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Blog Post

Season 4 Ideas: Player Ratings

by eli

OK, the off-season plods on. While we eagerly await the All Ages Mario Kart tournament coming up Friday Night, May 25th, let's talk about another new GT feature we discussed back at the planning meeting that EJK and I have been talking about: Player Ratings. The idea is to provide a quick, uniform way to tell both overall and game-specific skill and achievements. Read on to check it out.

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Blog Post

Spring Break Tourneys: Guitar Hero, DDR, Wii Sports and More!

by eli

It's spring break in Ann Arbor, although you sure wouldn't know it by looking outside. Avoid feeling depressed about the miserable weather this week by sequestering yourself in a windowless room filled with noise and flashing lights as we set up our gaming kit for a week of Open Play and Tournaments!

The action starts with three afternoons full of Open Play and DS Fest for all Ages, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 4/11-4/13, from 1-4 PM in the Multipurpose room of the Downtown Library. Come play Mario Kart, DDR, Wario Ware, Monkey Ball, Retro Collections, and more, or bring your own Gameboy or DS and square off against your friends on your favorite games.

Then, we've got a tournament-filled weekend, starting with a Guitar Hero 2 tournament Friday Night, 4/13, from 6-8:30 PM. We'll provide the guitars and the big screen, so show up and be ready to shred...

On Saturday, 4/14, from 1-4 PM, we'll have an All-Ages DDR Tournament, including a special prize for the best Adult/Child team, plus more open play.

We'll wind up the weekend with our first ever Wii Sports Tournament on Sunday, 4/15, from 1-4 PM, for Adult/Child Teams! We'll start with Tennis, and the winners will advance to Baseball or Bowling if time allows... so find an adult and drag them in to expose them firsthand to the Wii phenomenon. Bring your Wiimote with your Mii loaded if you've got one!

It's a busy gaming weekend at AADL... hope to see you all there!

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Blog Post

I can tell that we are gonna be friends*

by Sancho Panza

We have a MySpace page! Right now we're only friends with Tom, and he has 161,157,683 friends, so we have a lot of catching up to do. So check it out, post what you think, and spread the word!

*And check out the White Stripes's album White Blood Cells, because it's really good.

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Blog Post

Season 4 Ideas: Qualifying Pools

by eli

Ok, based on some of the ideas we talked about at the planning meeting and our experience with pools at the throwdown, I'd like to propose an alternate qualifying system for the 2007 Super Smash / Double Dash Championship Season, based on set qualifying pools instead of randomized qualifying heats. Read on to find out what I've got in mind.

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Blog Post

Winter Break Gaming: Super Smash, Retro Octathalon ][, DDR, Pokémon and More!

by eli

Midwinter Break is almost upon us, and that means videogames at the library! We've got a great schedule of events lined up for you, starting this Friday night with a Super Smash Bros. Melee Regulation Throwdown for Ages 13+, From 6-8:30 at the Downtown Library. Read on for full rules for this event. Then, on Saturday, 2/24, from 11-5 PM, we'll have our second annual Retro Octathalon for All Ages, an 8-game high score contest featuring great classic (pre-1990) games. Then, on Sunday, 2/25, from 1-4 PM, our DDR tournament series continues with an All-Ages DDR Tournament.

But that's not all! The games continue into the week, with a pair of Pokémon Tournaments from 1-4 and DS Fest / Open Play Events from 4-7, on both Monday 2/26 and Tuesday 2/27. So, if you're stuck in town this break, stay warm with gaming, food, prizes, and some serious competition at the Downtown Library! Read on for full tournament details.

First, the long-awaited ruleset for the SSBM Regulation Throwdown. This is a slightly modified version of the MLG SSBM Ruleset, which you can read in all its glory here. Here's how it's going to work:

No Items.

Banned Stages:
Yoshi's Island (Pipes)
Fourside
Hyrule Temple
Flatzone
Great Bay
Brinstar Depths
Icicle Mountain
Big Blue
Mushroom Kingdom 1
Mushroom Kingdom 2
Venom
Yoshi's Island 64
Peach's Castle
Kongo Jungle
Onett
Poké Floats

Random Select Stages:
Final Destination
Battlefield
Yoshi's Story
Fountain of Dreams
Dreamland 64
Pokemon Stadium

Allowed Pick Stages:
Corneria
Jungle Japes
Green Greens
Brinstar
Rainbow Cruise
Mute City

1st Round will be in the form of randomly assigned 4-player round-robin pools. Each player will play the 3 other members of their pool 1v1 and the 32 players with the best overall records in the first round will advance to the elimination rounds. Ties going into the top 32 will be broken by 'strength of schedule'; if you defeated someone who went 2-1, you're more likely to move on than someone who defeated someone who went 0-3.

