Scott mentioned on Twitter that he'd be all over a Space Quest/SpaceVenture convention.

 

I was thinking we could probably do a virtual convention pretty easily - like on Sarien.net or in a version of the AGS IRC client (like was used at the AGS Awards). Thoughts?

 

(This could probably intrude on the "access to private chat room discussions with Scott and Mark" $150 Kickstarter tier, but it could also help promote it...)

Or on the Minecraft server, if that ever gets up.

Scott was also talking about why Germany didn't have an adventure game convention we Europeans could all go to. I'll reiterate that I would do a Space Quest panel for that in a heartbeat. I could bore everyone to DEATH.

 

A virtual convention sounds like a lot of fun, too. Again, I'm thinking of the Hangout technology, but I promise not to harp on about it. I'm well aware there are others, probably a lot better, ways to do it -- I just don't know of them. :)

 

How would such a virtual convention work? Apart from just being a big chat session, you could have individual Q&A sessions and a host of guest "speakers."

I'd assume it'd be a lot like a physical convention, Q&A's, speakers, cosplay (i.e. people pick an avatar, yay!). Maybe fan contests (*cough* you could announce the winner(s) of twinkie nose tuesdays *cough*), etc.

Or on the Minecraft server, if that ever gets up.

 

My thought exactly. Though I guess most people who don't have Minecraft wouldn't be too happy about buying the game just for that.

 

Although... we could probably hook it up to an IRC chat and stream video from the server...

Mmm that's a good idea. (Minecraft + stream)

a version of the AGS IRC client (like was used at the AGS Awards)

I probably spent too much time making this work, but if anyone's interested: http://pcj.bz/sq/SQIRC.zip

 

(Everyone's Roger, I "stole" the music from VSB's Monolith Burger, and it's probably rather buggy, but oh well. Oh, and it connects to the old #sq on irc.freenode.net, so if you'd rather be more conventional you can always stop by with other clients as well)

It's pretty neat :) Add in some extra avatar choices, and it could turn into something really cool!.

That's really cool pcj! What network is the IRC channel on?

 

If people ever want to chat with adventure game people.. there's also the Double Fine adventure channel I made -- and generally has a couple dozen people idling in it.. *shameless plug* -- pretty busy on Saturdays, when we do playthru's with Greg Rice (producer at Double Fine).

 

browser: http://mibbit.com/?channel=%23DFAdventure&server=irc.foonetic.net

IRC Server: irc.foonetic.net

Channel: #DFAdventure

That's really cool pcj! What network is the IRC channel on?

it connects to the old #sq on irc.freenode.net

Awesome! Needs more lesbians, though.

Hmmm ... I didn't know that channel was still around.

 

I actually have an SSH client on my phone connected to a shell that's always-on IRC. Maybe I'll hop on. But that will mean that I'll appear to be constantly connected, even though I'm not actually there. ;)

I love the idea of a sarien.net meetup :-D

 

You could even make it a collaborative, multiplayer playthrough of SQ1 since that game is completely available. It could be crazy hectic and chaotic, but a lot of fun and definitely something that could be recorded for posterity.

Based on how many watched the marathon, we'd probably get 100-150 people online at once! That's a lot of Rogers! LOL

A Sierra-con might be fun.

A Sierra-con might be fun.

 

Sounds like a good idea to broaden the audience a bit. I suppose we'd need to work up some more art assets for that though (especially to connect the various game backgrounds if that's what we'd be doing)

There's lots of cool stuff going on. In addition to the whole HTML5 version of Prototype 1 (which was complete and playable!) there is also the Sarian.net website for multiplayer through the original games. I'm hoping to play someone in Gold Rush one of these days...

 

For a convention, Sarian.net could make a new game: basically a few custom rooms. A few custom characters to pick from (like Red/Blue/Gold Shirts + male/female + hair color) and we could do a cool SpaceVentures Virtual Convention for the kickstarter. Is there chat on Sarian.net? It could be added quickly.

There is chat, but there isn't alternate skins like there was with the Good Old Adventures chat, sadly. I miss that.

So what if we held a Sierra-con at Yosemite HS?

Ken, I can't believe how active you are on these forums; it's completely unreal to me to actually be interacting with you guys. While you may not have the same industry recognition now as you and your crew did back in the 90's (yes, us geeks actually used to read all the credits and would notice when folks moved between companies!), the lasting impression left on some of us (me!) is a permanent part of our psyche now.

 

Just the other day, I was bantering with Scott on the internet while some guy named John (on the east coast I think?) played his games LIVE and we all watched... I saw you there too! I tell you, that felt like a virtual convention :)

Backup Plan for a Virtual Convention: I recommend World Trivia Champion Lite! We've had 50 online at once, so 200 should be no problem.

 

It's got full chat, and it's massively multiplayer, so it's loads of fun if you know other players. Also it's free!

 

The trivia crowd is online at nights Tuesdays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays, so it's usually jumping. As an interesting side note, Ken Williams likes to play and has even added a few trivia questions!

 

It's available free for iPhone, iPod and iPads at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/world-trivia-champion-lite/id516331685?mt=8

 

If it gets more popular, I can roll out an Android and Ajax client in the future. Feel free to try it out and let me know what you think.

I would be all over a more "real/fake" virtual convention. I was actually thinking something along the lines of Second Life, before I realized that made me look like an idiot.

 

Someone suggested using the Minecraft thing, which I thought was very clever. Trouble is, I know nothing about Minecraft and wouldn't have the first idea how to join, let alone host a panel or participate in any activities or anything.

I think a Sarien.net-type thing would be the best way to go, but Q42 is probably busy right now... A Minecraft server can be set up pretty quick though and probably would work.

I've been in contact with Chris about the SQ community Minecraft server idea. I'm currently putting things together for that. During my work on that I discovered a server plugin that allows the Minecraft in-game server chat to link with any IRC channel you desire and vice versa. So even if someone doesn't have Minecraft, chatting with the general public from the game and fans chatting with the Two Guys from the outside can still be an option. That would be a neat option to have in the future sometime.

Trouble is, I know nothing about Minecraft and wouldn't have the first idea how to join, let alone host a panel or participate in any activities or anything.

 

It's very easy to join, but it requires buying the game (20 EUR).

And it's a sandbox game, so there aren't special features for conventions or panels or anything, all of that just emerges from what the players decide to do in it.