Event: AG LAN 1- LAN Party Event Date: 12/18/2004 Written By: Warhawk Date Written: 02/08/2026

In October of 2004, someone new arrived on the TMC forums named Ginger. At the time we had no idea who this was, but we would soon come to find out that Ginger was not the name of a girl but rather an imposing, and rather jolly Mexican guy. 

Ginger told us that he had met Gatekeeper at the World Cyber Games event in SF. Apparently during the course of their conversation Gatekeeper mentioned TMC and LAN parties, and it just so happened that Ginger was in the process of putting together a LAN in SF.  He told us he had a large space available around 150 feet by 40 feet, complete with a stage at one end. He also mentioned that he was trying to get permission from the venue to play paintball in another area of the building. The organization that he was forming to host these events was called Ascendancy Gaming (AG LAN for short). 

As I got to know Ginger, I found he was the very personification of enthusiasm. Ginger was energetic and highly motivated to make Ascendancy LAN a success; he welcomed any help or ideas that TMC was willing to offer. Some of us in TMC volunteered to help out with the event. We all used our own unique skills to pitch in and help how we could. Guys like Kraz, Kaffine and Gatekeeper helped out with the network and power; while I helped with promotions, sponsorships and even brought in some DJ friends of mine to play some techno beats for some of the events to give it more of a party vibe.  There were also a lot of fun side activities at these events, one of these activities was a paintball arena that was set up in an adjoining warehouse area.

The first AG LAN event took place on December 18th -19th 2004.

The announcement on the AG LAN website read as follows:

We'll clear the space and put in hay-bails for the Paintball Tournament.

BYOC Area: 120ft x 40ft
Stage: 48ft x 40ft
Paintball Arena: 90ft x 48ft

LAN Schedule

Saturday 12/18/2004

10:00 AM - Doors Open
12:00 PM - Brief Introduction
12:30 PM - Warcraft 3 tournament registrations open
1:30 PM - Warcraft Tournament begins
7:30 PM - Kitchen opens for Dinner

Sunday 12/19/2004

1:00 AM - Unreal tournament registrations open
2:00 AM - Unreal tournament begins
9:00 AM - Paintball Arena opens
4:00 PM - LAN closes Tournaments

Thursday, 04 November 2004

We've decided on the first 2 tournments:

1. Warcraft 3 1 vs 1
2. Unreal Tournament 2004 1 vs 1

The third will most likely be a team game. We'll announce that later.

Also, the avilability for the second room is unclear for Saturday. We know we definitely have it for Sunday, though. Here's our plan for that room:

It's 90ft x 40ft. We'll be putting in some walls to create obstacles for the Paintball Arena. It's big enough to hold 3 vs 3 matches. There'll most likely be a charge to play, but it won't be much. We'll have final pricing in a few weeks when we've figured out what it'll cost us to do it. We may also stay past 4pm if there's enough demand for it.

Our first LAN Party will be held on Dec. 18 & 19, 2004. 30 hours of pure gaming. Doors open at 10AM Saturday morning, and close 4PM Sunday.

Concessions (sodas, snacks, lunch, dinner) available at reasonable prices.

Location:
SomArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Capacity: 65

Games Played:
Warcraft 3
Unreal Tournament 2004
Battlefield 1942
Counterstrike
Call of Duty
Medal of Honor
Need for Speed 2
Gunbound
(we'll be adding to this list)

TMC/ TMM had strong attendance; we all had fun, and the event was a success. It was a small start, with only about 20 attendees. With this small start, AG LAN would would continue to grow in size over the next several years. 

From 2004 to 2008 there would be a total of 11 AG LAN events; many of them with corporate sponsors who kicked in prizes.