NYCGI Meet n' Drink February 2010: Hangover Report

For those that missed out due to the snow, here's a quick recap of the NYCGI Meet N' Drink last Thursday. It turned out to be a great time!

Regardless of the blistering cold and the mountain of snow that Mother Nature decided to drop on the city, I rolled up to Barcade around 6:00pm and the bar was already buzzing with the sounds of arcade machines and energetic conversation. It just so happened that it was also "McNeill's Opening Night", which is why the board was chock-full-o-McNeill beer.

 
After settling in and ordering a few pints of Oatmeal Stout, I started to notice members of the site filtering into the bar. Although the turnout was lower due to the snow storm, everyone that made it out was happy to be there, participated in some amazing conversation, and had an awesome time. It was great to see some familiar faces amongst the new ones.

The atmosphere of this month's Meet n' Drink was similar to many of the other local networking events you find around the city and posted about on the site. There was talk of games and game development, trading of business cards, tip sharing and in-depth discussions of technical issues, etc. In addition to all this, I was pleasantly surprised to see a large number of art portfolios make their way around the room. It was cool to see the light from our laptops illuminating the back of the bar, and it was even more exciting to be able to play some of the in-progress game demos that people had brought with them.

One thing everyone enjoyed, and a big reason why we chose Barcade as our go to bar for these Meet N' Drinks, was how cool it is to be in a space where you're surrounded by arcade classics. The games are great, and there is nothing quite like having a beer in one hand, a pile of quarters in the other, and so many options at your disposal.

As the night wound down, a few of us made our way to San Loco's for a late night bite. The fact that it's open until 4am makes San Loco a perfect complement to the NYCGI Meet N' Drink events... that and the fact that it's only a few blocks away.

Overall the event was great fun regardless of the piles of snow everywhere. Thanks to everyone that was able to make it out and we look forward to seeing everyone next month. Remember, we'll be there the second Thursday of every month going forward!

Be sure to stay tuned to NYCGI for more event info.