Halloween demo cart stolen from AA at CGE 2010!

[desiv]

.... the GroovyBee 7800 ProSystem Game Development Quality Control Department wouldn't be happy...

 

Wow, you have to validate through the G7PGDQCD?? I've heard about them.. Ouch...

 

 

desiv

Edited August 3, 2010 by desiv

[Pipercub]

Our booth, Retro Gaming Roundup show, was also ripped off on Sunday evening

 

And we know exactly who it was. We are sorting though all the CGE pics that we see posted hoping to get a photo to go with the description and that

should help lead to a name. He was seen in the museum trying to pick up or buy things, and was a bit of a problem at our booth. It would not surprise

me if they were one in the same person.

 

If anyone else cares to help ID this guy, I posted a description of him at our radio show forums: http://www.gamegavel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3213

 

My user name there is SubaruBrat. You can message me there if you have any info. I did ask the organizers that he be ejected from future CGEs, and I filed a report with the hotel security.

[AtariNerd]

That's uncomfortable to deal with. If that particular individual is Autie-spectrum, developmentally disabled or otherwise has impulse, sensory, or boundary cue-ing disorders, that puts it into a different perspective, because he might not doing so out of spite or with a full realization of the loss he's putting others at. All you can do is either ban him or supply some sort of custodian (which he probably should have had with him in the first place, some family member)to watch over him, which of course would be his right to refuse an as adult and probably against his individual rights.

 

Still, I have problems with banning someone for what they _might_ do. He might be a nuisance, but unless you can directly show that he indeed perpetrated something that would be considered theft - and an item such as a CD, that is given free-ly, might be difficult to justify in the absolute, I just don't know.

 

Sorry to be a thorn, but I felt the need to throw that out there to see what the response might be.

 

I guess you could fairly easily, because of his diminished capacity, somehow designate him as an unaccompanied minor and forbid him lone entry that way, unless he is accompanied by someone looking out for his welfare.

 

EDIT:

 

Actually, just to contradict myself,on second thought, repeated nuisance might be enough grounds. And you should have the right to do that.

 

OK, there you go. I'm done blurting.

Edited August 5, 2010 by AtariNerd

[+batari]

I remember that guy - he came to the AA booth looking at magnets and thought the magnet carts were real games and I tried my best to explain that they weren't. He went so far as to try a magnet cart out in a system and came back bewildered, but I finally explained they weren't real games by writing it out on my iPhone and showing it to him. If he took a stack of CDs, it's possible he simply misunderstood someone, as he certainly misunderstood me. He may have stolen the Halloween cart but I wouldn't cast blame just yet.

[Pipercub]

Breaking news, my son who was diagnosed as having aspergurs syndrome in 2002, who is also on track to earn his pilots license before his drivers license, just declared this guy to be a cunt. I gave him a pass to use that word.

Edited August 5, 2010 by Pipercub

[Greg2600]

Eh, I don't know, coming down on a guy with what sounds like severely diminished mental capacity? No one in their right mind would steal 100 CD's like that. That's a lot of CD's, I myself would have a hard time just carrying them. Did he have a shopping cart with him? And yeah, he may well have taken the Halloween cart, too. Odds are he was a walk-up, so his name/address could be unknown. If that's the deal with this guy, like my grandfather used to say, "Ah, what ya gonna do?"

Edited August 5, 2010 by Greg2600

[Pipercub]

Your stupidity offends me, 100 CDs is about the size of a thermos. By comparison, a Haloweeen cart would weigh a ton.

[AtariNerd]

 

I actually bought it up, because I'm an Aspie as well and just wished to reflect that everybody is a little different. And yes, I have a job and family, as well. I'm just trying to figure out an explanation and a method of dealing with this, not trying to find excuses. Not that what this individual did isn't still douche-y, mind, just that not all of us have certain skill sets that fit well into the neurologically average world. Some of us never will. But what does one do and how does one deal with such individuals, when such problems arise? There is a social history in how such individuals are dealt with, involving institutionalization, prisons that leave me feeling...cold. Yes, the face of Autism is much different than the stereotypes, half of us that fit under that diagnostic umbrella might be differentiated as either high-functioning, have Aspergers or fit similar other labels and despite those labels, still find some success in a world that doesn't, likely can't cater to us.

 

I don't know where this individual fits in the equation, but I have a certain selfish interest that the situation is handled well.

[Greg2600]

Oh, they were in a spindle, not individual jewel cases? You didn't say that. Still, from the guy's description, getting furious with him for doing that would be like me screaming at my dog for pissing on my sneakers. I have experienced his kind of scenario, when my father owned a sportscard store. There were mentally handicapped people who came in once and a while and annoyed the hell out of me. Sometimes they did take stuff, and I would be enraged. But my father explained that sometimes they don't understand the repercussions of their actions. Not saying you shouldn't be mad, but it sounds like this guy didn't come there to rob the place.

