Craig "Wizzo" Fletcher answers your questions

Though it has been a while, we have the answers from the questions you asked Wizzo. Multiplay is a big part of the UK scene, and there were a lot of questions that you directed at him. Here are all of his answers, and he has given some in depth answers to a lot of them.

We will also have the Heaton questions coming out soon and then start on a new person giving you the chance to ask him (or her) questions you may have for them.

When times have been hard and people constantly criticise Multiplay for what they do, do you ever feel you are in the wrong job, do you ever lose motivation to keep doing what you do, and what does keep you going? Gumpster

Criticism goes with the territory when you work with gaming communities.  You quickly learn to balance the vocal outbursts on forums with all the other feedback you receive, such as the numerous handshakes after an event where people take the time to come up and say what a great time they've had.  People are all too quick to rant, especially from the other side of a keyboard and you have to develop a tough skin to it.  No matter what you do you will never please everyone and there will always be someone quick to slate you.

As with all jobs, there are highs and there are lows.  I left a career in medicine to take Multiplay forward full time.  That was some 8 years ago now and I wonder if I'd be doing less hours pacing the wards sometimes!  I would be lying if I said occasionally when I'm exhausted after an event and have made the mistake of reading some really negative forum posts that I wonder why on earth we put ourselves through it.  What keeps me going is knowing from our surveys and direct feedback at the event, that the overwhelming majority have had an awesome time and really appreciate what we do.

There was talk about Multiplay online leagues on the way. How would this work? Could we have an insight to this? Ryan-

My gaming life actually started out some 16 years ago now running online leagues on CompuServe for Doom 2 then a few other games (there weren't many Multiplayer at the time).  Then I got into running LANs with people from the leagues and eventually the online competitions fell by the way side, having only so many hours in the day when doing things in your spare time.  However, I've always wanted to get back into it and now seems the perfect time to do so.

With our online servers to host the matches, our events to host LAN finals and the backend software already written to manage the tournaments, it does seem rather silly we haven't launched online tournaments before.  Again it comes down to only being able to do so much and ensuring we don't bite off more than we can chew. 

We've grown any new areas of our business steadily and this area will be no different.  We are in the design and development stages now and we will not launch until we are happy with it.  Our overriding ethos since we started has been to only provide what we ourselves would be happy to use.  We'll be sticking to that with this "Connect" project I announced on stage at i37.

Why has Multiplay decided that they would lower the prize fund for Counter Strike Source, considering the CSS Community brought 100+ clans respectively to i34, i36 & i37, and continued support for the i-Series, yet Multiplay feel they should lower it despite this continued and reliable support we have given. Gumpster

The November i-series is traditionally the smallest one of the year by quite a margin.  For the past two years it's been at around 1,000 BYOC places, whereas both the Spring and Summer events achieve around double that.  Without sponsorship to help support the prize fund, this means we don't have as much prize money to go around and the guaranteed prize funds we found ourselves have to be lowered as a result.

A big question surrounding i38 is the inclusion of the Call of Duty series. Speculation is high, but which game is the pendulum currently swaying at, in terms of a prize tournament at the LAN? Ryan-

It's still up in the air, even at 3 weeks prior to the event.  We had hoped to have this sorted out quite some time ago, but negotiations for the tournament sponsorship are still ongoing.  I really couldn't say either way.

I understand the demands of the economic crisis etc, but will Multiplay ever look to bolster competitive prize funds to match those of European TUP LANs such as The Experience? Ryan-

The i-series is first and foremost a large BYOC LAN where competitive gaming is a part not the whole.  As such, it is difficult to directly compare it to smaller, purely competitive LANs.  The majority of the people attending the i-series are not interested in big money prize winning tournaments and just want to attend the event for 4 days of gaming mayhem with their online friends. 

This being said we have been trying to do what we can to improve the e-sports side of the events, but the future of that I don't see as BYOC.  I see us having a dedicated section of the event where tournaments are the primary focus as the way forward, ideally with provided machines.  This area would then be comparable to your TeX-style events. 

i38 is of course back at Newbury.. but personally, which venue do you prefer? Ryan-

Both venues are great and I love them both for different reasons.  Newbury has so much history with LANs that it's got a special place in a lot of gamers' hearts (mine included).  However, I'm sure many can see the future at a venue like Stoneleigh, catering for larger numbers of gamers and greatly expanding the exhibition and other activities at the event.  I would like to continue to do events at both ideally.

