I'm ready to hear some first person accounts about CAX.

M1A

Well-known member

Donor 2011
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
10,269
Reaction score
2,027
Location
Seattle, California
I'm ready to hear some first person accounts about CAX.

Some of you guys are back home. Let's hear it. The clips from Parrothead are great, and the random few pics that have been posted are fantastic. But lets hear it already!

- M1A
 
It was crap.. Smelly people everywhere.. Phet giving me the reach around every chance he had. Other Klovers pointing out every flaw on the games. Chris trying to sell monitor chassis to everyone. Poor Jow getting the anal grease off his back seats.

lol,
Kevin
 
I thought it was good overall, but then again it was my first ever. I heard the smaller venue wasn't necessarily bad. More games, just less room to play them. The half hour early admission was a joke. Pre-registered people had to get in line with people who didn't register at all. I got there at 10:15 and didn't get in until around 11. No worries though as there was plenty of time to play.

Handful of games I wanted to play that were not working or unavailable: Radar Scope, Super Mario Bros. Pinball, Paperboy, 720.

Handful of games that were available that I got to play: Arm Wrestling, DKII (Prototype), Star Wars Cockpit, Bubbles, Track & Field.

Yes, the smell was there. I'm pretty sure several guys farted near me. Either that, they just smelled that way.

It was awesome meeting a lot of KLOV members and chatting it up about how many games we had, how little room we had in our homes, what we've been working on, etc. etc.

So overall: you get to meet cool people and play cool games. What more could you ask for? (Well, other than all working games and a Paperboy).
 
... Yes, the smell was there. I'm pretty sure several guys farted near me. Either that, they just smelled that way. ...

Lol. I'm curious to hear Josie's take on this... :D
 
CAX was great again this year, and the venue was setup perfectly IMO. You cant ask for more than walking 100 yards out of the venue to be able to hop on an elevator and go up to your room for beers/food/whatever you wanted. Some non video gaming friends were up from San Diego, and he and his wife had a blast as well.

I was physically in the gameroom off and on between 11a - 11p on Sat. I figured I would make it to 2a, but 12 hours of gaming is more than enough (especially when chasing a 1 year old around, and drinking the whole day, heh).

Spent A LOT of time playing Ice Cold Beer (didnt get to last year). That game is freaking awesome. I loved it. Also played lots of Quantum, Black Widow, Zookeeper, Bubbles, Arm Wrestling, Punch-Out (had the HS till Fly beat it late Sat night :) ), Burgertime (deco version which seems different than the regular), D2K, Sinistar, and my favorite Pin of all time: Taxi. Todd, I played your Domino Man a few times, but didnt "get it". The cab is freaking sweet though :D Also spent time with APB and Toobin (I will own both of those one day), and also logged a few games of Timber, Tapper (w/ the Simpsons ROMS), Blaster (WTF?), and Crystal Castles.

I was super dissapointed that there was no Paperboy cab, and like someone else mentioned 720 wasnt working, and neither was Radarscope. I did play a handful of Marble Man games (Marble Madness II), but playing MM with a joystick is just all kinds of wrong. Didnt like it at all. The game is cool, the graphics and music rock, but the controls killed it for me.

Finally got to meet Phet, and Chris and hung out/drank beers with them most of the time. It was great finally meeting Arcadejunkie, Vectorinvader, Endofline, Fly, XXI21, Gibbous, JeffC, and Josie. Got to see 8bitnintendo again, as well as FullThrottle, AG (didnt see as much of him as I would have liked), Sav and EVB. I saw a couple KLOVers playing games but never said hi as I didnt want to bug them. Got to meet Parrothead in the elevator on the way up for the night on Saturday, and it was nice sitting and bs'ing with Mike Snider again (though I dont think he is on KLOV).

I know a lot of people were mentioning the venue as being small, but I loved the Hyatt and hope they continue to have the event there. CAX was a blast, and I hope everyone there had a safe trip home.

Until next year...
 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I played Computer Space while at the show. No comment...

:D
 
Todd, I played your Domino Man a few times, but didnt "get it". The cab is freaking sweet though :D Also spent time with APB

What is APB?

I'm not sure what there is to get with Domino Man - its kind of a weird game. There is a youtube video of a guy doing quite well on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9iWTTq7SoM

I played the game as a kid, lots. But I don't remember it all that well and I don't recall if I was any good at it. The game is rare, that cab is in great shape, and most of my buys are nostalgic. I do remember I liked the game a lot, I just don't remember how good I was at it. I must have been 12 or 13 last time I played it. 26 years ago! Fuck I'm getting old.

Sounds like it was a great time. I'll be there next year unless something very unforeseen, like this time around, prevents me from attending.

