TORG Gaming Expo Info and Roll Call: November 1st, 2024 - November 3rd, 2024 (Columbus, Ohio)

[ZeldaCat]

Good morning 405th TORG participants!

I am here to announce instructions for a skit that will be taking place Saturday morning for the opening ceremony of TORG! TORG event staff reached out to us to develop a little something for con-open, so OFiveTwo, Rosebud, JTF4, NobleofDeath16, and myself along with event staff have come up with this plan. Please read through and understand the following information, as we hope to have as many costumed Spartans participate in the opening ceremony as possible!

8:15am – VIP Wave Lineup

Please be in your suit and ready for the VIP door-open. We will be located just inside the main entrance in a line formation to welcome all the VIP attendees.​

9:00am – VIPs Enter

VIP attendees will enter.​

9:15am – Main Wave Lineup

Call time for opening ceremony skit.​

9:30am to 9:45am – Opening Ceremony Skit

TORG has re-appearing characters that are present at each year’s welcome ceremony. They will be incorporated in this year’s as well. They are (from left to right) Torque Man, TORG-man, and the Hoarder.​

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View attachment 353938​

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The skit takes place outside the convention hall where attendees will be queueing to get in. The Hoarder will take his place near the front of the crowd near the entrance. The Hoarder will be holding a flag, and will be shielded by event volunteers called “minions”. Our army of Spartans commences near the back of the crowd with Torque-man and TORG-man.​

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Over a loudspeaker you will hear the iconic line “Flag stolen!” At this point the Spartans, along with Torque-man and TORG-man, will begin searching amongst the crowd for the enemy that has stolen our flag. Spartans will interact with attendees, perhaps using line like “We are looking for the one who has stolen out flag! Alert us if you see him!” or “We need to get that flag back soldiers! Locate the enemy!” Really get involved with folks here, make it an exciting experience! We may even make some Halo-themed “Wanted” posters to help you in your search. While you are doing this slowly make you way up the sides of the crowd toward the entrance where the Hoarder is.​

​

After a period of frantic searching the Hoarder will be spotted by our Spartans and will begin being chased into the convention hall. Please note that the lovely event staff member who will be playing the Hoarder cannot run due to an injury, only walk fast. To keep our fast-pace chase energy, consider a more chaotic and disorganized approach to your army communication. Perhaps running to tell your fellow Spartans that you’ve spotted the enemy before chasing the enemy, for example.​

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TORG-man will announce “Send in OMEGA TEAM!” Omega team lines will be played through the loudspeaker while our very own Omega team (SSGLordBert, SSGLordElmo, SSGLordErne) chase the Hoarder in, followed by our Spartans, who will then be followed by Torque-man and TORG-man. After all Spartans have made it in, the doors will close and the crowd will hear a gauss canon go off over the loudspeaker, followed by the Halo-3-Spartan-dying sound effect, followed by “Flag dropped!”​

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The skit will conclude around 9:45 to give attendees some time to wonder what the heck just happened.​

10:00am – Doors Open

All Spartans will be lined up inside the convention hall as they were to welcome the VIP guests with the addition of Omega team detaining the Hoarder. We will continue to stay in formation until the majority of the line outside the convention hall has dwindled. After that you can feel free to go to your booth and Extra-Life obligations, or to begin wandering the convention hall.​

Notes

The Mini-Mayhem stream event may be moved to another time slot to allow OFiveTwo and myself to organize you folks for the opening ceremony. Stay tuned for an update on that!

Treat attendee interactions with the same care you would the live stream; that is, no profanity, no pointing your gun at people, etc. You never know who it is you’re interacting with. For all we know your boss, grandmother, your favourite voice actor, or the event runner could be in the crowd. Let’s make sure we put our best foot forward for them, eh?

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SATURDAY MORNING!

Will handlers and others that are coming with 405th members be able to participate in this? My older brother and a couple of friends will be with me

 

[Negativecacti]

Good morning 405th TORG participants!

I am here to announce instructions for a skit that will be taking place Saturday morning for the opening ceremony of TORG! TORG event staff reached out to us to develop a little something for con-open, so OFiveTwo, Rosebud, JTF4, NobleofDeath16, and myself along with event staff have come up with this plan. Please read through and understand the following information, as we hope to have as many costumed Spartans participate in the opening ceremony as possible!

