Otaku Event Brainstorm

[Ellerby]

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]
So that's more what I'm thinking of. But until we have enough people interested in actually running such a podcast, I don't think it will happen. I personally don't have the time to do it and it would be a big commitment.[/font][/QUOTE]
[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Well, what if we do get enough people interested? I mean really, how many other members are regularly checking this thread? This is a great idea that could bring the whole community together more and I think it'd be a shame if it didn't happen.

I'll do anything I can to help launch this and if that means just getting more members interested then I'll get on that.

This would be a really unique podcast in that it would be made by the community [i]for[/i] the community. If this was started we could create a Podcast thread where any member can drop in their own ideas for future podcasts. It would keep members interested and it would also keep each Podcast episode fresh and new.

I really like this idea and I don't want to see it just passed over like all the other ideas in this thread. What is the point of this thread if we never do any of the events, anyway?[/COLOR][/FONT]

[liamc2]

[FONT="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="1"]I have to say, I love where this brainstorming is going.

My suggestion for making this Podcast work would be to create a forum for such things and then recruit new moderators specific for the podcast task. We have some of the most dedicated moderators on the web, we might as well use them.

Not to mention that if the mod in charge of podcast collaboration disappears, you can always recruit someone new and get the ball rolling again. It'd actually be pretty impressive to see a Podcast team working together, frequent changes and new flavours for OB Radio ^_^[/SIZE][/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I don't think the issue is so much that the ideas in this thread are being passed over, it's just that we do not have an Event Master currently. I need to recruit someone new.

Having said that, I almost think that the podcast thing would not be a regular "event", but rather, it would be an ongoing feature of the site. So we'd need to recruit people specifically for it. And if we want to do it as an ongoing feature, I will want to make sure that we have dedicated people involved who aren't going to let the community down.

Aside from this though, I think that there are a lot if great ideas in here for actual events. Good work, guys. [/font]

[Claire]

[FONT="Arial"]I really love the Podcast idea, but I'm a bit weary of volunteering to help because I'm somewhat notorious for not finishing what I start. I think if I didn't have much responsibility it wouldn't be too hard for me to stick with it, but that would be lame of me to ask for.

I like the idea of interviewing members though, haha. I love talking about myself. :P

I'm also keen on the idea of including original music that members have made, since I'm a musician myself.

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]I'm just not sure how to go about recording Skype conversations - maybe someone can advise us on that?[/font][/QUOTE]

Depending on your soundcard, you can record whatever audio your computer is playing using a program such as [U][URL="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"]Audacity[/URL][/U] using the "Stereo Mix" or "Wave Out Mix" function.

I'm not sure if this is the best possible way of doing such thing, but it's the only way I know how to do it. Unfortunately I accidentally destroyed my original soundcard that had this capability, and the one I have now doesn't. (This is the second one I've tried, because the first new one couldn't do it either. Sigh).[/FONT]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I'd love to be a co-host or any kind of regular for a podcast. I could do news or something. If this ever gets off the ground, let me know what I can do.[/FONT]

[Charles]

When I get the time, I would still really like to do the event I suggested in this thread, such a long time ago.

However, I have something a bit easier to work with for the time being. When I think of events, I like to think of something meaninful, accessible, and different. With that in mind, I suggest an OtakuBoards "Time Capsule." Now, I have not been very active for a while, so forgive me if this has been suggested elsewhere--but if not, here's how it will work:

We can create a thread where members will start by telling us about themselves (i.e., their interests, goals, feelings, where they want to be in a year from now, two years, links to current events, etc). Additionally, members can contribute anything--it's a really open idea. Poetry, pictures, shout-outs to friends--it's really up to the userbase to decide what they want to put into the capsule.

When the event closes, the thread can be moved to a staff forum or somewhere where users cannot view it and in a year or two we will move it back to the event forum where everyone can see it.

With how much people constantly look up old threads and talk about the old days, I think this theme would be appealing.

Again, apologies if this has already been suggested! I am a little out of the loop.