Edited August 5, 2010 by Greg2600

[Pipercub]

A spindle is about 1/3 the size of a jewel case. Making off with a stack of 100 jewel cases would be a very deliberate act.

[Cliff Friedel]

Just read this. With all the good times I had there, the people I met, and all of the rare and great stuff that was there for us to see without charge, it's a shame that someone had to do this. There was a lot of talk at the CGE this year about just how much trouble John and the organizers had getting things together this year and how it could possibly not happen again. It's things like this that just make it harder. What's worse is that it will affect the community as a whole. The vendors will think twice about bringing things, the organizers may think twice about doing it again, guys like Tim Arnold won't get the benefit of the auction, and we end up with a crappy or non existent convention. All for a $10 cart. Hope it was worth it.

[Pipercub]

We will be back, we will visit Tim again and we will support CGE as always, and I hope the fellow who lost the Halloween cart will too, understanding what all it took to do that. And if we see this asshole again we will have him ejected. That said, I hope hotel security opens the exit door with his forehead.

[goldenegg]

Your stupidity offends me, 100 CDs is about the size of a thermos. By comparison, a Haloweeen cart would weigh a ton.

 

Sorry man, but completely uncalled for. No reason to be rude.

 

While this whole situation sucks, lessons have been learned. I think exhibitors will be a little more careful with their stuff next year (not that they were at fault for the theft). We'll soon enough be playing the final version of Halloween on carts purchased right here at AA!

[GroovyBee]

As I've previously mentioned the most annoying thing about the theft to me is the fact that people couldn't play the game. Playing it on a real machine was the whole purpose of putting the demo together. We shouldn't let one incident spoil it for others. Even after the theft, I still don't have a problem putting demonstrations out. If a demo game attracts one new person at a show into the hobby as a collector/gamer/homebrewer then the effort is all worth it in my opinion. To me, teasing the existing fans (in a good way) and attracting new ones is all part of the hobby.

[Underball]

Your stupidity offends me, 100 CDs is about the size of a thermos. By comparison, a Haloweeen cart would weigh a ton.

Way to douche up an already sad thread by acting like your loss was more important than Groovybee's.

[+LS650]

'Stupidity' ?

[Greg2600]

As I've previously mentioned the most annoying thing about the theft to me is the fact that people couldn't play the game. Playing it on a real machine was the whole purpose of putting the demo together. We shouldn't let one incident spoil it for others. Even after the theft, I still don't have a problem putting demonstrations out. If a demo game attracts one new person at a show into the hobby as a collector/gamer/homebrewer then the effort is all worth it in my opinion. To me, teasing the existing fans (in a good way) and attracting new ones is all part of the hobby.

Well, there's no such thing as bad publicity, even if it comes like this lousy occurrence.

 

PS: No need to defend me guys, Pipercub is obviously perturbed about the situation, and thought I was being snarky. I'm not, I just think it's improper to be so incensed with a severely handicapped person over a bunch of CD's. No one was injured, no major felonies here. Live and let live.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Greg2600

[captcapcom]

I was very scared of this happening, with all the carts just laying out. I knew someone would snatch one up. I felt funny changing the carts in the systems by myself.

 

I Think I saw that guy at the Specialty Gamer Table... But can't be sure.

Edited August 9, 2010 by captcapcom

[the.golden.ax]

Why do I have a mental picture of the handicap guy trying to stick Groovy's game to his fridge and proclaiming "why won't this magnet stick!?"

 

AX

[Albert]

I was very scared of this happening, with all the carts just laying out. I knew someone would snatch one up. I felt funny changing the carts in the systems by myself.

I'm not going to avoid having game demos out because I'm worried about people stealing them. That's just the nature of the beast, especially with such a large booth and 15 or so systems setup. That being said, it's possible we will implement a solution that will make it a bit more difficult to just walk off with loose demo carts.

 

..Al

[potatohead]

I think a photo of that cart, as a splash screen on a future release might just do some serious guilt damage.

 

This is horrible.

[GroovyBee]

I think a photo of that cart, as a splash screen on a future release might just do some serious guilt damage.

 

Not something I'd like to see in the 169 colour mode .

[Rev]

Why do I have a mental picture of the handicap guy trying to stick Groovy's game to his fridge and proclaiming "why won't this magnet stick!?"

 

AX

 

 

[thgill]

Perhaps some kind of self destructing code in the proto/demo carts?

 

Have the carts rigged up where after first powered on, there is a 48 hour (or however long) clock that counts down.

 

Once that time has expired, the eprom gets erased.

 

 

Dunno how reasonable it would be to implement something like that. Probably require some extra hardware for the demo carts.

 

 

Would be worth the LOL alone if someone takes it thinking they are going to be able to go home and play it or dump it and post it on the Net.

Edited August 9, 2010 by thgill

[potatohead]

Yeah true enough.

 

I think a photo of that cart, as a splash screen on a future release might just do some serious guilt damage.

 

Not something I'd like to see in the 169 colour mode .