Dragon's Lair high-score contest live-stream at VCF-SE 7.0

[+OLD CS1]

Announcing the "Dragon's Lair High Score Contest and Live-Stream", a live-stream event which will showcase contestants playing Tursi's newest history-making technological achievement, competing for the prize of a boxed copy of Dragon's Lair, at this year's Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 7.0.

 

VCF-SE 7.0 is Saturday, April 27, 2019, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 28, 2019, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 5000 Commerce Parkway, Roswell, GA 30076 (in the Roswell Town Center mall, around the back off Commerce Parkway.)

 

The contest is scheduled for Saturday, April 27th, from 2pm to 4pm EDT, though time will be extended to accommodate all signed-up contestants. As of now I do not see a problem with this time slot but will update if necessary.

 

The rules for the game are simple:

 

 

Arcade mode and hard difficulty are expected to give the most arcade-like feel and scoring opportunities, while hints should help even the newest of players. Joystick play, again, to replicate the arcade experience, and I will have a selection of joysticks available for players to choose. Each player will be allowed the option of a best-of-three games to help offset new players and unfamiliarity with the game. As well, players will be allowed to choose different joysticks for each attempt.

 

I created a Twitch channel just for this event, which you will find as OLD_CS1.

 

During the event, viewers will see an over-the-shoulder view of game play, a capture of the game video output, as well as the leader board. If all goes well you will also be able to hear me announcing during the contest. In true arcade style, spectators will be able to watch the game on a large screen projection. I do not plan for chat as the amount of traffic at the table each year precludes chat participation.

 

Additionally, the game will be played on one of my board-mounted 4As to show that the game is indeed running on stock hardware, and played on a real TI monitor.

 

I am set up to do pre-game streaming which will consist of just the game output capture and a graphic with the time of the contest.

 

The only variable in the live-stream will be bandwidth. Testing on my LTE wireless access point shows I can push 10Mb/s up, which should easily handle the 720p30f I will be broadcasting (between 2.5Mb/s and 4.5Mb/s,) but I do not yet know what coverage will be like at the event. In any case, I will be uploading a full quality recording at a later time.

 

Special thanks to Earl Baugh, VCF-SE organizer, for allowing the live-stream, and Tursi for not just the obvious but also for entertaining my endless banter about this event and providing the prize.

 

Sign-up will be at VCF-SE, and pre-show sign-up in this thread. All players will complete registration at VCF -- DO NOT POST ANY PRIVATE INFORMATION IN THIS THREAD.

 

Now the stuff I have been advised to include.

 

How to Sign Up

 

Sign-up at the show will begin at the opening of VCF-SE, 10:00am Saturday, until the start of the stream. This thread will serve as official notification and pre-show sign-up. Sign-ups from the show and from this thread will be interspersed so as not to give one method time advantage over the other. Players will provide an email address or phone number for winner notification, and his or her name or optionally a handle or alias, appropriate for the venue, for public uses e.g. during the live-stream and future performances.

 

tl;dr Express your interest in playing here, or sign up on the Saturday before the contest begins, and both will be mixed for the roster. You can use your real name or a kid-friendly moniker, and I will need a way to get in touch if you win and are not around when the contest is over. You gotta be 18 or have an adult relative sign you up.

 

Progression of player selection

 

Players signed up as of the start of the live-stream event will be given time to play up until all players have played or the close of the venue at 7:00pm on Saturday, whichever comes first. Players will be called to play in the order described above. If a player is not present for his or her call, play will progress to the next player on the roster, after which the missing player will be called again. If the missing player is not present for his or her second call, that player will be moved to the end of the player roster and subject to event time limitations described above.

 

tl;dr The show closes at 7pm and no one else will play after that. Please stick around for your turn. (I will have a roster up to help keep track of turns.)

 

Best-of-three option

 

Players will be given the option to have the best score from three consecutive attempts accepted as the official play score. The option is given at the end of the player's first play and the player's selection is binding. If opted, the three games must be played consecutively.

 

tl;dr Play one game, if you are not happy with your score you get two more chances but you have to play right away.

 

Disqualifications

 

Harassing or otherwise disturbing active players, or any violation of VCF-SE rules or policies, will result in removal from the table area, and disqualification if the offender is a player.

 

tl;dr Be a jerk, get lost.

 

Confirmation of majority and appearance release

 

Player confirms he or she is of majority age or has been allowed to enter by a person with appropriate legal authority. All players understand and agree this is a live-streamed event which will be made available on the Internet immediately and at a later date. While efforts are made to prevent capture of a player's face, player agrees his or her person, in full or part, may be displayed on the Internet, as well as correlated with his or her name as provided for the player roster. Furthermore, player agrees his or her performance in the event may be used at a later time for publicity or promotional purposes and relinquishes all claims to ownership of the same as part or full of future presentations and usage.

 

tl;dr I am trying not to catch faces in the stream, but it could happen. If you do not want to take the chance then do not play. The stream will be live on Twitch, and later uploaded to Twitch, YouTube, or somewhere else, in full and clips, and you give permission to do that and have your player name included.

 

Winner notifications

 

If present at the end of the contest, winning player may immediately collect prize, otherwise winning player will be notified via preferred contact method to provide shipping information.

 

tl;dr Stick around and claim your prize right away, otherwise you will be contacted for your mailing address.

 

Privacy notice

 

All entries to the contest shall be kept private and confidential by, and stored securely in the custody of, the contest organizer and table exhibitors, and information contained within shall not be used for purposes other than the contest event and future presentations of the event e.g. clips, highlights, or replays, or as necessary for claim, action or cooperation with proper legal or law enforcement request. Contact information for the winning player shall be shared with third-parties as necessary for prize delivery e.g. United States Postal Service for shipping.

