On Saturday August 9 the GameTruck had the pleasure of being invited to participate in the auction benefiting the Breast Cancer 3 Day Susan G. Komen For The Cure trust project. We donated a GameTruck mobile video game party to the 3 Day, as well as time on site during the day to generate interest in our item and to entertaining the kids that were there during the auction.
It was readily apparent that the women and men, young and old, involved in this event are all very passionate about finding a cure. A vast majority have been directly effected by breast cancer. Once you get a sense of the statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/) then it becomes apparent why so much effort is being put forth. As we were packing up at the end of the event I tracked down our host and thanked her for letting us participate in such an important cause. She commented that she would like to have us participate each year until they find a cure. I immediately agreed but then paused and stated that I hope we don’t see each other next year. While this may be an unrealistic expectation we both understood without saying anything that this has to be the attitude.
In short, the contribution the GameTruck made was only one of the many products or services local businesses donated to this great cause that will help with breast cancer research, treatment, education and prevention. Every little bit helps. If you are interested in participating at some level the 2009 3 Day for Arizona will be held November 13th-15th. More information on how to get involved in this worthwhile cause can be found at www.the3day.org or you can contact our host, Lisa Pazzoni at easyfitnesssolutions@yahoo.com
Filed under: News, Perspectives by david
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When I invented the GameTruck two and half years ago, I never realized how cool it would be to see so many people excited by the idea.
In the Beginning
I mean it literally started in my garage. I’ve told the story many times, but I setup in my garage a prototype of the trailer. I bought sheets of plywood at Home Depot, some carpet and I laid them out in the maximum legal road width for a trailer (about 8 feet) and I bought game chairs, and every kind of TV. Including LCD’s and DLP’s and projectors and Plasmas.
Notice the vintage x-box on the floor? The Wii hadn’t even been announced and the X-Box 360 was so new that unit on the floor was an early release model for developers I was able to get through work.
Once we were convinced we should move forward with this it was a long road to develop something cool from scratch.
It took a lot of work to go from the wooden crate that the factory delivered us to the finished truck. But it was worth it. Just getting those first few parties was a rush. Entertaining our neighbors and friends. It was neat to see how people responded to the concept. They just loved it.
Flash forward a couple of years
But the big thrill for me came this past January when we had the Harlem Globe Trotters in the GameTruck. While we were being interviewed by Brad Perry on Channel 3, the Harlem Globe Trotters showed up. Seeing Curly O’Neil and Wildcat Williams in the GameTruck was a real thrill for me personally. I still have their signed autographs at my desk.
As if that weren’t enough this past week at ASU we had Sparky in the House!
We were doing a Campus celebration for the School of Journalism when who should walk in but The Sun Devil Mascot himself. The college kids were having a great time playing games and while I could not convince Sparky to stick around and play some NCAA Football, I experienced one of those “ooh, ah” moments when I realized that we were the center of attention. The GameTruck wasn’t just for kids. It was for the kid in everyone. And that is definitely fun stuff.
Filed under: News, Perspectives by scott
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Monday night at 12am was the official release of Madden 09, this year’s edition of the extremely popular video game football franchise. Celebrating it’s 20th year, there has been more hype than usual surrounding this title. It doesn’t hurt that this year’s cover depicted Brett Farve in a Green Bay uniform (which has been changed in second printings to his new Jets uniform). Gamers all over the country have been waiting anxiously to see what this year’s Madden had in store for them, and with the help of a local Game Stop and The GameTruck, some Gilbert residents got to celebrate the release with a little friendly competition.
