WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

[converge]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

Dietery exceptions are fine by me, but may be dictated by availability at the serving venue. I was ready to handle a rematch right then, ice or no ice; I sure as hell will be ready for you smack-talkers next year!

[DaKahuna]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

You know Converge, you only won the Mt. Dew challenge because they made me laugh. You are going down next year.

LosT, future king of the Mt. Dew chug contest :)

How did I not know about this. If Diet Mt. Dew counts, diabetic and avoid the real stuff, I'm in for next year!

[HighWiz]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

No cheesesteak made outside the general vicinity of South Street in Philadelphia should ever be called a Philly Cheese Steak.

Seriously! What the fuck is with people thinking they know what a Philly Cheese Steak is... There are maybe three places in Philly you can get a Real Cheese Steak: Pat's, Geno's and To a lesser extent Jim's.... Beyond that, they're just imitator.

[theprez98]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

I ate at Kady's for the first time this year, and I think there should be a black badge just for surviving their food. They taught me that there is such a thing as green Philly cheese steak. On the other hand, props for bringing the soda out in a glass with a carafe on the side.

No cheesesteak made outside the general vicinity of South Street in Philadelphia should ever be called a Philly Cheese Steak.

[Schuyler]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

I ate at Kady's for the first time this year, and I think there should be a black badge just for surviving their food. They taught me that there is such a thing as green Philly cheese steak. On the other hand, props for bringing the soda out in a glass with a carafe on the side.

The carafe kicked ass. I only had fries, so no complaints.

[converge]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

...you only won .. because they made me laugh

and the burning yellow liquid shooting out my nose because of their antics, that was not enough even plain for you?? :p

[Voltage Spike]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

I had no interest in it, or in gaming in general, but it was by far the highest volume of participation in the contest area that I saw, and to me that's awesome.

I'm not about to tell people what they should or shouldn't do at the con, but I will suggest that its popularity demonstrates my problem with it. It is human nature to gravitate towards "easy" events with low barriers of entry. If Guitar Hero II hadn't been there, how might those people have spent their time? It might not be more intellectually stimulating (e.g., the dunk tank), but maybe it would have been (e.g., trying to figure out a way to fight through the crowd at the Lockpicking Village).

But, as you pointed out, perhaps GH2 could be considered the bottom rung in climbing up through the various events.

You know Converge, you only won the Mt. Dew challenge because they made me laugh. You are going down next year.

LosT, future king of the Mt. Dew chug contest :)

I don't know, I've been practicing my throat loosening skills (back off HighWiz).

I ate at Kady's for the first time this year, and I think there should be a black badge just for surviving their food. They taught me that there is such a thing as green Philly cheese steak. On the other hand, props for bringing the soda out in a glass with a carafe on the side.

[LosT]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

You know Converge, you only won the Mt. Dew challenge because they made me laugh. You are going down next year.

LosT, future king of the Mt. Dew chug contest :)

[sk00t]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

I will place myself in the pro-GH2 faction. I had no interest in it, or in gaming in general, but it was by far the highest volume of participation in the contest area that I saw, and to me that's awesome.

Like Cot, I started out at DefCon only going to talks, coming alone, and not knowing a soul, and over the years I've got to know more and more people, but those first couple of years going back to my room after talks were over, or standing around by myself watching everyone else have fun pretty much sucked.

There are many, many, leet / exclusive / high bar / technical things at DefCon that only a fraction of people can take part in, plus loads of invite-only parties, etc.

Getting a bunch of socially awkward geeks, hackers, and crypto nerds interacting and talking? That's a nice hack, and to me that means it fits the spirit of DC.

Plus, props to whoever the guy was in the OBSD shirt who was jamming to Raw Power by the Stooges. Made my day.

[Chris]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

... I was hanging out by Lost's booth, and was checking out all the cool gadgets and puzzles for the mystery box competition while 100+ people are crowding around someone playing gh2, it just didn't feel right.

I think this alone proves the value of the contest. If 100+ people are standing around watching don't you think some folks are getting enjoyment out of it?

