Poll: ZeroPunctuationCon

[Palademon]

Having an entire convention centre around one guy...god no, it'd be impossible to get anything done if 1000 people have to follow him.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

Anyway, just a sweet thought I figured I'd share. What do you folks think about a ZeroPunctuation-Con?

It wouldn't work, even as a con for The Escapist as a whole, and I wouldn't attend anyway. Extra Credits was the reason I stayed on the site, and with them gone, it's just the RP forum.

There's a reason why conventions for things like Power Rangers, anime, guns, and ect. exist. Because the fan/user base has a grander scope than just one guy on one site. They have history behind the works, fans who spend time adding to and understanding the lore of certain works, having fun cosplaying/roleplaying characters, and talking to fans of other things at the convention and expanding their interests.

Hence why I try to attend Owl Con at Rice University every year. They cover the entire spectrum of tabletop gaming, something I love, and usually have seminars/meetings with writers and artists in the RPing community.

Yahtzee doesn't really enable much, if any, of that, and despite The Escapist having a lot of video/written content on the site, if that was the theme instead, it's still too narrow of a focus to really warrant a con of any kind.

Again: I feel it would be a Game Con, given that seems to be Yahtzee's passion... I'm not like picturing a strange room filled with pictures of Yahtzee where he's the only draw, I'm picturing just your standard Game Con set up with various creators coming to show off their work. The Yahtzee part of the concept is that he would pick the games and that's all. He would be the organizer.

-_- I feel like no one actually reads posts any more, they just lightly scan the title and by the time the forum has loaded they already know what they want to say.

 

[AgentBJ09]

Again: I feel it would be a Game Con, given that seems to be Yahtzee's passion... I'm not like picturing a strange room filled with pictures of Yahtzee where he's the only draw, I'm picturing just your standard Game Con set up with various creators coming to show off their work. The Yahtzee part of the concept is that he would pick the games and that's all. He would be the organizer.

-_- I feel like no one actually reads posts any more, they just lightly scan the title and by the time the forum has loaded they already know what they want to say.

I did read the OP, but the thing is, you didn't give those of us who are replying much to go on besides this being an event focused around Yahtzee and his opinions.

That works for seminars, maybe lectures, but not a whole convention. Hence why you're seeing people say, despite his fanbase here, his opinion isn't that of God, and shouldn't be promoted that way by making said event focused on what he thinks.

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

Everyone else has addressed the issues surrounding a convention centered entirely around Yahtzee like he's some kind of gaming messiah, so I'll just say...

Australia is lacking in gaming conventions, so it would be nice for them if they got a big one, but I don't know how many developers would be willing to make the trek. It's kind of a neglected area in terms of gaming in general; they rarely get their own servers, games are always being censored or not released over there, etc. I don't think many people would find it financially worthwhile.

And naming it "Yahtzeecon" or "ZPcon" or something would just be embarrassing for Yahtzee. From what I know of him, he's quite shy. Plus, he's had a bit of a hype backlash recently from being so popular, so I really don't think attaching his name to it would do anyone any favors.

For just a general gaming hangout, Yahtzee's own Mana Bar seems just fine.

Also,

Yatzhee

Yahtzee*

 

[AnotherAvatar]

Again: I feel it would be a Game Con, given that seems to be Yahtzee's passion... I'm not like picturing a strange room filled with pictures of Yahtzee where he's the only draw, I'm picturing just your standard Game Con set up with various creators coming to show off their work. The Yahtzee part of the concept is that he would pick the games and that's all. He would be the organizer.

-_- I feel like no one actually reads posts any more, they just lightly scan the title and by the time the forum has loaded they already know what they want to say.

I did read the OP, but the thing is, you didn't give those of us who are replying much to go on besides this being an event focused around Yahtzee and his opinions.

That works for seminars, maybe lectures, but not a whole convention. Hence why you're seeing people say, despite his fanbase here, his opinion isn't that of God, and shouldn't be promoted that way by making said event focused on what he thinks.

Hmm, I didn't realize that making an event focused around someone made them god... I'll have to keep this in mind at my next birthday party. Also that makes me terribly frightened about what this implies about Paris Hilton, who regularly has events focused on her...

I don't get what's so hard to grasp about this concept, there's a Penny Arcade con that isn't JUST about their e-Comic.

Anyway, enough rubbing my temples in frustration at the world misunderstanding me yet again. You do have a good point, my post could have used more detail and maybe a bit more description in the title as well, and perhaps that would have avoided much of the aforementioned misunderstanding and resulting frustration. Thanks for the constructive criticism.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

Why would people say no to this? Who cares if a convention exists? Sure yea have a ZP convention, I won't be there, doesn't affect me one way or another. Have fun!

 

[AnotherAvatar]

Everyone else has addressed the issues surrounding a convention centered entirely around Yahtzee like he's some kind of gaming messiah, so I'll just say...

Australia is lacking in gaming conventions, so it would be nice for them if they got a big one, but I don't know how many developers would be willing to make the trek. It's kind of a neglected area in terms of gaming in general; they rarely get their own servers, games are always being censored or not released over there, etc. I don't think many people would find it financially worthwhile.