[Boo]

[size=1]Okay, so I finally got myself to listen to some podcasts of people, mainly SarcasticGamer.com, and they've turned out to be quite a motivation to push through with the Podcast plan. Even when it's just one or two episodes for the sake of fun. Now, the guys from SarcasticGamer, even though they're just an unpaid community based podcast, got the help from someone with some studio-ish equipment. However, we've got a bigger community to [strike]ab[/strike]use stuff from, so yeah, there must be something somewhere!

What I noticed is that you need music. A podcast desperately needs music. Just the kind of music that no one would actually listen to and is completely in the background and sometimes becomes a bit louder between subjects or something. Musicians, help out here. Also, you need some catchy things like slogans and things like that.

However, most of all you need to have noted down exactly what you want the show to look like. So for example, let's say an OtakuBoards show would look like...
[list][*]Introduction / Opening Theme
[*]Highlights of the upcoming show
[*]Something in between
[*]Subjects, including e.g.:[list][*]Hot topics
[*]Member highlights
[*]Videogame review
[*]Anime review
[*]Art rants
[*]Rants about whatever discussion is going on[/list]
[*]Competition
[*]Member of the month
[*]Thankses
[*]Bye byes
[*]Some signature ending[/list]
Okay, so that would be a big deal. Then, of course the whole show recording. Well, there are [url=http://www.voip-sol.com/15-apps-for-recording-skype-conversations/]plenty of programs to record Skype conversations[/url] and seeing as Skype would be great for the job... Yay! As I type this, I have downloaded and installed something called "Freecorder Toolbar" which should do something at least. Though, it's the middle of the night and I don't fee like searching for anything better. We could even have a TeamSpeak or Ventrilo channel to talk in. Then those recordings we could edit and put together with music and all with our good friend Audacity! Once I get the hold of it, I could even use Sony's ACID Pro 6.0 for the job.

Then there's minor details like who would want to appear in the podcast, who has a radio voice, when people will meet (time differences), but it should not be as hard as it all sounds. Daily Otaku should be pretty inspirational for a bunch of content, anyway.

So, people. We require for now: [list=1][*]Dedicated members for at least one Podcast (after one Podcast the rest of them are a lot easier anyway.
[*]Content to talk about.
[*]Audio usable for the podcast. Think little slogans, epic introductions, short opening song, whatever.
[*]Well, that's about it. OtakuBoards can host the whole thing.[/list][/size]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Hey that's cool. I'd be willing to help out too, as i also have Skype. My Skype name is Korey_Kore. Just hit me up with a PM and we can do the dang thang. Would you have music themes in the beginning of the show? That'd be pretty dope. [/FONT]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Boo][size=1']What I noticed is that you need music. A podcast desperately needs music. Just the kind of music that no one would actually listen to and is completely in the background and sometimes becomes a bit louder between subjects or something. Musicians, help out here. Also, you need some catchy things like slogans and things like that.[/size][/quote]
[FONT=Arial]That kind of stuff is called musak. It's used a lot in elevators as well, and is basically a silence-filler. Although, I do think that fading musak out after so long would be good, so the listeners could focus on the content.

It works better if it's instrumental, since vocals would detract from the voices of the podcasters. Intro songs can be whatev, but if you notice television commercials that use popular songs as backdrops, they rarely use any of the lyrics aside from a pertinent phrase or two.[/FONT]

[Boo]

[size=1][oldpost]Yeah that was pretty much what I was trying to get at with the music. A bit more hip than the regular lift music would be okay though. Or we should have it v[i]e[/i]ry retro.[/oldpost]

Okay, James just showed me the button in the menubar that says "theOtaku podcast" that I for some reason always overlooked. Okay, well... yeah. We can take that as an example for a basis and then make something completely more cool and awesome and stuff like that!.. but first I am a bit busy with university. I am trying to get some things underway, really, though I can not come up with any content of course, because it would be incredibly old news by the time this thing is finally brought out.