Over 30 die-hard Madden fans gathered at the Game Stop on Warner and Val Vista in Gilbert to face off in a Madden 08 single elimination tournament. Almost everyone showed up in a jersey or shirt supporting their favorite team, and competed in games following the official Madden tournament rules. The tournament started at 10pm, with 4 games running simultaneously inside one of the GameTruck mobile video game theaters. Players that were waiting their turn participated in the traditional tailgate activities, complete with hotdogs, steaks, and tossing a football around. As the tournament drew on, though, almost everyone was crowded around the GameTruck,trying to catch a glimpse of the action
As the tournament came down to the wire, players that had been eliminated started lining up in anticipation of the midnight release, while the winners stayed in the GameTruck. The quarter final games got intense, and 3 of them went into overtime. As it got closer and closer to 12am, the energy grew both inside and out side of the GameTruck. Gamers were chanting the countdown to the Game Stop doors opening as players were screaming and cheering on their virtual teams. As the semi finals started, the atmosphere was at its most intense, as four hardcore gamers faced off for the grand prize: a Game Stop gift card, Topps trading cards, and most importantly, bragging rights.
Just as the game officially released and everyone grabbed their copies and raced home, the two semi final matches ended, only to reveal that the championship game would be between two brothers that entered the tournament together. Since it was after midnight, Madden 09 was set up for the championship contest. However, rather than a heated match up, the two Cowboy fans played one quarter, shook hands, and split the prize money towards their copies of the game. As anticlimactic as it was, it was good to see the sportsmanship between the two, although I’m sure that they weren’t as diplomatic once they got the game home.
In the brief time we did get to see Madden 09 though, we were blown away, especially after spending about 3 hours with 08’s installment. With a complete graphical overhaul, everything from the players’ equipment, the crowd, and even the grass looked incredible, especially on The GameTruck’s 50″ plasma screens. There are a bunch of new features, which we will definitely all get a chance to see in the next few weeks, but the overall impression of Madden 09 was a great new take on one of our favorite franchises. This game will be a staple for our video game parties for sure, most likely all the way up until we do this again next year.
Filed under: Games, News by chris
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Last month the Ultimate Video Game Party was taken to a new level. The GameTruck pulled up to a one-of-a-kind video game themed birthday party, complete with a miniature GameTruck atop the sheet cake. In the 10 minutes it took to book the event the birthday boy’s mom had also purchased both GameTruck tee-shirts and GameTruck gift bags for the kids in attendance. Without having to worry about these items she was left to decorate the house with green and orange table covers, string crepe paper around the room and set out the green and orange M&M’s.
After the event her feedback was consistent with the many others who mentioned that the kids had an awesome time and that she was surprised how easy and stress free the party was. She even passed along a story from one of the mom’s who had twin boys at the party. She said that her boys were so excited after the event they slept in their GameTruck tee-shirts that evening. I think we may be seeing those two later in the year.
In the two plus years the GameTruck has conducted mobile video game parties we are acutely aware of the challenge parents face as children move from pre-school through elementary school. Like weddings and graduation parties, the birthday party ritual remains an important part of the family tradition as well as a means for the adults to connect with old friends and meet new ones. With the institutionalization of party concepts like Pump-It-Up and Build-A-Bear Workshop, parents and caregivers have come to rely on these turnkey solutions to minimize the time and effort that accompanies such an important event.
However, as our children enter into elementary school something funny begins to happen. Those of us with kids in this age range know that our children’s pallet is becoming more refined after just a few short years on the party circuit. It may be the realization that they don’t need another stuffed animal in their room or the thought of another inflatable / pizza arcade party leaves kids wary. But the challenge remains every year. How can parents break the rut?
In the same two plus years our experience has taught us that a GameTruck mobile video game party is providing parents a fresh and stress free option for our newly minted kindergartners. The obvious is that console-based video games are pervasive, such that the mere mention to a kid that he or she can have a video game party is rarely met with resistance. And being able to play video games with your best friends in such an awesome environment, well, it then becomes a question of how long can the GameTruck stay parked in front of the house This is in light of their emerging and often critical analysis of the choices we as parents continue to have to make for them. Boy, whoever expected the level of brain drain experienced when debating with a 7 year old the benefits of those little green things called vegetables. The bottom line is that kids love video games. Secondly, for a parent or caregiver the service we provide resonates on a number of levels; the value we provide for the price; how we treat our customers; and how we run our operations that are consistent event after event.
