TaggerTalk

TagParty.net Site Updated

Microsoft’s IE8 has forced us to update the website. While the existing JavaScript menu worked in all browser, including IE7,  Microsoft managed to make IE8 unable to handle the existing script. I am not alone, it seems that there are many angry website owners out there with similar non functioning sites.

Anyway, I have implemented a new JavaScript menu system and undertaken some maintenance issues on the site. The new menu is more flexable and I have added some sub group links for easier navigation.

In addition to the new menu I have also added a scrolling news reader. This is an easy way to let visitors know of things going on i.e. the Family Fun Day etc.

Family Fun Laser Tag Evening

TagParty is hosting a Family Fun Laser Tag Evening at the Bethel Baptist Church’s Field (Bethel is located at:4261 Montgomery Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043). Come and experience outdoor laser tag, healthy and safe fun that all the family can join in. Play starts at 6PM and goes on until 8PM with each 15 minute laser tag session at $5 per person. This event is sponsored by the Bethel Baptist Church children and youth groups.

Healthy Howard Day

TagParty will be demonstrating how to have fun and get fit playing laser tag.

Title: Healthy Howard Day
Location: Centennial Park
Link out: Click here
Description: Come and play laser tag at in Centennial park. Have fun and get some exercise.
Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2009-06-07
End Time: 16:00

TagParty Featured In Chesapeake Family Magazine

TagParty was featured, in the highlighted article “Birthday Parties at Home“, in the latest edition of Chesapeake Family.  They used our photograph in the header of the article in addition to TagParty being a major part of the article presented below.

Chesapeake Family Magazine - May 2009

Having a birthday party at home is a great way to cut costs and to put your unique stamp on your child’s birthday. And you don’t have to rely on a few balloons and a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game—you can either make it festive yourself, or bring in pros that can do anything from pony rides to laser tag. Or, of course, you can combine the best of both worlds.

Hoffman lets her sons choose the theme for their parties. “All the boys have had sports birthdays. Grady just turned six, and he likes golf. We had a golf ball cake and learned trivia about different players and then gave Grady a green jacket,” just like the winner of the Master’s tournament receives every year. They also had a mini-golf game set up for the guests. When her son Baylor turned three, Hoffman based the party on his favorite t-shirt—one that depicted the Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. But while some overreaching parents might have tried to book the actual F/A-18 fighters, Hoffman looked closer to home. “We had friends who were in the Navy come dressed up in their naval outfits. They taught the kids how to salute. We gave all the kids little Naval hats, which we got for, like, $2.” The kids also learned the Pledge of Allegiance and had a piñata.

If you want to bring in the pros, though, there are plenty of options. Eudene Rossi, owner of Tag Party, brings the high-tech right to you with her laser tag parties. “We bring all the taggers, obstacles to hide behind, juice and water, two crew members—and we run the party for you for the entire two hours,” she says. “We’ll take pictures and post an album on the website and also, if the client wants to, we’ll do them a photo CD for a small fee.”

“The most important thing for me was to make it easy for the mothers,” Rossi says. “I have two of my own, so I know how crazy it can be with 12-16 boys running around and you’re wondering what to do with them.”

Rossi believes in the benefits to having a party at home. “It makes it more comfortable to be in your house, in your surroundings. It’s a lot different than going somewhere and paying [laser tag] indoors. There are no strangers running around playing with your kids.” Rossi and her crew divide the guests into two teams, and are adept at modifying the game so that every kid gets a chance to be on the winning team. They can also change up the rules so that every age from about seven to adult can have a good time. “In the summer, we finish with water tag, which is a really good way to cool down.”

And you don’t need a huge space. “As long as you have some room, some sort of grassy area front and back, we can do it around the house,” she says. Otherwise, she suggests going to a local park. And, while the equipment won’t work in pouring rain, should inclement weather arise, they bring clear ponchos for the kids so the equipment still work. “[The kids] don’t care if it’s wet. We’ve done it with snow on the ground. We’ve done it when it’s 40 degrees out. We’ve brought handwarmers.”

If tearing around the house James Bond-style isn’t for your kid, plenty of more general services exist. Thumbs Up Party Planning brings the party to you—whether it’s a simple request or their all-inclusive “Extravaganza” package. “We try to keep a balance of the traditional birthday party and tie it in with themes you don’t see everywhere,” says owner Laura Betz. Their biggest package includes things like a welcome table, themed costumes (like pirates, or terrycloth robes for a makeover party), a craft, games and an “interactive time, where guests might learn some new dance moves or put on a fashion show or concert. “We wrap up with a fully decorated table and, on the way out, kids get goodie bags.” They even coordinate to have themed invitation and thank-you notes, and provide you with two party hostesses. Thumbs Up also offers add-ons like face painting or visits from characters like Sleeping Beauty.

“It’s about being with family and friends,” says Betz. Having a party at home “is close to my heart. I think it’s nice for the younger kids, and the adults can be in the kitchen talking to one another.”

