Post by The Returners on May 16, 2011 6:41:30 GMT -5
So the Final Fantasy marathon is right around the corner and we've placed before ourselves quite a tall order to fill. We've got 120 hours to finish 12 games, of which any three are generally supposed to take the average player around 120 hours to complete. On top of that we've got to be entertaining and informative for the viewers and constantly keep up an energy level high enough so that they feel like donating to our cause. We're aiming to shatter past marathons and raise as much as possible in five days for Doctors Without Borders. Because of these very heavy demands this marathon really can't be as free-form as previous ones have been. We made that mistake the first time we attempted to tackle Final Fantasy, and though we did nearly manage to meet our goal of beating all the games on our list (weather not withstanding, we'll actually do it this time), we made a bunch of mistakes that could have made that task much easier. On top of that we didn't raise nearly enough money to justify the 120 hour time frame, and once more that falls squarely on our shoulders. We simply weren't experienced enough to realize the monumental task we'd set before ourselves. But now we are, and now we can have a game plan to approach this behemoth. Because these challenges before us, my friends, are dragons which we can slay.
We have very limited resources in-house, and so we need to seek help from outside our physical location. We've always done this to some extent with how we outsource games to people who may be half a country or more away from us. Their help in making our marathons as successful as possible is very welcomed and much appreciated, and simply cannot be overstated. Without them we would not be nearly as successful as we have been in the past, and so we're going to extend that call for help further than just having a few people from other locations play a few games for us. Often times we've been asked what it takes to pull a marathon off, and often times our response has always been something akin to “a lot of sleepless nights and rigorous practicing of games to the point that they almost stop being fun.” Now is the time to show what goes on behind the scenes and how much work is put into this event to make sure these five short days go smoothly.
First and foremost, those people who are playing games during the marathon need to get in contact with Atma, either via private message or through The Returners email. What is required of you is your estimated completion time for the game(s) you will be playing. These times will be used to make up the tentative game schedule and through it the commentary and sleep schedules will be produced. Furthermore these time estimates serve another purpose: they will serve as a benchmark for others to reach because we are asking for people to step up and take the position of backup players who can take over the games if the primary players are unavailable to do their runs. It is not required that the backup players meet the estimates given by the primary players, just that they come close.
How does one sign up to be a backup player? Well, you private message us on this account or contact us through the email as usual. You will need to give us your forum name, Ustream username, and the URL of your Ustream channel (note, this is your channel's URL, not the URL of your broadcast window. It will follow the format www.ustream.tv/channel/<your channel name here>/. If you want to be a backup player obviously you will need to have the game you are volunteering to cover in your possession and the means to play it. Furthermore you will need a means of streaming the game live (preferably with some sort of capture device and not a webcam pointed at the TV). If you only have a webcam as a method of streaming video, send us a recorded sample of what the video will look like so we can decide if it is suitable for streaming. Finally, you are saying that you will practice the game you're asking to be the backup of such that you can come close to the primary player's estimated time, so please understand the amount of work that can take and decide accordingly if it is a task you're up to.
Secondly, we are going to need a strict commentary schedule to ensure that everyone gets enough sleep, and we will potentially need more than just the people in-house commentating. Therefore we are asking for people to contact us concerning their willingness to fill commentary slots. This will require you to have either a mic or a webcam (or both if your mic doesn't have a built-in mic). You will also need to give us your Ustream channel URL, or if you have Skype, we should be able to stream your commentary through it. Please understand that while commentating you will be expected to keep a PG to PG-13 rating (or as close as possible). Also understand that you will be charged with being an entertaining and informative presence to the viewers and it will be your responsibility to urge them to donate. Commentary slots are either four hour or six hour slots, so please consider accordingly how much time you think you are able to cover, and if you wish to cover multiple slots, do not ask for back to back slots. Also if you are playing a game and wish to commentate, make sure that your commentary slots are well before or are after your game is to be played. Those that would like to commentate must be those we can trust absolutely, so please bear in mind that if we select you we are trusting that you will do an excellent job and not make us regret the decision. If you would like to offer your help as a commentator, please either PM us here or send us an email with your forum name, Ustream username, whether you would like four or six hour blocks and the number of them, as well as the days of the marathon you would be free to commentate and we will get back to you with a list of times for those days that you can choose from.