 

tl;dr Your information will not be given out and will be kept secret, used as mentioned above, or to protect myself if I get sued for some reason, or if the po-po present my attorney with a legit demand. Oh, and I cannot send you your prize without telling USPS to whom and where to send it.

[jwild]

Old CS1: aren’t you the person that “seconded” the objection to having this as the high score competition game of the month?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[+OLD CS1]

Old CS1: aren’t you the person that “seconded” the objection to having this as the high score competition game of the month?

 

Yes. For the reasons presented by Vorticon.

[jwild]

I look forward to seeing your skills in the Blasto competition this month.

[+OLD CS1]

I look forward to seeing your skills in the Blasto competition this month.

 

Deal. That is one of the games I rather enjoy.

[+OLD CS1]

Add some clarifications. Also, I am working out a way to display a player roster so players will be able to keep better track of their turn.

[+OLD CS1]

A second place prize has been added to the contest. From my Teespring store, the

 

Master Title Screen Fleece Blanket

 

Doing on-line stores like this is a bit harrowing as you have no idea how the items will turn out in look or quality. I received this today and am impressed. There is a minor problem, in that the graphic winds up being wider than the print, so the color bars are cut into at the short edge. It is great other than that. I will put up a photo of the actual item as soon as I can.

[+OLD CS1]

Third and fourth place prizes now locked-in. Third place is a new-in-box sealed copy of Defender for the TI-99/4A, and fourth is a complete-in-box copy of Ms. Pac-Man.

[+OLD CS1]

Some changes:

 

1) The time of the event is officially 2pm until 5pm.

2) Walk-up contestants will be accepted if all players have played before 5pm.

[+OLD CS1]

TI representing at VCF.

 

 

The live stream is up, just in offline mode right now. I am sad to say I only have one contestant signed up for the contest.

[+OLD CS1]

The live stream will also be catching some players, off-cam.

[+OLD CS1]

The lack of players today boils down to everyone saying either they were not familiar with the game or it was too hard in the arcade. Bummer, but we have had some walk-ups. Two more hours and I will announce the winners.

[+retroclouds]

Thanks for posting the pics and showcasing the TI and Dragons Lair. Always get a kick out of seeing TI-99/4a Pitfall! at a gaming convention. Like the Atari joystick too. Wish I could have been there.

[+Vorticon]

Neat idea to have a couple of disassembled TI's on display.

[+OLD CS1]

Thanks for posting the pics and showcasing the TI and Dragons Lair. Always get a kick out of seeing TI-99/4a Pitfall! at a gaming convention. Like the Atari joystick too. Wish I could have been there.

 

It is fun here. We had a little less traffic than I remember from last year. Pitfall! was popular. People who played were very impressed. As a game just about everyone from our era remembers, it is my favorite to open the show.

 

Neat idea to have a couple of disassembled TI's on display.

 

These have also been popular. Stirs up a good deal of conversation.

 

 

 

High score contest winners are:

 

"Dirk" 29030

Zack 10201

J.R. 10126

Clayton 8287

 

Players receive the boxed copy of Dragon's Lair, the TI Master Title Screen fleece blanket, a new-in-box copy of Defender, and complete-in-box copy of Ms. Pac-Man, respectively. Well done and thank you to everyone who stopped by and those who played today.

[Flottmann1]

here Jon from the Vintage Computer Festival

 

https://www.facebook.com/guidry/videos/10157511537557450/

[Opry99er]

Nice!!! I tuned into Twitch for a little bit that day.

[+InsaneMultitasker]

that's a really nice setup! Well done

[+bcombee]

This was my first time seeing what the latest TI homebrew could do and I found it very impressive. Alas, I'm terrible at the game, as proven by me losing all my Dirks about four screens in.

[+OLD CS1]

It was a lot of fun. The traffic was lighter this year than expected, but still worked out well. The second place winner of the blanket was floored by it. Everyone who played Dragon's Lair had a good time, and I got some feedback on Bouncy's Obstacle Course, as well -- they thought it was great.

 

Got to talk to a lot of great people, as usual. Might bring a couple new folks into the fold, and might have some coming back for a visit. Got to see Mark's 99/4 in beautiful condition, and his ridiculous Atari Lynx collection which I figured probably cost him a less-vital organ to obtain I was rather envious but at least I have the Lynx multi-cart!

 

I figured out I am going to have to put up a sign which explains how to use a joystick. You would be surprised at the number of people who did not naturally place the cord away from them.

 

I did not have time to do all the signs I wanted to do, but I did get one put together Saturday night for the mega-demo. Also, the Super Sketch will be a permanent fixture as it again was popular, with one kid spending a good half-hour there drawing quite well once he learned how all the functions worked. Next year I will have a way to capture the drawings and print them for people, too.

 

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but the board-mounted consoles were inspired by Matt's wood-mounted system he was (and might still be) using for hardware development. I saw it at the Faire several years back and thought, wow, that would make a great display.

 

As for the projector, it was not quite bright enough to compete with the lights surrounding it. It was washed out but worked, and I am thinking next year might be better for me. I am happy to report there is not perceptible lag on the display, which will be huge for game-play.

 

Oh, and I suffered a minor injury during set-up for the show. heheheh I also did a couple of interviews covering the exhibit and particularly Dragon's Lair. I am pretty certain I did not screw up too much.

 

[+OLD CS1]

I also did a couple of podcast interviews. I am afraid I am not very good off-the-cuff when on camera. Much better in a natural environment. Same problem I had acting for the film school, I am too focused on the mechanics and will have a brain freeze or get stuck on certain things. Hopefully they can fix all that in post.