GameBlog

Don’t forget that this Thursday, tomorrow, is a gaming day, although it’s not technically Save•Point!

Wii Games: Who Wants to Play?
When: Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 4:00 PM 
Where: St. Joseph County Public Library at Humphreys Multimedia Room

All play! Bring your friends and family, or come alone for bowling and other games using our Wii video game system. All ages; come see what all the fun is about and sign up for Summer Reading Program! For more info, call 282-4630. (A Summer Reading Program event)

It ends at 8:00 p.m. 

I tell no lies. Look to the left. 

This season has been an interesting one. We tried out new formats, had a weird schedule, brought in both oddball games and old favorites, and saw the debut of new games like Street Fighter IV, which caused much cheering and excitement amongst the crowd.

Now, we find ourselves once again in the Finals, this time with a game that has never been a Finals title before. Halo 3 Doubles will be the tournament this time around. The rules and sign ups will be up tomorrow, but for now, here’s the basics:

• Online Sign-ups end at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, and Sign-ups done in person end at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.
• Only 16 teams will be admitted to the tournament. A Waiting List of up to 8 teams will be created in case teams don’t show up on time.
• The Tournament is Double Elimination

More info, and sign ups, available tomorrow!

This Saturday, Save•Point is hosting a double tournament once again, with Street Fighter IV and Guitar Hero III being the games.

It’s been one month since we’ve seen Street Fighter IV in action here at Save•Point, with some impressive play from new-to-the-game SP vets like Casanova and Aggro. Now that some time has passed and a full fledged tournament is here, we’ll see how they stack up against each other.

Meanwhile on the Guitar Hero front, it’s been months since we’ve done a music-based game, and what better way to do that then to bring back Guitar Hero III? Rules discussion has been underway since last time and we’ll be using a different format. Come see how it works out!

The doors open at 10:00 a.m. and registration shuts down at 10:15 a.m. to get the tournaments running in a timely manner.  See you Saturday!

Round 2 of Season 7 is on it’s way, from 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday.  While Save•Point is always awesome, this one will be a return to form, of sorts.

We’re back in the Humphrey’s Multimedia Room, the true “home” of Save•Point!  I’d like to thank everyone for their patience as we’ve tried to keep everything working during the construction that’s been going on all over the first floor.  Now, we have a pretty sweet Commons area up on first, vending machines (the hot chocolate is excellent), fancy sliding doors, and a new appreciation for the space we’ve been without for so long.

The games this month are Mario Strikers Charged and, by request, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.  Mario Golf is a new one for us, with rules being written by longtime S•P vets Dark Yoshi and Skiddz.  Both have considerable experience with the game, and it will be interesting seeing what the rules are like in action.  Just a reminder, the sign-ups for either game end at 10:15, and we’ll get started at 10:30.

Help us break in the old space again.  I’m sure it’s missed us.

It seems like it’s been forever since the last Save•Point, where the Season 6 finals took place, and Mr. Moo came out victorious after a long series of Brawl matches against the likes of LowBPhlat, Dark Yoshi, Fluffy, and KyAG.

Now we find ourselves on the eve of Season 7, with a new format for the tournaments, a new schedule, and a new crew system, broken down from the previous seasons.

The first big announcement is that we’re moving away from the “same-game-each-month” format. It’s risky, but there’s alot of debate always going on about what games to move forward with, and by switching the games each month, we’ll be able to carry both old schoolers like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart Double Dash while still paying service to the newer games we’ve featured that were a big hit, such as Mario Strikers Charged and Guitar Hero. I’m looking to squeeze some of our other games, such as Pokemon in the mix as well, but the details for the latter part of the season are still being worked on. Our first tournament, on January 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. will feature Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl.

As you can see by the time, we’re changing when the events start as well. Sadly, 9:00 seemed too early for some of you. So we’re going to try 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., and have every event on the third Saturday of each month. Tournament sign ups will end at 10:20 promptly and tournaments will begin at 10:30.

Finally, crews will again be part of the season. Join a crew, and you’ll earn points for every tournament you enter for your crew. At the end of the season, points are tallied, and the top crews will face off. Someone didn’t show for your crew? Anyone not in a crew can substitute. It’ll be pretty straight forward, with a Crew Finals event at the end of the season. Start thinking of who you want on your crew, people tend to get snatched up fast

Also, before I wrap this up, I wanted to thank everyone who’s kept Save•Point alive and made all this work worth it. Despite all the financial events we face as a library in these tough times, the Administration, particular our Director Mr. Napoli and our Assistant Director Deb Futa, have been extremely supportive of Save•Point.  Scott, the head of the Magazines, Newspapers, and Fiction department constantly puts up with all my crazy ideas and rambling and goes to bat for Save•Point at every opportunity. I’d probably be lost in a sea of questions and stress if Matt and Rona from the same department weren’t down there to save me. Julie, the head of my department, Sights and Sounds, has always supported the program and my involvement in it. And of course, we’ll always miss Maire, even though she moved on to bigger and better things over at the Francis Branch.