All matches will be 1v1, 4 Stock, 8 Minute, but due to time constraints, not all rounds will be best of 3 matches. Pool matches will only be a single round against each opponent, but if time allows, quarterfinals and higher may be best of 3.

In the pools, with only 1 match per pairing, there will be only random stages, but once we move to best of 3, we will use Advanced Slobs picks. This means:

The first match is on a random stage. We won't have the staff to enforce Double-Blind character picks, but you can work that out with your opponent.

In the Second and Third matches, the loser of the previous match can either choose a random stage or select a stage from the random or allowed picks stages. The winner of the previous match then chooses their character, and the loser can then choose their own character.

Each of the 3 matches must be on a different stage.

Stalling / Camping / Hiding will not be tolerated. If you are spotted refusing to engage, you may be forced to forfeit one of your lives in that match.

I think that about covers it for SSB. Any questions / suggestions?

OK, moving on, here's the game list for the Retro Octathalon.

1. Paperboy, 1984.
2. Mappy, 1983.
3. Spy Hunter, 1983.
4. Jungle Hunt, 1982.
5. Donkey Kong, 1981.
6. Ms. Pac Man, 1981.
7. Rally-X, 1980.
8. Breakout, 1976.

The top 3 scorers in each age group (12 and under, 13-18, over 18) across all 8 games will be invited to the finals which will feature surprise retro games. Stop by any time during the day to try for high scores, even try more than one to improve your scores if time allows!

OK, hope to see you all there this weekend!

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Blog Post

AADL-GT Game & Plan Meetup: This Saturday, 1-4 PM

by eli

Welcome back to the world of AADL-GT! Some weeks have passed since the tumultuous Grand Championships and the end of the 2006 season; now it's time to look forward and talk about what worked and what didn't going into Season 4. If you want to be a part of this discussion, please join us this Saturday, 2/10, from 1-4 PM at the Pittsfield Branch Library behind the Ice Cube on Oak Valley Drive. We'll have plenty of open play, food, spirited discussions, a preview of the 2006 GC DVD, and your chance to be interviewed for bonus features on the disc. Please note that aged-out players (Seniors) are absolutely welcome at this event; your experienced input is invaluable to us, and we especially want to get interviews with as many graduating players as we can. We hope to see you all there! Read on for some items I'd like to discuss.

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Blog Post

Poke-Mom Report: Pokemania super-effective against holiday boredom!

by Eartoground

[cover_image]0439104661|b11601723[/cover_image]

My improbable conversion to a Poke-Mom was foretold a decade ago, when both Pokemon and our son Michael were born. My conversion was completed the week after Christmas 2006, following full immersion in the music, color and magic of the four-day holiday Pokemon tournament led by Eli, a near god in the eyes of Poke-moms, dads and kids.

Eli was managing library technology, while acting as tournament commentator for crowds of kids and parents at the downtown library: “Rayquaza’s Hyper Beam attack was a powerful hit against Swampert . . . Ohhhhhh! Swampert fainted!” Eli’s dramatic, deep-voice Poke-narration sealed my status as a Poke-mom of Great Conviction. I wasn’t there for the whole tournament, but I definitely saw and heard enough to absorb the spirit. For my full report, click on read more below.

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Blog Post

Open Play and DS Fest

by lola

Bored during school vacation? Come to the first every DS Fest at the Downtown Library Multipurpose room on December 26, 27, and 28 from 5-8 PM. Bring your Nintendo DS and any game you want to play like Star Fox Command, Advance Wars DS, New Super Mario Bros, or Big Brain Academy for an impromptu tournament among friends. Eight gaming stations and DDR will also be set up for drop-in open play.

