DeuceCon thoughts / path forward

Alright, I've been thinking a lot about DeuceCon and the direction it's heading lately. I think it's mainly because of the fundraiser coming up and it seems there is some confusion about why I need certain things or why I'm trying to raise that amount of money etc. Just so you know this is going to be really long but I'd really appreciate if you took the time to read it and respond with 100% honesty, and share your thoughts. This is a large crossroads for me and where this event will end up going in 2017.

- Why am I asking $1500 and buying the equipment I have listed
	So obviously a large portion of my setup could be dumbed down in comparison to the things I'm asking for. I could easily put RGB / component to the stream and have composite going to CRTs without any issue and probably save a shit ton of money. It's my goal to have the highest video quality possible going to the stream for all consoles and going to all TVs that are being used at the meetup. I understand this isn't necessary, but it's the path I'd like to take because having good quality TVs and images (to me) is an important piece of polishing the meetup and playing with optimal image quality is really amazing. People need to understand I'm not buying all this equipment for myself, I have already spent hundreds of dollars on my personal stream making this possible - the equipment I'm going after will do the same thing but facilitate 4 way races all with similar video quality, not only to the stream but also to the TV the runner is playing on. The money I'm raising is literally just to help expedite this process and make it viable for DeuceCon this year.

- Why do you even bother putting on DeuceCon
	When I started DeuceCon (which is the worst name for a speedrunning meetup ever btw. I've always hated it - but it was deemed that by my chat and we could never really come up with something better so it just stuck) my only goal was to show people in the community that you could put on a meetup that isn't a GDQ and get high quality runs showcased while having a great time with others in the community. It's always been about growing the community from within and giving people a chance to not only meet others but to show off runs that wouldn't normally be shown at an in person event. I feel like I have far surpassed anything I've ever envisioned with it and met a lot of amazing people in the process that I know consider to be friends. I'm still putting it on because I feel like I can always improve it, that the community needs to have events that aren't about money (bear with me on that, I understand I'm holding a fundraiser but I will discuss exactly why in the next section) and I'm still not completely satisfied with growth of it and I don't think it's reached it's full potential.

- What is the path forward for the event, and where will it be in the future
	This is where the fundraiser plays a large role, and where this years event will really shape the future for DeuceCon in 2017. This event has absolutely out grown my home. I'll be holding it there this year and will hopefully have people staying outside in hotels while attending, because I don't want to limit the amount of runs that will be accepted based solely on how many people I can squeeze into three spare bedrooms. My hope is that I'll have at least 50 submissions and be able to craft a really fun schedule with lots of variety.
	The path forward is setting up equipment and getting things in place (such as the game selection committee) to make a push to bring DeuceCon to the next level. The vision I currently have is after this years event I will be contacting people in the community and putting together an event that will be large scale in a venue that can hold 100+ runners. I know NASA is trying to do this, but to be honest I don't think it has the steam to "take on" a GDQ and give the community, what I think, it desperately needs. I cannot do this myself, I'd be a fool to think that I could. I want to do this the right way, and do it right the first time. DeuceCon would be no more, a name change would take place, and I wouldn't mind moving the venue to a more accessible location (aka outside of Austin) for people traveling.  There is a lot of extremely knowledgeable, well connected people in the community that I'd love to discuss this sort of thing with, and I will. THIS is the reason I'm looking to upgrade to a more 'professional' style setup, because that's the vision I see for the future. An event where things like Go1den's 120 star showcase will be a reality, where a Mega Man Classic relay will be showcased live, and where you won't have the pressure of submitting a run that will be a good money maker but instead a good speedgame. A place to showcase the speed running community and what we do - speed runs.

That being said, this year's event will really show me if something like that is viable. Are people willing to travel a 3rd time to a speed running event? Are they willing to skip out on GDQ? For many the answer is no, and that's fine. You should always go where you will have the best time and meet the great people in the community. I don't think I'm the sole catalyst for something like this to happen, but I sure as hell would like to get the equipment and resources together, pool up who I think would best represent our community and give it the best shot that I can.

Thanks for reading,
~ Deuce