[GenCon 2007] The plan for this year - important

[Nev the Deranged]

I notice the plan for this year once again includes booth monkey/ninja/helper people.

I am actually strongly considering just going as an attendee this year. Last year, it was explicitly stated that monkeys were not needed, and I whined my way in the back door with the promise of working, only to find there really wasn't much for me to do. The booth was constantly crowded, all the companies present brought more than enough bodies to do whatever they needed doing, and when I was around there I mostly felt like I was in the way. This is not a complaint, I'm just saying, it seems like monkeys have become extraneous. And that's ok, because although it's cool to get in early, stay late, and generally hang out with fellow Forgies, I actually ended up not doing much in the way of work, and more importantly, I ended up not doing much gaming.

So I'm thinking of trying to round up some non-Forge friends and make a go at being an attendee. Maybe even signing up for some events. Getting to actually sit down and play some demos as a regular joe rather than feeling like I'm just filling a seat. Now that's not to say I wouldn't still happily carry stuff or run an errand if somebody needs it, I'm still a Forgizen, after all. But I think this year I'd rather spend more time gaming and less time underfoot.

That said, if there is an explicit need for monkeys this year due to changes in the program, and by some quirk of the universe there are not enough other people up for it, I'm still willing, but that seems unlikely.

I figured I'd ask before buying my badge, though. So lemme know.

[iago]

So, given that reservation information went out yesterday for standard (non-vendor) pre-registration folks, and I hear now that no reservations are available (via the gencon site) within 6 miles of the convention center, am I screwed, or is there a special vendor code (which I've asked about before) I'm gonna get a chance at seeing soon?

I may find myself singularly uninterested in driving to the convention center every morning, enough so that I may reconsider attending.

[Paul Czege]

Fred,

I recall Greg Porter last year trying to enlist cohorts in renting a corporate business suite that's within walking distance of the convention center.

Paul

[Matt Gwinn]

So, given that reservation information went out yesterday for standard (non-vendor) pre-registration folks, and I hear now that no reservations are available (via the gencon site) within 6 miles of the convention center, am I screwed, or is there a special vendor code (which I've asked about before) I'm gonna get a chance at seeing soon?

I may find myself singularly uninterested in driving to the convention center every morning, enough so that I may reconsider attending.

If you go to Gencon's hotel search and hit the search button every few minutes a room might pop up (due to cancellations I suspect).  I tried that yesterday and was able to get a room at the Omni a couple hours after they had sold out.

Also, if you don't mind paying double the price, I did notice some of the downtown hotels like the Hyatt and Marriot had rooms available through their online registration, but they were somewhere around $399 a night.  I suspect most of the bigger hotels will also have executive suites and penthouses available if money isn't an issue or you have a lot of people willing to chip in.

,Matt

[iago]

Thanks for the pointers, folks. I put out some feelers over on my LiveJournal as well, and ended up in a place about 1 mile away from the convention center.  Good enough for my needs.

Evil Hat will be there!

[Travis Brown]

Man In the future the forge should just reserve half of a small hotel like a ramada or something and rent a van and disperse the cost between everyone who's attending and just taxi everyone in to the show and back at certain times of the day (i.e. be on the bus at X:00 or miss it and get yourself there or back) people could bunk up with one another and then people wouldn't have to be scrambling for hotel accomodations 6 MONTHS before the show even starts.

[Jasper the Mimbo]

Travis, that's awesome. I can just see some poor desk clerk's face as the mass of the forge booth decended on their quiet little hotel. It taps into my Viking roots, and I for one, love it. Something to think about for next year.

Some notes from previous years:

Stickers- These really helped me figure out my sales approach. I'd like to see them return.

Games-on-Demand- If you are going to run a G-o-D, make sure that the folks at the booth know, and have a way to get ahold of you. Ideally i'd like to see a schedual posted listing the times that our G-o-D folks are available, the games they can run, the number of people they want/need, ect.

Demos- My biggest problem last year was having people watching an existing demo, asking questions and wanting to play themselves. So I'd run around trying to set up a demo only to discover that no one else was available to demo that game other than the person who the customers had been watching. At that point i either had to maintain their intrest for as long as it took to wrap up the demo, divert their attention to another game or watch them leave because they didn't want to wait. So- Please teach other people your demo. Nothing sells demos like an in-progress demo, so if you are demoing, please be sure that there is someone waiting in the wings to take on the next group, because there will be one.

Oh, and hi everyone, I'm back. Can't wait for August.