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Blog Post

AADL-GT 2006 Season Wrapup: FJW FTW

by eli

It's all over! The 2006 AADL-GT Super Smash Double Dash Championship Season has drawn to a close, and the Grand Champion was [gtplayer:737], who fought his way through 20 grueling matches, past formidable veterans and hopeful noobs alike, to win the final Kart Race on the infamous Baby Park Oval and claim the grand prize: a Brand-New Nintendo Wii! FJW's clan, We Are Hard, was not as successful in the 2006 Clan Cup event, losing in the Semifinals despite going into the Clan Cup with the highest score, while the #4 ranked Pocket Rockets came from behind to deliver a thorough drubbing to the ever-solid Bros & Co to take victory. With our biggest season yet behind us, let's take a few minutes to reflect on the top stories of the 2006 season, and start thinking about how next season can be even better.

The 2006 season saw almost 200 unique players and 17 Clans compete for glory, prizes, and simple superiority across 7 months of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart Double Dash, with monthly single-player and team events in each game. From the preseason event in July to the December Grand Championships, alliances were formed, rivalries fought, and storied careers rose and fell amidst a maelstrom of turtle shells, banana peels, and pokéballs.

While the July preseason tournament set the stage for what was to come, and allowed clans to size up hopefuls and recruit new members, the season began in earnest in August, and it looked like it might just be the Season of the Turtles. Turtle Clan stormed to a decisive Clan Battle victory at Round 1, beating Bros & Co at Mario Power Tennis, and Clan leaders [gtplayer:143] and his brother [gtplayer:146] racked up a mind-bending 6000+ points for their Clan, representing in the finals of every event, and winning two.

However, the tables would soon begin turn as [gtplayer:737] secured the increasingly impressive skills of the Kalamazoo-based Royster Brothers ([gtplayer:606] and [gtplayer:614]) for We Are Hard, turning what was a decent emerging clan into an instantly near-unstoppable powerhouse. The Roysters delivered over 5000 points for WAH in Round 2 and got them to the Clan Battle Finals, where FJW and (was it) [gtplayer:738] defeated the Savage Brothers in F-Zero GX to seize Clan Battle Victory for WAH and moved them to within striking distance of Turtle Clan in the standings, with WAH member [gtplayer:504] closing to within a few hundred points of the mighty [gtplayer:143].

As the season wore on into Round 3, the team events began to take on increased importance and several frequent teams became widely feared names; The Royster's Team Silence, [gtplayer:788] and [gtplayer:509]'s NIXON'S BAAAAACK, The threateningly-named and honestly formidable BEATUSANDDIE ([gtplayer:737] and [gtplayer:504]), the Melee Mastery of [gtplayer:483] and [gtplayer:340], and the constant threat of [gtplayer:143] and his brother ([gtplayer:146]), who won the Kart Team event 3 out of 4 times, only taking second in Round 2 when they fell to Doll-E-Mart ([gtplayer:431] and [gtplayer:371]).

In Round 3, WAH once again sat atop the Clan Scores, propelled by solid performances from the Roysters and FJW, while Bros & Co miscalculated and lost to WAH at Shadow Battle from Four Swords, giving WAH their second straight Clan Battle victory and cementing them atop the Clan Standings.

Round 4 was when it finally happened for Bros & Co; as WAH fell in the Clan Battle Semis, they faced Turtle Clan at Gauntlet and emerged triumphant, although not able to make a dent in WAH's huge lead, especially as WAH's [gtplayer:737] and [gtplayer:504] took first and second in Single Player Kart and second in Team Kart, [gtplayer:614] won Single Player Smash and took 2nd in Team Smash with brother [gtplayer:606]. However, enough recap, let's get to the Grand Championship Results!

The Clan Cup got underway promptly at noon, starting with a set of 2 Mario Kart Team Races for the Clans ranked 5-8. The #7 Foreign Exchange won both races and coasted on to the next round, while #5 It's Called a Crew managed a 2nd place finish, enough to lift them past the #8 Vaccinated Monks and the #6 Black Shark Clan and on to Round 2.

There, they were joined by the #4 Pocket Rockets and the #3 Turtle Clan for two rounds of Melee for each of two teams. The Pocket Rockets, clearly prepared and with high aspirations for the day, won 3 of their four matches and moved on, while Turtle Clan lost three matches and was eliminated. It's Called A Crew and the Foreign Exchange were tied with two wins apiece, so they each sent a representative to what would be the day's only tiebreaker: a round of the venerable classic, Marble Madness. [gtplayer:382] of ICAC and The Right Honourable [gtplayer:325] of the Foreign Exchange fought an evenly matched battle, with both reaching the treacherous Aerial Race, but neither able to complete it. With a thin edge on points, [gtplayer:325] won the tiebreaker and led his clan on to the Clan Cup Semifinals.

