SDA fundraiser because they're so big they don't need our money.

Then have a blood drive; they always need more blood.

Ekudeht

2009-09-19 06:12:34 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Quote from XFUBX:

The SDA blood drive...Im liking it already Grin

You can see if certain speedrunners can complete their games before they fill up a bag o' blood.:-p

Carcinogen

2009-09-20 04:14:46 am

I've already lost.

VorpalEdge

2009-09-20 06:11:17 am

welcome to the machine

yeah, i'm pretty sure carc would shrivel up like a raisin if he gave blood

Enhasa

2009-09-24 08:38:17 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Haven't read this thread, already got muzzled on the one thing I was gonna say. Tongue

Said this already half a dozen times but I can run Super Mario Kart and Super Tennis. I could do them right now even, on a moment's notice, out of practice, cuz they're vs games and so I've played them a bunch. For SMK, I don't care if it's 1p or 2p, but we were thinking 2p could be fun for people to watch. For Super Tennis, I wouldn't be going through the main game of course, I'd be playing the secret mode against John D (the secret uberdude, one match). I could use a chick if that looks more impressive, I don't care either way.

Estimated times are like, dunno, 30 mins realtime for SMK, 15 mins (complete guess) for Super Tennis.

I can also run whatever else, I'm flexible. I'd want to practice some depending on the game though. I can be people's backup if they need it. Since I don't care that much, I can wait for the list to shake down.

I can commentate too and would do a good job, but it might even be better to rotate this a lot anyway for variety instead of having dedicated commentators.

One question: Runner interviews would be happening simultaneously with someone playing?

Haven't read this thread, already got muzzled on the one thing I was gonna say. :P

Said this already half a dozen times but I can run Super Mario Kart and Super Tennis. I could do them right now even, on a moment's notice, out of practice, cuz they're vs games and so I've played them a bunch. For SMK, I don't care if it's 1p or 2p, but we were thinking 2p could be fun for people to watch. For Super Tennis, I wouldn't be going through the main game of course, I'd be playing the secret mode against John D (the secret uberdude, one match). I could use a chick if that looks more impressive, I don't care either way.

Estimated times are like, dunno, 30 mins realtime for SMK, 15 mins (complete guess) for Super Tennis.

I can also run whatever else, I'm flexible. I'd want to practice some depending on the game though. I can be people's backup if they need it. Since I don't care that much, I can wait for the list to shake down.

I can commentate too and would do a good job, but it might even be better to rotate this a lot anyway for variety instead of having dedicated commentators.

One question: Runner interviews would be happening simultaneously with someone playing?

mikwuyma

2009-09-25 07:51:28 am

My feelings on The Demon Rush

Kareshi: A dry-erase board is a good idea for the people attending MAGFest. We're also planning on having a twitter so we can update with what games we're running live and current progress.

Emptyeye: I also want a speed gamers-esque banner. I'm considering asking The Speed Gamers to make one for us because they're better at logo design than we are, and since last I heard, some of them want to come to MAGFest.

Enhasa: Super Tennis is a pretty random game, but there's nothing wrong with that. SMK is a great idea, I'm sure Frezy_Man would gladly play along with you too.

If you're willing to run any game, how about the original Legend of Zelda? It doesn't seem like anyone is willing to run that.

BTW Breakdown, for those games, yes, Enhasa has the cartridge, and he better be coming to MAGFest. Tongue

Commentating: Yeah, we need to spread this out among a bunch of people, which was my intention all along, but it doesn't seem like a lot of people are willing to commentate. People who probably aren't willing to commentate will have to commentate. I was also hoping we could get some commentators who won't be at the event for the online audience and for when we're doing the SDA panel.

Runner interviews would be done before and after someone plays the game. If the runner doesn't mind being asked questions while playing the game, that could work too, especially for confusing spots (like weird bugs, picking up items, etc.). Most of the interview should be done before and after the game is being played, IMO.

