overfiend set up a NYGXI fund:
http://www.gofundme.com/NYGXI

imo this is a great way for those who can't attend the event to still support it.

@Harpooneer I sense quite a bit of people feeling unappreciated for their efforts ... That's not the intended purpose of this thread.

You guys accomplished something incredible this weekend. And with that said I want to comment on the topic regarding "gathering" vs "tournament".

Why not both? There's absolutely no reason why there can't be a day designated for casual play and others for tourney play. Understand that as a competitive game tournaments push people, and are the fastest route to improvement in one's skill level.

Nothing prepares you for that moment when you sit down to face a rival - Everything on the line. You're in losers. Down 2 - 0 in the match ... Maybe I should have learned this matchup. What did he open with last time? Shit.

Next thing you know you're shaking hands as you wonder what you could have done differently. Disappointed, but confident you'll be back someday ... Yeah.

"I'll show them next time."

Nothing replaces the drama and excitement of tournament play. Nothing. It'd be a shame if you were deemphasize this aspect of the event.

Again, thank you all for what you've done.

@Jerky No I didn't take it that way. We just never had a focus on the tournaments before so it's new to us to think that way. It was always about getting people together before and hanging out. NYC guys took visitors out to eat and drink and shit too, so for us that was the most important part. Not used to having a big audience.

That will never change, @Harpooneer . There will always be time for laughs, food, and companionship. What I'm trying to get you guys to understand is that it's all part of the package and not exclusive of one another. Cheers.

It's a gathering with a tournament... Been that Way since Adam hosted one in Long Island..

See, I argue there was an even more emphasis on tourney play during that era, @SDS_Overfiend1.

We even had seeding prior to the tournament in order to set brackets. It was a great time and we all got the chance to enjoy each other's company. Nothing was lost in the experience. The "gathering" part of these events was more nomenclature than anything else. Back then in the VF community most events were labeled as such - It didn't mean guys still didn't want to kill you.

I know he's been quiet, but I assure you @adamYUKI is one of the most competitive people I've ever met ... Some people want to be tested.

This was an amazing event - I couldn't make it (despite my wife saying, "You should really go") and I didn't get to see all of the stream but what I saw was awesome.

Anyone can hold an event once. But you guys have held it down for 10 years running and that's pretty amazing. So, thank you.

As far as criticism goes, I think @Jerky is hitting it solidly. the stream had, at peak, 130 viewers (Correct me if I'm wrong) and that's pretty solid for our community. To get a larger audience share and really build awareness at large you just need to round the edges on this amazing thing you've built.

One of the biggest obstacles for any stream is commentary. The best I've ever heard is James Chen and Ultradavid. On point, funny, and able to mix up direct game play commentary with player history. For me, they are the bar you want to aspire to. It's too bad they're SF heads.

Get Denkai and some other chap on the mic that can complement him and you're golden. And I mean complement. Not shout over and make the stream a one man show. It really is a give and take thing and it is *hard*.

Props to everyone that steps up to the mic, good or bad, loved or hated.

Thanks again for an awesome weekend of VF. You guys did it up right.

Now, go do it better

we had 500 on saturday night after arturo shared our stream and 150 on sunday night for grand finals. pretty good!

That's fantastic!

Of course Jerky.. I'm very familiar with Adam.. New Era new game. A lot of the so called top players stunted the young' growth outta fear.. Not me.. No young lion can ever say I turned them away... That's not how you grow a community. Next year.. Commentary won't be an issue...

Big thanks to organizers aka Cruz/Harpooneer/Tech for making this happened, it was really dedicated hard work for you guys coming in early each day setting stuff up and last ones to leave for 3 straight days. Not to mention each days is 12+ hours of staying alert and keep everything going well. It would be a bit unfair to compare this gathering stream to some major event. IMO some re-positioning would help quite a bit, like having the streamers at the back wall and 2 stations at the side so that no one is playing with the crowd 2 steps behind them. It is hard to stop people from screaming/yelling/clapping as some games were really hyped (headphones for players will help too). Personally I had a blast for 3 days and played more VF than I did in a year. GGs everyone!

