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Difference between revisions of "Sonic Amateur Games Expo"

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==External Links==
 
==External Links==
 
* [http://sagexpo.org/ Sonic Amateur Games Expo Link]
 
* [http://sagexpo.org/ Sonic Amateur Games Expo Link]
* [http://soundmage.com/bluelazor/RAGE/09/RAGE09.html Really Amateur Games Expo Link]
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* [http://soundmage.com/bluelazor/RAGE/09/RAGE09.html Really Amateur Games Expo 3 Link]
  
 
[[Category:Events]]
 
[[Category:Events]]

Revision as of 12:34, 20 November 2009

Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE) is a yearly online event for Sonic the Hedgehog fangame developers to chat online and to demonstrate finished and unfinished games they are developing. Started in 2000 by community enigma BlazeHedgehog, the premise of the event was to expand the appeal of fangaming, which is still even today viewed as a sort of taboo given inherent copyright problems. There have been 14 SAGE's to date, which originally took place biannually until the 10th iteration, where the format changed to the annual SAGE we know today.

2000

The original Sonic Amateur Games Expo website.

The original Sonic Amateur Games Expo, Blaze Hedgehog set out to make a showcase for the Sonic fan gaming scene, setting the template for every SAGE thereafter. Blaze Hedgehog wanted to feature fan games in the same style and presentation as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in the form of "booths," and encouraging even the use of "booth babes" for each booth. The event lasted from September 9th to September 12th, and had a small attendance compared to the later incarnations of the expo.

2005

SAGE 2005, sometimes jokingly refered to as SAGE "X", marked the first annual SAGE, breaking the previously set tradition of SAGE being held biannually. Directed by Gamerdude and Smidge204, SAGE 2005 sported a nifty, slick layout and had a host of wonderful projects on display.

SAGE 2005 also marked the event's first guest interview, Ben Hurst, one of the writers for the Sonic The Hedgehog (SATAM) cartoon show, which took place under proctured settings in SAGE's IRC chatroom.

2006

SAGE 2006 almost didn't happen. The director, Koray, had been suffering RL issues that resulted in him disappearing without a word months leading up to the event. Smidge204, also the administrator of SFGHQ, took up the mantle of quickly throwing together an event after it became apparent that Koray wasn't going to show. The event itself rehashed the minimalistic, slick layout from SAGE 2005 and did a decent job of holding up to it's predecessor.

Ben Hurst returned for another chitchat with the community, and joining him was the current writer for the Archie Comics, Ian Flynn.

Interest in revamping the SAGEcast was introduced this year when DimensionWarped, Slingerland, and Shadix attempted to broadcast a prerecorded multicast via Skype. Due to technical difficulties Shadix did not appear in the final broadcast, however the broadcast went to show that SAGEcasts could have more meaningful content.

2007

SAGE 2007, directed by Slingerland, renewed interest in the event. His SAGE went with a simple and quirky thematic layout that would change on each day of the event. Slingerland's dashing charisma and publicity attempts brought about a huge boost in audience.

Ryan Drummond became the first guest appearance in relation to the official games, and his appearance garnered a huge amount of attention from Sonic Communities all around. Ian Flynn also reappeared to discuss more regarding the Archie Series.

SAGE 2007 introduced a more entertaining side of SAGE, with cool events like Slingerland's epic skit "Saturday Nights' Main Event", as well as live multicasts, a karaoke show, a level design competition, a video submission contest, and more.

2008

SAGE 2008 basically set out to expand on the new standard set in 2007, with a trend towards more entertainment. Hosted by Shadix and MarkEchidna, the idea was to draw the casual audience in via tons of entertainment, interviews, etc. to promote the booths. It was held from August 17th-24th, 8 days to commemorate it being 2008. The SAGE 08 site was over-the-top and flashy, featuring detailed informative pages and a coverflow-esque booths page. SAGE 2008 made a huge leap forward in that most of the booths worked from Day 1, a feat that hasn't happened in a long time.

SAGE 2008 had a huge special guest lineup, including the likes of Christian Senn, Richard Wheeler, Howard Drossin, Richard Jacques, Jun Senoue, Lee Brotherton, Ryan Drummond, Mike Pollock, and Eric Iwasaki of ND Games.

