I would like to know if there are any people here that are living in the Toronto or Montreal area that would be interested in organizing weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly puzzle game tournaments. The tournaments could have entry fees ranging between $10 - $100. The top 10%, 20%, or 30% of the players could be paid, depending on the amount entrants. For example, the prize structure for a $10 tournament with ten entrants would be 1st place $50, 2nd place $30, 3rd place $20. We could create a system where players would earn points by playing puzzle games like Tetris (square N64 emulator, Ultra, marathon versus mode - XBOX 360) Columns (Genesis emulator) Super puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD (The new version that will be released in September 2007) DR. Mario (versus mode level 10, N64 emulator). Some tournaments could be for players that enjoy playing one of the games that I mentioned, and other tournaments could involve playing a combination of all of the games. Respond and let me know what you think.
Wow, with the way most of you guys talk about Tetris I thought that I would have had at least one response from a member living in my area. Then again there are only 236 registered users. Ok, forget about Montreal and Toronto. Are there any members in the North eastern United States that are interested in what I described in my original post? I would actually be willing to travel to any continent to attend a puzzle game tournament if it was organized properly and the first prize was at least 10X the cost of the entry fee and my traveling expenses. Am I really the only one here that would like to have the opportunity to play puzzle games for cash? I just dont see the point in spending countless hours mastering a recreational hobby if you are not getting something out of it. (Knowledge, money, improving your physical health) Most people can have fun playing videogames without receiving a real reward but I am not one of those people. When I was younger my friends and I used to compete against each other for money in any recreational activity that was purely based on skill. (Basketball, tennis, football, sprinting and long distance running, chess, videogames) The one activity where I always dominated was videogames. (Specifically puzzle games like Tetris, track and field games that involved the rapid pushing of one or two buttons, and the 3 point contest in NBA live) In the present, I have very few friends that are willing to play me for money in the games that I enjoy. Most of my friends would rather play poker. (A game that I hate) The popularity of poker is one of the reasons why I have become obsessed with the idea of playing puzzle games for cash. I envy the professional poker players that are able to earn enormous amounts of money playing a recreational activity that they enjoy. I would love to have the opportunity to walk into casino and play a real game of skill like Tetris. MLG would be an option for me, but unfortunately it is almost impossible to be a professional videogame player in North America if you hate shooters. I was never fan of videogames that embraced senseless violence and the ignorance of humanity.
I live in Toronto and would love your money. We'd have to play a real game though, so no Columns or Dr. Mario. That might sound a bit harsh but those games really aren't that skillful/deep. And preferably Tetris would be a Tetris the Grand Master game... I can provide the game hardware. But if you truly insist on The New Tetris for some bizarre reason, some other dude in Toronto who goes by the name Millartime would love your money I'm sure.
...or we can just get Tetris DS to make things a little less complicated, albeit more bizarre for ARS purists.
I'll play you in Evolution for money. Unless you want to travel, I'd need to play you online, though.
i'm sure i would never see you in the arcade pumping quarters (dollars now?). it's good enough for me that there are free games out there to play, some better than those they are modeled after.
Skillful/deep? Once you take away the animations, all Tetris style puzzle games are pretty much the same. Sure, there are some subtle differences, but the games are basically testing your logic, dexterity, and your speed (reaction time). Tetris is basically about using the pieces that you get to build a wall in the most logical way. (Keeping the top of the wall as flat as possible) Columns and Dr. Mario is basically about thinking 2,3 or 4 moves ahead (combos) when youre dropping your pieces. My favorite puzzle game is Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo because the game is a combination of gem building, thinking ahead, attacking at the right time, and extreme speed (If your playing on the fastest level). I never had the opportunity to play TGM, but The New Tetris for N64 is the game that I enjoyed the most thus far, because the game is a combination of cube and wall building. I also liked the music in the game. It would be foolish of me to challenge you in TGM seeing as how I never played the game. I only play people for money when my skill level in a game has reached a point where I can say that I cant get much better. I am sure that most of the members on this site know what I am talking about. Its when two skilled players can compete against each other and they can both say that the first one to make a mistake is going to lose. BTW, was that you playing in TGM link? Who ever it was, it was very impressive. Ive seen a couple of other TGM videos on the net and that was the best one that I have seen so far. The players in the other videos made more mistakes.
How is that going to work? It would be nice if we were living in a world where we could all trust each other, but can I really expect you to wire some money to one of my online accounts if I win?
You might want to read this article before spouting out ignorant statements about TGM. http://bsixcentdouze.free.fr/tc/tgm-en/tgm.html By the way, these other TGM videos with lots of "mistakes" have nothing to do with the second game in the TGM series do they? Does Death mode ring a bell?
Except that I'm not sure that you really do know what you're talking about. More often than not, it's not the first mistake that makes a difference, but the last mistake...
I don't wish to sound overly pessimistic but the reason noone had replied is this: Poker professionals make a good living because their game includes a strong element of chance. This leads to short term variance which deludes weaker players into thinking they are actually competitive versus stronger players (in addition to making strong players harder to identify quickly in the first place). The fact is they are ignorant of the fact that nearly every move they make has a negative expectation (regardless of the result of any particular hand). Pure skill games do not have this facade, so unless he or she is a hustler, the stronger player is often evident before you even start. So the problem is, why would anyone knowingly stake money when they are giving up an edge? Players will only stake their money in skill games if they are confident they are better than their oppenents, so your tournament entries would dry up extremely quickly when everyone realises the same 3 or 4 players are cashing every session. Which just leads you back to individual players trying to hustle each other. Don't get me wrong though, I wish you the best of luck. If you really want it to succeed though, my advice would be to drop the fees completely. If you want to offer prizes, you will need to fund them some other way or noone but the best at each game will want to play.
Forgive me for my ignorance, but I did say that I havent played the game. What was so ignorant about my statements? I read the article fours days ago. I found it on Digg.com. That is how I found this website. The player in the video seemed to do a better job of putting the pieces where he or she wanted to put them. No, it doesnt. Like I said before, I didnt play the game. I am assuming that death mode is more difficult. I could have made the same comment about death mode videos also. Some players make more mistakes than others.
Just for clarification, what other TGM videos have you seen? I'm hoping you did not confuse Death mode videos and Shirase mode (the one colour_thief linked to) videos, as there is a huge difference between the two. That hit me on the head right after I posted actually. If you have read the article, you would definitely see how a Tetris game can look so similar yet play so differently.
I agree with everything that you wrote. Most people would be smart enough not risk losing their money in a real game of skill if they know that their opponent is better a player. I would never take the risk in a one on one battle, but I would take the risk in a tournament with the proper prize structure. For example, 100 entrants with the top 20 getting paid. I would never put myself in a situation where I would have to be the best player in the tournament to get paid. I hate winner take all prize structures. Unfortunately that is the way that most "free" videogame tournaments are organized. The first thing that comes to my mind is the Madden Challenge. One skilled player gets $100,000 US for their troubles, while 8 or 10 other players get a horrible consolation prize like an NFL jersey. I would prefer a 10% 20% or 30% payout structure for a tournament with a $100,000 prize.
I wasnt talking about the mechanics of the different games. I was talking about the fact that most videogames are similar once you take away the animations. It all comes down to a few things. (Pushing a button at the right time, logic, how fast can push a button, Ect.)
Don't play dumb, you implied that "all Tetris style puzzle games" (which would include TGM) are no more deep/skillful than Columns/DrMario. That doesn't exactly sit well on a forum of tetris players
