Hey dudes and dudettes,
So I was at Game Realms yesterday, and I was talking to the owner about hosting SG there. Though he was running around like crazy doing the schmoozing thing for the grand opening, so it was hard to get him still for a period of time for questions. But he did say he'd like to do it, and was in contact with "the developers" about it. He's apparently wants to do a ton of things, but doesn't have anything concrete for anything. He mentioned Smash Bros., and said "esports" a lot in relation to events. And I guess they're doing a Persona 5 launch party when that's out? So it sounds like he's reaching for the stars, so hopefully an SG weekly casuals is not going to get bumped out a lot.
Also, Weatherbee, I told him to contact you instead of the developers, by which I assume he means the other Mike Z. And I gave him your number, though I'm somewhat doubtful he'll actually call, so you'll probably him to contact him first if you haven't been already. In fact, I'll pass you his business card:
http://imgur.com/qH1sjYo (Isn't technology wonderful?)
Okay, so as for the place ITSELF. The back area of the store, seen above in pictures with the stand-up console setups, has empty space for about two setups, and probably like five more if they don't mind us blocking access to the console stations along the wall. Which I don't think should be a problem. It's all setups for various retro games, so I don't think anyone's going to care if they can't play Super Mario World for a day.
For standing room, that area would be a bit tight for 20-30 people, but there's also an outdoor area to the side that he said could hold an overflow of people. And it's pretty huge, so it can hold everyone we'd ever bring. It's basically a walled-in blacktop area. And honestly, I think that area would be way better for hosting our events. Set up tables, chairs, and extension cords, and we'd have all the space we'd ever need. And put up a tarp or something, in case it rains. But this is California, dammit. What's rain?
Speaking of which, he said they don't have chairs, but he's looking into getting some. He's looking into getting a lot things, apparently. Dreaming big. I didn't ask about tables, but I assume it's the same answer. It's definitely going to be BYO console and TVs, but generally we've been doing that anyway, so whatever.
And they generally close at 9, but he said they'd have no problem staying open later for events. And venue fee is negotiable. Actually, many things still need to be negotiated. But yeah, in summary, the venue itself seems okay, and in my mind the real question is how willing they'd be to have us.