Games list: Looking good right now. If we get the original Zelda, alttp, a bit more Metroid, more Mario, and maybe a couple more games, then we should hit 48 hours easily. tjp7154, if you're reading this, will you be coming to MAGFest? If so, would you be willing to run Donkey Kong Country?

The Charity: If anyone is wondering about this, I contacted IMC last Friday, but they still haven't responded yet. If I don't get anything by Monday, I'll change the charity (maybe St. Judes?).

Kareshi: A dry-erase board is a good idea for the people attending MAGFest. We're also planning on having a twitter so we can update with what games we're running live and current progress.

Emptyeye: I also want a speed gamers-esque banner. I'm considering asking The Speed Gamers to make one for us because they're better at logo design than we are, and since last I heard, some of them want to come to MAGFest.

Enhasa: Super Tennis is a pretty random game, but there's nothing wrong with that. SMK is a great idea, I'm sure Frezy_Man would gladly play along with you too.

If you're willing to run any game, how about the original Legend of Zelda? It doesn't seem like anyone is willing to run that.

BTW Breakdown, for those games, yes, Enhasa has the cartridge, and he better be coming to MAGFest. :P

Commentating: Yeah, we need to spread this out among a bunch of people, which was my intention all along, but it doesn't seem like a lot of people are willing to commentate. People who probably aren't willing to commentate will have to commentate. I was also hoping we could get some commentators who won't be at the event for the online audience and for when we're doing the SDA panel.

Runner interviews would be done before and after someone plays the game. If the runner doesn't mind being asked questions while playing the game, that could work too, especially for confusing spots (like weird bugs, picking up items, etc.). Most of the interview should be done before and after the game is being played, IMO.

Games list: Looking good right now. If we get the original Zelda, alttp, a bit more Metroid, more Mario, and maybe a couple more games, then we should hit 48 hours easily. tjp7154, if you're reading this, will you be coming to MAGFest? If so, would you be willing to run Donkey Kong Country?

The Charity: If anyone is wondering about this, I contacted IMC last Friday, but they still haven't responded yet. If I don't get anything by Monday, I'll change the charity (maybe St. Judes?).

Essentia

2009-09-25 10:51:25 am

Everything's better with Magitek

I can be a backup player for Donkey Kong Country in case tjp7154 can't do it, so you can go ahead and put it on the list. I don't really know how long it will take as of now - maybe around 1 hour.

Enhasa

2009-09-25 12:05:52 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Random as a word has too many adopted definitions now.

If you mean Super Tennis as a game plays randomly: No, it doesn't, my goal is to win every single point if I can. I would if it wasn't the secret character. Anyway, losing a game would be ultimate embarrassing, that shouldn't happen.
If you mean it is a random game to pick: No, it's fast to complete, it's fast-paced, it's reliable to run, and it's likely the most popular multiplayer game on the entire SNES (don't believe me, should have checked zbattle.net in its heyday, most games were either Super Tennis or SMK with some Alpha 2).

I'm not willing to run Zelda either, lol. Too much baggage. Most of the games I want to do that are also popular already have solid candidates. I can be a backup for something like Faxanadu, Ristar, Donkey Kong Country (any, preferably 2), or Marble Madness though. (All those people will definitely be there though.) I could do Crystalis but the leveling is boring. SMB 1-3 and World, I'm decent, but so are a lot of other people, and we all suck compared to say andrewg. Similar sentence for Contra games. I can do Capcom Disney games but so can others and they can probably do particular games better. Mystical Ninja, Kid Icarus, and Strider are possibilities.

Lemmings is way way way too long and way way too difficult and also I think older console versions are boring without fastforward and whatnot. And kids these days wouldn't understand, and it's more of a PC game anyway, it's a puzzler, and it is much harder than it looks, really poor choice. Landstalker is way way too long and way way too difficult and way obscure and also some sections you can easily fall down and have to repeat lots of stuff, which is very bad for an event like this. Mystical Ninja is the same way btw with falling down, but it's easier. Lost Vikings is ok but I think doesn't look impressive to people who don't know, and it's way too much work to get good at it, and a top-level run would be way too difficult and risky (using your spare hp for speed). That's why games like Lemmings and Lost Vikings will be done as IL's for SDA.