Here, the ascendant Pocket Rockets and the capable Foreign Exchange faced the two top clans of the season: #2 Bros and Co, and #1 We Are Hard, with two matches of Melee and two races of Co-op Kart for each team from each clan. The Pocket Rockets astoundingly won all four of their Melee matches to jump out to huge point lead, while WAH went 2-2 and FX and Bros & Co each only managed one win. The Pocket Rockets then proceeded to get totally stomped in Kart, with their teams finishing 6th and 7th in the first race, and 5th and 8th in the second, but their 400 points from the Melee phase was enough to lift them past all competitors and secure the #1 spot in the Final Mystery Round. That #2 spot was the subject of a pitched battle, with only 20 points ultimately separating 2nd from 4th place, as the ever-scrappy Bros & Co, the only clan to make it to every Clan Battle this season, score 450 points to advance to the finals, while the underdog Foreign Exchange just missed a trip to the final by 10 points, and odds-on favorite We Are Hard was also eliminated.

So, the Final match of the 2006 Clan Cup began, and the mystery final game was revealed to be Wario Ware Single-Controller Survival. Both Bros & Co and the Pocket Rockets had all 6 members present, so each clan had six 'lives' to try to complete as many microgames as possible. Bros & Co. went first, but only managed to complete 13 microgames before losing all their lives, allowing the Pocket Rockets to easily coast to their first victory with 3 lives to spare, claiming the Clan Cup prizes and highly-coveted trophies.

On to the Wildcard tournament, or the 'Festival of N00bs' as I like to call it, as the broadcast began with 34 hopefuls vying for 8 spots in the Grand Championship Bracket. Most notable was the return of [gtplayer:136], 2005 prize winner and Grand Championship Semifinalist, who had missed most of the 2006 season doing something called 'sports'. Fulfilling expectations, [gtplayer:136] finished the first round of 4 matches tied for 2nd, behind season regulars [gtplayer:217] and [gtplayer:776], and then went on to be the only player to win all 4 matches in the second and final round of the Wildcard Tournament and finish in first place. The final 8 wildcards to advance to the Grands only included one other non-rookie, [gtplayer:458]. The final Wildcard winners were as follows:

1. [gtplayer:136]
2. [gtplayer:696]
3. [gtplayer:359]
4. [gtplayer:923]
5. [gtplayer:927]
6. [gtplayer:458]
7. [gtplayer:905]
8. [gtplayer:217]

We were then on to the Main Event: The 2006 Grand Championships! With 44 prequalified players plus the 8 wildcards, 52 total squared off for a shot at the hottest game console on the planet, the Nintendo Wii. Each round again consisted of two Melee Matches and two Kart races for each contender, with score-based elimination resetting each round. The very first cut, from 52 down to 32, saw some highly regarded players fall, including [gtplayer:509], [gtplayer:789] and [gtplayer:790] of the Pocket Rockets (as captain [gtplayer:788] just squeaked through in 32nd place), the elimination of wildcards [gtplayer:905], [gtplayer:923], and [gtplayer:927], and the shocking knockout of the well-rounded [gtplayer:340]. Favored [gtplayer:143] also narrowly dodged early elimination, finishing just one spot above [gtplayer:788] in 31st place.

The carnage only grew as 4 more matches cut the field from 32 to 16, with the elimination of [gtplayer:198] and [gtplayer:166] of Bros & Co, the underrated [gtplayer:457] of Black Shark Clan, [gtplayer:797] and [gtplayer:788] of the Pocket Rockets, [gtplayer:396] and [gtplayer:328] of the Foreign Exchange, and many more. Most suprisingly, [gtplayer:136] missed the cut by 10 points, and Season 1 champion [gtplayer:143] finished at the bottom of the pack and was eliminated.

With the contest truly heating up, another round of 4 matches cut 8 more players as the stakes, the competition, and the consensual stalling heated up. This round saw the elimination of the two remaining wildcards ([gtplayer:217] and [gtplayer:776]), Melee Titans [gtplayer:483] and [gtplayer:614], [gtplayer:154] of Turtle Clan and [gtplayer:183] of the Black Sharks, plus the formidable [gtplayer:852] of the Usual Suspects and Chairman of the Foreign Exchange, [gtplayer:325].