8:15am – VIP Wave Lineup

Please be in your suit and ready for the VIP door-open. We will be located just inside the main entrance in a line formation to welcome all the VIP attendees.​

9:00am – VIPs Enter

VIP attendees will enter.​

9:15am – Main Wave Lineup

Call time for opening ceremony skit.​

9:30am to 9:45am – Opening Ceremony Skit

TORG has re-appearing characters that are present at each year’s welcome ceremony. They will be incorporated in this year’s as well. They are (from left to right) Torque Man, TORG-man, and the Hoarder.​

​

​

View attachment 353938​

​

The skit takes place outside the convention hall where attendees will be queueing to get in. The Hoarder will take his place near the front of the crowd near the entrance. The Hoarder will be holding a flag, and will be shielded by event volunteers called “minions”. Our army of Spartans commences near the back of the crowd with Torque-man and TORG-man.​

​

Over a loudspeaker you will hear the iconic line “Flag stolen!” At this point the Spartans, along with Torque-man and TORG-man, will begin searching amongst the crowd for the enemy that has stolen our flag. Spartans will interact with attendees, perhaps using line like “We are looking for the one who has stolen out flag! Alert us if you see him!” or “We need to get that flag back soldiers! Locate the enemy!” Really get involved with folks here, make it an exciting experience! We may even make some Halo-themed “Wanted” posters to help you in your search. While you are doing this slowly make you way up the sides of the crowd toward the entrance where the Hoarder is.​

​

After a period of frantic searching the Hoarder will be spotted by our Spartans and will begin being chased into the convention hall. Please note that the lovely event staff member who will be playing the Hoarder cannot run due to an injury, only walk fast. To keep our fast-pace chase energy, consider a more chaotic and disorganized approach to your army communication. Perhaps running to tell your fellow Spartans that you’ve spotted the enemy before chasing the enemy, for example.​

​

TORG-man will announce “Send in OMEGA TEAM!” Omega team lines will be played through the loudspeaker while our very own Omega team (SSGLordBert, SSGLordElmo, SSGLordErne) chase the Hoarder in, followed by our Spartans, who will then be followed by Torque-man and TORG-man. After all Spartans have made it in, the doors will close and the crowd will hear a gauss canon go off over the loudspeaker, followed by the Halo-3-Spartan-dying sound effect, followed by “Flag dropped!”​

​

The skit will conclude around 9:45 to give attendees some time to wonder what the heck just happened.​

10:00am – Doors Open

All Spartans will be lined up inside the convention hall as they were to welcome the VIP guests with the addition of Omega team detaining the Hoarder. We will continue to stay in formation until the majority of the line outside the convention hall has dwindled. After that you can feel free to go to your booth and Extra-Life obligations, or to begin wandering the convention hall.​

Notes

The Mini-Mayhem stream event may be moved to another time slot to allow OFiveTwo and myself to organize you folks for the opening ceremony. Stay tuned for an update on that!

Treat attendee interactions with the same care you would the live stream; that is, no profanity, no pointing your gun at people, etc. You never know who it is you’re interacting with. For all we know your boss, grandmother, your favourite voice actor, or the event runner could be in the crowd. Let’s make sure we put our best foot forward for them, eh?

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SATURDAY MORNING!

Do you need volunteers or is everyone participating?

 

[N8TEBB]

Will handlers and others that are coming with 405th members be able to participate in this? My older brother and a couple of friends will be with me

The event staff we spoke to specifically requested Spartans. ODSTs and Marines that are fully armoured and helmeted are welcome as well. That being said, it's not a bad idea to have handlers available should one of us have a suit malfunction. Seeing as this situation requires us to be in the convention before doors-open it will be required that any handlers involved in this skit are listed on the attendance sheet and will be receiving a badge that allows them early access. Handlers also need to meet a few requirements outlined in the 405th Event FAQ. I'll copy a few points that may be particularly relevant to yourself and your friends.

Handlers are members in “Soft Costumes,” or members out of costume who can act as the eyes and ears of the helmeted and armored members. They can better communicate with the organizers and members of the public, and can scout out paths to ensure there are no hazards (or at least be able to tell members where those hazards are).

Handlers should always be over the age of 18.

Handlers are not required to be 405th members, but if they are not or have no experience in wearing a helmeted costume, they need to be educated in what the members can and can't see or do.

In the case of this skit it will be required that they are on our attendance sheet and receiving a partner-badge

If the members end up in a situation with a crowd of people, the handlers can take control of the situation and politely direct the public how to get a photo etc. Handlers should be firm but never bossy or aggressive.

Remember that the handlers will not be taking part in the skit directly, rather solely looking out for the costumed members. I hope this answers your question!

 

[N8TEBB]

Do you need volunteers or is everyone participating?

