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Anatomy of a LAN Party?
malfaetor writes "My colleagues and I are interested in improving on an annual public LAN Party that we first held last year. Before the event, I asked Slashdot, and received some terrific suggestions. The event ended up being quite a bit of fun, and we had very few technical issues. However, there were some non-technical improvements that could be made. We did not break even financially, and ended up having to divide the loss among the seven of us. The biggest financial killer for us was insurance, at nearly $500 for the event. What have other LAN party organizers done about insurance and legal issues? Has insurance (or lack thereof) come back to haunt anyone in the past?"
"We've also had trouble deciding which network games would be the most popular. Our group has tried to focus on games that are the most familiar (or at least the smallest learning curve), and that most individuals already have installed. What games have been the most popular at LAN parties you have attended in the past six months? We know many individuals with consoles, but are unsure if promoting the console gamers would be a large draw. Have consoles been a common sight at the LAN Parties you have attended? If so, have you had any problems related to having to juggle both console and PC players?
Advertising was also an issue. We ran a grassroots advertising campaign because radio and TV advertising were too costly to be considered. However, we were concerned that the flyers we created and the postings we had on certain websites were not reaching enough local gamers. Strangely, local game shops have been very hesitant to allow us to place flyers there. What creative ways have other groups used in the past to get the word out?
Our webmaster has done a great job so far in getting sponsors. Sponsors have been very good to us, but other events that have been around longer seem to have quite a bit more swag to give away to the attendees. Is the real trick to getting sponsors to have longevity, Get Big, or have the organizers donate a whole bunch more money toward the cause to purchase these prizes themselves? Do local sponsors tend to give more than big national sponsors? Does anyone have any tips or tricks for approaching sponsors?
Lastly, has anything changed in the LAN Party scene in the past year? Has anybody seen or been involved in any noticeable trends, or have experiences worth mentioning?"
Advertising was also an issue. We ran a grassroots advertising campaign because radio and TV advertising were too costly to be considered. However, we were concerned that the flyers we created and the postings we had on certain websites were not reaching enough local gamers. Strangely, local game shops have been very hesitant to allow us to place flyers there. What creative ways have other groups used in the past to get the word out?
Our webmaster has done a great job so far in getting sponsors. Sponsors have been very good to us, but other events that have been around longer seem to have quite a bit more swag to give away to the attendees. Is the real trick to getting sponsors to have longevity, Get Big, or have the organizers donate a whole bunch more money toward the cause to purchase these prizes themselves? Do local sponsors tend to give more than big national sponsors? Does anyone have any tips or tricks for approaching sponsors?
Lastly, has anything changed in the LAN Party scene in the past year? Has anybody seen or been involved in any noticeable trends, or have experiences worth mentioning?"
That way you can cover most of your costs, potentially even insurance.
A blog like any other.
dont try and make a profit :P
And no parent has ever sued a school for harm to their child even after they signed a permission slip granting free reign to the school to do with the child as they please?
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
/Strangely, local game shops have been very hesitant to allow us to place flyers there./
This is because they fear that the rampant piracy that happens at almost gaming LAN will hurt their business. They're probably right too.
Interesting, since technically the schools are in loco parentis anyway.
Doesn't work for anyone else though. Microsoft are a law unto themselves because they can afford to defend anything until the other party dies of old age, so they pretty much get to make the rules, regardless of whether or not their 'laws' are legal.
For the rest of us, we're stuck with the legal principle that someone cannot sign away rights that are granted by law. Take for example, the fact that is illegal for me to kill you. You can sign a piece of paper to say that it's quite OK with you if I kill you, but the piece of paper is worthless and meaningless. I can't use it as a "get out of jail free card" because you can't sign your right not to be killed - it's not quite literally like that, but you get the idea...
The same ~kinda~ thing applies with people signing to say that if you hurt them it's their fault. It's not ~quite~ the same principle, but similar.
Look at it then from a contract point of view and it's a bit different. Like all the sporting and motorsport venues, you can sign to say that you accept specific obvious risks and that you will not, in consideration of being allowed to enter the venue, not sue the owner, operator, competitors, etc, etc, etc.
In a place like Australia, you'd probably get away with a nice strong disclaimer and acceptance of risk by the individual punters. In a place like the US, as vexatiously litigous as you folks are, I'd probably not bother running the event at all, but certainly not without insurance at least!
Couple of other thoughts: Perhaps the insurance company will give you a discount if you make the punters sign a EULA written by the insurance company, second, here in Australia we have a concept of a registered/incorporated not-for-profit organisation that, although a bit fiddly to set up, has the nice benefit that they're not legally liable for a lot of the kinda of stuff you're worried about. Might be worth checking if a similar concept exists in your jurisdiction
#include disclaimer.h: IANAL. I didn't make it past second year undergrad law, and I have only the vaguest memory of torts and contract law - as reading the above ramblings demonstrates. You'd be a fool to take my advice!
I find your ideas intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Insurance is only expensive if you didn't need it.
i've found wolfenstein:enemy territory to be the absolute best lan first person shooter... and what's better is that it's totally free. you can download it off www.splashdamage.com
Not to split hairs, but even if you could sign away your right to be killed, the killer could still be prosecuted for murder. Theoretically, signing away your right not to be killed would eliminate a wrongful death suit. However, murder, like all criminal offenses, is a crime against society. When you get tried for murder, the victim isn't the one prosecuting you.