How likely is it that you'll actually find outside funding for the source tournament for i38, and are you afraid that source is going to head down the road that 1.6 went at i-series?Hairboi

We have secured additional sponsorship in the form of Alienware.  This is awesome as over the past year it has proven extremely difficult to obtain sponsorship from companies, for obvious reasons.  It does seem that people are starting to push forward again now so dare I say we are seeing the "green shoots of recovery"?

I really don't see Source going the way of 1.6 anytime soon.  1.6 was pretty much killed off because of Source at the i-series.  Until there is something coming along to kill of Source, I don't see that happening..

How would you feel about charging £5 tournament entry and putting that directly towards the prize funds? felix

For the main event tournaments I really don't like the idea.  Why would people pay £5 to go to a fund they have no chance of winning?  It does work very well for tournaments such as the losers cup, so I would certainly like to see more of that.  At least there you have a chance of winning.  The future of prize funds has to be sponsorship, not through BYOC ticket sales or extra fees to the general attendance at the events.

What are your thoughts on the console scene? Why have you taken so long to expand into it? SwitchbacK72

We always wanted to expand the BYOC side to include consoles.  It was a matter of getting the timing and offering right.  You can only do so much and our focus had to be on the growth of the PC side, enticing sponsors and exhibitors, the expansion to Stoneleigh, etc.

Now we have started to make good inroads into the console community you can expect to see this support continue.  Console gaming is an important part of the UK gaming scene and as such it makes sense for us to continue to support it's growth. 

How do Multiplay hope to compete against lans like Slap with smaller entry frees an much bigger than prices? and what steps will they take to combat this? kempo2k9

I don't think we really compete with smaller LANs like Slap for the majority of our attendance.  There will always be smaller LANs around able to charge lower fees, take nothing out of the event and plough absolutely every cent into prize money. 

However, at a certain point you have to make the choice to either to keep it as a hobby and at a manageable size, or take it to the next level.  At this point you have to start paying wages, overheads and encounter whole new costs you never thought you'd have to deal with.  

What will the I series do to attract more foreign teams? kempo2k9

The attraction of foreign teams appears purely money orientated.  We're always working to secure more sponsorship for tournaments.

With what has been said by some of the "top players", would you ever consider implementing a separate invite tournament into the iSeries, to prevent what the top-end teams have described as "boring group stages"? orcl

We have considered a number of structures such as having the top teams seeded through the group stages so they don't face the regular teams in them, but rather those that make it through to the eliminations.  However, we need to get the balance right as many of the lower skilled teams love the opportunity to play against the best. 

Do you not feel that by dodging a lot of questions relating to ticket prices and prize purses you are making life more difficult for yourself? We always hear how multiplay don't make a large profit from i-series, why don't multiplay release their figures to put an end to the speculation if that is the case? Rickeh

As a limited company, our overall figures are a matter of public record. You can go download them from www.companieshouse.gov.uk. The accounts to May 2009 should be filed in a month or so. 
I don't believe we've ever dodged questions about ticket prices and prize purses.  The whole "£90 x 2000 = LOL PROFIT" does come up now and then, but when people actually take the time to sit down and go through all the possible costs involved they soon realise it isn't the massive gravy train it initially appears.

No company is ever going to release its detailed budget figures as they are commercially sensitive. However, what we have done in the past is point out a whole list of factors people commonly miss in their back-of-a-fag-packet workings and it soon sinks in. There have been a number of good forum posts that have done this in the past.  Perhaps I should write something more permanent along the lines of a "this is what it takes to run a large LAN" guide?

At the end of the day we are a business and we have to make money to survive and still be around to run the next one. Events the scale of the i-series simply cannot be run as a hobby and require full time staff and other overheads to keep going. Once you get on the radar of the authorities you also have to shape up and start contending with all the red tape and extra costs that brings with it.  For example, back in the "good old days" we could get away without having to spend 5 figures an event on security and medical cover and submitting 30 page health and safety plans to the local council. If people felt our £90 a ticket (well actually £72 a ticket for a third of the event due to early bird) was too much then they will vote with their feet. On the contrary, we find many people comment on how great value for money our events are. The results from our surveys also point to an overwhelming customer satisfaction in our prices.

I have always tried to keep costs down but there are times when we simply have to respond to our own rising costs. Even so, the price of the i-series has been kept static for many years at a time, with the rise from £80 to £90 in April being the first in over 2 years despite inflation and our own rising costs.

