what's new
latest news
Podcast:E3 2008 wrapup with special guest Yahtzee
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 3 Wrap-up
News:Mainstream Media Hits - Matt on ABCs PM program
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 2 Wrap-up
Review:Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
News:Too beautiful to ignore..
Review:Monster Jam
News:Big trouble in little China
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 1 Wrap-up
News:E3 2008 ... it begins
News:Final Fantasy XIII announced for the Xbox 360
Update:A History Of Refusal
Interview:Firemint talk about their iPod game The Sims DJ
News:BtVS Sacrificing itself for that pesky hellmouth
News:Rock Band 2 Trailer and sneak peak at Rock Band 2 Drums
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 3 Wrap-up
News:Mainstream Media Hits - Matt on ABCs PM program
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 2 Wrap-up
Review:Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
News:Too beautiful to ignore..
Review:Monster Jam
News:Big trouble in little China
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 1 Wrap-up
News:E3 2008 ... it begins
News:Final Fantasy XIII announced for the Xbox 360
Update:A History Of Refusal
Interview:Firemint talk about their iPod game The Sims DJ
News:BtVS Sacrificing itself for that pesky hellmouth
News:Rock Band 2 Trailer and sneak peak at Rock Band 2 Drums
latest podcast
random quote
“At each of these events my personal goal is to get a picture with, or at least of, as many of the promo girls as possible.”
'The World Cyber Games 2007'by Starks
most recent on forum
Ebgames by EdgeCrusher at 4:55am
Duke Nukem Trilogy by EdgeCrusher at 4:52am
Global Warming by SniperXtreme at 4:52am
boom blox? by EdgeCrusher at 4:50am
Favourite Weapons by EdgeCrusher at 4:49am
DUN DUN DUN Dun dun by SniperXtreme at 4:48am
Second Is RE5 Really that Great. by EdgeCrusher at 4:44am
Hey, IT"S FRED!!!! by ArmTheBomb at 4:10am
Call Of Duty World At War by MickeyMOUSE at 2:33am
WoW player trades sex for gold by Schlen at 2:20am
PODCAST [ E3 2008 wrapup with special guest Yahtzee ] by Schlen at 2:14am
Harry Potter & the half blood prince trailer by Lord Halo Nerd at 1:35am
Unofficial Melbourne catchup with Yug by Vesuvious at 1:17am
Sword of the Stranger by Vesuvious at 1:02am
Site Errors by Vesuvious at 12:55am
Duke Nukem Trilogy by EdgeCrusher at 4:52am
Global Warming by SniperXtreme at 4:52am
boom blox? by EdgeCrusher at 4:50am
Favourite Weapons by EdgeCrusher at 4:49am
DUN DUN DUN Dun dun by SniperXtreme at 4:48am
Second Is RE5 Really that Great. by EdgeCrusher at 4:44am
Hey, IT"S FRED!!!! by ArmTheBomb at 4:10am
Call Of Duty World At War by MickeyMOUSE at 2:33am
WoW player trades sex for gold by Schlen at 2:20am
PODCAST [ E3 2008 wrapup with special guest Yahtzee ] by Schlen at 2:14am
Harry Potter & the half blood prince trailer by Lord Halo Nerd at 1:35am
Unofficial Melbourne catchup with Yug by Vesuvious at 1:17am
Sword of the Stranger by Vesuvious at 1:02am
Site Errors by Vesuvious at 12:55am
upcoming releases
PC
24 Jul
Aion: The Tower of EternityNDS
24 Jul
Cory in the HouseNDS
24 Jul
Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Circle of SpiesWII
31 Jul
Garfield Gets RealNDS
31 Jul
Garfield Gets Realrss feeds
Australian Gamer Content - All
Australian Gamer Podcasts - All
Australian Gamer Updates, Reviews, Previews, Features
feature :: melbourne gamers meetup
Melbourne Gamers Meetup
The first official meetup in Melbourne kicked off with a BBQ by the Yarra river before heading onto James Squire Brewhouse later in the evening.
I noticed something during my stay in Melbourne – the Victorian car license plates slogan is ‘Victoria – On the Move’. You know why that is? Because if you don’t move, you’ll get hit by a goddamn tram.
Not being familiar with aspects of Melbourne like trams and other anomalies, you can assume that the events leading up to this gathering revealed constant surprises that required quick thinking and changes – issues such as getting the location of the BBQ’s wrong, the fact that there are two pubs with the same name, and getting a vegetarian to help buy the meat.
And then there’s Melbourne weather, as unpredictable as Brittany Spears after getting out of rehab.
Amazingly though, everything managed to pull itself together, and with the help of some fantastic gamers I would definitely call the first Melbourne Gamers Meetup a success.
