Video Games Live

I'm Dave Lim, otherwise known as the PICK ME PLEASE! sign guy that was at VGL in Toronto. Here's my take of it all!

The day started when I called my friend and asked him if he wanted to come with me. Sadly, he couldn't because he had work later that day, but had he known earlier about the date, he would have requested time off for this event. He told me that there was audience interaction during the event, so I headed on over to the VGL site for more details. There, it boasted about giving away a $3000 laptop (Acer Ferrari) to the winners of the interactive symphony at every city. I had only wanted to take in a live performance of video game music, but after reading that, I was a man on a mission.

That laptop was mine to seize!

I immediately started to do some research about past VGL performances, which led me to an OCRemix thread and this thread. I learned that the first game was Space Invaders and the second one was Frogger. I did not need any practice with Frogger, as I whored the game out when I was seven years old on my Commodore 64. Did you know that the best one-button joystick of all-time, the official Atari 2600 rubber joystick, works on the C64? Anyway, I needed some work with Space Invaders, as I never played that one as much as Frogger.

Someone on this thread stated that the best strategy for Space Invaders was to take out a column at a time, presumably to allow for a safe spot when things heated up. After some practice via emulation, I determined that there were two ways to tackle this: Either shoot through the shields and play aggressively, or strafe and only fire through the cracks. I decided on the latter, as I assumed there would be some lag between my movements and the actions on the screen. Also, I would only need to take one step to the side in order to avoid being shot instead of going back and forth should the shields disappear.

Now I needed a way to get up onto the stage. Someone on OCRemix said that one should be on the main floor making as much noise as possible when Tommy scans the audience. This meant that I had to purchase the best tickets in the house. I also learned that only three people (one for Space Invaders, two for Frogger) were going to participate in total. How could I stand out against hundreds of fellow gamers? That's when I came up with the idea about making a sign. I could not find any bristol board around, so I improvised by duct-taping two pieces of cardboard together. Then I took four letter-size sheets of paper, taped them to form a 17"x22" canvas, and wrote down "PICK ME PLEASE!" using a faded dry-erase marker.

I had my strategy, my sign, and my drive. Now I had to put it all together and hope that I would be one of the three lucky people to be picked.

I went downtown and cashed my work paycheque (ugh, dishwashing) at a loan shop because I didn't open a bank account a few days ago. I don't recommend it... 3 percent plus 3 dollars doesn't sound like much, but it tacked on another $11 to my expenses.

Then I walked one block down to Massey Hall. I purchased a $59.50 ticket... wait. The ticket guy told me that after service charges, it would be $70. Lame, but okay. He then told me that I would be seated in the ninth row. Excellent! He had a bewildered look as I presented the sign and told about my plan as he readied the ticket.

I went downstairs and entered the raffle for a poster signed by all sorts of people in the video game industry, as well as some rather weird inclusions such as Gary Coleman. Then I went back up and seated myself.

The person sitting next to me was a fine man named Luke, and we chatted for a while before the show began. He grinned and told me he purchased his tickets at around the same time I did, while his friends who reserved tickets a few weeks ago had to sit all the way at the back. He was attending the fan expo that day, and I told him my tale about my unsatisfying experience in 2003 (another story for another day). We joked about what would happen if the person fixing the overhead lights slipped and fell. Then I told him about my plan to get up onto the stage. He said he would support me during the audience scan.

The musicians took the stage, and the lovely hostess Becky introduced the event. There was some lukewarm applause, and Becky knew we could be a lot better. We were. Then she presented the entrants for the costume contest. The finalists were Scorpion, Zelda, and Solid Snake (in a box), and the winner would be determined by applause. The winner was, of course, Solid Snake, who then lifted his box up to reveal his outfit.

The orchestra warmed up, and Jack, the conductor, leaped out on stage. He then raised his arms for each section for noise. The balcony levels were the loudest; I was trying my hardest to make the floor level respectable, but our section was full of adults who did not want to clap or yell. It's the Toronto Maple Leafs syndrome; the best seats were purchased by fans who were... erm, more reserved about their love of gaming, while the cheap seats were filled with adolescents with a lot of energy.

I won't delve into the lineup since it has been already covered by others, but needless to say, it was all wonderful. Amazing stuff, especially the soprano who did the opera solos.

After Castlevania, Tommy came out and introduced himself and Jack. Then it was time for... AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION! Tommy explained what was going on, and my heart pounded as the adrenalin shot through my body. The moment he muttered the words I need a member from the audience, I stood up, lifted the sign over my head, and shouted TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY at the top of my lungs. Tommy appeared to be surprised at the sight of someone with a sign, and...

I WAS CALLED UP!

Yes! I went up to the stage and lifted the sign up for all to behold to the delight of the audience. Then he asked me about Space Invaders. I told him that I hadn't played it since I was a wee lil' kid, but I didn't tell him that I strategically planned for this very moment. He then told me to put on a T-shirt with the sprite of the defender (which I kept putting on backwards much to the chagrin of Tommy), and told me I was the ship. I shouted in euphoria, repeating his words, but Tommy misheard and reiterated that I was the ship, not the shit. The loudest roar of laughter of the night ensued.

Tommy asked for a two-minute timer. He told me to flail my arms in order to fire. Then he told me the most important thing... the red ship that would fly across the screen would be holding a big prize. I assumed that target was for the grand poobah, the Acer Ferrari, which was in a black box by Jack's side.

I was ready! I was prepared! How could I lose? That laptop was mine! Then it began...