So much so that that we have been able to successfully integrate this into a system so our franchisees conducting GameTruck parties outside of the Valley, where the mobile video game party concept was invented, provide the same high level of service. We’re glad to say the reputation we worked on in the early days precedes us.
We invite you to try a GameTruck mobile video game party the next time you’re scratching your head for something new and exciting. We would love to show you how we can help you throw an awesome party.
– David
Filed under: Uncategorized by david
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Shooter games seem to me to be the most popular game genre. It is the most popular game type requested when I run a GameTruck Video Game Party. I can tell you from my experience as a Game Coach that people get more fired up while playing them than any other type of games. I’ll give you a rundown of all the best shooters out right now and some of the differences between them. Shooters are perfect for a GameTruck video game party because they are fun yet intense at the same time. The game play never gets boring because you have so many options, so much control, and the graphics are so great, you feel like you’re in an action movie.
There are two kinds of shooter games, first person and third person. These are referring to the point of view the game is played in. First person shooters( pic left ), like Halo 3, almost never break the point of view of looking through the eyes of the character. One direction analog stick on the controller moves the player around and the other one aims. “One is your feet and one is your eyes”, is how I explain it to first timers or “newbs” as they they are called. By the way, you’re not cool if you say the word “newb”. Third person shooters(below pic), like Gears of War, have a point of view positioned a few yards behind the character over his shoulder. “One is your movement and one is the camera”. Third person shooters are also known as cover based shooters because you can usually press or hold a button so your character stays with his back against a wall or some kind of cover and still shoot over or around it. This makes it so you can see more of whats going on around your character and also see around corners while taking cover without exposing yourself to the enemy. These games also usually provide a button that switches to first person view so you can look down the barrel or sight of your gun for a more accurate shot when needed.
I feel the most important aspect of shooters for the GameTruck are their multi-player modes. Though the campaign/story mode is engaging you get way more out of the campaign when you play it co-op with a friend. Multi-player games are actually beneficial for people because they improve your team work and communication skills. I did a party for the GoDaddy.com a while back and they did a Halo 3 tournament to reward their employees and it was a blast. Shooter games make a great GameTruck party because of the diversity and flexibility in the multi-player options. You can usually make any number of players into any number of teams and play really fun games like “capture the flag” and “king of the hill” that require a lot of teamwork to play. Halo 3 is great because of the cooperation it takes to use the vehicles. One person drives and the other uses the gun. In Gears of War it is very important to yell out where the enemy is coming from because there is no radar to see them before they are visible. It is also important for the team to stay together and fight as a group to increase your chances of survival because when a player gets shot down he can yell for help and another player can revive him so he can get back in the fight. The Call of Duty games have different classes to choose from which have different weapons for different purposes. To make the best team you need to have a good combination of long and short range weapons. This is important to talk about with your teammates because some peoples strong points are close quarter combat with say a shotgun and some have a better shot and would be more useful staying out of combat and using a sniper rifle.
I like shooters the most because I respect the coordination, reflexes, and experience you have to have to be really good at them… not to mention the fun you can have just shooting your friends and blowing stuff up. More than that however, the best multi-player shooters have a strategic element that makes them so compelling. Learning the maps is a must and being good with all the weapons has its advantages. I personally play Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and Gears of War on the XBox 360 at home. My favorite games are definitely third person shooters like Gears of War. Nothing gets the heart pumping like when you are the last one of your team alive and you know that they are watching your every move on their screen and you take out the rest of the other team by being sneaky and strategic. Ok, I will just say it … Gears of War is the most amazing game ever made!! Watch-out Gamers… Gears of War 2 is right around the corner and I promise it will be the best game EVER!!!
