Yes, ZapCon was awesome this year, even more so by the presence of BYOAC in the mofo'ing house.
It started Friday morning. I finished all my stuff, picked up Le Chuck at the airport at around 10:15. We went, he checked out the game room in Casa De La Yotsuya, and then we loaded 4 games: Macross, NBA Jam in a Dynamo HS-5 9 (heavy as all sin), Hit The Ice in an HS-1, and my 2015 custom project for ZapCon: Polybius, the game that only lives in urban legend. A buddy of mine donated a cab for the cause, I designed a look for it with input from some of the guys here that I trust, and worked on it over the past month or so. More on it later.
NBA Jam: Phoenix Suns EditionWe took a long route to get to the show (didn't trust the trailer on the freeway), unloaded the games and went across the street for some food and beer. I went back home, dropped the trailer off, changed, and drove BACK across town to pick up LC and meet up with the other guys for the Friday night hootenanny. Retrogreg and HaRuMaN were at the Monastery by the time we got there, so we got a few tables and waited for rest. MelvinBates showed up soon after, and then Neph rolled in, straight from like a 15 hour drive from Wyoming through three blizzards. We were also joined by a few local I know, and we had nice big group. The BYOACers got their swag bags that night: their BYOAC t-shirts, the ID tag, a commerative 11x17 poster for their gamerooms, and a bunch of stuff that Vigo sent me. We had beer, nachos, and burgers, and after dinner (and about 20 minutes of trying to pay for our food), we headed over to StarFighters Arcade across the street, which was technically closed that night, but they opened just for our group. It was great having the run of the place. Pinball, all games on freeplay - couldn't ask for more.
Saturday was a load of fun. Games, games, games. The day started at 9. We took a group photo at noon:
Pictured L to R: Nephasth, RetroGreg, Yotsuya, ChanceKJ, MelvinBates, Le Chuck, HaRuMaN. Not pictured: Slippyblade, DeLuSioNaL29Saturday Night we had a group dinner provided for us by Vigo. Vigo works for the parent company for a number of buffets in the country, and he sent us vouchers for meals (dinner was on him, he said, since he couldn't make it and he knew people were coming from out of state). We went as a group (except for HaRuMaN and Slippy, who had to work. He also sent vouchers for the organizers of ZapCon, which they appreciated). We took Vigo with us in spirit...
"You WILL let my friends in, young cashier, or you will feel the wrath of the Carpathian..."We got back and signed the Vigo poster for Vigo as a show of thanks. Then more games...
"No Snacks N' Jaxon? RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!"The rest of the night went on until 11:30, and it was simply more games and fun. I ran into a guy who knew of BYOAC from my shirt. He says he's a long time lurker. When he saw my username on the ID, he said "Oh, you're the guy that mentions cheesesteaks".
Don't be a stranger, Taco Town Charlie. Also, Grey Area asking Neph if PBJ was at the show was awesome.
Sunday was more of the same. I got there at 9, met up with the guys who were going to be there both days. Neph and I brought out the Troubleshooters, and he actually used his to test a Mortal Kombat II game that died on the floor. I know he wasn't expecting that. Dudes were asking him if he wanted to sell them.
"Sup, cousin?"At 4:30 they announced the winners of the Best in Show competition. And... I won. For Polybius. I was truly stunned. It was pretty fun to see people enjoying the game over the weekend. Some people bought into it, some people were good at it, but all in all, it was a hit. Bonus: Le Chuck is actually good at the game....
Le Chuck being a boss...
This girl was good too and kept going back and forth with Le Chuck for the high score.
Oh superfine Hot Goth Girl, it was a pleasure watching you handle the joystick...
Polybius triumphant.Polybius was so popular, they kept working the joystick loose. At one point, I had Le Chuck and some other guy in a security vest stand in front of the machine with their arms folded while it worked on the control panel. It was great drama and further went to enhance the urban legend. We had it owned by -undisclosed- and we put a value of $120,000 on the machine. The machine itself has been donated to ZapCon, and it will be housed at StarFighter's Arcade during the year. I'm really proud of the game, and the fact it won. I put my trophy next to the one I got last year for Macross (incidentally, the lady who tabulated the votes told me Macross got more votes this year, too).
Neph asked me if my next project was going to be a trophy case....All in all, it was a GREAT time. I probably played games 40% of the time. To me, the best part was the friendship and camaraderie that was on display. It was just a great time by all. It ended at 6 yesterday, and we packed up, looking forward to next year. I really want to thank everyone who turned out, especially Neph and Le Chuck (Neph is on the road back to Cheyenne as I type - be safe, brother!). Can't wait for ZapCon '16!
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Topic: ZapCon 2015 Roll Call (Read 41880 times)
