[DexCon 8] Things that will not get done

[TonyLB]

I have been very happy to step up to coordinate the second Indie Gaming Explosion at DexCon.  I'm pleased to have helped get the schedule in place, and to set up dedicated forums and to coordinate the effort of volunteers.

That having been said, as the schedule nears completion I am hearing the same phrase (or close variants) quite a bit:  "Thank you for making this all happen!"  This innocent (and much appreciated) phrase contains a misunderstanding of my role.  I will not be doing everything.  I will be doing the bare minimum necessary to create a framework that other people can make great through their contributions.

There is a list of volunteer assignments on the dedicated forums.  This list is, at the moment, strikingly empty.  Andrew Morris was kind enough to go get measurements of our booth space, and Thor Olavsrud volunteered to organize the demo schedule at the booth.  Apart from that we have had nobody step up to turn any of the neat ideas that could happen into things that actually do happen.  I suspect that people are thinking "Well, we could volunteer to take the load off of Tony, but it'll all get done eventually."  That's just not true.  I've pretty much done what I intend to do (apart from showing up with a cash-box).

This is not a laying of blame, nor a call to action.  At this point the essentials that I need will happen, so I'm pretty well content.  This is just for people's information.  The following things will not get done unless somebody steps up to do them:

[*]Seminars of any sort
[*]A planned booth design of any sort
[*]Banners or visual presence of any sort
[*]A room party or social events
[*]Any IGE-centered menu of events, including the lovely "Passport to worlds of fiction" idea
[*]Focussed events aimed at fast demoing, or any other event outside of scheduled game runs
[*]Give-aways of any sort.[/list:u]Again, I'm content with the IGE presence as is.  It's spartan, but it'll get the job done.  I just want to state as clearly as possible where the situation stands right now.  None of the things listed above will happen unless somebody puts their energy into making them happen.

[Helvetian]

Seminars of any sort

There will be some panels/seminars scheduled regardless.  You guys are certainly welcome to add Indie-focused ones to your tracks, so that you control the times for the ones you want to take lead in.  The ones that I give to Vinny to schedule won't necessarily be at times that are most conducive to your attendance, but they will be there.

If people would like to give me a list of gaming/game design panels and seminars that interest them, that would be just fine.  And echo the ones others list, that you like, so I can gauge popularity.  They won't all get used, but I would certainly like your thoughts.

Becca

[Luke]

I'll run a "Don't Bitch to Me About d20; Let's Talk About Game Design and RPG Theory" type seminar, but only if I can get another panel member or two. I'm not going to sit up there and wank by myself for an hour, I need help!

-L

[nerdnyc]

Nerdnyc will run the booth and track all sales in the dealer room. I'll post a schedule on the dedicated forums and people can sign up to work a couple hours here and there.

Please note - I will NOT work the booth the entire con. I am tired of doing this. I'll do a little more than everyone else because I know the system and am very used to working a booth.

[TonyLB]

Aaron, I expect you can have a booth in the dealer's room, if you want.  But DexCon is also giving us our own primo real estate, with no competition, right out front of the gaming room.  Because they entirely rock in that way.  Is this the booth you were speaking of?

[Helvetian]

Aaron, you can be in the dealers room if you like.  Or, you can be positioned with the Indies on the balcony of C Deck.  Or you can be on the ballroom level in the common area.  We're easy.  Just let us know what you'd prefer.  :-)

Becca

[nerdnyc]

I would love to stay with the indies. It would make sales easier and help get people to work the booth.

Everyone agree?

[Thor Olavsrud]

I would love to stay with the indies. It would make sales easier and help get people to work the booth.

Everyone agree?

I think that's fantastic. It it's cool with you Aaron, we can coordinate the demos from the booth also, so we can capture people at the booth, ask 'em if they want to demo something, and then hook them up with a demoer and a table.

I don't mind spending most of my time at the booth helping with sales and coordinating the demos, but it would be good to have at least one other person there so I can jump in and run a demo when required.

[Brennan Taylor]

I'm planning on working the booth and running demos when I'm not running a formal game. NerdNYC at the booth would be great, that's the best situation I would say.

[TonyLB]

Honestly, I think that a proper schedule of "Who's manning the cash-box right now?" is useful precisely because the booth is going to be crowded, not because it will be empty.

There's Aaron, Thor, Brennan, and me at least, in terms of people who intend to spend every non-game moment at the booth.  So, yeah, it'll be nice to have some assurance that there'll be someone there to handle things when I'm demoing, but it will also be nice for me to know that sometimes I leap in to say "Hey, let me ring that up for you!" and sometimes I sit back and let someone else handle it.  That way we don't mob customers (at least not too much).

[nerdnyc]

I've created a booth schedule.

[Rob Donoghue]

Just removed the last block from my schedule for attending.  Is it too late to volunteer another pair of hands?

-Rob D.

[TonyLB]

Rob:  PMed you.

[Helvetian]

[*]A room party or social events
[*]Any IGE-centered menu of events, including the lovely "Passport to worlds of fiction" idea

We would really love to have your guys host a party (or two) in your suite.  :-)  Naturally, we would be seeding it with basic drinks and munchies.  Anyone interested in working with our Hospitality Director on it?  Kate's a real sweetheart, and will help however she can.

I included the comment about the passport as well, just because I thought it was a really cool idea for getting people to try out as many different games as possible.

Becca

[Ben Lehman]

I just stepped up with some basic questions about the form we want our room party to take over on the MOF forum.

yrs--
--Ben