Many parents don’t know what to make of shooters. It’s easy to see why they get confused and the rating system doesn’t help much. Call of Duty 3 is a game about real people killing real Nazis with real guns in a real war but there is no blood at all. It has a rating of T(teen). Halo 3 is set in the future, has virtually no blood, the characters are robot looking guys, fully armored, fighting aliens with futuristic laser guns. This game is rated M(mature). This makes no sense to me personally and when I explain this to parents they almost always ok Halo 3 and it ends up being a much more fun party because Halo 3 can do things that the other games can’t, like system link so that 16 people can be playing at one time using all four screens! And I think that is the key, is not so much what is in the game, but how the gamers play together with the game.
While it’s easy to get distracted by the “violence” in shooters, I think if you put shooters in perspective they are no worse or better than some other games. Basically all games have some violence in them. Football basically sends a message that it is ok to hit someone as hard as you can because its a game. Racing games simulate the very real and very scary scenario of car crashes. Granted, shooters are unique in that the players are holding guns, but this fear does not seem to translate into more real world violence. In fact, just the opposite seems to be happening. According to books like Got Game, violent crime has dropped as games become more popular. If you want proof check this out: According to the US Government violent crime among kids has actually DECLINED dramatically at same time that video games have grown in popularity. In fact, violent crime among kids is the lowest it has been in three decades.
For me personally, the only thing that came from playing too many shooter games growing up is that I am now a much better paintball player and I have a great job in the video game industry.
Filed under: Games, Perspectives by matt
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As a Game Coach I get to see the positive social effects of video games all the time. One thing I have noticed recently is an increase in the number of parents that play video games with their children. I’ve seen father and son teams coordinate the capture of an enemy flag in Halo 3, Mother and daughter face off on Guitar Hero III to settle a playful rivalry, and children teaching their grandparents how to bowl on Wii Sports.
I’ve seen parents bonding with their kids through video games the same way I bonded with my parents through sports and other activities. At first I was a little taken a back by this phenomenon; then it got me thinking… Video games are not that different than any of those other activities I remember from my childhood. These parents, like my own, found something their child enjoyed and made a point to take an active interest and become involved in that activity. Not to say sports and other activities aren’t a great way for parents to spend time with their children, but video games offer a similar experience without leaving your living room.
One game that has shown time and time again that it is a great game for gamers of any age is Guitar Hero. The controls are relatively simple and game play is based primarily on coordination and rhythm, as opposed to knowledge of every button on the game pad. The set list provides a combination of classic rock favorites and up and coming new rock. I can’t remember how many parents I’ve had jump into the game with the kids because they simply loved the music. It is always amazing watching younger children mouth the words to Gun N’ Roses and other classic rock bands. I’ve had many parents comment that they love the fact that the Guitar Hero games give their kids a chance to enjoy some of the music they listened to in the past.
I have to admit I’m a little biased, I love Guitar Hero, but other games can offer an excellent experience for parents and their children as well. Instead of sitting down and watching the game you could sit down and actually run plays with your child on Madden ’08, or NBA2K8. While it can be overwhelming picking up a controller for the first time, it can also be the first step in spending more quality time with your child.
Since my childhood games have changed quite a bit. For me gaming was the limited window of time I could take over the television and play single player games on NES. Now it seems gaming has become more social. Parents now have had some experience with video games growing up and seem to understand their child’s interest in playing and embracing game time as an opportunity to play and connect with their child
Filed under: Perspectives by josh
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Last week we participated in the Zap! Vintage Video Game Exhibit at the McCullough-Price House near Chandler Fashion Square. For an old timer like me it was fun to see some of those old game systems from my past. My son couldn’t believe we played Pong on a 13″ black and white TV set. And we were cool!
For someone who’s worked in video games for the better part of a decade it is simple amazing how rapidly the technology has changed. It’s not news to anyone that the stand up games that entertained us for hours at the arcade can now be emulated by the cheapest phones.
What hasn’t changed much however are the people playing the games. Give a kid a controller, a challenge and a score and it’s game on baby. And if that game offers competition? Pong is every bit as engrossing as Lego Indiana Jones - especially if it’s played against your brother.
