Quake Expo 2008 Feedback Thread

Talk about the Quake Expo and Quake Speed events.
scar3crow
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Quake Expo 2008 Feedback Thread

Post by scar3crow »

Since a handful of people have expressed hesitance regarding a 2009 expo based upon the performance of the 2008 expo, I have created this thread as a place to articulate their reasons.

Was it the booth content? The turnout? The presentation? The news coverage? The event variety? Please elaborate on why you may have had or still do have misgivings about QExpo 2008, and how you think those same misgivings are potent enough to discourage a QExpo in 09.
...and all around me was the chaos of battle and the reek of running blood.... and for the first time in my life I knew true happiness.
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Post by Urre »

I would say the coverage and overall vibe felt kind of, off... It didn't feel as genuine and "there" as previous expos. Previously, I had a feeling like there was a real, physical expo going on somewhere, from which I were getting awesome reports from, and because all events were arranged through internet-land, I was able to participate from home. Last year it felt too obvious that we really are just a bunch of loons sticking imaginary stuff together, and calling it exciting.

I'm coming off very harsh here I see. It might just be me, realising the truth of things, but somehow my excitement faded faster last year than previously. Is it just me?

Nonetheless, I feel this is more a reason to have a new one this year rather than not, to make a cooler expo than previously. We should always aim to make it even better than last year. Think like a company, a year is considered a failure if the profit is lower than last year (which is quite ridiculous if you think about it). I'm also feeling bad for having a rather lame contribution last time, and not participating in any speedmoddings and -mappings, or other events, and would like to have another shot at showing off something cool.

The content was great though, participation was okay. It was also mighty fun to see new faces (nicknames) and projects!
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ceriux
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Post by ceriux »

hey! then participate in this speed mod!
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Post by MauveBib »

urre: I think that was due to the length, frankly. Previous qexpos have concentrated everything into a week or ten days, but the 2008 one lasted a whole month, and there just wasn't enough happening to keep our attention. Shorter qexpos are the way to go, leave people wanting more.
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Entar
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Post by Entar »

I think I'm going to have to agree with MauveBib on this one. At first in theory, a longer expo may seem like a good idea, and that it would give people more chances to show off their stuff, or finish something to get it out there, and maybe it does. However, the day to day activities are less jam-packed with Quakey goodness, leading to that lack of feeling that Urre talked about.
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Post by Irritant »

I tend to agree with Urre. The 2008 Qexpo felt like very little was actually going on, and felt very disconnected. I don't know if that was really anyone's fault per se, but maybe a reflection of the way the community has evolved(or devolved).

I know for me it was disappointing, due to the tournament I have held for the past 3 or 4 Qexpos. In the past there was alot of participation from the community here, but this past year, not a single person from Qexpo participated and it wound up just being an Alien Arena community tourney, which really wasn't my goal. Considering the amount of money I invested in it, it was actually fairly heartbreaking.

As for how to get the participants more interested in each other's projects and activities, that is a good question that I don't really have the answer too. I do know that I personally would enter a Quake, OA, Nexuiz, or Warsow Qexpo tourney if one were to be held, but that is really just one type of activity anyway.
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Post by Electro »

Keep it short and sweet. Like this msg.
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scar3crow
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Post by scar3crow »

I am of the stance that a good event is 3 to 14 days in length, QExpo 09 would probably be in the 10-14 day length.

QExpo 08 was very distant for me, but that is largely because I was absent for it; I had just moved 3000 miles, started a new job, and I got married the first day of it, so I was in some ways very unaware of it.

After things settled down a bit, I was mildly involved, but I admit it did not feel like an expo, possibly because of the length, it felt like "a site", rather than the Quake Expo. This did remove some of its charm, that "going to the carnival" sort of feeling.

My thoughts on this are simply... Shorter time span, more news posts, more pumped news posts, more cross community activity, more irc presence during and leading up to the expo, activity throughout the day (not just a batch of updates in the morning or whatever) and just generally being as Quakey to everyone you can.
...and all around me was the chaos of battle and the reek of running blood.... and for the first time in my life I knew true happiness.
scar3crow
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Post by scar3crow »

As for how to get the participants more interested in each other's projects and activities, that is a good question that I don't really have the answer too.
Ease of entry. "Play in this tournament!" Link to a single download for all necessary files (within legality) with clear instructions. "Lets do speed modding!" Simple flexible theme, link to the necessary qc files and a compiler and a quick primer html file. "Lets do a first timer speed mapping!" (this could be cool in a way...) Link to a mapping tool prepackaged with all the entities and the base textures implemented, and a simple batch file to spit out a completed BSP and a template readme file to fill out.
...and all around me was the chaos of battle and the reek of running blood.... and for the first time in my life I knew true happiness.
MauveBib
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Post by MauveBib »

so shorter time-span, more events, more newposts. What else?

Personally I'd love to have the option to give feedback on booths, web 2.0 styley. Kinda a facebook wall on each booth or something.
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Spirit
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Post by Spirit »

I was under the impression that there were not many interesting things released last QExpo. Checking the booths I realised that this was a false memory. I am sure the long duration was part of this. That was a very bad decision and even worse when announcing it mid-qexpo.

Even 10 days sound very long to me. Especially if a goal is to attract new people a week or even less sounds much better.

Having dedicated days ("Day of the Mods", "Day of the Singleplayer", "Day of the Games", "Day of the Tentacle") is something that might help the feeling of organisation and maybe even participation.

http://qexpo.tastyspleen.net/ seems down at the moment and I don't remember the news, so I cannot comment on that. It felt disorganised though, if I recall correctly.
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ceriux
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Post by ceriux »

not down for me , right now.
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Post by Entar »

MauveBib wrote:Personally I'd love to have the option to give feedback on booths, web 2.0 styley. Kinda a facebook wall on each booth or something.
Yeah, some way to leave comments/communication sounds like a fun idea.
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Post by Urre »

Spirit nailed a very important point, themed days. I recall this being a goal in the early expos, and I thought it was brilliant back then. You feel excited about knowing that "maps" day is next wednesday or whatever, which is when you'll get to try that awesome mappack being advertised on one of the mapper-booths, while at the same time it's "multiplayer TC" day today, so even if it's not your usual taste of amusement, you'll be much more likely to try out those mods because the mappack you're waiting for isn't even here yet. So everyone gets a major dose of their taste a certain day, all activities could be theme based that day as well, and they will much more likely try out more of the stuff they usually don't if days are themed. Awesome!
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Irritant
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Post by Irritant »

Once again, I completely agree with Urre. Themed days make it alot more fun.
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