For those that don’t know, the Gamers Meetups are social gatherings organised so that gamers can get together in non-gaming environments. There are plenty of LAN and Gaming parties out there, but I’m of the firm belief that not ALL gamers are anti-social freaks. It’s a new age of gamers, where as each year goes on more and more gaming, even hardcore gaming, becomes more mainstream. The meetups encourage the social aspect, while providing a place where you can still talk about games and not worry about being singled out by non-gamers.
Previously held twice in Brisbane and once in Perth, the Melbourne Gamers Meetup started off with a BBQ by the Yarra River. While the weather looked bright and sunny in the morning, by the time myself, Lauren (THQ Studio Australia) and MoonUnit (AG forums) arrived, we could already see the storm clouds starting to form. Undaunted, Moony and I set off for the meat markets while Lauren stayed to sweet talk the existing families and groups into giving up their BBQs.
MoonUnit stares at the camera while SniperXtreme and the rest of the early arrivals mingle in the background.
Almost 2 hours, 60 sausages, 20 meat patties, 12 cans of coke, 6 bourbons, 4 bread loaves, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion and a block of haloumi later, Moony and I arrived back at the BBQ’s about 20 minutes after the event was planned to kick off. Lauren had managed to secure one of the BBQ’s, and Anna (AustralianGamer) and SniperXtreme (Space-Meat) had already joined her, bringing with them the rest of the cooking utensils and additional condiments.
Slowly but surely, more and more people started to turn up, the majority from the AustralianGamer forums, but quite a few who had read about it on Sumea.com.au. One guy (James I think?) actually found it through a link on GameFAQs! There were some from the HyperActive forums, some from XboxWorld, and one (that’s right, only one) from PALGN.
AdamtehGreat shows Anna his amazing BBQ Cooking skills
On top of that we also had industry people from the local developers such as Firemint, RedTribe and Infinite Interactive. Overall there were close to 40 people who turned up for some cooked meat action!
Lauren, Mickiscool (AG Forums) and AdamtehGreat (Firemint) took over the BBQ cooking responsibilities, as I don’t trust myself with the complex task of burning meat. Haloumi was served first for the vegetarians, and although it sounded and smelled weird, it was eaten by pretty much everyone.
Girl Power! Heather and her friends invade the BBQ with their colourful language
The aforementioned weather was ominous, and while it did start to rain, we were lucky enough to have enough tree coverage that it actually hardly affected us. Once realised, everyone began to settle down a bit and chat, mostly gaming related topics such as Smash Bros Brawl characters and why Halo 3 sucked. It was very relaxed and casual, and when Jamwa (AG Forums) turned up with a soccer ball, a few of the guys gave it a kick – although as expected it ended up in the Yarra more than a few times.
Yug and Anna accost people during the live podcast.
Myself and Anna managed to pull together a live podcast during the event as well, which you can listen to here. Enjoy the YouTube tour of the BBQ below as well:
Towards the end of the afternoon we started to pack everything up and suggested those who wanted to kick on (which was almost everyone) head to the next official stop – the James Squire Brewhouse in the city. It wasn’t until those of us left to pack up had already taken off that we realised there were TWO James Squire Brewhouse’s, and that no specific location had been written on the flyer.
AustralianGamer Team Members - Anna, Jae, Samo and Yug.
With the exception of a few boys from the HyperActive forums (sorry guys!), everyone managed to turn up to the right pub, and for awhile we practically took over the street and front section of the bar. Other AustralianGamer.com team members Samo and Jae turned up, and plans for a big night were put into motion.
Special shout out also goes to longtime AG Podcast listener Nathan aka ScoffingShark on the AG Forums, who just happened to be in the same pub and didn’t realise there was a Gamers Meetup going on.
The table out the front was hammered with Wedges, Gravy and spilled Beer
Many many drinks, bowls of wedges and games of pool later, and the number of people started to head off to their respective homes, until all that was left was myself, Samo and Jae. My head is a little fuzzy from the rest of that morning; needless to say we kicked on at Billboards nightclub and had an awesome end to an awesome day.
Jae on the podium, along with Samo and Yug who kicked on at Billboards nightclub
Special shout out goes to Lauren for supporting me before, during and after the meetup. Moony, Sniper and Anna for all your amazing help. Mickiscool and Adam for attending to the BBQ, Wiggett for helping me definitively figure out where the BBQ’s were, Samo for deciding on the bar, and to everyone else who turned up to make the event go as well as it did. Spread the good word and let’s hope the next Melbourne Gamers Meetup will be twice as big!
Don’t forget to check out www.GamersEvents.com for upcoming Gaming Events such as this – and if you’re planning your own event be sure to post it there so everyone knows!
Not being familiar with aspects of Melbourne like trams and other anomalies, you can assume that the events leading up to this gathering revealed constant surprises that required quick thinking and changes – issues such as getting the location of the BBQ’s wrong, the fact that there are two pubs with the same name, and getting a vegetarian to help buy the meat.
And then there’s Melbourne weather, as unpredictable as Brittany Spears after getting out of rehab.