I agree with the Pocky and Rocky, Metal Storm, Kick Master, Vice, Kabuki, Solstice being too obscure. Startropics isn't obscure in the least, but it's way too long and boring. Lufia 2 Ancient Cave is an idea I had, and Dragondarch said he wanted to race me at it at Magfest after all. It's shortish and kinda looks cool, but it's a terrible choice for this based on how random it is (it's a randomly generated dungeon). I could also run obscure games like Valis games and Wolf Team games, but nobody gives a crap about those.

I could probably think about more games that aren't on that suggestions list later.

Random as a word has too many adopted definitions now.

[u]If you mean Super Tennis as a game plays randomly[/u]: No, it doesn't, my goal is to win every single point if I can. I would if it wasn't the secret character. Anyway, losing a game would be ultimate embarrassing, that shouldn't happen.
[u]If you mean it is a random game to pick[/u]: No, it's fast to complete, it's fast-paced, it's reliable to run, and it's likely the most popular multiplayer game on the entire SNES (don't believe me, should have checked zbattle.net in its heyday, most games were either Super Tennis or SMK with some Alpha 2).

I'm not willing to run Zelda either, lol. Too much baggage. Most of the games I want to do that are also popular already have solid candidates. I can be a backup for something like Faxanadu, Ristar, Donkey Kong Country (any, preferably 2), or Marble Madness though. (All those people will definitely be there though.) I could do Crystalis but the leveling is boring. SMB 1-3 and World, I'm decent, but so are a lot of other people, and we all suck compared to say andrewg. Similar sentence for Contra games. I can do Capcom Disney games but so can others and they can probably do particular games better. Mystical Ninja, Kid Icarus, and Strider are possibilities.

Lemmings is way way way too long and way way too difficult and also I think older console versions are boring without fastforward and whatnot. And kids these days wouldn't understand, and it's more of a PC game anyway, it's a puzzler, and it is much harder than it looks, really poor choice. Landstalker is way way too long and way way too difficult and way obscure and also some sections you can easily fall down and have to repeat lots of stuff, which is very bad for an event like this. Mystical Ninja is the same way btw with falling down, but it's easier. Lost Vikings is ok but I think doesn't look impressive to people who don't know, and it's way too much work to get good at it, and a top-level run would be way too difficult and risky (using your spare hp for speed). That's why games like Lemmings and Lost Vikings will be done as IL's for SDA.

I agree with the Pocky and Rocky, Metal Storm, Kick Master, Vice, Kabuki, Solstice being too obscure. Startropics isn't obscure in the least, but it's way too long and boring. Lufia 2 Ancient Cave is an idea I had, and Dragondarch said he wanted to race me at it at Magfest after all. It's shortish and kinda looks cool, but it's a terrible choice for this based on how random it is (it's a randomly generated dungeon). I could also run obscure games like Valis games and Wolf Team games, but nobody gives a crap about those.

I could probably think about more games that aren't on that suggestions list later.

Enhasa

2009-09-25 12:17:53 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Double post because somewhat different topic.

Since we're not using Metroid Prime, are we still using Resident Evil? Or does being back one generation make a difference? It's your call, I dunno if it fits though.

Hmm, if Molotov is really running SOS, maybe other obscure games could be ok. Although I'm not a fan at all for obscure games in something like this. For video last year, obscure is good because it sends the message "well if this random stuff has attention and acceptance on SDA, surely the game you care about does too." Here, it sends the message "we're desperate," even though that's not the case at all. I definitely want to see SOS though (as like the only person who signed up to verify it or something Sad

:(), so I think we can go with it anyway. It's short at least.

