I was just chatting with some of the team members and realized that three weeks from now we will be in the Convention Center setting up for this year’s DEVASTATION. I was asked by one of new members “What does that look like, what all do we have to do?” and I thought it would be fun to share with the community just what that does look like…
Let’s talk numbers.
At this years event we are bringing in around 30 Playstation 3s, 20 Xbox 360s, 10 Wiis, 10 Playstation 2s, 16 PCs, 3 to 5 arcade machines, 6 Retro Gaming systems and around 6-10 Community-ran Casual Set ups. That puts us around 100 gaming stations for the weekend, right?
Of course, those are just the gaming systems… we have 85, 6 foot tables, 15, 10×10 booths, a 40 foot stage, 500 chairs and a ton of other audio visual and broadcast equipment as well.
So, what does it look like?
Tuesday
- Well, Tuesday we head over to the super secret DEVASTATION storage bunker and pack up a semi-truck full of stuff to haul down there Wednesday morning. It sounds innocent enough until you pack in that twentieth 27 inch television and realize that there are still dozens more waiting to be loaded, let alone all the other stuff on the “list”.
Wednesday
- The morning of the 16th the team meets down at the Phoenix Convention Center to unpack the truck and set up all the tables, gaming stations, booths, stage, etc. As daunting of a task this part is it is really exciting to watch an empty room be converted to a small gaming city.
- Throughout the day various Supporters are ferried in to set up their areas and AV crews are on-hand to install everything from the internet services to projectors and screens to the broadcast equipment.
- With a dash of luck, we can leave Wednesday night with a completely set up room, tested and ready to go. On a personal note, that is something to look forward to… no staying up to drive across town at 3:00 AM to haul 6 pallets of 90 pound TVs, but I digress.
Thursday
- With the aforementioned Lady Luck smiling upon us, Thursday is a day filled with stress tests, fine-tuning, hanging out, and relaxation until the VIP Party at 6:00 PM.
It is funny, when you write it out like that it seems so simple… the reality is that it never is, even with the best plans in place and I wonder what the “big” pre-event, set up issue will be this year? My money is on stage-related equipment.
For me, the real fun is in the planning and execution of the event. Sure, I love playing games as much as the next guy but to plan and build an event and watch it come to fruition is the real driving force behind DEVASTATION for me. Walking through the set up here has got me geared up and ready to go – I cannot wait to see all of you out here!
Get over to the registration page now and get registered, you only have 19 days left to do so before it closes. Remember, if you are competing and have not paid, you are NOT registered, get it done!