We will also be needing moderators in the chat at all times unlike we've had in previous marathons. Therefore anyone who would like to be considered for this task should PM us here or email us with your forum name and Ustream username. As with commentators, those people we make moderators are people that we feel we can trust with that responsibility and believe will do a good job fulfilling that roll.
Finally everyone should contribute ideas on how to promote the marathon and get the word out and suggest as many avenues as possible to getting us known so that the viewer count will skyrocket and the donation pool will deepen. There is a thread up on the forums concerning ideas for how to publicize the event at: returnersgaming.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=help&action=display&thread=447, so please give it a look and offer up suggestions for it.
We have very limited resources in-house, and so we need to seek help from outside our physical location. We've always done this to some extent with how we outsource games to people who may be half a country or more away from us. Their help in making our marathons as successful as possible is very welcomed and much appreciated, and simply cannot be overstated. Without them we would not be nearly as successful as we have been in the past, and so we're going to extend that call for help further than just having a few people from other locations play a few games for us. Often times we've been asked what it takes to pull a marathon off, and often times our response has always been something akin to “a lot of sleepless nights and rigorous practicing of games to the point that they almost stop being fun.” Now is the time to show what goes on behind the scenes and how much work is put into this event to make sure these five short days go smoothly.
First and foremost, those people who are playing games during the marathon need to get in contact with Atma, either via private message or through The Returners email. What is required of you is your estimated completion time for the game(s) you will be playing. These times will be used to make up the tentative game schedule and through it the commentary and sleep schedules will be produced. Furthermore these time estimates serve another purpose: they will serve as a benchmark for others to reach because we are asking for people to step up and take the position of backup players who can take over the games if the primary players are unavailable to do their runs. It is not required that the backup players meet the estimates given by the primary players, just that they come close.
How does one sign up to be a backup player? Well, you private message us on this account or contact us through the email as usual. You will need to give us your forum name, Ustream username, and the URL of your Ustream channel (note, this is your channel's URL, not the URL of your broadcast window. It will follow the format www.ustream.tv/channel/<your channel name here>/. If you want to be a backup player obviously you will need to have the game you are volunteering to cover in your possession and the means to play it. Furthermore you will need a means of streaming the game live (preferably with some sort of capture device and not a webcam pointed at the TV). If you only have a webcam as a method of streaming video, send us a recorded sample of what the video will look like so we can decide if it is suitable for streaming. Finally, you are saying that you will practice the game you're asking to be the backup of such that you can come close to the primary player's estimated time, so please understand the amount of work that can take and decide accordingly if it is a task you're up to.
Secondly, we are going to need a strict commentary schedule to ensure that everyone gets enough sleep, and we will potentially need more than just the people in-house commentating. Therefore we are asking for people to contact us concerning their willingness to fill commentary slots. This will require you to have either a mic or a webcam (or both if your mic doesn't have a built-in mic). You will also need to give us your Ustream channel URL, or if you have Skype, we should be able to stream your commentary through it. Please understand that while commentating you will be expected to keep a PG to PG-13 rating (or as close as possible). Also understand that you will be charged with being an entertaining and informative presence to the viewers and it will be your responsibility to urge them to donate. Commentary slots are either four hour or six hour slots, so please consider accordingly how much time you think you are able to cover, and if you wish to cover multiple slots, do not ask for back to back slots. Also if you are playing a game and wish to commentate, make sure that your commentary slots are well before or are after your game is to be played. Those that would like to commentate must be those we can trust absolutely, so please bear in mind that if we select you we are trusting that you will do an excellent job and not make us regret the decision. If you would like to offer your help as a commentator, please either PM us here or send us an email with your forum name, Ustream username, whether you would like four or six hour blocks and the number of them, as well as the days of the marathon you would be free to commentate and we will get back to you with a list of times for those days that you can choose from.
We will also be needing moderators in the chat at all times unlike we've had in previous marathons. Therefore anyone who would like to be considered for this task should PM us here or email us with your forum name and Ustream username. As with commentators, those people we make moderators are people that we feel we can trust with that responsibility and believe will do a good job fulfilling that roll.
Finally everyone should contribute ideas on how to promote the marathon and get the word out and suggest as many avenues as possible to getting us known so that the viewer count will skyrocket and the donation pool will deepen. There is a thread up on the forums concerning ideas for how to publicize the event at: returnersgaming.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=help&action=display&thread=447, so please give it a look and offer up suggestions for it.
<< thanks to darkwind for the sig =)