On the RPG front, I think we are making a big mistake if we put some other games before Secret of Mana. It's crazy popular, it's crazy chic and geek cred, it's pretty easy to run especially once you get magic (other games more subject to failure), it's a better watch than turn-based games like FF and SMRPG (more action and less time spent on plot), and we can do a 3p run which would be really sweet for an event like this. I'd be up for it and I'm sure 2 other people would.

Double post because somewhat different topic.

Since we're not using Metroid Prime, are we still using Resident Evil? Or does being back one generation make a difference? It's your call, I dunno if it fits though.

Hmm, if Molotov is really running SOS, maybe other obscure games could be ok. Although I'm not a fan at all for obscure games in something like this. For video last year, obscure is good because it sends the message "well if this random stuff has attention and acceptance on SDA, surely the game you care about does too." Here, it sends the message "we're desperate," even though that's not the case at all. I definitely want to see SOS though (as like the only person who signed up to verify it or something  :( :( :(), so I think we can go with it anyway. It's short at least.

On the RPG front, I think we are making a big mistake if we put some other games before Secret of Mana. It's crazy popular, it's crazy chic and geek cred, it's pretty easy to run especially once you get magic (other games more subject to failure), it's a better watch than turn-based games like FF and SMRPG (more action and less time spent on plot), and we can do a 3p run which would be really sweet for an event like this. I'd be up for it and I'm sure 2 other people would.

tjp7154

2009-09-25 01:20:39 pm

#Casual

I recently found out that I should DEFINITELY be able to make MagFest.

I am DEFINITELY able AND willing to run DKC. In fact, I've been practicing a lot.

---
As for playing games beside DKC, I'm not sure. I haven't played any retro games in a LONG time...

mikwuyma

2009-09-25 01:33:53 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

Enhasa: I think you're taking the suggestions list a little too seriously at this point, since we have a lot of the stuff covered now (like I said, all we need to do is cover some Zelda, Mario, and Metroid. I just dumped a ton of games off the top of my head because I thought we would actually have some trouble making it to 48 hours, but I like I said previously, I think we'll make it.

Kid Icarus and Strider sound good, but Breakdown said that Strider would be really hard to do live. Mystical Ninja is a good game, but it's not as popular as the other two games you mentioned. Though I have no problem with you running it (as long as if you can get around the money problem quickly, can't gamble like the TAS). You could always do the GB Mario games too.

Resident Evil: Yeah it's stretching the theme a bit, but it's the start of a popular series and it's pretty old (13 years I think). Also, Carcinogen needs to contribute to the marathon somehow. Wink

Obscure games: If we had a high percentage of them on our list, then maybe I would agree with you about the whole "desperate" argument, but right now I think we have a lot of decently well-known games covered. Anyway, it's not like every single game can be the most super popular game ever, a little bit of variety is good, and like you said, SOS is short, so it's not a big deal in the first place. You could even use the obscure/lesser-known argument against a good game like Faxanadu or Ristar too. Sad

(I know Ristar isn't obscure, but I don't think it's well known outside of Sega fans :()

Super Tennis: I meant random as in pick. And I've honestly never heard anyone mention this game outside of you and a couple of people in #SDA (that and zbattle.net is a pretty small community). I have nothing against a game like this as long as if you don't think it looks desperate. Wink

Secret of Mana: It's a good idea. I'd be on board, but I never really tried speedrunning this game. I don't think it's as popular as you think, but it's pretty fast paced so whatever. Would a run abuse magic or that weapon charge glitch?

P.S. I give a crap about El Viento. ;-[

tjp7154: How long do you think you'll take real-time?

Enhasa: I think you're taking the suggestions list a little too seriously at this point, since we have a lot of the stuff covered now (like I said, all we need to do is cover some Zelda, Mario, and Metroid. I just dumped a ton of games off the top of my head because I thought we would actually have some trouble making it to 48 hours, but I like I said previously, I think we'll make it.