And naming it "Yahtzeecon" or "ZPcon" or something would just be embarrassing for Yahtzee. From what I know of him, he's quite shy. Plus, he's had a bit of a hype backlash recently from being so popular, so I really don't think attaching his name to it would do anyone any favors.

For just a general gaming hangout, Yahtzee's own Mana Bar seems just fine.

FINALLY, a solid and reasonable argument that isn't just "that's dumb"!

See, now that makes sense. I'm not aware of this backlash, but I'm sure as with every thing that gets popular the "he's sold out" chant is starting to rise up (which, by the way, I think is the most retarded thing ever, and to me it's only said by people who lack the drive or talent to get paid for artistic work, it's a job, just like any other, we're all doing our creative bit to make ends meet and that involves making money, now we can choose those sources and make sure they don't compromise our morals, but if my fans want me to stay destitute and unknown then I don't really think they're fans, I think they're fadsters).

His shyness would be the best reason to put down this idea, which I will happily drop now. If Yahtzee is indeed shy then he wouldn't want something like this, so yeah, screw it.

So in that case I guess I'll just have to visit Australia (was already planning on going there to tour at some point) and check out this bar.

 

[DarkRyter]

Dammit man, why did you have to have a humorous poll option>! I can't bring myself to pick anything else!

Now I'll never know if I would want to go to a ZPcon.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

It could be across the street and I wouldn't go. It doesn't interest me to go to a convention to praise ZP when I could just stay here.

 

[mjc0961]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/218-Spore

Please see 0:42 - 1:00 for my response.

Spoiler

Sorry, but I wouldn't go all the way to Australia just to watch Yahtzee talk about games he thinks will be good and games he think will suck. I can kind of do that from the comfort of my own home every Tuesday and Wednesday via Extra Punctuation and Zero Punctuation.

 

[ChildofGallifrey]

-_- I feel like no one actually reads posts any more, they just lightly scan the title and by the time the forum has loaded they already know what they want to say.

Just because they disagree with you doesn't mean that they aren't reading your posts. Most people here (yourself included) have said the same thing: It would be better as a general game convention with Yahtzee as a special guest. The only difference is that you want Yahtzee to choose all the games present, while others want a group to decide them. The latter is a perfectly valid idea, since having one person choose everything (especially someone as staunchly opinionated as Yahtzee) is bound to alienate a large number of the potential con-goers. With a public gathering of such a widely varied hobby as gaming you have to offer something for everyone, even if that means having generic grey-brown military shooters. A good idea may be narrowing it further to maybe an indie or low-budget game con, inviting mostly developers without the weight or capital to get their products into the bigger shows like E3 or Gamescom.

And: NO! The players opinion can suck it! I don't think that makes a good game either because every time I try to pick up Halo or Call of Duty I'm reminded that just because a crap ton of people like a game doesn't mean it's in any way good. I love Killer7 and think it's one of the best games I've ever played, but very few people know about it and even fewer like it.

So yeah, once again: your group mentality means nothing to me; I care not for the players or popular opinion, I care only how I feel about a game, and therefore by extension how anyone who shares my taste feels about a game.

He was saying the same thing you are. He was talking about individual players, not a group, saying that if you like or dislike a title the popular opinion of the game doesn't matter.

I don't get what's so hard to grasp about this concept, there's a Penny Arcade con that isn't JUST about their e-Comic.

PAX doesn't have all that much to do with Penny Arcade as a comic. It's a full fledged game convention with developer panels along with demos and previews of upcoming titles. It's just put together by the PA staff, and Mike and Jerry give a speech and generally try to do some work towards their Child's Play charity.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Sorry but no, one man no matter how famous/ awesome he is would not be worth enough for an entire convention to be dedicated on, yes I did read that they would be games and etc but still no.
However if it was Escapistcon than maybe (like meeting LRR, the webcomic artists and etc) if they somehow become even more famous and had AOT of funding. Even then I feel it woule still be small as in the convention is in a sporthall at the most.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

Also,

Yatzhee

Yahtzee*

...
...
...
Fuck.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'll go fix it immediately.

And: NO! The players opinion can suck it! I don't think that makes a good game either because every time I try to pick up Halo or Call of Duty I'm reminded that just because a crap ton of people like a game doesn't mean it's in any way good. I love Killer7 and think it's one of the best games I've ever played, but very few people know about it and even fewer like it.

So yeah, once again: your group mentality means nothing to me; I care not for the players or popular opinion, I care only how I feel about a game, and therefore by extension how anyone who shares my taste feels about a game.

I hope you realize that Yahtzee is just a player with an opinion.

Can I spell this out for you?

You are taking the opinion of one man as cold hard fact. It is not. His opinion does not make a game special in any way, shape, or form.

The "group mentality" was a suggestion that a group of people organize this convention and any group or individual who wants their game involved in the convention can contact them on a first come, first serve basis. Yes, I said twenty or thirty could judge which games can and cannot come to the convention, but that was wrong thinking. You can't organize a convention that way at all. You could only really make some guidelines (e.g. it has to be an original game from a small company or one individual) and leave it at that.

