GenCon: Launching a Satellite Booth

[Robert Bohl]

I think that the ability to know every game and every demo, without adding anything else, makes any spinoff booth qualitatively different from the Forge/IPR booth. I'm intrigued by the notion of being more than just another indie booth, certainly. I'd like to add to what we do for next year. That said, we were pretty thoroughly busy this year just demoing, roping, and selling. Obviously this is pretty soon in the process and we are certainly having internal discussions about it, but I don't know where we'd get the time or room to do more, nor what we'd do.

[TonyLB]

If I may?

Communication gets trickier the more we're trying to communicate from more and more different perspectives and priorities.

My charitable reading skills are, actually, pretty damn good.  I got what you were saying, Ron.  You make good points, and I'm certainly thinking about them.

But as the snarl here has, I hope, pointed out ... talking about these things becomes more challenging as our community becomes more complicated.  The question of whether it's okay for you to single out another group as an example of how you fear people are going to fail ... that's not a trivial question.

Like I said, I think this next year is going to involve all of us learning how to communicate in this new terrain, and developing ... well, for want of a better term, social mores about how these groups function within our larger community.  I expect it to be a fascinating process, but I also expect to see more little traffic jams like this one as we go forward.

[Ron Edwards]

Robert, it's true: you guys were busy as hell. That definitely makes a key point: there is no way for a single booth to "do it all." I miss the ashcan-heavy, garage-band content of the 2002 booth. But we can't preserve that as a consistent feature of the glossier, shelved, developed IPR booth; trying to do it only disadvantages the ashcans and confuses customers. I'd sure enjoy see anyone take anything they do like about the Forge booth, from whatever year or experiences they had there, and beef it up to 11 at their own booth or con activity. I'd also like to see anyone doing something new, too, that has nothing to do with the Forge booth's history, but is perfect for them. 

Tony, I've reviewed the thread carefully, to the best of my ability separating myself as moderator from myself as participant. Sometimes, when I've done that kind of review, I've discovered that I-the-participant was a butt-head and needed to be moderated, badly. This time, here's my conclusion.

I'm going to disagree with you about the nature of this thread and the topic. The only snarl I see is some snap emotional reactions, all of which have been reflected upon and revised by their authors. I don't think that has anything to do with an expanded scope or topic for communication, nor does it have anything to do with my specific communication. It was a momentary lapse of reason which is perfectly understandable, and it is OK, and now we're all moving on, with no blood and no foul. There is no "lesson" to be learned about the changing community or how we should be speaking to one another. There is only the ongoing rule at the Forge that reason alone yields meaning, here.

What I posted was both relevant and clear. If someone else posts relevant and clear critique about anything else at the con, it's fine too. Discourse requires fearless critique, not concern about toes and egos. Fairness is important. But cushioning is not.

The Indie Passport topic is an excellent example, in part because not every publisher involved liked it. If Luke, for instance, had censored himself about his experiences with the Passport out of some misbegotten value concerning "the community," then we'd have no insight, no basis for discussion at all. What he posted was appropriate, fair, and relevant - and I have no doubt at all that Fred is thinkin' up a storm about it, rather than having some kind of threatened emotional reaction about it. (In fact, I know so, 'cause Fred started a great new thread.)

I'd like to see further discussions, ideas, and insights about running one's own booth, with a strong eye out for 2008. That's what Fred posted this thread topic for. Let's really do it.

Best, Ron

[iago]

I'd like to see further discussions, ideas, and insights about running one's own booth, with a strong eye out for 2008. That's what Fred posted this thread topic for. Let's really do it.

This is in fact exactly what I posted the topic for.

I'm excited by the PlayCollective booth and the Burning Wheel booth because they provided a very polished feel.  I see them as exploring the "pro" edge of the diaspora.

I'm excited by the Ashcan Front because it seems to have succeeded in its goals, and provided a useful "categorization" of games-in-development.  It strikes me as a booth that changes all other booths by its presence, by becoming a magnet for that sort of product.

But not being on the ground with any of those booths (or others), I don't feel like I *understand* them, so it's my hope that this thread can collect all the various on-the-ground observations and lessons and resources necessary to enhance and replicate their successes in 2008.  The posts so far have done that some, but more is better.

[Robert Bohl]

Fred, is there anything else specifically you'd like to know about Play Collective that hasn't been addressed yet? Some of the stuff is still being sussed out by us but if there's any more context I can provide I'd like to do so.

[Lance D. Allen]

Fred,

would I be wrong in guessing that you're looking for a sort of "lessons learned" discourse here? Basically, people who put together a booth, especially but not limited to a new booth, should be talking about things they've tried that worked as well as they hoped, better than they hoped, not as good as they hoped, or didn't work at all. Some of these lessons learned may not apply to people considering putting together a booth in the next year or two, but it will allow them to better make that decision, being better informed.

My slow ass is still a little bit from publishing. When I finally get to putting out a product and can afford to have a GenCon presence, my first option will probably be to look into either the Ashcan Front or the Forge, so the lessons learned here will not be something I may specifically need, but I would very much like to know what people tried, and how it worked out.

[iago]

would I be wrong in guessing that you're looking for a sort of "lessons learned" discourse here? Basically, people who put together a booth, especially but not limited to a new booth, should be talking about things they've tried that worked as well as they hoped, better than they hoped, not as good as they hoped, or didn't work at all. Some of these lessons learned may not apply to people considering putting together a booth in the next year or two, but it will allow them to better make that decision, being better informed.

That's exactly what I'm looking for. Everyone personally learned something, I hope, by being part of a satellite booth this year; some of them have spoken up already.  I hunger for more.

Ultimately, if this goes "right", the thread could be used as a sort of "diaspora booth cookbook", or at the least a source of inspiration and experience.  Selfishly, if I ever wanted to do, say, an Evil Hat booth, this is where I'd hope to start.

[Paul Czege]

Matt Wilson, you did that, right? I didn't get to chat with you much, but my impression was that it was pretty satisfying for you.

Matt Wilson and Michael Miller took the year off from being on a booth, and from talking with them at GenCon it seemed a good choice for both of them.

Just to clarify, Michael Miller was not attached to any booth as an exhibitor this year, as he's written about to this thread. But Matt Wilson participated with The Ashcan Front.

Paul

[Gregor Hutton]

D'oh! Yes! With Galactic, which I picked up.