Yeah headphones could be a good idea, I never thought of that cause it's not something I would do. They have em at next level so we could have used them if we thought of it. We will have to set that up next time. Also I want it on record that @Shag prevented me from having a heart attack by taking over brackets and getting flexible with calling people. @kungfusmurf and @VFhayato gave prizes too. @oneida got a lot of hype for the tourney outside of our regular scene, as did @BBountyHuntyr, and @Kobi did the logo. This was a real community effort, not just the NYC regulars.

Good job to Cruz,Harpooner,and everyone else who helped bring nygx to fruition! You guys looked like you were having fun. And to Rod...you need to commentate more,good job.

Pictures are up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/nycvf

I'm on my phone and doing what I do best (drinking and partying), and have read every comment so far.

I organized NYG6 almost by myself. I ran the tournament section and made shirts for NYG7. I was a major planner for NYG8 and helped Cruz to a limited amount for NYG9.

Making these events what it is, is not easy.

That being be said, I'm especially proud of Harpooneer for taking the reigns and thought he did a fantastic job. I would have done some things differently but it was not my show.

I'll say more tomorrow but want to end this post on this notice. My main objective as an event/tournament organizer was to make sure that the PLAYERS present were having the best time. People watching from their homes is a distant second.

P.S. Who the fuck was the guy commentating late Friday night with Blackstar? I made sure I welcomed everyone Friday who showed up. Went to eat with some heads and came back and see this guy on the mic. I asked over a dozen people and NOBODY knew him! I was tempted to kick him off but held back. Asked about him to Blackstar the next day and he didn't know him! WHAT THE FUCK??!!

Oh that guy was someone who had heard about NYGX and came to watch the game. I don't know what he ended up saying on stream, but the idea was that he didn't know VF and would ask questions that the new stream watchers would probably have too. Basically he represented the average gamer who wanted to watch the games but might not know what's going on. At least that's who I think you were talking about ( haven't looked at the stream to check).

I still have to write or stream my thank you's and comments about having a great event and getting my first VF5FS major wing, but for now I'll just comment on the stream vs the players debate. I'm 100% with Jerky on the idea that we can keep the vibe and enjoyment for the current players who attend and still produce a high quality stream (we already have a technically masterful stream). A stream is basically a sports broadcast and should be treated as such. We need teams of people working on the different aspects of what makes a good broadcast. We got the technicians making sure the streams are up and looking good, we got the organizers making sure the players on stream know to show up, but we are missing any type of director for the commentators or the art behind how to produce something that is enjoyable to watch for everyone. I'm down with taking up that role if folks are down with the idea.

I'm just going to say this again so it's clear -- the stream is not about the players that are present, it's about the players who are not there but want to feel like they are. Making the stream catered to them does not have to change the experience for the players that show up. The idea is not to change the event to cater to the streamer, it's to make the stream effective in conveying the awesomeness of the event for the players that are there. We are not doing the best job at that yet, a much better job than ever before, but we still aren't there yet. We are now entering the realm of making good art! It's exciting.

@Shag That was some guy from some gaming blog that @oneida contacted. He got in touch with lots of those guys, this one showed up cause I think he's local. Tricky asked me to put him on the mic and he started off by asking questions for the audience that weren't familiar. Thought it was going okay, and I figured that @BLACKSTAR would have him under control when he took over from me after about 45 min. Why, was he trying to talk about the match or something? When I was on with him he was asking questions which I thought was pretty good.

EDIT: @Tricky people saying the stream is for people not present is what makes me think that streaming casuals was a mistake. At least with commentary.

POST EDIT: Just want to make sure people know I mean that we shouldn't have commentary with casuals. I don't mean not streaming at all. Maybe one guy talking to the chat but even then it's probably bad. If people don't like NYC commentary during casuals the solution should not be to deprive guests of casuals that they traveled for. Maybe someone wants to volunteer for an hour, but trying to schedule commentary for people who just want to play is not fair to them.

The solution to casuals is have commentators that people liked hearing from. I think Luke, Denkai, and I were fairly well liked as a trio. It didn't matter if it was casuals or serious play.

Basically, let someone handle the commentary side of things and just that alone. We gotta specialize because the events are too complicated to have one person doing everything.