Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

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Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

This is an announcement for The Impossible Lair, a tournament on (mostly) old videogames. It will take place on Zoom on Friday, September 25th at 8PM EDT. It will be $7 per player to compensate moderators.

Sign-up sheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Please email me at [email protected] to officially register.

This tournament will be very similar to the various vanity videogame packets I've written in the past (see https://trash.quizbowlpackets.com/2255/). The questions will be mostly on old videogames (before 2000) and will heavily skew towards topics I'm interested in (Nintendo, classic arcade games, games studies, weird gaming common links). It will not feature a lot of content on topics I'm not interested in like AAA games, recent games, RPGs, the culture of boringly watching Twitch streamers playing games and then making memes about these things (although there may be some stuff from any of these categories). It's not intended to be a well-rounded videogame tournament. Most answerlines will at least be gettable at the end if you have some basic videogame knowledge. Here's an example from last year's packet:
7. They're not claws, but this weapon is the signature weapon of "the only character of the [Samurai Showdown] series to star in her own pachinko game." That wielder of this weapon is accompanied by her pet chimp Paku Paku and is named Cham Cham. A character with this weapon named Bamma is fought in the Glitz Pit in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Unlike the axe, this weapon can fire both vertically and horizontally in Super🕹 Adventure Island. Characters who wield this weapon got a distinctive map icon for World 1-3 in the Super Mario All-Stars remake of Mario 3. The Sweeping Lady in Kakariko Village will give Link one of these weapons if he didn't collect it in the (*) opening castle dungeon of A Link to the Past, and it can be upgraded from blue to red in that game to have a longer range. For 10 points, name this weapon that usually returns back to the player.
ANSWER: boomerang
This tournament is tossup only, with 20 questions per packet. I'm shooting for 6 rounds, although there's a slight possibility I'll write a 7th packet. I'll be using a similar scoring structure as Myth of the Machine. Powers will be worth 20 points. All questions will be worth 15 points until the first substantial word after "for 10 points" so you can predictably power vulch.

Since there are only 6 rounds, my plan is for a 6 team round robin of 5 games followed by a final. If there's more interest we can explore other formats. Teams are currently 3 people each, although we'll expand to 4 if the field fills up.
Last edited by Mike Bentley on Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:05 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Re: Impossible Lair Old VG Tournament - Date Poll

Post by Mike Bentley »

Mike Bentley wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:54 pm I'm tentatively planning on hosting this tournament on Zoom as the main reason I'm running this tournament is to get some first-hand experience with non-Discord tournaments for use in PACE's Online Tournament guide. I don't have a Zoom pro or edu account so I'll be reliant on a staffer having one of these things. If we don't end up using Zoom it will likely be a combination of Discord (for organization) and Google Meet (for actual matches). (If you're interested in staffing and can work with me on Zoom hosting please email me at [email protected]).
After more investigation, it looks like I can individually purchase a Zoom Pro account for around $15, so I'll be going with that. Still interested in a few staffers for this tournament. I'll offer $30 for moderating the 6 rounds.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - Date Poll

Post by Mike Bentley »

Well since one of the proposed dates is pretty soon, I might as well post the sign-up sheet now: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Email me at [email protected] to officially register.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - Date Poll

Post by Auks Ran Ova »

Would very much prefer this not be September 27th, which would overlap with one of the open IKEA mirrors (specifically, the one I'm playing).
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - Date Poll

Post by Mike Bentley »

Since I suspect interest in this will be pretty niche, I'm actually going to restrict teams to 3 players each until we get 6 teams (the ideal number for the number of rounds I have). Once we hit 6 I'll expand to 4 player teams.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - Date Poll

Post by Cheynem »

But how I can ride my three teammates' coattails????
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Ok, we're going with Saturday 9/26 for this event.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

There are enough free agents signed up to fill most of the spots for 6 teams, so I'll expand the field size to 4 players each. I reserve the right to pick off some people from 4 person teams if it ends up that a 6th team doesn't get formed.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Ok, the set is pretty much complete now. It will be 6 packets. I'm going to force a one-game final regardless of the record of the top two teams so we can play all the packets (the other teams will also get to play an exhibition game).
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Snom »

(mentioned this on Discord briefly, but thought it would be better here)