In your own words, Stoneleigh park is a far more expensive venue to host an iseries event. Since for I38 you have now moved back to Newbury racecourse, how do you justify raising the ticket prices? TsuNami

Stoneleigh is indeed more expensive overall and it was always the plan for this difference to be covered by increased sponsorship and exhibition, keeping the ticket prices the same.  With the problems securing sponsorship over the last year, we simply cannot keep this up.  Faced with the choice of a significant price hike to keep the event at Stoneleigh, or head back to Newbury, we chose Newbury.

Do you feel it would affect your event if the competitive CSS scene boycotted your events? TsuNami

Of course it would affect the event, but I would hope that any community feeling so strongly would actually come forward with their concerns directly before any such action was taken.  We're not some monolithic corporation who cares only about its shareholders profits.  We're gamers ourselves and will always care about our customers.

What improvements are you making to this iseries and future iseries? TsuNami

There are a number of improvements coming for i38.  Firstly we will be fixing the long queues we had at EAS last time by allowing people check-in to get their passes and wrist bands only from much earlier on Thursday.  The doors will still open at 6pm, but if 300 or so people are already badged and banded then it will significantly reduce the queues.

The food and drink offerings are being ramped up at Newbury, offering a wider range and even delivery to your desk of more things than just pizza.  We have one of the busiest exhibition halls already since i34 (August 08).

Looking ahead we are working hard to include more activities, social events, tournaments, exhibitors and improve the overall experience for both BYOC and visitors.  Right now we're focusing on making the return to Newbury as good as possible.

What catering will be available to the players at i38? TsuNami

Newbury have been working really hard to improve and expand the offerings for our return, including more delivery to the desk options and opening more bars so you don't have to walk all the way to the Tote.  We will also be offering our tuck shop in both stands to prevent exposure to the dreaded outdoors wherever possible.

You look fantastic for your age and the amount of stress you endure running a company, what's your secret? TsuNami

I think someone is angling for a free i-series ticket.

Will the entire ground floor at Newbury be for exhibitors as with the last events there, and can it be filled? corin

Yes we will not put any LAN seats in exhibition areas where we can help it moving forward, so the ground floor is entirely exhibition and finals stage currently.  We are well on the way to filling it for i38.

Does having Michael O'Dell help you sell floor space seem to be working well? corin

ODEE has been an excellent addition to the team and has really thrown himself into the role.  You will start to see the fruits of his labour in the i38 exhibition hall ?

With people crying out for you to host TeX-style non-byoc competitions, would you consider partnering with a company who could run that sort of event in your exhibition hall, but without charging them the usual fees in return for them bringing large amounts of interest from the competitive community to your events? corin

We're always open to discussions like this.  It isn't as simple as just going "here have this space and run your event" as obviously space costs us money.  There are always other ways of working that can be explored though.  However, we are actually working on improving the non-BYOC tournaments we ourselves run, so there is every possibility you will see this happening anyway in the future.

Multiplay M Festival, a step in the right direction. (Picture courtesy of Multiplay

If CSPromod is a success would you consider using it at an I-Series? Reece

That would be one for the tournament team.  Unfortunately these days I'm not as in touch with the specific mods as I'd like to be.

Why have you let yourself in for this you poor fellow? (cadred interview) Lain

Well it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Seriously, I do see us taking a lot of flak on Cadred and it makes sense to stand up and answer it.  There are so many misconceptions that seem to crop up, some of which really defy belief.  But hey that's the online gaming community so I'm kind of used to it after all this time.

I'm always happy to discuss what we do and take feedback on board.  This is why I have done an on-stage Q+A at several i-series events and will continue to do so.  I also make a point of going round the event and speaking to as many people as I can to see what they think and discuss ideas with them.  This is also the thought behind the announcement of the new Multiplay Community Council, which we are hoping to kick off properly after i38.

Everyone says that they've been hit by the financial crisis. However, the games industry and its related partners have profited in many cases. In the case of Multiplay, attendance hasn't been reduced, so how specifically has Multiplay been affected? Mellow

Whilst many banded around that the games industry was "recession proof" this has been proven false and in fact many publishers have seen serious hits to their revenue and the overall market size of the industry has shrunk over this year. 

