The live netcast from ARGFest-o-Con 2007 in San Francisco is ready and waiting for you. Read the show notes at the ARG Netcast web site. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through this link or via iTunes.
Tag: San Francisco (Page 3 of 4)
As the wheels of the small commuter plane touched down on the tarmac of San Francisco International Airport, the rush of excitement I felt having arrived for ARGFest-O-Con 2007 was almost overwhelming. It had been less than two years since I had attended the large-scale conference dedicated to alternate reality gaming – the 2005 event in New York City was my first ARGFest – but the anticipation for this event had me giddy as a schoolgirl. As I navigated through the weaving maze of gates and security checkpoints, I knew that in less than an hour, I would be meeting up with people from around the globe, some of which I had seen in late 2005 at the Last Call Poker finale, and some that I had never even had the chance to talk to in the online chat rooms that dot the ARG community landscape.
I had the benefit of arriving in San Francisco within minutes of Unfiction owner Sean Stacey and 42 Entertainment’s Elan Lee. After some careful coordination, we were able to share a cab to the convention’s home, the Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf in northern San Fran. We began to talk, and it was obvious that despite a bit of fatigue, the other two were just as excited about the conference as I was. We chatted as though we had seen each other only days earlier, and as we traversed the streets leading to the hotel, fifteen minutes elapsed before Elan finally said, “Hey, San Francisco is really pretty.†We hadn’t even looked out the window of the cab, too busy talking with each other.
The rest of the evening went by much faster than I would have liked. Arriving at the hotel to see old friends and meet those I had previously talked with online, events quickly led to a wonderful Chinese meal, a regrettable absence from the Cruel 2 B Kind game that over 50 teams enjoyed, and a number of beverages at the hotel lounge. It was great to see people I write with on this site, people like Jackie Kerr and Marie Lamb, people who I had never met with in a real-world setting previously. Smiling faces and loud, raucous cheers littered the gathering place, and the festival moved forward, full tilt.
In this supplemental, special netcast, the panel from episode 9 return to talk about ARGFest-O-Con. This is a very informative, relatively short netcast dedicated solely to discussion about the 7th installment of the ARG discussion conference and social get-together. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through FeedBurner or via iTunes.
What’s the story?
- ARGFest-O-Con 2007 is the 7th in a series of social events for the alternate reality gaming community. From the website: ARGFest-o-Con 2007 will be held Friday through Sunday, March 2-4, 2007, in San Francisco, California, USA. The focus will be on “How to PM a Game†and “the Future of ARGs†(these are working titles).
- The web site has a handy wiki where people interested in the event can communicate with attendees, view schedules (under construction), and get information on accommodations.
- Speakers for the event, so far and officially announced, include Adrian Hon (Mind Candy), Evan Jones (xenophile), Kristen Rutherford, Brooke Thompson (Giant Mice), Krystyn Wells (glitterbook), Sean C. Stacey (Unfiction), speakers from sf0, Dave Szulborski, Brian Clark (GMD Studios), Jane McGonigal (avant game), Steve Peters (42 Entertainment), and keynote speakers Elan Lee and Sean Stewart of 42 Entertainment. Stewart will also be signing books at the event.
- Events are still being planned, and restaurants are still being chosen for social gatherings.
- Registration for the event is $10 US, which gets you a neat-o registration package. Registration will be available online soon, watch the web site for updates.
- A Fest Quest is in order, but the organizers need locals to step in and help out. Sponsors are needed to help out with costs. Also, if you are particularly good at dealing with the media (who have expressed much interest), there’s a job waiting for you. Contact us here at ARGNet if you are available to help out with any of these situations.
- A T-Shirt contest is open for the event, but will close soon. There’s a fabulous prize available, so enter now and enter often!
- We go on (and on, and on) about how much fun these fests are. You just have to attend.
Contact us at our special netcast email address, [email protected] with your tips, suggestions, concerns and submissions. Call us on our ARGNet voicemail at 630-274-5425.
It’s official folks: ARGfest-O-Con 2007 is coming to San Francisco and plans to leave its heart there the weekend of March 2-4. The focus will be on “How to PM a Game” and “The Future of ARGs” (working titles). Save the date! And after you scribble it down excitedly on your Dilbert calendar, or type it excitedly into your Nerdtastic Online Scheduler 6000XV, find your to-do list and write down the following: Help plan ARGfest.
Yes, this is your chance to jump in at the beginning and help put together the best fest yet. Rose, Unfiction regular and ARGfest NYC hostess extraordinaire, has once more agreed to helm the efforts to get this show up and running, and she would really like some local help to get logistics settled as soon as possible. Specifically, she needs people familiar with the city and its environs to suggest local venues for hotels, restaurants, amusements, potential field trips, and/or any other information about the area that you can provide. She promises you will not be overburdened.
We also need volunteers to suggest and help coordinate speakers/panels, and help run the registration process. You do not need to be local to do this.
Would you or your company like to help sponsor ARGfest? Contact Rose to discuss the possible arrangements.
PM her at the Unforum (user name: rose) or add yourself to the handy ARGfest-O-Wiki on the Help page with your preferred contact information.
See you by the bay!
The San Francisco Connection for Perplex City came and went. Below is a brief summary of the events that took place.
Early in the morning several Cube Hunters gathered at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. With the doors still closed, the Hunters entertained themselves by listening to the podcasts, trading cards, and in general having conversations about the game. When the doors finally opened, Hunters were allowed into an area that contained several tables with free cards, a big screen TV with Guitar Hero, and a puzzle table for those that wanted to stretch their mental muscles before the main event.
On a wall, a projector was keeping track of the “solved” status for numerous puzzles. After several minutes of waiting, Hunters were told to gather to the amphitheater next door. There, representatives of Mind Candy explained that the connection between Earth and Perplex City had been severed and that only with the help of the Hunters would the connection be restored.
Another large-scale organized event for Perplex City is taking place tomorrow in San Francisco, California, hot on the heels of the almost-worldwide release of the fourth and final wave of Season One puzzle cards, which took place on July 31st. To help build up the hype machine for this event, the creative forces at Mind Candy Design have teamed up with buy.com and 1UP.com as official partners — there’s even a mini-game and Club at 1UP (http://von.1up.com and http://officialperplexcity-club.1up.com, respectively).
The event coincides with a plot development where the ‘Third Power’ has severed the link between our world and the world in which Perplex City exists, and players can expect this get-together to be a task-oriented affair. According to the Mind Candy Emergency website, “At 11am PDT on Saturday (7pm in the UK), (Mind Candy) be giving an emergency briefing both online at this website and at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, detailing what needs to be done.” Will the participants save the day and be victorious against the Third Power evil-doers? Probably. In any case, it sounds like a heck of a way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and we encourage those in attendance to write in with your reactions and summaries of the day’s events for a follow-up early next week!
Editor’s Note: We are not suggesting that the Receda Cube will be found in San Francisco. It’s just a funny title, people.
giggleland
postcurious
welcome home
black watchmen
escape rooms
masquerade nyc