But these simplistic games from the infancy of video-gamedom for all the nastalgia can’t really hold a candle to the entertainment being produced by todays game makers. An X-Box 360 is probably more powerful than the average laptop computer. And it’s designed to do one thing - render compelling entertainment. Now that the Sony Playstation 3 is finally hitting it’s stride with games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Madden 09, it is hard to look back on those old games and see them as anything other than a novelty.
One look at those games, especially side by side with today’s modern marvels tells you how far we’ve come as an entertainment medium. Sure a few people stopped and played Pong and Defender in the museum, but given the choice nearly everyone spent a good amount of time tackling the challenges of Lego Indiana Jones or Mario Kart Wii in the Game Truck. We had our own little video game party outside and it was a blast. Its not just the improved graphics however, that are so compelling, it’s the entire package. The sound, the scripts, the game play and the talent. Modern game makers now employ Hollywood talent to act out their parts and companies like Electronic Arts have been putting AAA music in their sound tracks for years. How can a game like Pong possibly stack up against that?
Simply put there has never been a better time to get into video games. With three major consoles all coming into their stride the next few years are going to be an amazing stretch as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all try to out do each other. And who will benefit? Anyone and Everyone who plays.
And it’s only going to get better. When I started GameTruck there was no Guitar Hero, and no Halo 3 - two of our most popular games. Lego Star Wars was only just being released and the Wii wasn’t even out. Since then we’ve had a flood of amazing games burst onto our consciousness. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Filed under: Perspectives by scott
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Here at The GameTruck, we focus on multiplayer games. Our favorite games are the ones you can play for hours with your friends and get everyone involved. There are many different games of different genres that offer such experiences, but one of the most popular (and most fun) is the music game.
Relatively new to the console scene, the music and rhythm genre has exploded recently, making those games some of the hottest titles across all of the major consoles. Games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are now staples of any video game party. As the games get more popular, opinions get stronger, and game companies have began fighting to deliver the most engaging and innovative product possible.
So I bet you can imagine how excited we were to hear news of the newest installment in the Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero World Tour. In what seems like a direct challenge to last winter’s Rock Band, Guitar Hero World Tour will offer guitar, bass, drum and vocal tracks for up to 4 players jamming out together.
With more songs included than any other music game, new created characters, and even a built-in music creator, could this be the ultimate party game? It’s too soon to tell for sure, but it is definitely something to keep in mind as we move into the summer. Guitar Hero is also releasing another game, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which comes out later this month. For fans of the series (which we are) it looks like we are just getting a new song list with the same basic formula that we are used to. I think it will be a welcome addition to our library of games, but will do nothing to derail the popularity or upset the balance of Rock Band and previous Guitar Hero titles at our GameTruck parties. Guitar Hero 4 might be another story.
How will adding another full band setup change the music game scene. Will it replace Rock Band, or will we as gamers just be offered another great option to entertain us? It’s too early to tell, but given how things have played out in the past, everyone will play it, some of us will love it, but we will all settle on a great way to play together. I can’t wait for the fall to see what else we’ll be treated to as gamers.
Filed under: Games by chris
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The other day we had the most amazing thing happen.
It’s not uncommon in the birthday business for people to do different things every year for
their birthday. We cherish the people who come back to us each year to celebrate their birthdays.
They are a rare and special bunch. For us, “repeat” customers often fall into one or two
categories, event planners, or organizations (like schools, Churches and companies). Our repeat customers are people who are responsible for entertaining other people. GameTruck really helps round out their portfolio of fun.
It is the very rare person however who orders not only two parties, but three or four. Over the last couple of years I’ve seen a few grandparents bestow GameTruck parties on all their grandchildren (it’s a great gift for the grandkids and mom’s as well). But the other week, I saw something new and wonderful. A local mom booked 5 parties for her son. Five! Aside from being delighted with all the business,I was curious as to what motivated her to book so many parties. Who was this person who would schedule five parties and what motivated her to do it?