Kid Icarus and Strider sound good, but Breakdown said that Strider would be really hard to do live. Mystical Ninja is a good game, but it's not as popular as the other two games you mentioned. Though I have no problem with you running it (as long as if you can get around the money problem quickly, can't gamble like the TAS).  You could always do the GB Mario games too.

Resident Evil: Yeah it's stretching the theme a bit, but it's the start of a popular series and it's pretty old (13 years I think). Also, Carcinogen needs to contribute to the marathon somehow. ;)

Obscure games: If we had a high percentage of them on our list, then maybe I would agree with you about the whole "desperate" argument, but right now I think we have a lot of decently well-known games covered. Anyway, it's not like every single game can be the most super popular game ever, a little bit of variety is good, and like you said, SOS is short, so it's not a big deal in the first place. You could even use the obscure/lesser-known argument against a good game like Faxanadu or Ristar too. :( (I know Ristar isn't obscure, but I don't think it's well known outside of Sega fans :()

Super Tennis: I meant random as in pick. And I've honestly never heard anyone mention this game outside of you and a couple of people in #SDA (that and zbattle.net is a pretty small community). I have nothing against a game like this as long as if you don't think it looks desperate. ;)

Secret of Mana: It's a good idea. I'd be on board, but I never really tried speedrunning this game. I don't think it's as popular as you think, but it's pretty fast paced so whatever. Would a run abuse magic or that weapon charge glitch?

P.S. I give a crap about El Viento. ;-[

tjp7154: How long do you think you'll take real-time?

Enhasa

2009-09-25 02:38:03 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Quote from mikwuyma:

Enhasa: I think you're taking the suggestions list a little too seriously at this point

Ummmm...... lol? I mean, I just have to stop there.

SOS is in a different universe of obscurity compared to something like Faxanadu (surprisingly well-known, pimped by Nintendo Power) or really any game in the thread. When you put SOS into Amazon, you get the wrong game completely. (!!!) The real game isn't even in it. It might be at least as obscure as every game in our entire game list. It would certainly never appear if Ryan made a SNES challenges booth.

zbattle was just to illustrate my point, I barely even played on it. It just represented my previous experience perfectly, the popular SNES vs games back in the day were Super Tennis, SMK, and Alpha 2. Seriously, it's by Nintendo and it was a launch title!! Maybe you got a SNES later, but all of those launch titles were popular just for being launch titles if nothing else. Pilotwings and SNES Sim City were launch titles and pretty popular even though they sucked, along with Super Mario World and F-Zero which didn't.

Square SNES RPG popularity in descending order at the time:

- Chrono Trigger
- Secret of Mana

- Super Mario RPG
- Final Fantasy 3

- Final Fantasy 2
- Final Fantasy MQ
- Secret of Evermore

If you disagree, you probably just forget how things actually were back in the day (FF gained more popularity after 7). Of course, we're not back in the day anymore, but this whole "retro" (i.e. nostalgia) angle implies the games people liked back in the day. Currently, in the year 2009 on the internet, Evermore is actually a cult classic, pretty popular and considered by Tim Rogers-y people to be above any of the games on this list. This doesn't mean much of anyone feels nostalgia about it, because they didn't like it at the time. If it's appreciated more now, it's a more intellectual appreciation.

Of course, I'm doubtful the games we pick will really affect donations at all anyway, so I don't really care about any of the picks. Go with whatever you want. Smiley

[quote="mikwuyma"]
Enhasa: I think you're taking the suggestions list a little too seriously at this point[/quote]
Ummmm...... lol? I mean, I just have to stop there.