Roamer, I agree with you, and I know I shouldn't care about it. I was thinking more in the context of actf vs gh2. They are different types of fun to different people, so you got me there. I also would agree that coffee wars and beer wars have nothing to do with hacking, so you got me again....you win. :)

It should be noted that I am always right. Never forget that

[ck3k]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

Some good input, and really I did see people having fun, and that is a big part of defcon. The "Hack or Halo" event put on by Shmoo rocks, because it is a hybrid of the two and eventually a showdown at the end. I think why I posted this was because I was hanging out by Lost's booth, and was checking out all the cool gadgets and puzzles for the mystery box competition while 100+ people are crowding around someone playing gh2, it just didn't feel right.

Roamer, I agree with you, and I know I shouldn't care about it. I was thinking more in the context of actf vs gh2. They are different types of fun to different people, so you got me there. I also would agree that coffee wars and beer wars have nothing to do with hacking, so you got me again....you win. :)

Deviant, Frets on Fire has easy customizable songs, so I will see what I can do about making some up for the Minibosses. More importantly you can use the usb guitar hero guitar with Frets, so it is a cool alternative to an expensive proprietary game, but with just as much fun.

[theprez98]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

Sorry, I had much more depth and thought behind that general blurb, but mfreeck is about to kick my ass.

We all know who is in charge.

[converge]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

Black Badges

okay.. I just made a decent rant on this, but my browser crashed and I've gotta hit the road.

The gist of it was that Black badges have become way too common and easy to attain. It is currently rated on contests that attract people and the contestants that win them. I'm not saying it needs to be based on technical level or whatnot, but that the badges need to go to those that make the stories we talk about all year and the years to come. LosT and his crazy contest, his general hacker attitude and involvement bringing everyone into the fold; Apollo walking in a script kiddie and taking on the pros in CTF. These are the people that need to be awarded and recognize with something as cool as the badge.

There should be one, or two, or maybe 5 max.. that getting made yearly, but not necessarily awarded unless deserving. Sure, save one or two for novelty of a new amazing awesome contest/event/thing that gets all the attendees riled up, but not necessarily year after year. Make the badge something you've gotta be involved for, more so than just participating in a stock contest and coming out on top. Then get _those_ folks up on stage at Closing Ceremonies to tell of their stories.

Sorry, I had much more depth and thought behind that general blurb, but mfreeck is about to kick my ass.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

It is great to recognize winners, but parading them up in front of folks in ALL cases is just too drawn out.

this may sound like me patting myself on the back, and while i generally don't like to do that... in this case i'll make a small exception.

i really wish there was a way for more of the contest and events folks to incorporate some sorts of pictures or other visuals in their closing ceremony presentation. hell, each year i've actually been satisfied with my little 15 seconds of fun simply because i talk really fast, give some brief details and highlights, show a lot of funny photos of what people did, then get the hell away from the microphone and spend the rest of the time swagging out free shit to the crowd and finding my winners later, offstage, where i can give them their prizes.

i'd be willing to go through the trouble of putting together everyone's photos and whatnot if they wanted to coordinate it with me... just to give the crowd something to look at while the closing is going on.

[Chris]

Re: WTF is up with guitar hero at Defcon

I would also challenge the folks organizing the ceremony to steal away from just awarding contest winners and focus it back on a wrapup of crazy stuff at Defcon. Just like contests aren't guaranteed a black badge, don't guarantee contest runners a spot in the ceremony unless they can dig up something noteworthy and fun. Closing Ceremonies, not Award Ceremonies.

I agree with this, but it is a delicate balance. Part of the fun of competing in a contest is the recognition you get from winning. An example is the debates on here about the black badge (should i get to wear it all con and show my awesomeness/should it be turned in/my contest isn't black badge worthy/my contest is black badge worthy but YOUR contest isn't). Obviously the contests and what winning them means is important to people.

I think it might be cooler to have two different events. One, an awards ceremony where ALL contest winners are recognized and contest organizers have time to talk about their events. The other, a true closing ceremony where a few of the cool stories from the contests are relayed by the organizers (as chosen by Russ/DT/Zac) but the bulk is just ending the show. Here is what was cool this year, here is what wasn't, etc.

I think folks would drift in and out of the contest awards ceremony, and it could be as long as necessary, whereas the closing ceremony would be set at an hour and would probably have folks there the entire time.