Ramblings (Underdog Chamber)

Since my last post, I’ve been thinking about what I may replace Marathon with for 2007. At this point in time, I’m thinking either Unreal Tournament or the original Quake! I’d prefer to do Quake, but will have to research this some, as I’m not sure I can present it the way I’d like to. That is, I’d like the updated Quake 1.1, running on OS X. I am not sure if my old G3 systems could handle that though, thus I will have to run some tests, and this will take some time.

In the mean time, I’m also still working on what game systems to bring this year. Last year I had the following (with a grade showing how popular they were):

Arcadia 2001 – D (Some casual use, but not real popular)

Bally (Astrocade) – A (Got overall good attention)

Genesis – A+ (Not a true Underdog, but I had it there, and it did real well)

Intellivision – A (This system got lots of people playing classic games)

Odyssey2 – B (Got some decent attention, but most of was casual)

Philips G7400 – D (I really don’t think people knew what to make of this system)

Timex/Sinclair 1500 (ZX81/ TS1000 – B (Many folks, especially some groups from Japan, loved this setup!)

Timex/Sinclair 2068 - F (I like this old system, but it failed to draw any real attention)

Vectrex – C (Mainly casual attention, and possible because it was kind of in a corner)

Mac LAN/(Misc games) – A (Marathon did real well on Saturday, misc. games did good on Sunday)

Obviously, I do not have plans on bringing back the TS2068 this year. Maybe some other year I’ll try to push the sinclair stuff a little more. I still may do the G7400 again, but would like to update the system, so that it can do more than a basic G7400. The Arcadia I am undecided on, but may bring it. Three new systems that I’d like to bring this year (systems I have not displayed before) are the Colecovision, Gamecube, and the Apple II. This of course will depend on what I cut, as I cannot bring all this stuff. That would be just too much to handle. I would like to cycle through systems each year, thus I have to really sit down and figure out what I’m going to do for 2007. I may even cut down on systems, but have multiple of certain ones – like having two Intellivision units setup – so more folks can play this popular underdog!

In the next few weeks, I will be comparing notes from the 2006 show and start to narrow down what I will bring to the 2007 show. Obviously I will have to pick and remove some systems, and put in replacements for those game systems that will not be making an appearance this year.

As for the Marathon II (and Infinity) network games that were run on the 8 Macintosh units I had last year, I am not really sure I want to do this in 2007. I’ve done Marathon for two years now (2004 and 2006), and frankly would like to try something different. This is one major area were I need to look at the network games I have, and to see what might go over well at the show. I may also still do Marathon, but cut it down to 4 computers, with the other 4 playing other game(s). For now, I need to consult my games, and see what I can do.

The other issue is that my location within the show has been changed for 2007. Even though I liked the open area that I was in last year, Dan and Gary (the dudes running the show) have decided that the Underdog Chamber will be moved. This year I will be in the area with the Museum and Jagfest (and possibly one other exhibit yet to be announced). I have agreed to this, as I don’t think it should pose too much of a problem, as long as I have the same table space I had in 2006! The only issue will be a higher noise level, as the area will be more tightly spaced, along with pinball and arcade units running in the area I was in last year!

More to follow… for now, a few more pictures of things that have been in storage since last years show…

Welcome to the start of my 2007 MGC blog! I’m using actual blogging software this year, as I thought it would be nicer looking and easier to deal with too. Hope those folks that stop in here find this somewhat entertaining and informative as well. I should start posting actual things that I’m working on shortly. This is just an intro message stating that I’ve got the blog up and running…

For now, here are some pictures things in storage, waiting to be brought out and setup for the show!