Seriously, if people come up with things to add or find something incredible to use for podcasts and such, please let us know, or send a PM if you are a bit shy. I am a bit of a rookie in PodCasting apart from having listened to a few, so yeah, we can use all the help we can get. [/size]

[Guest Kaimaster]

What about an Art contest?

The Moderators could pick the jugdes for each contest or they could be the jugdes themselves if they want.
I'll start the first contest.
The winner of the first contest will pick topic the next topic.
The winner of the second contest will pick that next topic and so on and on.

[Gavin]

[quote name='Kaimaster']What about an Art contest?

The Moderators could pick the jugdes for each contest or they could be the jugdes themselves if they want.
I'll start the first contest.
The winner of the first contest will pick topic the next topic.
The winner of the second contest will pick that next topic and so on and on.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Art contests are actually the purview of the [B]Art Studio[/B] rather than here at the Convention Center Kaimaster. As for the contest design itself, it sounds familiar but for the life of me I just can't remember what it was called. Boo would know I think he won it at one point if memory serves.

So yeah, this idea belongs more in the Art Studio than here.[/SIZE]

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"][B]Okay, before I suggest my own idea I would like to "bump" Charles' Time Capsule idea. Why has that not been done yet?![/B]

So my idea for an event is an OtakuBoards Board Game. I guess you could call it the OtakuBoards Game, lol. My idea goes a little further than just a bunch of us playing a board game online, though. Part of the actual event would involve everyone creating the board game.

We could start with a basic layout of the board game with a bunch of empty spaces. Then we could open up a discussion thread where anyone can jump in and give their 10 cents on what should be included in this board game.

Things like what different events should happen on each space? Should there be cards that can be "picked up?" And how can we tie in the OB aspect into it? Obviously there is a lot to be discussed which I think will help the event in the end because it will be the product of our cooperation as a forum and we'll all enjoy playing it.

If you don't want to participate in the first stage of production you can join the bandwagon during the second stage. This would involve making all the graphics. Cards, the board itself, spaces and player tokens are all things that need to be made.

The only problem I could think of was how each player would roll a die and so I came up with an alternative: posting. Let's say you get 1 turn to roll every week. There will be certain days where certain members (depending on what letter your user name starts with) can post a thread (or post [I]in[/I] a thread) in exchange for 1 space. At the end of the day all your spaces are added up and your character is moved forward.

There is definitely a lot that needs to be talked about before we can even make a discussion thread and even what I've written here is just the skeleton for us to build on but I really feel this idea has potential. What do you guys think about it?[/COLOR][/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Regarding the podcast, Boo, I have a couple of thoughts to add.

One, perhaps we should make the podcast development a community-wide thing. At least as far as possible anyway.

For instance, a structure could be developed and then we'll hold some auditions. Members who want to host their own segments or contribute can record a little sample and attach it.

Then we can either vote (or just discuss) who we think would be most suitable.

I think I could probably put together a podcast with lots of separate recordings. I have the software to do it (GarageBand), so I doubt it's too difficult. We'll see anyway.

All I'd really need are the recorded segments. I can put the music in and sync it all together I think.

This way each segment can be made individually and then it can all be put together. We'd just upload it and put together a news post about it too.

Thoughts? Comments?

And Lrb, I like your idea...I am just not sure if there is enough will/time with a lot of OBers to do something that involved. Plus it'd need a [i]very[/i] committed person to run it and keep it going. I think right now with so many people being committed to RPGs and stuff, it's unlikely.

We're better off to focus on short-term, "light" events. And the best way to find out if it'll be a success is to test it. Remember, now all members can make their own events. Gavin's role will be to assist/support you where he can.[/font]

[Gavin]

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]And Lrb, I like your idea...I am just not sure if there is enough will/time with a lot of OBers to do something that involved. Plus it'd need a [i]very[/i] committed person to run it and keep it going. I think right now with so many people being committed to RPGs and stuff, it's unlikely.

