First of all: it's great to see a lot of positive responses here and also quite a few from some "new" guys
About some issues mentioned:
don't you worry that by going "public" that also means careless players ? thus more possibilities to damage cabs.
that might turnout people from bringing theirs "holy" grail cab to the event.
To be honest....I really liked the family-like atmosphere of Eurocade and I doubt that it can be transported to such a huge location...but we will see and I will try to be there
Thorsten, be assured that this was in our minds while discussing this idea and still is. In fact, the idea of having a public Eurocade has always been in our mind from the very start. However, any real choice was always limited by the clubhouse: we are simply not allowed to have a real public event in that building, so the "choice" was rather easy...
On the other side, I think most collectors (at least I know I do) are happy to share their machines as much as possible, show them off and see other people have fun with them. After all, this is the time that these machines shine. Not when we're alone in our gameroom having a game (however great that is !)....
Don't be scared by the huge building !
This afternoon I've been at "Beeld & Geluid" and Gyruss showed me around the facilities to give me an idea of it all. I am now even more convinced that we can combine both the intimate atmosphere of the Clubhouse with a more public event.
The primary "gameroom" will be this room:
Take a good look at the chairs and take in mind that the camera is in the furthest opposite corner of that you see and you will get a feel for the size of the room. It is not that much bigger than the gameroom at the Clubhouse, although it will allow for more games to be there because of the perfect rectangular shape.
The height of the room is comparable. The lighting can be totally controlled which is awesome, f.i. like this:
IMAG5741 by
Level_42, on Flickr
IMAG5742 by
Level_42, on Flickr
Another benefit: there is only 1 entry/exit into the room. There is no "walking through", people entering the room will do so if they are interested in the games. Also the "feel" of the room is intimate and warm...also it dampens sound quite a bit, a good thing for our games.
Also, the room is relatively far away from any drinks/eating facilities, people are very unlikely to walk in with a drink or food and naturally this will be prohibited.
Apart from all of this, my machines are going to be there, you can bet I have an eye on them and all the other machines, and that goes for the rest of the Eurocade team PLUS there will be volunteers and professional stuff from "Beeld & Geluid".
If I would have some doubt about my cabs not being safe, I would definitely not put them there. And yes my Star Wars will be there and of course my Lunar Lander, the two games I put most money in....esp. the LL
We've been to a public event (Slam) in the UK and there were rows and rows of pinballs and about as much videogames as at our previous Eurocades and I didn't see a single person abusing a game. Even the kids around seem to have a lot of respect for the machines....
Of course we cannot give anyone a written insurance that nothing will happen, or even that a machine might get damaged. But that's the same as on the previous Eurocades.
I feel, the Eurocade team feels, that this will work out just fine.