SOS is in a different universe of obscurity compared to something like Faxanadu (surprisingly well-known, pimped by Nintendo Power) or really any game in the thread. When you put SOS into Amazon, you get the wrong game completely. (!!!) The real game isn't even in it. It might be at least as obscure as every game in our entire game list. It would certainly never appear if Ryan made a SNES challenges booth.

zbattle was just to illustrate my point, I barely even played on it. It just represented my previous experience perfectly, the popular SNES vs games back in the day were Super Tennis, SMK, and Alpha 2. Seriously, it's by Nintendo and it was a launch title!! Maybe you got a SNES later, but all of those launch titles were popular just for being launch titles if nothing else. Pilotwings and SNES Sim City were launch titles and pretty popular even though they sucked, along with Super Mario World and F-Zero which didn't.

Square SNES RPG popularity in descending order at the time:

- Chrono Trigger
- Secret of Mana

- Super Mario RPG
- Final Fantasy 3

- Final Fantasy 2
- Final Fantasy MQ
- Secret of Evermore

If you disagree, you probably just forget how things actually were back in the day (FF gained more popularity after 7). Of course, we're not back in the day anymore, but this whole "retro" (i.e. nostalgia) angle implies the games people liked back in the day. Currently, in the year 2009 on the internet, Evermore is actually a cult classic, pretty popular and considered by Tim Rogers-y people to be above any of the games on this list. This doesn't mean much of anyone feels nostalgia about it, because they didn't like it at the time. If it's appreciated more now, it's a more intellectual appreciation.

Of course, I'm doubtful the games we pick will really affect donations at all anyway, so I don't really care about any of the picks. Go with whatever you want. :)

Breakdown

2009-09-25 05:17:44 pm

Haters gonna hate

I'm with Enhasa on the subject of Secret of Mana. It was a very popular game back in the day (I really think you're selling it short Mike), and I think it'd go over very well. Plus it would fill a good sized chunk of time even if whoever does it (singular or plural) glitches it all to hell. The idea of a 3 player run I think is a good one as well if we could find 3 people willing to jump through the hoops of planning and practicing most likely at a distance. Cutting out the amazingly stupid AI is a definite plus, but I think the audience would really dig it as well, which would likely in turn help out donations.

And really how to help out donations, both from live and online viewers, is something we should all be considering. I agree with Enhasa that game choices probably won't have a huge impact (though we'll likely get more viewers for bigger titles). I think probably the most important thing overall will be how we present ourselves. I watched a good chunk of the last speedgamers marathon and they seemed to do best with donations at times where both the gameplay was good and it seemed like they were having fun. I think the importance of the former has already been stressed enough (be ready or you'll shame and disgrace the site for generations, yadda yadda yadda), but we need to play to the audience as well as play for them. A lot of this is going to fall on the commentators, but especially for live viewers the players can help with this too. A straight srs bzns approach likely won't endear us to the crowd, everyone involved should make the effort to liven it up a bit.

Another thing that'd help out is sponsors who are willing to supply us with swag to give out, ideally at least semi-gaming related. I don't think this thing is formed quite enough yet to go actively hunting for sponsors, but it's definitely not too early to brainstorm about groups/sites/people to ask. Not sure if anybody here has an in with any potential sponsor, but if you do now would be a good time to mention it (like for example not sure if any of you shizz people could maybe get some Mini Bosses stuff donated to our cause, but that's the kind of thing I'm talking about here). A few ideas of people to contact I've had include PBC production (Little Miss Gamer and Captain S, plus they'll likely be at Magfest), nuklearpower.com (8-bit theater, might be able to get some prints or something), screwattack.com (they'll also likely be there), and the Mana/Health Potion energy drink people (they hooked up the speedgamers, why not us? Plus energy drinks would likely be a hot commodity at this thing [how many cans/bottles of Ballz you think got sold last year?], so I'm sure they wouldn't mind having a presence at the event). Any swag we get we give out, split between the live and online viewers. For the live ones we could do something like raffle style drawings, for every $X somebody donates they get a ticket, and for the online crowd we could do something similar plus offer stuff for things like biggest donation. People love to win stuff, even if they have to spend more than it's worth to get it, so the more sponsors we can get the better.