With only 8 players remaining and only one more elimination before the prize round, the pressure to excel and to leverage any advantage available was great. Up-and-coming prodigy [gtplayer:821] of the Pocket Rockets was first to fall, but will surely be a future force to be reckoned with with 6 season of eligibility still to come; [gtplayer:795] was also eliminated, the highest-finished player without a clan affiliation. Then, Turtle Clan's [gtplayer:146] fell, the victim of a 3 on 1; and Bros & Cos [gtplayer:197] missed the cut by 20 points and was eliminated as well.

That left four warriors, who had fought their way to this moment through countless rounds, wins, losses, and struggles; four warriors who had just two matches of Melee and two races of kart left with which to prove their worth and claim their prize and the glory of victory. These chosen four were:

From Bros & Co:
[gtplayer:736], who had taken the prizeless 4th place in the 2004 Grand Championship Finals and was hungry for more than a t-shirt, and clanmate [gtplayer:168], who had been to the finals 4 times in the 2006 season, assembling a complete set of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes;

and from We Are Hard:
[gtplayer:737], whose multifaceted skills were undeniable, and whose leadership had brought together the forces that made We Are Hard the standout story of the season, and clanmate [gtplayer:606], whose Melee prowess was undeniable, but whose vulnerability in Kart could cost him Victory, and put the mesh of allegiances that formed We Are Hard to the test.

[gtplayer:606] won both of the melee rounds, while [gtplayer:737] took second in both, setting the stage for an intense and deeply emotional final set of Mario Kart races. [gtplayer:606] had a 40-point lead, but [gtplayer:737] had a skill advantage in Kart; and with the final races being Rainbow Road and Baby Park, it required a lethal combination of skill and luck to survive.

In the first Kart race, [gtplayer:737] took 1st place, as [gtplayer:606] took 3rd, with [gtplayer:168] taking 2nd and [gtplayer:736] coming in 4th. [gtplayer:606] still had a chance, but he had to beat FJW on Baby Park. As the final race came to a ferocious end, [gtplayer:606] finished 4th, and FJW was able to overtake him, seizing first place and the Wii. [gtplayer:606] took second, and chose the iPod over the DS for the first time in GT history, leaving the DS to third place [gtplayer:168], and the lousy t-shirt to now two-time 4th place finalist, [gtplayer:736].

With new controversies born, Clan allegiances possibly shaken beyond repair, and almost all of the big guns due back for one more season, the 2007 GT may be the hottest one yet. Thanks to all of you for your participation, your sportsmanship, and for giving me the privilege of having the coolest job in town. I hope to see you all at DS Fest and Open Play next week, Tuesday-Thursday, from 4-8 PM, and at the Season 4 Planning meeting at Pittsfield Branch, Saturday, 2/10, from 1-4 PM. There will be food, open play, and we'll be doing wrapup interviews for the DVD (which will be done more promptly this year).

Thanks again, guys, and see you next season!

[eli]

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Blog Post

Tournament Weekend: Monkey Ball, DDR, and the Grand Championships!

by eli

This weekend, we'll have three video game tournaments at the Downtown Library, with something for everyone, including food and prizes. First, we'll have an All-Ages Super Monkey Ball Tournament, Friday Night, 12/15, from 6-8:30 PM. Come play Super Monkey Ball, Monkey Target, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Dogfight, and even try your hand at Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz on the one and only Nintendo Wii! Read on for full details about the Monkey Ball event.

Then, on Saturday, 12/16, it's the biggest gaming event in town; the 2006 AADL-GT Super Smash Double Dash Grand Championships! The event starts at noon, with the Clan Cup for the top 8 clans from the regular season. Then we'll have the Wildcard Tournament for players in grades 6-12 who are new or didn't finish the season in the top 64. 8 wildcards will join the top players in the Grand Championship itself, with First Prize: a Nintendo Wii, Second Prize: a 2gb iPod Nano, and Third Prize: A Nintendo DS! It all comes down to this, have you got what it takes? This event will be broadcast live on CTN Channel 18, so a signed release form is required. Preregister before you come, and you can use self checkin and skip the line!

Finally, we'll wrap up the weekend with an All-Ages Dance Dance Revolution Tournament, Sunday, 12/17, from 1-4 PM. Prizes for the two best standard/heavy players, and for the best adult/child team! All events in the Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library. Plus, stay tuned for Pokémon and DS Fest events during Winter Break!