If you’re going to bring in a professional planner, Betz has some advice. “[The party] is a very personal experience. It’s your child’s birthday. It’s always good to have an idea of what you do or don’t want to do,” she says. “For instance, we don’t include food, like lunch or supper,” though they do supply the birthday cake. Betz avoids mistakes by always scheduling a pre-party meeting with parents so that everyone’s expectations are clear.

Betz also suggests to always have a Plan B. “I’m more than happy to have an outside party,” she says. “But have a backup plan, just in case it rains.”

With money growing tighter, having a party at home is a good way to cut costs without eliminating fun. “Everybody’s thinking about what they’ll spend their money on,” says Rossi. But a birthday is “once a year; [parents] want to do something special, something different.”

“I think the kids that come to [an at-home] party learn a little bit more about the person they’re there for,” says Hoffman, who has also done a crab-themed party and a football one. Having a party might take a little more effort, but the personal touch is well worth it—especially if you bring in the pros to help you out.

Third TagParty Crew In Operation

Continuing the growth of TagParty a third crew has been added for the summer. Crew 3, headed up by Owen, held its first TagParty event today http://www.tagparty.net/090515_brendan.htm

New TagParty Videos Added to YouTube

Should We Be Annoyed and Should We Do Something About It?

Today I came across two web sites that have got me questioning my philosophy of giving back to the laser tag community. Both web sites are businesses, and it looks like both of them have copied TagParty materiel. While I have no problem with them using TagParty intellectual property,  I freely share my mods and equipment designs,  I get annoyed when people use materiel for commercial benefit without the courtesy of first asking, or then not crediting TagParty on their web site.

The first one “Mobile Lazer Tag” looks to have copied, or at least based, their barriers off the TagParty design (http://www.tagparty.net/barriers.html), and also look to have taken the briefing station set-up (though the racks look more like Greg’s adaptation). They can not claim to be unaware of our web site, as at least one of the documents is identical to the TagParty version with the exception of logos and company names.

The second company is “Xtreme Lazer”, who admits to plagiarizing, without first asking for permission, the TagParty web site materiel in a LTAGMB post (http://members5.boardhost.com/lazertag/msg/1240973835.html).  While there is at least some public acknowledgment, it is still in my view inappropriate and ethically wrong to take and then beg forgiveness.

I do not want to send them a cease and desist notice, especially as I would have freely helped them, but where do you draw the line? Personally I am annoyed, but as TagParty we probably have to act to protect our business – it is what pays the bills after all!

TagParty Sport Briefing Station

We know the benefits of having a focal point for briefing and debriefing games from our TagParty events, and while we do not have facilitate the same type of debrief that we have with the LTTO gear, there still needs to be a place for the players to put down their taggers. Faced with a similar challenge as when we started TagParty the solution for a briefing station has not surprisingly led us back to a canopy suspension system, rather than tables or other ground based solutions.

In addition, being able to use the same canopy means that we do not need to add to our equipment load when doing TagParty and TagParty Sport events on the same day. In fact the solution for TagParty Sport is simpler – see here

Trigger Mod

I have now modified over 50 of our TagParty taggers to have both the Magic Drone mod and the new trigger hardware.  Information on the two mods can be found:

Drone Trigger Mod

Magic Drone Mod

TagParty Sport Scoring Application

I have been working on a scoring application for TagParty Sport. At the moment Adventure Sports Taggers outputs data from the Ref Tagger which can be captured to a file and then opened with a text reader. The file show the score, number of hit taken, rounds fired and accuracy for each player, along with the team score.

The scoring is rudimentary with the number of hit being multiplied by 5 for an individual and 20 for the teams. There is no ranking and no account taken of how many times each individual is hit or if tagged out. The text file format also does not allow for recalculation easily.

I wanted an automated file read and also a scoring system that took into account tags taken and received. Additionally like the LTTO system used in TagParty, I wanted to encourage an attacking game and team play. It therefore seemed logical to adopt a similar scoring system to that devised by Brian aka TagFerrit for LTTO:

• Tags Taken x1 points
• Tags Made x2 points
• Tagged Out – individual score, but points not added to the team score
• Added; for joint rankings accuracy becomes the decider

Since I am not a programmer, short on funds, but know a bit about spreadsheets, I decided to try to develop an application for the free Open Office Calc. The output from my efforts can be seen here. The advantage of this approach is that I can get scoring, ranking etc. and can easily sort, or filter the results. Open Office also has a handy PDF export feature too.

Open Office Calc handle the importing, along with the calculations and display of the data. RealTerm is used to communicate with the taggers and handles the file transfers. The advantage of using RealTerm is that it runs in the background and can be controlled from within Open Office Calc through simple Macros. You can see the Macro buttons on the top of the sheets.

I would still like a dedicated application, preferably running on a PDA or a dedicated display unit with memory, but for now this will do. I need to see what the new AS firmware does with regard to output before I do any more with this application.