Since LIT Northeast is being played during the day next Saturday, is there any chance this tournament could be played at night à la traditional trash side events? I was not aware this tournament existed before last night, so I wasn't able to fill out the date form. (Ignore this request if it causes serious issues for anyone else. I'd hate to be that guy)
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

acz13 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:42 pm (mentioned this on Discord briefly, but thought it would be better here)

Since LIT Northeast is being played during the day next Saturday, is there any chance this tournament could be played at night à la traditional trash side events? I was not aware this tournament existed before last night, so I wasn't able to fill out the date form. (Ignore this request if it causes serious issues for anyone else. I'd hate to be that guy)
Given the length of online tournaments I don't think this will be feasible. I'll probably read the packets as a shootout in Discord for anyone who can't make the main event.

Oh and I don't think I mentioned yet: This tournament will use the same 20/15/10/-5 power structure as Myth of the Machine. The 20 point power will be like a regular power in a typical tournament. The 15 point power will always end about 2 words after the end of the "for 10 points." e.g. "For 10 points, name this (*) so and so." This extra few words will hopefully allow a bit more buffer for lag.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Snom »

Mike Bentley wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:39 pm
acz13 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:42 pm (mentioned this on Discord briefly, but thought it would be better here)

Since LIT Northeast is being played during the day next Saturday, is there any chance this tournament could be played at night à la traditional trash side events? I was not aware this tournament existed before last night, so I wasn't able to fill out the date form. (Ignore this request if it causes serious issues for anyone else. I'd hate to be that guy)
Given the length of online tournaments I don't think this will be feasible.
If we go by the timing of MotM, which had over twice the number of teams, six rounds of TUs-only should take under 3 hours (since MotM had rebracketing and lunch break while this would be round robin). Is that too long for a 8-9 EST start?
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

acz13 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:49 pm
Mike Bentley wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:39 pm
acz13 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:42 pm (mentioned this on Discord briefly, but thought it would be better here)

Since LIT Northeast is being played during the day next Saturday, is there any chance this tournament could be played at night à la traditional trash side events? I was not aware this tournament existed before last night, so I wasn't able to fill out the date form. (Ignore this request if it causes serious issues for anyone else. I'd hate to be that guy)
Given the length of online tournaments I don't think this will be feasible.
If we go by the timing of MotM, which had over twice the number of teams, six rounds of TUs-only should take under 3 hours (since MotM had rebracketing and lunch break while this would be round robin). Is that too long for a 8-9 EST start?
My concern is more that LIT will go long. And having played an online tournament before where some people bailed out of a more interesting playoff schedule because there was another trash tournament following it, I don't want to cause that to happen for LIT.

But I guess I'll send out an email to the signed up teams / free agents and see if there's unanimous agreement to move to either Saturday night or Friday night.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/26/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Here's a link to the Doodle poll about switching timing: https://doodle.com/poll/sguwzcffparxds6b

At this point, it looks like we'll either stick with the original time or try Friday, September 25th at 8 PM Eastern.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Ok, I've confirmed that we're moving to Friday, 9/25 at 8 PM EDT. I could still use one or two more staffers if anyone is available.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Cheynem »

I am not totally sure how Zoom works--what is the camera policy for this tournament?
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Cheynem wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:37 pm I am not totally sure how Zoom works--what is the camera policy for this tournament?
Video will be required. If you think your connection may be an issue, we'll do a few tests in the waiting room before the tournament starts where I'll grant exemptions if needed.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Cheynem »

We had a player drop so let me or one of my teammates know if you want to join.

Update: This slot filled.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Just sent out a logistics mail to the contacts listed on the sign-up sheet. If you need it forwarded let me know.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Super Mario Mr Judge 2018 won in a one-game final. Stats are here: https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6596/

Thanks to Nick, Mia and Ethan for staffing!
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by The Ununtiable Twine »

Thanks for holding the tournament! Great use of the technology. Thanks to everyone who staffed! Also, thanks to Drew and the team for reaching out to me (because, like, I'm almost never on the forums these days). Awesome competition. Additionally, I'm happy to have attended a Zoom meeting where I wasn't the only person who spoke for 75 minutes straight.
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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

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Re: Impossible Lair - Old Videogame Tournament - 9/25/20

Post by Mike Bentley »

Also I'm not going to set up a separate thread to discuss the set but feel free to post any thoughts here or on the quizbowl Discord if you want.
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