Besides, conventions have to be funded somehow. I would imagine that this is why smaller companies never get their stuff into something like E3; for one, there isn't enough room, and two, they don't have the money for it.

One man does not organize a convention. Such an event would require a director or boss of some sort, but I'm pretty certain that there are tons of people right under him who do a lot of the work as well. It is not a one man job at all.

A convention based solely on games with original ideas from small companies is an excellent idea. I'm not sure if one already exists. But a convention based on the cynical opinions of one man who has admitted, several times, to being quite shy and disliking people he doesn't know is not a good idea simply because it is the opinions of one man.

His tastes are no more refined than yours or mine. His tastes are his tastes and do not warrant a convention.

Also, Halo 1 and Call of Duty 4 are, in my humble opinion, some of the best fucking games out there.

And that last bit explains why I don't have to care about any of your argument. XD
That and how full of holes it is. You're not even paying attention, I didn't say every word Yahtzee said was a divine thread of gold that should be followed as law, I said I like his standards for games, and think generally high standards are the way to go. He hates JRPGs a genre I happen to love (mind you mostly out of a nostalgia at this point, thanks Square for driving all your creative people out), and our tastes don't match up on a number of things but I do believe that if he were to be in charge of a convention (like a boss or dictator, as you so poorly put it in an argument that doesn't make sense as one minute you're arguing that con's aren't run by one person by explaining that they.... are.... run... by... one person) that only quality games would show up.

Sadly this would exclude games you would probably like and I'd miss out on the ever so important thick-headed-blow-up-aliens-plot-doesn't-matter-and-what-in-the-hell-is-orginality-and-why-does-it-matter demographic, oh woe is me.

 

[keideki]

I think that this would be too narrow a focus for a proper convention.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

And that last bit explains why I don't have to care about any of your argument. XD
That and how full of holes it is. You're not even paying attention, I didn't say every word Yahtzee said was a divine thread of gold that should be followed as law, I said I like his standards for games, and think generally high standards are the way to go. He hates JRPGs a genre I happen to love (mind you mostly out of a nostalgia at this point, thanks Square for driving all your creative people out), and our tastes don't match up on a number of things but I do believe that if he were to be in charge of a convention (like a boss or dictator, as you so poorly put it in an argument that doesn't make sense as one minute you're arguing that con's aren't run by one person by explaining that they.... are.... run... by... one person) that only quality games would show up.

Sadly this would exclude games you would probably like and I'd miss out on the ever so important thick-headed-blow-up-aliens-plot-doesn't-matter-and-what-in-the-hell-is-orginality-and-why-does-it-matter demographic, oh woe is me.

Right back at you, brother.

My point is that you can't base a convention on one man's opinion just because you agree with what he says.

As for Halo's originality - please, tell me if there are any games just like it before the original came out. No, wait, nevermind. Don't. I'm done with this.

As Yahtzee pointed out pretty damn recently but as everyone has known for a while, the Space Marine cliche is ripped off from Warhammer, the setting is ripped off from a sci-fi novel the name of which escapes me, regenerating health was only popularized by Halo, and there had been plenty of video game plots about over-powered earth-based soldiers traveling the galaxy to perform acts of xenocide.

Wait, no, hold up. You're joking right? Let me guess, you've only been a console gamer? I mean, I don't really know enough about Halo (thank god) to really cite this but I'm pretty sure Bungee put out a game JUST LIKE HALO before Halo on PC.

No matter what there was nothing original, creative, or even fun about that poorly written, mediocre at best game.

Halo, and it's fans are a side effect of the death of creativity in gaming.

I picture a bleak, black and white, 1984-esque world where the only game is Call of Halo Infinity, and you can only play games on the MicroBoxZero that breaks every week so you have to buy a new one, and every week a new Call of Halo Infinity has to be bought and downloaded onto your new console because they consider it a totally new game as they put in one tiny little update making the ass cheek of one ewok-sounding alien just a bit more shiny, and that is all, and there is no choice because there is no need to choose things because originality is just scary and confusing, and the plot is a series of explosions, titties, close-ups of guns, and fart noises.

This is the world you're working towards, Great Job!

P.S. There is nothing witty about saying "right back at ya" to someone.

 

[Bobbity]

He has slightly more than a thousand fans...

 

[Episode42]

Isn't this how cults get started? First it's YahtzeeCon, then we all get matching robes and before you know it, we're chanting the daily prayer to Lord Yahtzee in our thousands.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I love Yahtzee and all he contributes to the gaming industry, but you can't create a convention around a single man, plus you forget he isn't actually a public entertainer and he really hates people.

What would be cool is have panels with him at PAX and GDC, and all the others... where he can poke in developers eyes, just make sure he has a body guard so he doesn't get shived.

 

[Benito Zamora]

This. Sounds. Horrible.

 

[Something Amyss]

There'd have to be a lot more than Yahtzee at a con to get me there. I like ZP, but not THAT much.