- M1A
 
I definitely DIG major havoc. I do remember playing that as a kid now. I wouldn't mind having that game at some point.
Also, EVB should be considered a contender to make a run at FLY's world record in track and field.
It may or may not happen, but it definitely could.

I dig the game varkon? I think. williams pinball in an arcade cab. Cool game.

My new want list after this CAX:
Timber
varkon
Taxi pinball

probably lot's more, but I could see myself actively searching these out.
 
Just got back from the show myself. I will be picking up my games tomorrow. I really like the setup this year too. I live close, but still got a hotel so I could enjoy some beers without having to worry about the drive home. The proximity of the hotel bar was probably my favorite feature.

My games all worked the whole weekend (yay!) We were also able to get avidgeeks Food Fight going with my FF board. Big thanks to Avid for helping me get my games to the show this year.

So... 720 was working when I left the show today. Not sure what is up with that. I really enjoyed playing Chiller, Death Race, and Pole Position II. I also saw the Rock A Fier movie, which I thought was entertaining, but fairly average.

I saw some familiar faces, which was great. Didn't run into too many KLOVers that I had never met before. And Jow, how did we never run into each other this year? Crazy.
 
I'm still here at the hotel, still processing this glorious show! Random thoughts...

-Seeing all these weird prototype and rare games is in a way humbling...I just can't imagine how these few people have managed to get these one of a kind pieces. That being said, rare doesn't always equal good or fun. M1A, I played your Domino Man! Looks nice, but what a shitty game! :)

-Exidy games are so shitty! Man, you really appreciate the design and physics of Nintendo, Namco, etc when playing shit like Mouse Trap!

-Meeting new KLOV'rs in person was great, although seeing all the So Cal guys made it seem like I hadn't gone anywhere! Krakboi - I didn't mean to blow you off...I was annoyed that Julie hadn't gotten off the phone yet to get a decent seat with me for the Rock-a-Fire movie.

-I played Donkey Kong 2 fir the first time....I think I hate it. It's hard to the point of not being fun. An interesting hack, but I'll stick with the original

-Meeting pinball design legend Steve Ritchie (and seeing his entertaining panel discussion) was a highlight. He autographed my Spider-Man translight & BK2K backglass.

-Meeting Cliffy (maker of the best pinball protectors and color post sleeves) was great. One of the nicest guys of all time.

-I can't believe the raffle winner took the fucking Multicade over the pinball!!! Sure, it was Stern Indiana Jones, but still!

- $18 for the breakfast buffet at the hotel?!?! Seeeeya!!! Since I'm vegan, that's $18 for fruit and a bagel. Thankfully, there are a ton of food options near the hotel. There's a frigging Togo's on every corner in Santa Clara. We went to House of Bagels this morning, and Parrothead & his wife came in a few minutes later...joined us for breakfast. Sorry about the parking spot dude! ;)

-Finally got to play Big Bang Bar!!!! YAY! Some other good pinball rarities too, like Jolly Park, Orbitter 1, Transporter, etc.

-It was pretty packed the whole time. It was easier to get on the vids than pins...pins were always packed. Sometimes a group would be doing 4 player games on 2 machines at once....grrrrr. Still, I got to play everything I wanted!!!

-Julie's favorite game of the show was a proto puzzle game called Sparks. I didn't think the game was worth a shit - but she must have been on it for 3 hours!!!

-I was SO bummed that the Beavis & Butt-Head cab had a game called "Die Alien Scum" in it. That was the vid I wanted to see the most. :(

-I really liked the panel with the guy who found ROMs at a flea market containing unreleased Atari & Coleco games. So cool.

Overall, a great event and a grea time! I'm pooped...why is playing games so tiring?!?!
 
Saturday was the day to go but I had to work :( I came on Sunday for a few hours good to see all you guys.

Highlights for me were Mad Planets, Zookeeper, and Inferno. Radarscope was broken I really wanted to play that...Overall I had a good time looking forward to next year...
Jeff
 
More thoughts....

-Orbiter 1 pinball.....holy shit, that is the craziest thing ever!!! Messes w/ yer head!

-Can someone explain the appeal of Zookeeper?!?! Awful design concept, awful graphics (even for the time), awful controls, awful animation.

-There was a really sweaty guy making a video of himself playing Klax for a long time. Breaking a record I guess? There were 3 or 4 Klaxes at the show!

-Whats the point of the cockpit Missile Command!? I dunno, but it was kinda cool. :)

-I taught a kid how to play Popeye. That was one of my favorites then I was his age...I figured it out! How can kids figure out Guitar Hero & Halo....but a game w/ 4 directions and 1 button blows their minds.
 
Krakboi - I didn't mean to blow you off...I was annoyed that Julie hadn't gotten off the phone yet to get a decent seat with me for the Rock-a-Fire movie.