In addition, SAGE 2008 had a number of new events of varying effect. Shadowgoten & Duckboy's Opening Extravaganza, SAGE Idol, the SAGE Trivia Gameshow featuring Mike Pollock, DOM's Live Videogame Music Show, Dramatic Fanfic Readings with ANDROSS, OCRemix Interview with Special ORMGAS\BEATDROP FM Combo block.

SAGE 14 (2009)

Sonic Amateur Games Expo 14's website.

SAGE 14 was held from July 25th through July 31st of 2009, and hosted by InstantSonic and Katzu Niku. It has been widely regarded as one of the best iterations of SAGE to date, bringing most, if not all Sonic fan communities together. It was geared more towards the fans and the fan games themselves rather than how many ratings each fan game received.

The website was designed and created by Katzu Niku, who also created and managed the event schedule and booths, and was responsible for obtaining the special guests of the event. InstantSonic directed the events, fan game booths and the SAGEcast. ROM hacks were also included as booths for the first time. Even with one of the rules being that you must have a fan game to present or you could not have a spot in the SAGE booths section, SAGE 14 had the largest amount of fan games/booths that ever debuted, a count of 42, during the week-long exposition. SAGE 14 was extended for another unscheduled week, the SAGE 14 chat moving to an IRC channel called #sagexpoafterparty, allowing those who enjoyed SAGE to wind down and talk about what had occurred the week before.


Events


Monday
  • 12 AM - Sonic Amateur Games Expo 14 Begins!
  • 2 PM Eastern - CONTEST: Klik'n'Play RAGE competition begins!
  • 7 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Welcome to SAGE 14! Introductions and Fan Game Discussion with InstantSonic and the SAGE Gang

Tuesday
  • 3 PM Eastern - Radio: Sonic Universe Radio
  • 8 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Hunter and Brad Are Cool and You Aren't!
  • 10 PM Eastern - Radio: Free-For-All Radio

Wednesday
  • 3 PM Eastern - Radio: Sonic Universe Radio
  • 7 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: The Update Desk LOL - With Special Guest Tristan Oliver Bresnen
  • 10 PM Eastern - #sagexpo Chat: Mike Pollock, voice of Dr. Eggman
  • 11 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: The Marcus Hour with Marcus

Thursday
  • 12 AM Eastern - Radio: Free-For-All Radio
  • 2 PM Eastern - #sagexpo Chat: Spencer Nilsen, composer of Sonic CD US
  • 3 PM Eastern - Radio: Sonic Universe Radio
  • 9 PM Eastern - #sagexpo Chat: Tom Payne, Sonic 2 Zone Artist
  • 10 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Skype Chat with the SAGE Gang

Friday
  • 2 AM Eastern - Radio: Free-For-All Radio
  • 2 PM Eastern - CONTEST: Klik'n'Play RAGE competition ends!
  • 12 AM Eastern - SAGEcast: DOM Cast: ANDROSS's Fanfiction Power Hour 9000

Saturday
  • 1 AM Eastern - Radio: Free-For-All Radio
  • 3 PM Eastern - #sagexpo Chat: SAGE Trivia with Endri!
  • 8 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Sonic and the Death Cheese 2, Part 1 with InstantSonic
  • 8:30 PM Eastern - Radio: Free-For-All Radio

Sunday
  • 2 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Sonic and the Death Cheese 2, Part 2 with InstantSonic
  • 2:30 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Encore of Sonic and the Death Cheese 2 with InstantSonic
  • 8 PM Eastern - SAGEcast: Closing Comments with InstantSonic, Katzu Niku, and the SAGE Gang
  • 9 PM Eastern - Radio: Free-For-All Radio

Booths

The following Booths/Fan Games/Hacks appeared at SAGE 14:


Really Amateur Games Expo

Really Amateur Games Expo 3's website.

Really Amateur Games Expo took place during SAGE 14, and was the third RAGE since it began in 2007. 2009's RAGE held a 5 day competition during SAGE which involved making the worse Sonic fan game possible with Klik and Play, although it was not required to enter a booth into the RAGE.

External Links