Perhaps if you organise a tournament as opposed to a LAN then you'd be able to use that type of structure. Divisions for leets down to noobs - or maybe some handicap system. Prizes for the winners big screens for the final matches so everyone can watch. If you build up the atmosphere it's bound to make people want to come back and try again next year - and bring their friends. Perhaps you could also have a website with statistics and results, forums or polls for what games people want to play. Or have a survey for the people who come (what can we do better, etc).
Quake/Quakeworld... Those were the days. :)
Ceterum censeo Microsoftem esse delendam
I have a viable alternative to insurance. Be a student with absolutly nothing to your name. Nothing.
Can't get blood from a stone. If it does go to court, and they probably won't bother, then you will be stuck paying back $2 a week for the next 56 years, that I can deal with.
I've helped out a bit with some medium sized lans, and the organization that I participated in eventually merged with the Pittsburgh Lan Coalition, whose most recent lans have been rather large (100+ people).
One occurance of note is that at the first larger lan party they held power became a big issue. They had rented out a large area in a hotel and had gotten detailed specifications on power availability, but it ended up not being accurate. The hotel split the cost of generators in order to allow the event to occur. One guy ended up with a burnt motherboard from the flucations, unfortunately.
Another thing to consider is security. At larger events when people's nerves are shot from way too much CS (combined with sleep deprivation), bad situations can develop. Luckily, that hasn't been too big of a problem. However, there has been one occurance of theft. Pittco managed to secure a number of sponsors who donated video cards, games, and other equipment to be given out as prizes. At the most recent lan one person was moving his prize, a set of speakers, out to his car. He went back in to get his computer and when he came back his speakers were nowhere to be found. So perhaps having somebody not only to act as a bouncer but also as an overseer during the takedown phase would be a good idea.
Another security related concern is that you should really be aware of who all is attending, and to have contact information for all persons involved. This is useful in case something bad should happen (perhaps someone destroys another person's computer and then leaves), and also in other possible situations (during one lan a nearby convenience store was robbed at gunpoint, and the police wanted to get contact info for everybody at the facility just in case).
I'm not sure what happened about insurance -- perhaps the hotel included that with the room rental. I really don't know, but you could probably post on their forums and get a response. I do know that prior to merging into Pittco we had to give up having lans at our established facility because of liability concerns. But that facility wasn't exactly a hotel or convention type area, either.
The biggest draw seems to be the tournaments, especially for CS. It's unfortunate that some people leave the event after their clan loses. And being that HL2 will only have CS:Source for its multiplayer aspect, I don't doubt that CS will continue to be a driving force in lan parties. You'd do well to decently manage a tournament for CS, and people will find ways to distract themselves while waiting. I haven't seen many people play RTS's, and if they do it's usually Starcraft. Setting up a TV or projector with DDR also helps to provide some atmosphere, and makes for a fun tournament, too!
It doesn't hurt to have some creative uses for the prizes, too. At the first large lan party we had there was a video card left over (a Radeon 9700, I believe) and it was decided that it would be given to the person with the worst video card. A poor guy with a Geforce 2 MX ended up leaving with a nice upgrade.
For communication, setting up a Teamspeak server and an IRC server seems to work well. The last two large lans haven't had internet access, which wasn't really a big deal for people. most people use it to download pr0n and warez, anyways. Oh yeah -- secure your servers. You'll always end up with one script kiddie who wants to port scan and cause trouble.
For hardware, be sure to test out servers beforehand and ensure that they can adequately handle the load. Good networking equipment is a must. Keep one server as a file server and load it up with all the latest patches that people may need. Some people like to bring laptops and would like to have wireless, but I don't see the point in having more than one computer at a lan party.
Keep the pizza coming. You'll be surprised how much is consumed (and try to keep it warm with an appropriate device, if possible). Drinks like Bawls and Mt. Dew are often well appre
It takes the agreement of several juries (conviction, sentencing, multiple automatic appeals) before a death sentence can be carried out. When that number of people agree that the convicted person must die based on the evidence presented to them, the personal preferences of the Governor or President are irrelevant.
Boxers very rarely die in the ring. It is not "likely" that it will cause (solely) death. It is only "likely" to cause injury. Muhammed Ali fought the strongest boxers of his day, and he is still alive. The brain damage is a cumulative result of the game, not something that could be attributed to one boxer.
Your parent is talking about something more on the lines of duelling with pistols, where the contestants goal is to kill each other.
Somebody mod parent up please.
$20 is a great price! :)
Here in the UK, as is the case with most things, we get robbed blind for LAN parties with most events costing in excess of £70 (~$175 AUD)
If you think CS is old school it means you're not *grins*
You now, the original tic-tac-toe was played using pencil and paper. *gasp* The Horror!
which brings up another need.
bouncers. you need big burly guys that can eject asshat's.
and be sure that is in the EULA. if unruly you will be physically EJECTED from the premises and your hardware confiscated pending return after assessment of damages you may or may not have caused.
Grab their gear if the asshat is throwing chairs, and either make them pay restitution to get it back or keep it and sell it to pay for the damages they caused.