No sweat... Space was getting limited in there for sure.

I also forgot a couple of things.... The Guitar Hero Arcade game was pretty cool. I thought the song selection was great. Also, amazing DDR guy was stellar as usual.
 
I thought the new location was as good as the old one, maybe better. The music late Saturday night when they turned the lights down was too loud (minor complaint). Free parking was good, had to pay for parking at the old location if I remember right. Too many dead/broken games.
 
A new and improved CAX. I think it was a great way to ring in show #13....props to everyone involved, jkoolpe, TJ, Ken Chaney, Mark Birching, and all the others (who I might be forgetting). Of course, the show couldn't happen w/o the community that bring their colllections.

My first impression of the new venue was too small, but I soon realized the illusion was partly caused by the lower ceilings and L-shaped room. Many positives from this year's CAX vs negatives.

Really the only negatives were too many duplicate games taking up space for other non-dupe games. There were (4) Star Wars games, two uprights, two cockpits. Not needed.... SW is popular but c'mon what waste of space. I got the feeling that a lot of the games there were strictly for sales purposes...mainly the two SW cockpits. Nothing wrong with wanting to sell your games, but If space is a premium....leave the game at home and sell it elsewhere.

The Guitar Hero Arcade version was cool. Come On Baby is a f'n weird game but something I must have now. AceJedi's laser collection was representing and stayed working the entire show. Stick that in your LGSA pipe and smoke it. There were typical amounts of non-working games, mine included. Koolpe and Krakboi helped me get Food Fight up and running, thanks to both. Played Tank 8....some good multiplayer fun. LOVE THE MUSIC VIDEO WALL. This was the first year I put in some selections. Didn't play any pinball, no Heavy Metal Meltdown. :(

Good times meeting Phet and Chris285193848437, also Shanman, Gregatron and Josie. If you haven't met Josie....make it a point to buy tickets for her next showing, she's worth the price of admission. And yes....I had some of the cookies. The enire table full of cookies were gone within 15 min.

No Mr. Awesome...that was a bummer. Leslie showed up and we talked (about Corba Comnad), saw Jow and his family for all of 10 minutes. Hung out with the usual suspects..... AceJedi, Full Throttle, Arcadejunkie, 8bitnintendo, DogP, Lonnie, pm1899, caddysrule....et al.

There were more women this year than last....and yes, the annual pictoral will be posted in the coming days.

The hotel food was expensive but to be expected. $12 hamburger actually tasted pretty damn good...so I had no problem paying that. I did have a problem with the IHop down the street....damn they're SLOOOOOOOW.

I'm back in my hotel room crashing for a few hours before heading back home.
 
I'm just happy to say that all of my games kept running for the entire show. Though the TV in C.S. really wants to die any day now. Especially after the horizontal coil died during moving it. (could've already been broken...it's always been touchy) Death race survived with only a microswitch coming and going. The Tank and Satan's Hollow were rock solid. A good first time as an exhibitor.

Now that I have some games that are worth taking (and that survived the show) I'll hopefully have time to finish the prototype vector game I'm working on for next year's show!

As always, I saw many things that I want. None of which were for sale. (I'm looking at you B&W and vector owners! :) ) Met a few KLOVers for a change. That was great. But I promptly forgot how to match names/faces. I missed the group photo...again. Maybe I should make that an official _TRADITION_? Almost finished the 4th level on Arabian. The 3rd level kicked my behind as a youngster. Played Chiller. That was sick! How'd they get that past the angry parents?? Missed the cool panels that I wanted to attend. But that's ok...I played serious amounts of games instead. Tank 8 ruled. Only 7 working stations, but we filled those up a few times for some massive carnage. I hope it returns next year. And somebody needs to bring an Indy 800/Sprint 8. I know they exist.
 
And Jow, how did we never run into each other this year? Crazy.

The *only* time I saw you was when I was heading up to the room to put Sam down for a nap, and you were in the middle of playing Spy Hunter. I figured I would be right back down and come say hi, but never saw you again. I felt like I saw a bunch of faces I didn't know over, and over, but didn't see a whole lot of KLOVers over and over. Where the hell was everyone hiding? ;)

Rarehero - You are absolutely right that Pins were much harder to get on than the vids. I had to wait until Sat night after 10p to get to play Taxi. I freaking love that game.
 
Last edited:
-Can someone explain the appeal of Zookeeper?!?! Awful design concept, awful graphics (even for the time), awful controls, awful animation.

I felt the same way playing it on MAME until I did my first four animal jump. When you see 6000 points appear on the screen, it feels pretty good. Now, I think it's a great game. As for the sound, I like the brick sound. My son thinks it's a gun sound.
 
Back
Top Bottom