Taiko @ Arcadia 2009 (success!)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have something I wish to announce.

As you can see, it has been almost a month since the last update. This is because I have yet to receive any form of reply from the Arcadia management. I have tried to consider that they might have been busy due to other commitments, but I think a more likely reason is because Arcadia is unwilling to help us attract participants for the competition.

As such, I have come to the conclusion that if we are to have a competition of any sort, it will be an independent effort on our part, from publicity to event management. Hence I would like to put across the following question to you:

Would you be interested to be involved in this competition, be it as a participant, or event helper?

On my part, I am still considering the option of approaching possible sponsors, but I will need to gauge the support I have from Taiko Dojo. The level of support that I get from you will determine if this competition is still feasible, so please be truthful - please don't give me ambiguous answers like "see how" or "I would help out if I have the time" etc.

Thanks a lot!

yes yes yes.. I'm interested in being a participant!!

*waits for the rest to reply*

Yes pls~!! =p i wanna be a participant... and if needed, i might try to help out in any way i can too

event helper. but I prefer those behind the stage don't need show face saikang warrior type.

gepi wrote:event helper. but I prefer those behind the stage don't need show face saikang warrior type.

LOL XD aiya gepi, u MUST take part as participant D: or else... we'll kidnap ur sandshrew~! wahaha XD

Event helper.
Unless that *cought*fansandshrew*cough* who want to doubles with me??
Ruby wanna join as event helper too??
LoLz~

Both. I'll just be like a casual participant instead and focus more on helping.

I'll prefer to help under the technical area if you need to, since I'll be better off at that field.

I'd like to help out. Not interested to join sia. LOL.

My suggestion is: CK picks a few volunteers whom he thinks can really be of help and form a committee to plan out all the details and such. the rest who are going to participate wun be privy to ANY details except for the date time place and rules and regulations etc.

prizes wise... since this is going to be tkdj based, i think our budget is going to be quite small. maybe we can collect a $2 - $5 participating fee from participants and this pool will go towards things like prizes, expenses and such.

I guess I'm more inclined to participant, but will help out where i can, just give me an order, I'll try to fulfill it

A gentle reminder that if you decide to help out (and are chosen to), then you cannot participate in the competition, and vice versa.

Judging by the response I see so far, I envision that the competition will be of a very casual nature. I am still working on how to best publicize such a competition.

Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, as usual, other than feedback and response to discussion, try to keep banter off this thread. Thanks!

Event helper, 'coz it'll be fair enough for the public not to compete against us members like myself XD

ongchinkai wrote:A gentle reminder that if you decide to help out (and are chosen to), then you cannot participate in the competition, and vice versa.

Judging by the response I see so far, I envision that the competition will be of a very casual nature. I am still working on how to best publicize such a competition.

Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, as usual, other than feedback and response to discussion, try to keep banter off this thread. Thanks!

Publicity wise..

1. We approach the arcadia management and ask them to let us use their premises to advertise, like maybe putting flyers at the counter area and near the machine, putting up small billboards etc. They won't have to sponsor any amount of money, and they actually stand to gain, because if the competition really comes through, there's going to be quite a huge crowd at arcadia who will help boost their sales. Besides, if the competition is going to be at arcadia, we're going to need them to agree to letting us hold the event there, so that things will be easier to plan.

2. We start doing up flyers and such, and next time when we see people playing taiko, no matter what level they play, we hand them a flyer and tell them there's going to be a competion and try to get them to participate, instead of just getting them to join the forum. One advantage about organising this competition on our own is that if this whole thing succeeds, TaikoDojo will get alot of publicity and attract more attention too, as compared to going through the arcadia management, where they will most likely get all the credits and stuff.

3. Post in SGcafe. I know most of you don't like the people there and stuff, but since this is a competition, then let those who think they're really damn "powderful" pit themselves against others.

CK: I'm sure there are a few of us who would really love to help out. Is there a limit to the number of people you're wanna have on your "committee"? Another thing is, the competition HAS to happen because if not, all these planning, brainstorming and such will all go to naught. No offense intended. =)

P.S PISSED OFF. I had to retype this whole chunk because when I clicked the "send" button, I got logged out and the post wasn't saved. Urgh~!!!

Oh yes. One more obstacle: Do participants have to pay for their own credits? Do you think arcadia might allow us to give them free credits? Maybe we could "loan" the machine from them for a day for a small fee? I think in the end, we'll still have to do alot of liasing with the arcadia management.

Well, for long posts like the one above, normally I type them out in notepad first before copying and paste them here XD

And yeah, I think these are many points to look into, to ensure that everything runs smoothly without much fail. SGCafe is indeed a great place to advertise, since alot of people there think that they're very good at whatever games they play, let them have a chance to compete against one another.

CK, you may wanna give a few namecards away to a few top m,anagement maybe?

まきお wrote:Event helper, 'coz it'll be fair enough for the public not to compete against us members like myself XD

lol but i think the main focus of the competition will be on our own members taking part, cuz i don't think a lot of ppl from public would wanna take part.