The other two reports in this thread had the Space Invaders players losing. Now I know why. There was a two-second lag between my movements and the actions on the screen, making any action outside the shields a gamble. I lost a life in the first ten seconds. On the second life, I attemped to move between the second and third shields, but it kept moving me behind the shields. I yelled in agony as I tried to adjust, and I lost yet another life. Eventually I cleared two columns, but by then it was too late, as the enemies were getting too close to the shields. Then the red ship flew by at the worst possible moment; the moment after I dodged to the right in order to avoid a shot. I tried to move all the way to the left side in order to get off a flurry of shots, but the lag made it impossible to catch up. Noooooooooo! My laptop! :aargh:

Ten seconds later I lost my last life. I didn't last two minutes, and I couldn't even destroy half the enemies. I keeled over and hung my head as I awaited my fate. What an embarrassment. All that work for nothing...

But then Tommy announced that I would still receive something! As well as keeping the t-shirt, Tommy gave me a Radeon X1800 GTO (the budget version of the X1800 XL), and a copy of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. He then informed the audience about ATI's Canadian roots. Due to my hyper-competitive nature, I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed because I really wanted the laptop. However, I could not complain one bit as the consolation package was worth approximately $375.

Luke was proud of me and said that the loss wasn't my fault, that I was set up to fail. During the intermission, more people came up to me, talked about the sign in general, and asked for my picture. It seems that due to my unique way of getting myself noticed, I became an instant celebrity among the other attendees. They told me that it would be all over the internet, that there would be many imitators at future VGLs. Know that I was the original.

After intermission was over, Becky said they picked two people during intermission for the Frogger duel. I immediately raised my eyebrow when she escorted a teenage girl and an older gentleman out. Didn't one of the VGL reports in this thread also mention a teenage girl and an older gentleman being picked? Then Tommy put up a 90 second timer and talked about the Acer Ferrari for the winner while a shot of the laptop was displayed on the big screen. Wait a sec... I only saw one laptop besides Jack. Could it be that I never had a chance of winning it?

I told Luke that they picked a teenage girl and an older gentleman before, and since the girl won last time, I declared that the girl would also win this time. The gentleman went first, receiving a real controller. Great... had I saved my sign up for Frogger, I would have had a much easier time playing for the laptop. Instead, I watched him make mistakes such as avoiding the pink frog (worth 200 extra points upon reaching home) and mistiming log jumps. In the end, he put 4 out of 5 frogs in, scoring 2590 points.

Then the girl came up. While she also avoided the pink frog, she was good enough to complete the level right before the 90-second timer expired, scoring bonus points from the game timer. As a result, she trumped the gentleman's score with 4620 points and walked away with the laptop. *sniff* I hardly knew ye, oh Acer Ferrari...

Then the rest of the lineup played out, but man, can Martin Leung play the piano. That blindfold video was so not fake, as he did it again in front of our very eyes. Tommy put a hand up to his face and shook his head as Martin played Earthworm Jim banjo-style (Tommy said earlier that Earthworm Jim wasn't done because they couldn't find a banjo player). Later on, Tommy mentioned that the winning GH2 score was around 81600 points. I don't play GH2, so I wouldn't know if that score was good or bad.

After it was over, I went downstairs for the Meet 'n Greet. More pictures of me and the sign were taken. Then Becky came over and talked to each of the people waiting in line. Wow, is she ever gorgeous. Then I noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes, leaving her feet solely covered by see-thru pantyhose. Man, that's hot! Wow, seeing her like that totally made my day because it made her cuter than ever.

AND I DON'T HAVE A DIGITAL CAMERA, ARRRRGH!

But someone else took a picture with the two of us. Wow, her skin felt so smooth... but she probably already has a boyfriend anyway. Oh well, I cherished what little time I spent with her.

I got a bunch of video game-related people to autograph their name on the sign. While speaking to Martin, I told him that his web site needed to be a bit more personal, that he should write a blog or something. Martin said that he would take my suggestion into consideration. Then I got to speak with Jack and Tommy. Jack admitted that the controller for Space Invaders wasn't working too well for the correspondent (aha! I was sabotaged!), while Tommy said that after seeing the sign, he had to pick me. They said that I was the very first person to come up with the idea of using a sign to stand out. I wished them the very best as I shook their hands one final time.

As I left the Meet 'n Greet area, I shouted PICK ME PLEASE one more time for one last round of cheering. Then someone said I sucked at Defender. I told him that the game was Space Invaders! Jeez, you'd think the name would be easy to remember, eh?

Looking back, I should have had Becky sign the sign too. :doh:

Out of all the video gaming experiences I ever had, such as winning the very first Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament in Canada at Playdium in 2001, or being declared Toronto's Pokemon master by the Nintendo tour crew in 2000, or meeting the Pure Pwnage (purepwnage.com) cast last March, I can safely say that this topped them all. It would have been #1 even if I hadn't won anything... but the prizes were the cherries on top of a deliciously smooth sundae.

Thank you Tommy, Jack, and the whole choir, orchestra, and stage crew for putting this all together and giving thousands of people a performance they will never forget. I can only dream of having the job you do, travelling from city to city in order to deliver a unique, unforgettable experience. Whatever you are planning in the future, do know that Toronto will always welcome you with open arms. I'll be telling everyone I know about it.

Total amount spent: $106 (tix, fees, transit)

Now if only there was a picture of Becky's feet in pantyhose... :dopey_love:

Jam it back in, in the dark.