We're better off to focus on short-term, "light" events. And the best way to find out if it'll be a success is to test it. Remember, now all members can make their own events. Gavin's role will be to assist/support you where he can.[/font][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Seems you beat me to the punch James.

[B]Lrb[/B] I have to agree with James' point, at the moment I don't think people are really ready/willing to get involved in large protracted events where there's a lot of work before we even get to the test stages. Believe me I've been working on a sort of game event for the last two months and still having trouble getting everything together.

So yeah, if you want to try to shorten down, or lighten your event in some way it'd certainly stand a greater chance of success.[/SIZE]

[Guest Kaimaster]

Konoha High Musical game
lol
that would be funny to see.

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Yeah it would definitely be a big commitment on everyone's part. You guys are probably right. I'll still work on it in private though and see if I can size it down.

What about the Time Capsule, though? I think that's about as light as an event can get.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Kaimaster']Konoha High Musical game
lol
that would be funny to see.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"][b]Thread Merged[/b]

Kaimaster I've merged your Kononha High Musical idea in with the other Event Brainstorms because it's doesn't seem to be a finished event ready to be presented to the Boards.

You've got very little info in regard to what you actually expect out of this. Are you referring to something similar to the High School Musical series set in Naruto's Konoha ? I've never seen them myself, but clearly you need to define roles for applicants to fulfill, as well as how exactly this is going to be a community event. Are you going to adapt songs or try to write your own ?

I'm not trying to be negative towards you, it's simply my job to make sure events are ready and this one isn't I'm afraid. It's also my job to help people with their events so feel free to PM me for advice if you need it.[/SIZE]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Okay so, about the podcast for anyone interested, Boo has sent me a recording sample that I'll be playing around with shortly.

I've also downloaded Skype (and it looks great - I haven't used it in years, and never on Mac). My username on there is [b]blue_pikmin[/b]. Feel free to add me if you like.

I think I will soon create a new thread for podcast development. That way it'll be a bit less confusing and we'll have a bit more space to work on this without interrupting other ideas as well.[/font]

[Boo]

[size=1]We could even make a World for it.

But yeah, the thing is coming around nicely. I never fully realised before we started recording things that all of sudden OtakuBoards will have a voice of some sort. People will not only have faces and text around them anymore, but actual vocals. Neet, no?[/size]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Yep. I'm glad you liked the sample I sent to you. That literally took a few minutes to put together, so you can imagine the potential.

At this point I'm happy to continue using native stuff in GarageBand (music-wise), since there's plenty in there and there are no copyright issues (although that shouldn't be a worry for us, given that it's non-commercial).

However we can really use whatever we want. The bigger issue now is finding regular hosts and getting something more solid put together.

We will have to test some of this Skype recording stuff shortly, because I think that's another important piece of the puzzle.[/font]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Hey I'm always down for helping you guys out too. I have Skype and can record the calls pretty flawlessly into mp3 format. The interviews might take a while though, because of the 18 min capacity the thing records calls at. But I'm sure it's easy as pie to put those together :D

If you guys are interested, my Skype name is [B]Korey_Kore[/B] and I'll be glad to add you on. Let's get this rolling![/FONT]

[Boo]

[size=1]Skype cannot find you, but anyway, my Skype nickname is [b]Ping Pong Smiley[/b], without the spaces. Don't ask about it. I don't know.[/size]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]Guys if you like I can move this to a separate thread so that everything doesn't get cluttered here.

Anyway I'd definitely get involved in the whole podcast thing now that I have a working mic and an internet connection which doesn't drop a VOIP call every ten seconds. [B]Zeitgeist.Glee[/B] if you want to get in contact.[/SIZE]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]It's okay, Gavin, I'm going to create an entirely new thread from scratch related to this. So I'd ask the interested podcasters to hold off 'till then (I'll probably have it up later tonight).

There are still a lot of things to iron out anyway. We can really focus on it in that thread.

So to anyone else reading, please feel free to continue using this thread for general ideas as well.[/font]