It's more of, we organize this thing for ourselves and possibly some other members of the public to take part to promote/show taiko to those who don't know about it, and to get ppl who are already playing to come and join taikodojo if they don't know about it yet =p

about the tokens thing... would it better to have "pay ur own tokens" or "pay a one-time participation fee for arcadia to sponsor ur tokens for ur rounds"?

depends on how many ppl we have joining and how much arcadia is gonna quote us to "rent" the machine for a day.

another thing: undeniably, 80-90% of the participants are going to be from TKDJ, but we also got to try and attract non-dojo members to join too. because only when they themselves are in the competition, then their interest in the game will be more easily engaged. if today i don't know u guys, and i c u all crowding around the m/c having some sort of competition, all i'll be thinking is, "sian so many ppl. go home liao~" and besides, we can't have the whole competition in oni mode only ba? i think we shld try as much as possible to include a category for kantan and futsuu as well. maybe we can get the kids to join, or those bo liao ppl who might wanna just try and have fun on the day itself.

If arcadia allows, best would be a one time registration fee inclusive of game fees.

So we can book the machine whole day or something, and unlimited credit mode on and then disable that after the competition ends. Well, a good way, in case people lost token, not enough need go change etc etc, waste time.

And probably during the competition, they'll push the machine out like for their other arcade competitions, push to the area near the hopping road. Advertisement wise, put it at the counter table or beside it so people can see when they need to change tokens like the coming Arcania Hearts and Blazblue competitions. They placed fliers next to the counter table.

Giazenshia wrote:If arcadia allows, best would be a one time registration fee inclusive of game fees.

So we can book the machine whole day or something, and unlimited credit mode on and then disable that after the competition ends. Well, a good way, in case people lost token, not enough need go change etc etc, waste time.

And probably during the competition, they'll push the machine out like for their other arcade competitions, push to the area near the hopping road. Advertisement wise, put it at the counter table or beside it so people can see when they need to change tokens like the coming Arcania Hearts and Blazblue competitions. They placed fliers next to the counter table.

lol i think that's a pretty good idea XD ok if liddat, then i'll probably take part

btw ruby about the oni thing... no nid worry bout that ba, cuz I think when choosing songs, how bout each player chooses 2 songs? So it doesn't always have to be oni, during his/her "turn", the participant may choose muzu if he/she likes =p

But if u guys still find it too unfair, like, when a kantan player still has to play oni on the other player's "turn", then we can just make 2 categories: Basic & Advanced, or smth along that lines so the kantan/futsuu players can be in one category, and muzu/oni in the other. I think this should be ok cuz at least you're playing with ppl around your standard =)

Long reply alert.

Rubyrain wrote:
1. We approach the arcadia management and ask them to let us use their premises to advertise...so that things will be easier to plan.

Noted. I will speak to Adrian regarding this and see what he says. Hopefully it won't have to go through the Arcadia marketing team again.

Rubyrain wrote:
2. We start doing up flyers and such...

Good idea. However poster/flyer design is something which I admit I am not good in. Hence, I would appreciate it if anyone can design such a flyer for the competition. This is open to everyone, and no prizes will be given for the winning design (haha). Strictly voluntary; helping out with flyer design does not stop you from being a competition participant.

Some requirements:
* The flyer is going to be in A5 B&W (i.e., half an A4 sheet, no colour because photocopying is much cheaper). This means that it should look good in B&W (and even better in colour, hahaha)
* I have not decided when the exact date/time will be, and also the game version (11 or 12, Asian or not) has not been confirmed, so details like these should be left blank for me to fill in

Please send your designs to ongchinkai@gmail.com

Rubyrain wrote:
3. Post in SGcafe....

And not just SGCafe, but also the major forums like HWZ etc. Heck, even Facebook will come in handy.

Rubyrain wrote:CK: I'm sure there are a few of us who would really love to help out...

I am trying to keep the number of people involved as little as possible. Currently it's a one-man effort (i.e., me, myself and I), but again it depends on developments. Meanwhile, I am doing my best to make it happen, but until then, always be prepared for the worst. And no offense taken, don't worry

Rubyrain wrote:Oh yes. One more obstacle: Do participants have to pay for their own credits? Do you think arcadia might allow us to give them free credits? Maybe we could "loan" the machine from them for a day for a small fee? I think in the end, we'll still have to do alot of liasing with the arcadia management.

Giazenshia wrote:So we can book the machine whole day or something, and unlimited credit mode on and then disable that after the competition ends. Well, a good way, in case people lost token, not enough need go change etc etc, waste time.

The drawback about "leasing" the machine is that the registration fee will be indirectly "pegged" to it. If we charge a registration fee, part of it could be used to purchase the amount of tokens necessary for the competition, but of course it will be sort of troublesome. But, if they implement the smartcard system then I will go with the latter option because it will be more flexible. Of course this is open to discussion.

Zenova wrote:lol but i think the main focus of the competition will be on our own members taking part, cuz i don't think a lot of ppl from public would wanna take part....