We won't be taking a specific attendance list for the skit, but we would like everyone that doesn't have a extra-life stream obligation to participate! No RSVP necessary

 

[Negativecacti]

We won't be taking a specific attendance list for the skit, but we would like everyone that doesn't have a extra-life stream obligation to participate! No RSVP necessary

I can help with my extra life starts at 11am

 

[ZeldaCat]

The event staff we spoke to specifically requested Spartans. ODSTs and Marines that are fully armoured and helmeted are welcome as well. That being said, it's not a bad idea to have handlers available should one of us have a suit malfunction. Seeing as this situation requires us to be in the convention before doors-open it will be required that any handlers involved in this skit are listed on the attendance sheet and will be receiving a badge that allows them early access. Handlers also need to meet a few requirements outlined in the 405th Event FAQ. I'll copy a few points that may be particularly relevant to yourself and your friends.



In the case of this skit it will be required that they are on our attendance sheet and receiving a partner-badge


Remember that the handlers will not be taking part in the skit directly, rather solely looking out for the costumed members. I hope this answers your question!

My older brother(you met him at the meetup in June) fits under these parameters, but my two friends that are coming to the con(all three of them are already listed on the spreadsheet) aren’t 18+, so I think maybe my older brother and I could show up for the skit and the other two could come in and join up with us a little bit later.

(One of my friends and my brother will also be with me on Friday, and the other friend is going to be joining us for Saturday and Sunday)

 

[SpicyMcTuna]

The event staff we spoke to specifically requested Spartans. ODSTs and Marines that are fully armoured and helmeted are welcome as well. That being said, it's not a bad idea to have handlers available should one of us have a suit malfunction. Seeing as this situation requires us to be in the convention before doors-open it will be required that any handlers involved in this skit are listed on the attendance sheet and will be receiving a badge that allows them early access. Handlers also need to meet a few requirements outlined in the 405th Event FAQ. I'll copy a few points that may be particularly relevant to yourself and your friends.



In the case of this skit it will be required that they are on our attendance sheet and receiving a partner-badge


Remember that the handlers will not be taking part in the skit directly, rather solely looking out for the costumed members. I hope this answers your question!

Since I’m in a covenant cosplay should I sit this one out? Or would you like me to participate?

 

[N8TEBB]

My older brother(you met him at the meetup in June) fits under these parameters, but my two friends that are coming to the con(all three of them are already listed on the spreadsheet) aren’t 18+, so I think maybe my older brother and I could show up for the skit and the other two could come in and join up with us a little bit later.

(One of my friends and my brother will also be with me on Friday, and the other friend is going to be joining us for Saturday and Sunday)

Alrighty! Even though not everyone will be able to participate in this skit there will be LOTS of fun shenanigans going on throughout the entire weekend! So don't feel like you're missing out.

Since I’m in a covenant cosplay should I sit this one out? Or would you like me to participate?

Elites can play CFT too! I'd love for you to join in.

I can help with my extra life starts at 11am

A few slots have been moved for various reasons. I believe the shift affects the time of your event.

 

[Negativecacti]

You are correct sir

 

[NobleofDeath16]

Let’s talk load in.

Vendor load in starts at 8am on Friday the 1st, and we can accommodate you until around 10pm. For those of you with low inventory, artists with things not too heavy, or if you’re staying at one of the attached hotels, I’d advise you to take advantage of the surrounding parking garages (and remember the hotel we’re using that is linked above is giving 20% off parking all weekend).


There are tons of entrances to the convention center from the garages or even the streets that would be better suited for those with one table or a lighter load. There are elevators to get you down to the exhibit halls if you are coming from the hotels or parked in a higher level of the garage, but the exhibit halls are also accessible from the street level.

Coming in through the main doors of the Exhibit Halls is going to get you checked in and going very fast with no lines. If you are needing to use the dock, there are two, and you will be limited to 25 minutes to unload everything there and you must move at that time. They will have dock guards and staff making sure of this, this is a strict rule enforced by the convention center. Once you unload you have several options for parking.

If you have been given permission to load in on Thursday, the time for load in is from 12pm to 3pm. For those with semis, flat beds, or large trucks; we have limited dock passes that will allow you to park at the dock for the entire time.

You MUST contact me at my email (not this one) to secure a dock pass. These are incredibly limited, like 4 left. My email is rachel@torgevents.com

THERE IS NO VENDOR CHECK IN OR DOCK LOAD IN SATURDAY

 

[SSGLordErne]

I know I have extra 405th stickers and temporary tattoos, plenty of Outpost Discovery Dog Tags, and we can give everyone a copy of the 405th Activity Book. I also have some extra Chief and Cortana Vinyl Decals floating around that came as extras with some UNSC logo decals I ordered a while back that can be given away.

As an FYI some Guests and Celebrities are uncomfortable with food products, especially if they aren't in like a known manufacturer's sealed packing. Not saying they won't take it, but something to keep in mind.

I've got a box of about 350 halo related stickers I'm bringing

 

[shotanvil]

I'll be there