Go visit her sometime, eh? I have it on good authority that she misses you all.

Of course, Save•Point is nothing without all of you out there as well. From everyone that helps out from everything to setting up to tearing down, to volunteers like LowBPhlat and Aggro who have to put up with my random demands and mathematical needs, Skiddz and Learve who’ve helped out tons and have been here since the beginning. Everyone that comes into Save•Point, whether it’s just to game, hang out with friends who game, or end up as stragglers from other programs in the building (sup Jake and Andy!), the vets (such as Jay, Poptab, Mr. Moo, and even Kuro, when he actually shows up :P) and new people that are giving Save•Point a chance and just finishing their first season (oh hey Neon!), I want to say thanks. You guys and gals are the reason Save•Point exists and continues to succeed season after season. There’s been rough spots, but you’re all awesome and make it all worth it

Enough sappy stuff. Let’s get this season going right.

After Save•Point, starting at 2:00 p.m., don’t miss the chance to check out author James Kennedy, writer of the American Library Association’s “Best Books for Young Adults” 2009 award, The Order of Odd-Fish.

James will be in the new Teen Area on the Second Floor, which I’m sure you’ve all checked out already.  (Haven’t you??)  Don’t miss it!

An interesting season to be sure, we’re wrapping it all up this Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  The tournament will be featuring Super Smash Bros. Brawl, using an edited item list.  Due to complications with the season, everyone is eligible for this tournament.  Yay mishaps!

The tournament itself will start at 9:15 a.m., which is when registration ends.  Prizes include gift cards to Game Crazy, t-shirts, and a few extra goodies for those who enter the tournament, regardless of placing.  Help us finish out Season 6 right, because #7 is just around the corner.

With 8 teams of 4 signed up, along with incomplete crews battling it out in the game of their choice, the first event in Season Six went off with a bang. From newcomer Neon’s sweep in Guitar Hero 3 to veteran Poptab’s domination in the form of an 18-0 shutout in Strikers, history was being made all over the place. Let’s get right to the standings though.

As the new season is crew-centered, let’s first look at the scores for the various 4-man teams.

1. The Broodwich: 43 points
2. Clueless: 24 points
3. Highly Trained Newbies (HTN): 21 points
4. The Zookeepers: 15 points
5. TIE: Once Over The Rainbow & Team T-Bone: 11 points
6. Armadillo Safe: 7 points
7. Aggressive Gnomes: 5

As is obvious up above, The Broodwich, consisting of KYAG and Jay for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mr. Moo for Guitar Hero III, and Poptab for Mario Strikers Charged, are in the lead by a whopping 19 points. 19 points is a high score for one matchup, let alone for a lead right out the gate. They aren’t the only crew with highlights, however. Several crews completely wiped out the opposition in certain games, while other games proved to be too much for them. The Zookeepers have yet to give up a single point in Brawl, thanks to our longest attending vets Skiddz and Learve, who remain forces in the scene. Clueless and HTN both swept the Guitar Hero III side of things, taking it 5-0 to each crew they faced. Clueless has Austin to thank for that, and HTN showed much love to Neon for their sweep. Our Guitar Hero rules actually shaped up into what they are now thanks to the knowledge and input of Neon, and so I give much thanks for that.

What will happen in the quarterfinals next month, on October 11th? The points are still being calculated for The Zookeepers and Armadillo Safe, as they have yet to face off in Guitar Hero III. Also, now that Poptab has shown what can be done in Mario Strikers Charged, who, if any, will answer the challenge and take him out before he completes a full season of undefeated sweeps? While The Zookeepers have yet to give up a point in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the same can be said for The Broodwich, and it looks like they will be facing each other in the next month.

Finally, we have a tie on our hands. Both Once Over The Rainbow and Team T-Bone are tied up on the scoreboard. They also have yet to face off, and will most likely be settling this next month as well. October is the Quarter-Finals, and only 4 teams will make it into the Semi-Finals in November, so needless to say this is going to be the most hyped season in Save•Point history.

Be there to see it all go down, or hear about how you missed the matches of the year and how you’re less of a person for it. Hey, I didn’t say it.

OCTOBER 11th | Save•Point Season 6: Quarter-Finals

The week leading up to the Season 6 opening event on September 13th, I’d like to post interviews involving the different crews. The problem?

I haven’t interviewed any of you yet.

So if you’d like to get interviewed, here’s a few ways we can get this done. Email me at p.galicia@sjcpl.org letting me know your crew wants to get interviewed, and we can either do it via email, we can chat on AIM, or we can meet up at the Main Branch library sometime before the event. If you have a logo or a group picture, we’ll put that up. If we end up doing the interview live, we’ll take a picture at that point.

Season 6 is going to be huge, and there’s going to be some fierce competition between the various crews, so I’d like to get everyone I can into the spotlight. Otherwise, how is the next big rivalry going to be showcased?