I have thought about this for a few years now and finally wanted to start putting plans together to make this happen.

Concept:
360voice members will assemble at eBash here in Terre Haute, IN for a weekend of unlocking achievements. Our goal will be to set the Guinness World Record for most achievements (or Gamerscore) unlocked in a 24 hour period.

Background:
A few years ago I hosted a team of 4 that were attempting to break the record for the longest FPS gaming session. The current record was 32 hours at the time. They totally jacked up the attempt, they drove through the night to get to our store and then 2 of them started the attempt after already being awake for 20 hours. They made it about 18 hours and then got in a big fight with each other and quit.

So the only good that came out of it is that I totally watched and made notes on what it took to set-up, register, record and submit an attempt. I would love to make an attempt at the FPS record sometime, but I thought with our group at 360voice we could not only create a few records but also put the bar out of reach for them all.

Timing/Days:
My idea would be to have everyone travel on a Friday to our store. We can set-up shuttle service from the IND airport to Terre Haute (less than an hour drive) for anyone flying in for the weekend.

Friday night I will have a block of hotel rooms set-up. For those within a 4-5 hour drive, they could travel Saturday morning. The event would begin at noon, so everyone would need to arrive to begin setting up around 10 or 11 AM.

The event would run from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday. That would give everyone time to travel home Sunday afternoon/evening.

Record Ideas/Attempts:
Here is the fun part. In almost all of these cases we would be creating the records as we go.. so we can use the time we are all together to set multiple records. There are guidelines from the GWW folks on the details for making a record, here are some of my suggestions:

Individual
– Most Achievements unlocked in 24 hours
– Most Gamerscore gained in 24 hours
– Longest consecutive gamerscore session

Group
– Most achievements unlocked in 24 hours by a group
– Most Gamerscore gained in 24 hours by a group
– Most gamers in one gamerscore session
– Longest consecutive gamerscore session for a group

Logistics:
My goal would be to have 100 folks pull this off. My store has 50 seats for Xbox already set-up, but a total of 95 stations set-up counting PC, PS3 and Wii. We can add room for up to around 110 or 120 stations. My idea would be to have anyone flying in be able to use our existing stations so they don’t have to bring any big equipment with them. While those traveling from the midwest by car could bring their set-ups and use the PC, PS3 and Wii stations.

I have cameras throughout the store which we can use for recording and submitting the attempt, this is a HUGE barrier for most folks attempting records. You have to submit video of the entire attempt and everyone participating.

We will also need to submit screen capture footage of a few of the contestants. The 4 guys that tried the FPS record just recorded one of their stations, but in our case with 100+ members I think we should attempt to record 5-10 depending on who has equipment to handle this. We can do a few stations at the store, but all of this will be a ton to manage.

I will take care of the witness requirements. I can get all of the local press to cover the story and submit their footage. Also I can have my local gaming community (we have around 15,000 users in our store DB) to stop by and sign witness reports.

Food:
For those folks helping for the continuous gaming session records you are allowed to have a 5 min break every hour. You can store those up in 3 hour period for a 15 min break for example. This keeps it from being a medical problem with gaming and not eating or going to the bathroom.

With that many people in one spot I plan on getting us some local food sponsors who will benefit from the press coverage. I don’t want to feed everyone pizza and soda for example, we need food that will keep everyone going. However I know through the night I can get Energy Drink folks to provide free product.

Cost:
As much as I would love to say that I am a millionaire and will pay for the entire operation that just isn’t the case. That being said I don’t want to make anything on the project. I plan on participating in the attempt with everyone else, so I will have to staff up the store for the day and have them take care of all of the details.

Depending on how much of the food I can get donated I think I can make all of this happen for around $25/person. I don’t want this to be a barrier for anyone to participate, but I know most of us 360voice folks are capable of helping cover the costs. This will allow me to coordinate the food, close the store to the public for the day and would include food/drinks.

Feedback/Volunteers/Date:
I am looking for feedback from everyone here at 360voice for this project along with volunteers to help me coordinate everything and help with set-up.

I also want everyone to help me figure out a good weekend to make this happen. We need a few months for planning and for everyone to make travel plans, but I would like to make this happen before the summer if possible. I was thinking of a weekend in May. It just can’t be a holiday weekend like Memorial Day because the store is packed during those weekends and I can’t afford to close to the public during a busy weekend. 🙂