So yeah, if you couldn't tell I've been putting some thought into this thing. Wink

Back to games, if no one else steps up I'd be willing to give LoZ a shot. I really don't see how we can do a retro games marathon without including this one. Pretty sure I could put together a reliable, fairly safe route (likely with no Up+A) that would clock in around 40-45 minutes. I do already have a bunch of games on my plate though, and there's definitely a couple other games I'd rather add to it before this one (Wizards and Warriors and Double Dragon namely), so if somebody else wants to go for it, by all means.

Pretty sure I said this already, but I'm definitely willing to do some commentating.

@Frezy: Still waiting for your updated time estimates.

I'm with Enhasa on the subject of Secret of Mana.  It was a very popular game back in the day (I really think you're selling it short Mike), and I think it'd go over very well.  Plus it would fill a good sized chunk of time even if whoever does it (singular or plural) glitches it all to hell.  The idea of a 3 player run I think is a good one as well if we could find 3 people willing to jump through the hoops of planning and practicing most likely at a distance.  Cutting out the amazingly stupid AI is a definite plus, but I think the audience would really dig it as well, which would likely in turn help out donations.

And really how to help out donations, both from live and online viewers, is something we should all be considering.  I agree with Enhasa that game choices probably won't have a huge impact (though we'll likely get more viewers for bigger titles).  I think probably the most important thing overall will be how we present ourselves.  I watched a good chunk of the last speedgamers marathon and they seemed to do best with donations at times where both the gameplay was good and it seemed like they were having fun.  I think the importance of the former has already been stressed enough (be ready or you'll shame and disgrace the site for generations, yadda yadda yadda), but we need to play to the audience as well as play for them.  A lot of this is going to fall on the commentators, but especially for live viewers the players can help with this too.  A straight srs bzns approach likely won't endear us to the crowd, everyone involved should make the effort to liven it up a bit.

Another thing that'd help out is sponsors who are willing to supply us with swag to give out, ideally at least semi-gaming related.  I don't think this thing is formed quite enough yet to go actively hunting for sponsors, but it's definitely not too early to brainstorm about groups/sites/people to ask.  Not sure if anybody here has an in with any potential sponsor, but if you do now would be a good time to mention it (like for example not sure if any of you shizz people could maybe get some Mini Bosses stuff donated to our cause, but that's the kind of thing I'm talking about here).  A few ideas of people to contact I've had include PBC production (Little Miss Gamer and Captain S, plus they'll likely be at Magfest), nuklearpower.com (8-bit theater, might be able to get some prints or something), screwattack.com (they'll also likely be there), and the Mana/Health Potion energy drink people (they hooked up the speedgamers, why not us? Plus energy drinks would likely be a hot commodity at this thing [how many cans/bottles of Ballz you think got sold last year?], so I'm sure they wouldn't mind having a presence at the event).  Any swag we get we give out, split between the live and online viewers.  For the live ones we could do something like raffle style drawings, for every $X somebody donates they get a ticket, and for the online crowd we could do something similar plus offer stuff for things like biggest donation.  People love to win stuff, even if they have to spend more than it's worth to get it, so the more sponsors we can get the better.

So yeah, if you couldn't tell I've been putting some thought into this thing. ;)

Back to games, if no one else steps up I'd be willing to give LoZ a shot.  I really don't see how we can do a retro games marathon without including this one.  Pretty sure I could put together a reliable, fairly safe route (likely with no Up+A) that would clock in around 40-45 minutes.  I do already have a bunch of games on my plate though, and there's definitely a couple other games I'd rather add to it before this one (Wizards and Warriors and Double Dragon namely), so if somebody else wants to go for it, by all means.

Pretty sure I said this already, but I'm definitely willing to do some commentating.

@Frezy:  Still waiting for your updated time estimates.

romscout

2009-09-25 06:02:05 pm

that Metroidvania guy

you can go ahead and put me down for commentating too. it'll be fun.