Demo scripts

[Jason Morningstar]

I'm now obsessed with optimizing the demo as a sales and presentation resource.  To this end, this morning I wrote down from memory my demo as it was presented on Sunday afternoon, after many, many iterations.  Here it is, if you want to take a look.  I'd love to see others write up a script while it is still fresh and battle-tested so we can compare, criticize, and tweak.

[TonyLB]

Jason:  Weren't you running it just to the point of rolling dice, then cutting it off?  That strikes me as a more effective tease than the script as it reads now.

[Jason Morningstar]

I was, but I stopped doing that late on Friday - people were crestfallen rather than teased.  Maybe it's a game-to-game thing, but it just didn't work for The Roach to leave 'em wanting.  I think it is because you don't get to roll *any* dice in the demo unless you roll the final dice.

[Steve Segedy]

As a demo-player, I found the very act of picking up and tossing some dice made me feel like I was playing a game.  In fact, the Agon demo I played was the first time I'd thrown any dice at GenCon, and that was the moment I actually started to have fun.

I think with this revised Roach demo, that first toss of the dice is just enough to whet the appetite- it's clear that things are just getting started between the characters.

[John Harper]

This is a great idea, Jason. Hopefully the recording of the Agon demo (done by the Sons of Kryos) will be up soon, along with the other games, so people can listen as well as read. I'll probably make a transcript from the recording (with some edits) as a starting point for my script.

[David Artman]

I think such a script would also be a neigh-mandatory element of a Sell Sheet. Frankly, an evocative Sell Sheet could flow right into the demo without a boothgoer even knowing it! Imagine:
"...a game of daring do and courtly intrigue. You could, for instance, play a court jester who has learned the Queen adores him. That would rachet up the Tension he has with other relationships--tell ya what, lemme show you how over here. Take this sheet and these three dice and this bowl of Jello...."

Done well, it should seem rather natural: how often has an explanation of what a game is about (say, to friends) morphed into explanations of system and techniques... which morphs right into having a seat and trying it out for a few minutes?
HTH;
David

[Jason Morningstar]

OK, if we get this rolling, I'd be glad to archive demo materials of any media at the BPG site (password protected, maybe?  Is anyone cagey about their demo?).  More is better.  Handouts and procedurals rock.  Transcripts are fabulous.  Audio is awesome.  Whatever you've got that can turn me into the world's best demo guy for your game.   

I'd love to have a one-stop archive I can browse to familiarize myself intimately with games before next Gen Con.  If you have materials to contribute, let me know.

[Judd]

Jeff and I should be at Dreamation (and probably Dexcon) and we'll try and record as many fifteen minute demo's as we can to put online.

[Justin D. Jacobson]

www.forgedemos.com is available. I'm just sayin'....

[iago]

Jeff and I should be at Dreamation (and probably Dexcon) and we'll try and record as many fifteen minute demo's as we can to put online.

Awesome.  I'd like to get some DRYH (and maybe Spirit) demos on tape.

[Malcolm Craig]

OK, if we get this rolling, I'd be glad to archive demo materials of any media at the BPG site (password protected, maybe?  Is anyone cagey about their demo?).  More is better.  Handouts and procedurals rock.  Transcripts are fabulous.  Audio is awesome.  Whatever you've got that can turn me into the world's best demo guy for your game.   

I'd love to have a one-stop archive I can browse to familiarize myself intimately with games before next Gen Con.  If you have materials to contribute, let me know.

I'd be delighted to send over the demo script for 'Cold City', which I feel worked really well at the con.

One of the things we (myself, Iain and Gregor) did before coming over was to sit down on several nights with various friends and test the demos thoroughly, covering time, pacing, content, characters, 'feel', everything. this was a really valuable exercise and contributed massively to our confidence in both the demos themselves and our demoing abilities.

Judd and jeff should also have the CC demo in glorious sound-o-gram, which may or may not be a good thing, given the way I demo.

Cheers
malcolm

[Matthew]

Your demo rocked, Malcolm. I was particularly happy with the consistency between the two CC demos I was in. You made some of the same details sound fresh and exciting, even though you were using the same phrasing. Iain was also pretty tight.

As a participant, having demoed more than half a dozen games at GenCon, I think the thing that helped or hurt the demo the most was confidence. I'm sure the creators (who ran most of the demos I tried) are confident in their grasp of their own games, but sometimes that confidence didn't convey itself as well as it might. Outside of the range of a demo *script* is the necessity to handle input *outside* of the script itself. No, you can't predict every question or comment, but you can develop a consistent method of dealing with it. However, I suspect that's another thread for another time...

[Jason Morningstar]

It's true that practice and refinement were telling.  I sent my demo to Origins with Clinton, who ripped it to shreds.  I revised it, tested it, and finally ran it for lots of people prior to Gen Con.  Even then it changed a lot over the weekend.  Malcolm's CC demo was rock solid. 

PM me with details if you don't know how to reach me with your demo stuff.

[iain]

Definetley putting in some work beforehand helps mold a demo. The MJ demo lacked a little when we first ran it but Malc, Cat and Gregor helped me to refine it so it got over the saliant details. I have a script for the demo and materials that will hopefully go up on the CGS site in the not too distant future.
Cheers
Iain

[Nathan P.]

So I finally got my demo script together, along with my demo materials for carry. I would be more than happy to get feedback on those, especially from people who played the demo. Audio from Sons of Kryos should be forthcoming, and that'll go up on the downloads and support page as well.

Personally, I would have no problem with public access to my demo, if that project gets off the ground.