I want this to be not just a close-door competition, so I/we will have to step up on publicity. Nothing confirmed yet, of course.

i think the competition itself shld be divided into catergories according to the 4 different levels. it won't be fair to team a kantan player against an oni player, because no matter wad songs are chosen, the oni player will still be at an advantage. no doubt it will be more time consuming and all, but at least it will be fairer to all the participants.

i suggested leasing the machine because we have no idea how many tokens its gonna cause for the entire competition. if the leasing fee isn't too huge an amount, i think it wld be better to rent it.

i suck at doing flyers too, but i'll try my best and see wad i can come up with. i think we could pool our ideas together regarding the info that's gonna be on the flyer and so on.

Rubyrain wrote:i think the competition itself shld be divided into catergories according to the 4 different levels. it won't be fair to team a kantan player against an oni player, because no matter wad songs are chosen, the oni player will still be at an advantage. no doubt it will be more time consuming and all, but at least it will be fairer to all the participants.

i suggested leasing the machine because we have no idea how many tokens its gonna cause for the entire competition. if the leasing fee isn't too huge an amount, i think it wld be better to rent it.

i suck at doing flyers too, but i'll try my best and see wad i can come up with. i think we could pool our ideas together regarding the info that's gonna be on the flyer and so on.

lol i think shouldn't 4 categories for each of the different difficulties, cuz everything will get dam messy and the organizers have to sort a lot of things out if there are 4 categories. At most 2 or 3, some categories can share difficulties, for example, here are some suggestions:

Format A: Basic / Advanced (terms used can be changed)

Basic: Kantan + Futsuu
Advanced: Muzukashii + Oni

Format B: Basic / Advanced (terms used can be changed) << not advised but if wan use also can...

Basic: Kantan + Futsuu + Muzukashii
Advanced: Futsuu + Muzukashii + Oni

Format C: Beginner / Intermediate / Expert (as said b4, these terms can be changed if needed XD)

Beginner: Kantan + Futsuu
Intermediate: Futsuu + Muzu
Expert: Muzu + oni

Or smth like that XD we shouldn't worry too much about it la, but anyway, I would go for either A or C cuz B is still too... vague. And I'd choose A over C cuz too many categories is =.="

the thing is, no matter wad format u go for, the futsuu player would most likely win the the kantan player, and the oni player wld most likely pwn the muzu player.

if i were a participant and the organisers pit me against ppl way above my standard, i'd feel unfair too.

So you guys mean we need to audition the participants first?

まきお wrote:So you guys mean we need to audition the participants first?

nah, i think that's going too far already XD not audition la, maybe... a qualifying round? each person plays 3 songs and the judges watch and see where they should put him or pit him against or wadever it is =p

lol ok ruby i see wad u mean... but do u really wanna make it to be one category PER DIFFICULTY, cuz I think that's a bit... too much also. Plus, put it this way... the ppl who play kantan most likely don't really want to take part in a competition la, so end up maybe 0 participants in the kantan category or smth XD or look at it this way... even a pro can just sign up for the kantan category leh -.- so making 1 category per difficulty just to "be fair" to these ppl isn't really feasible... i mean, then the point of a competition becomes... zzz i dunno how to explain la

anyway, if we keep trying to adjust a competition to suit everyone, it's not really gonna work out -_-" eg. if there is a cyber-game competition, like L4D or smth, but u won't see the organizers making a "for beginners" category or smth right? Generally... by right i don't think the "beginners" won't even take part leh...

For one thing, since i'm not very good at L4D, I won't try to sign up for some "National L4D competition" cuz I know that I'm gonna be pwned or smth XD but if the people like me who are at the "beginner standard" really have a love for the game (taiko for our case), they won't really mind things like "Oh I dun wan take part cuz I know I'll never win" or smth like that. For me, if I have a passion for smth, I'll be quite honoured if I get to play with some real pro XD

Regarding competition format, I already have a rough idea in mind, so no worries about that. My concerns now are publicity, sponsorship and event management, in order of importance.

EDIT: Meanwhile I would appreciate it if the others could speak up more. I understand your eagerness, Zen, but you don't have to reply so frequently.

ongchinkai wrote:Regarding competition format, I already have a rough idea in mind, so no worries about that. My concerns now are publicity, sponsorship and event management, in order of importance.

lol hurray~ kk jyjy ck, we counting on ya =p

publicity... other than giving out our flyers (cuz i think some ppl throw away zzz) we should paste them around the taiko machines at the outlets (if we dun get caught hehe xD and yue's taikodojo advert still there) so that players will see it and can consider if they wanna take part. But some might be unsure of the details so all required details should be included on the flyer, and maybe a contacting point (hp no might be risky) for any enquiries

maybe we can just put "For enquiries, ask ongchinkai at http://www.taikodojo.net" then we'll suddenly have lots of ppl signing up XD good publicity for taikodojo also

sponsorship... maybe after we get all these details down into a proposal then we present it to arcadia for them to fund us or smth?

event management... erm what do you mean by that XD (lol i nt sure... >< i failz)