Author Topic: 2020 California Extreme Stream  (Read 10059 times)

Offline Ken Chaney

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2020 California Extreme Stream
« on: July 17, 2020, 03:39:19 pm »
Well, this is different, but it doesn't mean we can't have some fun sharing our love for the arcade!

While we can't have a room full of games and a bunch of people to play them this year, there is still a lot we can do.
Some of the below content is pending and subject to change as usual.

Speakers
T-shirts and Badges
Remote Play
Tournaments
Vendors
Other stuff

SPEAKERS

We'll stream a series of talks at https://www.twitch.tv/caextreme so go there now and click on that little heart-Follow thing so you can get connected for the August 1 streams.  Throughout the day we'll have pre-recorded talks.  Since they will be pre-recorded, we ask you to submit your questions *now* (ASAP)  [right away!!!] ... pronto ... by asking them here.  Let us know what session/speaker the question is for and we'll pass them along to the speakers who can respond in the videos.  (Question submission here is now closed.)  Many of the speakers will also be in the CHAT during the Twitch streams to field live questions then and there.

We wish to thank Zen Studios for stepping in to make this possible by volunteering production for these sessions!  Speaking of which, they have a few things to share with us:

Zen Studios
Mel Kirk
Zen Studios has been innovating for the modern arcade fan and has a few things to reveal!

Session withdrawn
Vid Kidz
Larry DeMar and Eugene Jarvis
Boy have these two done a lot for arcade gaming!  The arcade icons will return to answer your questions, so let them know what you want to know from them.


Tempest / I, Robot / Major Havoc
Jonathan Koolpe, Dave Jury, and Jess Askey
- Mastering the Classics:   Join classic video game arcade enthusiasts Jonathan Koolpe and Dave Jury as they show how to master (or at least last longer) on two classic Atari video games:  Tempest and I, Robot.  These are two very challenging and fast-paced games, but Jonathan and Dave took it upon themselves to master each and are glad to share their experiences and techniques for playing each game through to some of the highest levels.  Segment will include game play demonstrations and question and answer sessions.
-Major Havoc - The PROMISED END:  In the works for over 3 years, the Major Havoc - THE PROMISED END project is now dangerously close to completion!  The team behind this amazing project is honored to share the current status for the project.  Learn about what this game is and why this update is so cool (and very much sanctioned with input by the game's original programmer, Owen Rubin), who all is making it happen along with detailed updates on the current progress and release plans (including demonstrations of the updated levels and the actual PROMISED END on a dedicated and original Major Havoc upright video game). This is a game that can be played on both HBMAME and on an original Modified Major Havoc PCB, so come learn a bit and get excited for THE PROMISED END!

Stern Pinball - Stranger Things
Brian Eddy and Mike Vinikour
The making of the Stranger Things pinball machine will be the main topic, but questions about other Stern Pinball related topics are welcome.

Pinball Tips and Tricks
Andrei Massenkoff, Leslie Ruckman, and Eric Wagensonne
San Francisco pinball experts ranked in the 99th percentile of the IFPA World Pinball Player Rankings will answer questions and discuss game strategies to help you improve your play, score more, and have more fun playing pinball. In the chat, Leslie Ruckman, fresh off her 3rd-place finish in the IFPA Women's World Championships in March, will be answering your questions live!

NES Hacking
John Riggs
John Riggs of Rigg'd Games rebuilds, restores, and reworks classic NES games. He'll be offering a primer on NES hacking during CAX 2020, so if you've ever wanted to dig into a classic cartridge and customize the code, this one's for you!

Marco Pinball presents: Buying Your First Pinball Machine
Presenters: Tim Showalter, TJ Beyer, Kyle Spiteri all skilled pinball aficionados
Moderator: Imoto Harney, Marco Pinball

Join Tim, TJ, and Kyle as they teach us "almost" everything you need to know about buying and owning your first pinball machine!

maimai showcase
Charlie Moseley and the ongaku.io crew
ongaku.io crew who brought you maimai (lovingly known as the washing machine game) to CAX last year is back at it again!  Join us to watch an introduction to one of the most unique rhythm games from Japan and then follow into a showcase of high level and meme play to both laugh and impress!

Jack Danger
Jack Danger gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his journey to create an original pinball machine FROM SCRATCH with little knowledge on how to do so!
As the eccentric host of the award winning Twitch show “Dead Flip”, Jack Danger primarily focuses on pinball, game reveals, and helping people improve their skills in the hobby!

INSERT COIN - Preview
Josh Tsui
Josh Tsui, film director and game developer will preview two segments from his documentary feature, Insert Coin.

First segment covers the return of Eugene Jarvis to Williams Electronics, post videogame crash. He unleashes a game called NARC which ushers in the coming 90s era of arcade games.

The second segment discusses how Williams Electronics became Midway Games and the chaos from those times as two rival companies become one.