Amazingly though, everything managed to pull itself together, and with the help of some fantastic gamers I would definitely call the first Melbourne Gamers Meetup a success.
For those that don’t know, the Gamers Meetups are social gatherings organised so that gamers can get together in non-gaming environments. There are plenty of LAN and Gaming parties out there, but I’m of the firm belief that not ALL gamers are anti-social freaks. It’s a new age of gamers, where as each year goes on more and more gaming, even hardcore gaming, becomes more mainstream. The meetups encourage the social aspect, while providing a place where you can still talk about games and not worry about being singled out by non-gamers.
Previously held twice in Brisbane and once in Perth, the Melbourne Gamers Meetup started off with a BBQ by the Yarra River. While the weather looked bright and sunny in the morning, by the time myself, Lauren (THQ Studio Australia) and MoonUnit (AG forums) arrived, we could already see the storm clouds starting to form. Undaunted, Moony and I set off for the meat markets while Lauren stayed to sweet talk the existing families and groups into giving up their BBQs.
MoonUnit stares at the camera while SniperXtreme and the rest of the early arrivals mingle in the background.
Almost 2 hours, 60 sausages, 20 meat patties, 12 cans of coke, 6 bourbons, 4 bread loaves, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion and a block of haloumi later, Moony and I arrived back at the BBQ’s about 20 minutes after the event was planned to kick off. Lauren had managed to secure one of the BBQ’s, and Anna (AustralianGamer) and SniperXtreme (Space-Meat) had already joined her, bringing with them the rest of the cooking utensils and additional condiments.
Slowly but surely, more and more people started to turn up, the majority from the AustralianGamer forums, but quite a few who had read about it on Sumea.com.au. One guy (James I think?) actually found it through a link on GameFAQs! There were some from the HyperActive forums, some from XboxWorld, and one (that’s right, only one) from PALGN.
AdamtehGreat shows Anna his amazing BBQ Cooking skills
On top of that we also had industry people from the local developers such as Firemint, RedTribe and Infinite Interactive. Overall there were close to 40 people who turned up for some cooked meat action!
Lauren, Mickiscool (AG Forums) and AdamtehGreat (Firemint) took over the BBQ cooking responsibilities, as I don’t trust myself with the complex task of burning meat. Haloumi was served first for the vegetarians, and although it sounded and smelled weird, it was eaten by pretty much everyone.
Girl Power! Heather and her friends invade the BBQ with their colourful language
The aforementioned weather was ominous, and while it did start to rain, we were lucky enough to have enough tree coverage that it actually hardly affected us. Once realised, everyone began to settle down a bit and chat, mostly gaming related topics such as Smash Bros Brawl characters and why Halo 3 sucked. It was very relaxed and casual, and when Jamwa (AG Forums) turned up with a soccer ball, a few of the guys gave it a kick – although as expected it ended up in the Yarra more than a few times.
Yug and Anna accost people during the live podcast.
Myself and Anna managed to pull together a live podcast during the event as well, which you can listen to here. Enjoy the YouTube tour of the BBQ below as well:
Towards the end of the afternoon we started to pack everything up and suggested those who wanted to kick on (which was almost everyone) head to the next official stop – the James Squire Brewhouse in the city. It wasn’t until those of us left to pack up had already taken off that we realised there were TWO James Squire Brewhouse’s, and that no specific location had been written on the flyer.
AustralianGamer Team Members - Anna, Jae, Samo and Yug.
With the exception of a few boys from the HyperActive forums (sorry guys!), everyone managed to turn up to the right pub, and for awhile we practically took over the street and front section of the bar. Other AustralianGamer.com team members Samo and Jae turned up, and plans for a big night were put into motion.
Special shout out also goes to longtime AG Podcast listener Nathan aka ScoffingShark on the AG Forums, who just happened to be in the same pub and didn’t realise there was a Gamers Meetup going on.
The table out the front was hammered with Wedges, Gravy and spilled Beer
Many many drinks, bowls of wedges and games of pool later, and the number of people started to head off to their respective homes, until all that was left was myself, Samo and Jae. My head is a little fuzzy from the rest of that morning; needless to say we kicked on at Billboards nightclub and had an awesome end to an awesome day.
Jae on the podium, along with Samo and Yug who kicked on at Billboards nightclub
Special shout out goes to Lauren for supporting me before, during and after the meetup. Moony, Sniper and Anna for all your amazing help. Mickiscool and Adam for attending to the BBQ, Wiggett for helping me definitively figure out where the BBQ’s were, Samo for deciding on the bar, and to everyone else who turned up to make the event go as well as it did. Spread the good word and let’s hope the next Melbourne Gamers Meetup will be twice as big!
Don’t forget to check out www.GamersEvents.com for upcoming Gaming Events such as this – and if you’re planning your own event be sure to post it there so everyone knows!