I have always believed that video games are more than what we read about in the media. Week in and week out I see the joy and energy that comes from social video gaming. But this positive force is often lost in the drum beat of bad news about video games. The political capital that comes from fear mongering anything new goes back to the days of rock and roll. If it’s new and misunderstood it must be bad. And video games have certainly taken their lumps lately. The misinformation is so rampant that I even have a respected advisor who admitted his family will probably never have a GameTruck party because his wife “hates the whole idea of video games”. Not because of the violence, but rather because she can’t relate to sitting there for hours, “doing nothing.”
She is not alone in sharing this opinion of video games. And while I have never met her personally, I often wonder how many movies her children have seen, or how many books they have read. What about the classics like music recitals? Or the ballet? The truth is the VAST majority of entertainment choices available to us are inherently passive. You have to sit… and watch… or listen… (for hours)
and take it in. The only action comes later when you get to talk about it with your friends. Are video
games really that different?
In a word – YES!
The real difference with video games is that only video games allow you to participate in the
entertainment.
So what does this have to do with a family that apparently loves video gaming so much they ordered a 5 pack of parties? Making friends. This wonderful mom explained to me that her family had just moved and as a result changed high schools. Her teenage son would be attending the new high school in the fall, and she saw the GameTruck as the perfect way to help him make new friends and remember old ones. Her son, she explained was as gifted at video games as other kids are gifted at sports. Since GameTruck focuses on social video gaming, it seemed like a perfect fit and the summer week day rates made it affordable.
Instead of going to the movies each week, they would have a video game party.
In a nutshell that was everything I hoped this business could be. A bridge between people. I’ve always said, “It’s good to play together.” People have played board games, and card games, and sports games forever. Video games are just the next advancement in our ability to express our amazing creativity as social beings. We love to play. We’re built for it. And it was amazing to me that one mom saw the benefit of social video gaming and acted on it. While I would love to have more repeat business (who wouldn’t?) personally, what I really want to see more people – through what every means available to them - discovering the power and joy of social video gaming. Far from “wasting hours doing nothing” video games can bring people together.
And that is a very good thing.
Filed under: Perspectives by scott
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In Arizona, school has come to an end, and it’s time to celebrate. Looking back it’’s amazing how quickly the school year went by. It’s even more amazing that TWO YEARS have gone by since I started this company. What started out as a quirky experiment in my garage turned into a fun viable business that has a made a lot of people happy.
When my brother and I started this company two years ago, there were no blue prints, no one to copy off of. We had to invent it all ourselves. We had to learn lessons the hard way. We knew about video games and stereos, but we had to learn about trailers and tow packages and generators and
air-conditioners and tongue weight and insulation factors and thermal performance. And that wasn”t the half of it.
The real lessons came from working with people. Not just our customers who always gave us great suggestions and good ideas, but from our partners. Other small business owners and entrepreneurs who cheered us on. When we were just a crazy idea run out of my kitchen, there were people who helped us - like teachers and guidance counselors - they gave us advice and helped us when
they could have spent their time with bigger more established clients.
I think that’s one of the things that strikes me about this graduation season. Graduation is about growth. And helping people learn is about growing, cultivating, and nurturing. Our partners helped us graduate from start up to successful business. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this. Growing is human nature, it’s part of who and what we are. That’s probably why growth and graduation are so integral to the best video games.
People talk about the learning curve with games and they’re right. You MUST learn. You can”t just watch them, you can’t just listen to them. You have to PLAY them. And as you play them, you get better. What’s more improvement in skill and ability, is probably the most enjoyable kind of learning there is. So as we see people near and dear to us graduate from one stage in life to the next, don”t be a afraid to a grab a controller and share a little graduation ceremony of your own. Graduate through play, because getting to the next level is always fun.
- S
Filed under: Perspectives by scott
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Birthdays