Artist Steve Thomas
Steve has done a lot of incredible art including a set of arcade themed propaganda style posters and this year's CA Extreme shirt.
Take a look:  https://www.stevethomasart.com/propaganda-style
He'll discuss his motivations and process, and may even create something new along the way.
He will take you through an arcade-inspired propaganda-style poster from completed sketch to final image working on the computer in Illustrator and Photoshop, and hopefully share some tips and tricks that others may not have considered when designing digitally.
The result of that effort is available here:   https://www.stevethomasart.com/product-page/moon-patrol-matchbook

Afterparty
Following the speakers, we'll have an online party.
We'll kick it off with some arcade Quiplash hosted by Dan Amrich.
Then, pull on your Plimsolls, Martins, or Off the Walls and we'll have some music from:
Extra Lives
The Surfle Jerks
Sergio & The Holigrams


Bumpers
You
Got an arcade bumper?  Send it, we'll try to use it.
What's a bumper?  Just a *brief* video, maybe 1-30 seconds, that fits between the rest of the program.  Keep it suitable for general audiences, please!


T-shirts and Badges

We'll have t-shirts (store open soon), as well as laminated show badges. T-shirt designs are below - badge design to come shortly.

We'll mail them out to you within the US.  (For non-us locations, ask first.)





Remote Play

We are setting up some games that you can play over the internet.
We'll have a couple of "Twitch Plays" style games (Atari 2600 and Ponies are planned) where you can type commands into Twitch chat and play the games.
We're working with Surrogate.tv to connect some pinball machines to the internet.  Current plans include Capcom Kingpin and Stern TMNT.  With the games nearby to Santa Clara County, we hope to bring low lag entertainment to the West Coast!


Tournaments

Zen Pinball is organizing a tournament for the event.

Stephen Kleckner is organizing a SFII tournament over the internet.

More details as available.


Vendors

We'll post some links to some of our usual vendors who will offer special opportunities and deals.  (If you wish to be one let us know.)


Other Stuff
You

What do you want to do?!?  Let us know and we can post appropriate links to content you generate.

Some ideas:

Streamed play.  Do you want to share your game collection or play with the public?  Set up a camera and give us the link.  General audience appropriate please!

One of our regulars has created an arcade themed crossword puzzle I  hope to link to.

Arcade bingo:  make a 5X5 grid of things people might be able to do at home, share the ideas and we can try to BINGO!
-Pull a quarter out of your pocket
-Play Any video game
-Watch a talk from CAX 2020
-Tour the Mansion (if you are lucky enough!)
-Enter your initials
Come up with a grid and share it.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2020, 09:44:13 am by Ken Chaney »

Offline Tracy

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Re: 2020 California Extreme Stream
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2020, 02:25:02 pm »
Questions for the Vid Kidz (Larry DeMar and Eugene Jarvis)
  • What is your design process? Do you first decide on a theme, and then work out what to put on the playfield? Or do you have an idea for a playfield and work the theme into it?
  • Can you suggest and choose a theme, or do you go with what your company requests?
  • Was there a part of a game design that just didn't end up working out and had to be abandoned? If so, what was it, and what did you do instead?
  • Was there a time when a design or part of a design ended up being way easier than you thought it would be?
  • Are there some design ideas that stand out for you as particularly special and/or clever that you're proud of?

Offline Tracy

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Re: 2020 California Extreme Stream
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2020, 02:36:25 pm »
Quesions for Stern Pinball - Stranger Things (Brian Eddy and Mike Vinikour)
  • Were you already familiar with Stranger Things before working on the game? If not, how did you learn enough about it to design the game? Did you get to find out about episodes before they aired?
  • Was there anything that was especially challenging about the game design?
  • Who decides what aspects to include in the theme and what are ok to leave out? (I'm guessing you can't include everything.)
  • What is your favorite part of the game?

Offline Greywolf

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Re: 2020 California Extreme Stream
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2020, 01:10:58 am »
Questions for the Vid Kidz

  • In Stargate, why did you decide to make smartbombed pods only worth 1,500 points instead of figuring points from the swarmers within?
  • Did you ever have a third Defender in mind? i.e. Defender -> Stargate ->  ?? (Not Strike Force)
  • Larry, you were part of the programming or program design team for the original Black Knight (pinball, 1980), if memory serves correctly.  Why was this game made so that the only way to score a special was on the bonus ball, and thus only by one player, and only in a multi-player game?

Offline bullwinkleman

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Re: 2020 California Extreme Stream
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2020, 08:31:01 am »
Questions for Mel of Zen

1. Are there plans for anymore Marvel tables, or is that license considered complete?
2. If there is a new version of Pinball FX coming for next gen consoles, how likely is it that certain tables/licenses won't make the journey over?
3. Will the Arcade 1up machines have the ability to download more tables, even just from one license? (i.e. download all marvel tables on the marvel machine, all Star Wars on the Star Wars Machine)?
4. If no to the above, would Zen and/or 1up ever consider making a cabinet that costs a bit extra, but allows for the entire Pinball FX eco-system? Us people with limited space would really appreciate it.
5. Lastly, as my username suggest, I'm a big Rocky and Bullwinkle fan. Any chance that license could ever be explored again? Wink-Wink, hint-hint.