In our case, we were hit very hard by the sudden pulling out of a number of sponsors and exhibitors from the i35 event (Nov 2008).  We also saw significant drops in commercial revenue at both i36 and i37.  It is great that the attendance levels have maintained, but we do rely on the sponsors to enable us to put on the events that we do whilst keeping the ticket prices as low as we can.

What are your long term ambitions for I-series? Mellow

Long term I would love to see the i-series attracting many thousands more players, and even more day visitors.  I really do see the i-series becoming a true festival of gaming, appealing to both the hardcore gamers in the BYOC through to casual gamers who just want to come check out the latest games and hardware. 

The launch of M Festival last year was the beginning in the next step in the evolution of the i-series.  The recession has knocked the plans back a year, but we will get back on track as soon as we can!

How do you justify the mistakes in the TF2 prize tournament last iseries ? Freekje

Whilst we do everything we can to avoid problems such as those with the TF2 tournament last event, occasionally mistakes do happen.  All we can do is learn from them and try our best to ensure they do not happen again.  I know our tournament team are putting in extra checks for the future to review scheduling between stages as a result if i37.

Are the rumours true that multiplay and quadv have parted company and that you won't be using them for any future i-series? peter-

I believe this rumour relates to the sponsorship arrangement between QuadV and Multiplay coming to an end recently.  QuadV won't be doing i38 as they're all over in Chengdu in China for the WCG finals. 

Do you ever think about ditching the large events entirely and running the more fun small community events like stratlan in multiple locations? Deman

No.  I love both types of events for different reasons.  The large events are really hard work but very rewarding. 

Has your Eve addiction taken full control of your life?

It's certainly taken control of what little spare time I do get.  Not content with running a RL corp I spend my spare time helping run a virtual one.  I must be mad ?

Does having Odee on salary with MPUK prevent impartiality in tournaments Dignitas compete in, is that why Dignitas gets paid I-Series prizes before all the other teams? peter-

Firstly Dignitas do not get paid before all other teams.  All teams get paid out at the same time so I'm not sure where you would be getting that idea from?

When originally taking ODEE on, the subject of conflicts of interest was a key one.  Obviously having someone involved in the running of a team like Dignitas would give rise to concerns about impartiality.  ODEE works on our sales team and doesn't touch the operation of the tournaments.  He is himself very aware of the concerns about impartiality and I believe will defer decisions to some of his other team managers during an i-series. He'll be too busy working for us after all.

Wizzo at the i37 EVE meet up (Picture courtesy of Multiplay)

Do you feel it's a disadvantage that Dignitas are aware of all the random EA sponsored cash tournaments that happen at iseries in advance? peter-

I'm not sure which tournaments you are referring to?  EA has only really sponsored FIFA tournaments the past few events.  I wouldn't say that was random.

When you blame the economy for lack of sponsors, are you sure its not that companies simply dont want to market to the same 1 or 2 thousand people every event?

The value of our events to companies to promote themselves to a hardcore target audience has never been in doubt.  The marketroid phrase is "key influencers and early adopters" which companies love to get their products in front of.  Nowadays the reach is even farther, with tens of thousands of people keeping an eye on the event through websites, streaming, demos and coverage. 

Also what is interesting is it's not the same people each time.  Only about half of each event attended the last one.  Quite a few people only come to 1 or 2 events a year.

Multiplay took a 6 figure bank loan to finance old prizemonies, launch a new online league site and afford new hires - do you not feel that without viable non event / gameserver revenues that is a big risk? Could you not just buy ED for less? peter-

We certainly didn't take a 6 figure bank load to launch a new online league site.  We have secured finance to help push all areas of our operations forward, which is going to be great for UK gamers.

What was the result of Odee's meeting with the Big Belgian guy from ESL at Gamescom? Will the ESL EPS Season be held at the November iSeries as you desire?

I think you are referring to Manuel.  We have always kept in touch with the ESL as there are often matters of mutual interest.  As for the EPS season finals being held at the i-series, that would be great but there are no plans to do that at present.

Could we still see a Quake Live tournament at i38 and or i39? nvc

Not for i38 but i39 is a real possibility.

Do you have any desire at all to bring iseries to new level, such as TeX or CC lan?(less participants, but more money and professional teams) Must

I think this would be a step back for the i-series not a step forward.  The i-series are intended to be festivals of gaming with appeal across the spectrum of gamers.  As I have said in other answers above, I definitely see a growing competitive gaming section of the event, but that would be as a part not as a whole.  The i-series has so much more to offer than just tournaments and we need to push forward in all areas.