Where? It's held at eBash Gaming Center in Terre Haute, Ind that is owned and operated by Zack Johnson (360v's BoZack).
When? July 17th through the 21st. You need not attend every day though. If you can only make one or two days, that's absolutely fine! I only attended Fri & Sat last year due to previous obligations and I still had a kick ass time!
Unattributed Quote:
We will share achievement horror stories, host boosting sessions, and finally meet some of the faces behind the gamertags.
Here is an overview of the schedule of activities:
Thursday, July 17:
Noon – Store Opens for Extended Passes, early arrivals may come by the store, help set-up reserved stations, prepare for the unlocking onslaught
7 PM – Dinner with those on Extended Passes
Midnight – eBash closes to public, AF gamers play on
Friday, July 18:
10 AM – Arrival of Standard Pass Attendees and Set-up at your stations throughout the day
All Day/Night – Gaming, Unlocking, Hanging Out, Boosting, etc.
7 PM – The Real Buffet Challenge – Round Three back at Teppenyaki Grill & Supreme Buffet?
9 PM – TABLETOP NIGHT! Traditional TableTop Gaming. Earn “Real Life Achievements” with your favorite gamers.
Store remains open all night until 8 AM on Saturday
Saturday, July 19:
8 AM – Square Donuts provided while they last (last year we munched on these all day)
8 AM – Noon – Store closes to public (AF players may remain if they are still going)
All Day/Night – Gaming, Unlocking, Hanging Out, Boosting, etc.
Noon – Start of Guinness Record Attempt (for those participating)
8 PM – Pizza delivered and the start of 21+ lock-in, adult beverages permitted in eBash
Sunday, July 20:
8 AM – Noon – Store closes to public (AF Players may remain)
10 AM – Meet for breakfast
Noon – Store opens to public and the Guinness Record Attempt finishes.
10 PM – Store closes to public, end of AF Standard Pass
10 PM – Round Table Discussion – AF2014 Debriefing – Hanging out and discussing each year, what has worked and what has not and how to make AF2015 even better.
Monday, July 21:
8 AM – Continued gaming for AF Extended Pass Customers
Noon – Store opens to public
12 PM – Store closes and END of Achievement Fest 2014 (sad face)
Why? Because it's fun! And you'll get to meet fellow gamers in person. Maybe grab a couple XBA friends and share a room to curtail cost. If there were enough, you could even have an entire XBA room (check out the seating chart at AchievementFest.com to see what I mean about the rooms.) We basically spend the whole time playing games, boosting, talking and having fun. There is a Jap console set up and you can sign up to grab some time on that, a "kinect room" that is the absolutely perfect setup for games that use the device and a room for rock band/GH/other music.
You also have access to the store's entire library of games!! Play what you want, when you want, as much as you want! The store is open to the public throughout the day, so we can't have alcohol as it's against store policy. However, once the store closes to the public, you may drink whatever you decided to bring with you The store does not close for us...the event runs straight through, around the clock, from start to finish.
Oh, BTW, you could very well end up with your name in the Guinness Book of World Records! Quite a few of us are already there. Well, once the Guinness panel approves the record, which they should, we will be! The two big records we shoot for are Largest Gamerscore Gain by a group in a 24hr period and Largest Gamerscore Gain by a single person in a 24hr period. We managed to set the record the first year, then last year we broke both of our own records. This year we'll be attempting to break last year's record.
Here's how it works: We set up a console with a brand new gamertag, likely AchievementFest2014, and we allow all participants to sign up for blocks of time. Last year I played from 2:53am til 4:05am...1hr 12min...and added 1230 points to our total using Backyard Sports and something else (don't remember).
How much does it cost? Well, it depends. I reserved a full station (console, controller, 32" LCD) for $60. You can save money if you're willing to bring your own console, or tv, or both. I just like the idea of traveling light. I take a boatload of games with me and a couple/few extra controllers and of course, my pair of Hori controllers.
At any rate, it's well worth looking into because it's a damn good time! Hell, Futiles and I are even arranging to meet up early to shoot some clay pigeons before everything begins. Here's some links..
360v Achievement Fest forum, loaded with AF info: http://360voice.gamerdna.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=33
Official Achievement Fest website: http://www.achievementfest.com/?cat=4
Oh, BTW, we got a group rate on hotel rooms which will save a few bucks for everyone!