ALA's first-ever National Gaming Day is coming up! In addition to free copies of Pictureka and Top Trumps for every single public library in the US, we'll also be running some national videogame tournaments using gtsystem! There are three different events, and any of them can be done with just one game console; so if you've got some equipment or can arrange to borrow some, please consider offering your patrons the opportunity to be a part of something big… at their library!
For this event, you need one Nintendo Wii, one copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, and up to 4 controllers (gamecube controllers are recommended and favored by most players, but wiimotes work fine too). To participate in the event, you'll need to be able to connect your Wii to the internet, either using the Wii's built-in Wifi or optional ethernet adapter. For more information about getting your Wii online, see getting_a_wii_online. It's recommended that you test your internet connection before planning to participate in an online event to avoid frustration and disappointment; see Upcoming_events for some opportunities to test your Wii.
The Super Smash Bros. Brawl event will consist of a national bracket of registered libraries playing against each other in a single elimination format. Each library should plan to field a team of 4 players. You can choose these players at random or stage your own playoffs to select them for added excitement, Your 4 player team then plays a series of 4 matches against 3 other libraries, with the top scoring libraries advancing to the next round. Each match between 4 libraries will be 3 stock, 5 minute matches with Items on and set to low. Your players may complain about items being on, but you may wish to let them know that may be vastly outgunned by their opponents and items provide an opportunity to level the playing field.
The tournament will be conducted online using gtsystem, although you will not need to be an active gtsystem site to participate; just be sure to register at http://icanhaz.com/ngd and you'll receive further instructions. If you have any questions about the mechanics of the event or getting your wii online, feel free to contact us at gtsystem at aadl.org.
Add your team to the NGD Brawl Bracket!
To participate in this event, you'll need a Rock Band Kit including 2 guitars, microphone, and drum set, a console that can play Rock Band (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Wii, or Xbox 360), and the appropriate copy of the game. To allow as many locations as possible to participate in this event, we'll stick with Rock Band 1 and the default songs. However, be sure that you have all the default songs unlocked by entering the unlock_codes.
Your players should form 4-player bands and you should insist that they come up with a name for the band! Then, just let each band play a song of their choice on difficulty levels of their choice, and record their total score. The libraries that feature the highest-scoring bands will emerge victorious!
To keep things moving and to keep things fair, songs over 6 minutes long are banned; but that's only Foreplay/Long Time by Boston, Won't Get Fooled again by The Who, and Green Grass and High Tides by The Outlaws.
This event is much simpler to participate in as it doesn't require direct coordination with other libraries or internet connectivity. To join in, just register for National Gaming Day at http://icanhaz.com/ngd .
Here's the letter that went out to libraries that signed up for the NGD Rock Band tourney.
To join in this event, you'll need a PS2 or an Xbox, 2 dance pads, and a copy of one of the following DDR games:
DDR Extreme for PS2 DDR Extreme 2 for PS2 DDR Supernova for PS2 DDR Supernova 2 for PS2 DDR Universe for Xbox 360
To keep things fair, scoring is based solely on the number of Perfect Steps (Perfects) the player performs and not the game's numeric score, which can vary widely. Each player gets at least one dance at a difficulty level of their choice and a song of their choice; pairs can negotiate a mutually beneficial song choice. Record the number of perfects each player gets, and they can go again to attempt to improve their score.
Again, this event doesn't require as much coordination or an internet connection and is a good choice for libraries just starting out. To sign up, just register for National Gaming Day at http://icanhaz.com/ngd and await further instructions!
Here's the letter that went out to libraries that signed up for NGD DDR tourney.
Please feel free to contact us at gtsystem at aadl.org if you have any other questions about any of these events!