GENCON 2003 - BOOTH LOGISTICS

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

All right, it's time to discuss logistics. I and a bunch of other people will be arriving on Wednesday, setting up the booth, and probably running into all manner of hassles. On Thursday morning, the madness begins.

So you're arriving after this point, and you've paid me either $55 or $155. How do you get into the booth exhibit space? As far as GenCon is concerned, you don't exist. Again: the GenCon people have nothing to do with this, and won't know who you are. They don't know that Adept Press is hosting all these other companies on the cheap. They don't even know what the "Forge" is.

Ideally, you should be able to call someone at the booth and have someone come out to meet you.

Now for the important part: I refuse to be personally responsible for this aspect of the Forge booth. I simply cannot provide the social anchoring force at the booth itself, demo and promote my own game, and deal with dozens of hassles concerning space-usage, when at the same time I'm running all 'round corralling people outside the exhibit space. Can't be done.

Therefore I need three people who fit these criteria:

1. Own working cell phones and know how to use them (i.e. are not prone to "Oops, left it turned off" or "Oh, that buzz noise means it's ringing? I thought that was the battery indicator").

2. Are willing to make these numbers public to paid/legit people on my list. Email me the numbers, and I'll mail them to the publishers.

3. Will meet the folks at the exhibit hall entrance and get their badges to them, when they show up. This applies only when the contact person is there; the plan is to have at least one such person there at the booth at all times.

Also, if you are one of the $55/$155 people, email me to let me know when you're arriving, approximately, to give these contact people a fighting chance.

Best,
Ron

[Ron Edwards]

Oh yeah.

Let me clarify something else about the badges. Every year, they talk about mailing people their badges.

You know something? It never happens. So far, I haven't seen a single badge. I don't know whether they actually got my final list, or if they got it, whether they processed it.

Last year, the Hasbro/WotC badge policy changed about ten times during the week prior to the con. This year, the Adkison team seems much more on the ball, but the badge situation is still ambiguous. I can tell you that I haven't seen a badge, for me or anyone else, in my mailbox or anywhere else.

So! I have no idea what will happen at the con. I'm showing up there late Wednesday morning, and I expect to find out then. I can only hope that there is a box with a bunch of badges there, under my name, that a person hands to me with a big smile. Or it might be that I have to shell out many hundreds of dollars for a bunch of badges de novo. I simply don't know.

Some of you have asked about what the badges mean. They are staff badges, meaning that you don't have to wait in line to get into the hall, and permit access in and out of there during off-hours. This is a big responsibility thing, and I don't want to be one of those assholes who collects all your badges at the end of the day's show and passes them out again in the morning. So take it seriously, please.

Best,
Ron

[Paul Czege]

Also, if you are one of the $55/$155 people, email me to let me know when you're arriving, approximately, to give these contact people a fighting chance.

Danielle and I will be arriving sometime after 4:00 on Wednesday, with my fantabulous game display unit disassembled in the bed of my truck. I'm hoping to phone with a better estimate of our arrival time as we approach the city, so that we can go directly to the convention center and be met by minimally three people who already have their badges, who can carry the pieces of the unit up to the booth. It would be a big bonus if the people who meet us could hand us our badges at the same time, because from there I plan to check into the hotel, park my truck, and then return to the convention center to set up the display unit. So, put me on the list of people who'll need those cell phone numbers.

Paul

[Matt Wilson]

Hey:

How about this?

Send Ron an email with cell phone, when you're arriving and hotel where you're staying (as a backup in case your cell has problems) and he can email all that stuff to me, and I'll make a nice pdf list and send it back out to everyone.

[Matt Gwinn]

Questions.
How are people supposed to call the contact people's cell phones?
If they have their own cell phone it's no big deal, but calling from a house phone or pay phone will be long distance won't it?

Maybe I'm not up on my cellphone lore, but I was under the impression that the area code of the cell phone (not location) determined whether the cal was long distance or not.

Tom, Moose, Janet and I will be arriving around 4 or 5pm on Wednesday if we leave on time.

Where do the contact people get their badges?  Are the badges going to be at the "Will Call" desk?  If so, why not leave everyone's badges there and save on the hassle? Isn't that how we got our badges last year?

,Matt Gwinn

[Jared A. Sorensen]

According to the lore of the ancients, I will fall from the sky (metaphorically) at 12:15 pm. So I figure I'll be at my hotel at hour from there (1:15 pm) and at the convention hall a wee bit after than (1:45 pm).

So what I'm trying to say is that at two o'clock in the pm, I'm gonna be punching everyone I meet right in the arm. HARD.*

I'm staying at the Marriot, which I gather is connected to the Hall of Conventionings. Pardon my grammar as I am new to this country and English is not my native tongue.

- J

*I don't know what that means.

[Gordon C. Landis]

The ancients have told me that my metaphor involves a slow and gentle descent from the skies around 3:00pm local time Wednesday.  Of course, the ancients are sometimes bald-faced liars.

I will be happy to assist in any way I can, but I do not have a staff badge, and thus expect I'll be waiting in line to purchase an attendee badge for quite some time after that (last minute confirmation that I'd be able to make it this year - so it goes).

*If* it turns out I can be useful that first day, and *if* someone wants to provide me a/some contact number(s), I'll call in and see if it turns out there are staff badges available, so as to be more useful.  I don't want to add any confusion to the mix, though.

I will be staying at the Embassy Suites Wed/Thu/Fri (Sat still uncertain, but I have a backup) - I've already told Ron that if the room space is too tight, I'll offer couch/floor/windowsill space as needed.  I guess contact me there if that's important Wednesday, or if we decide to meet for dinner or the like.

If I end up with a cell phone (company may require/provide it), I'll make the number available, but unfortunately I don't think my current status make me reliable as a contact guy.

If all else fails, I'll see y'all Thur AM.

Gordon

[Jürgen Mayer]

The ancients don't know about me, and in contrast to what my nickname and certain legends corcerning my first night in Milwaukee might suggest, I won't walk into Indy, but arrive with my flying saucer on tuesday evening. I'll spend my first night at the Days Inn downtown and then meet with Ron Wednesday and also hop over into Ron's hotel room in the Westin Indianapolis hotel right beside the con, where I'll be staying 'til monday.

I don't have a cell phone that works in the US, but I'll help with booth set-up, of course.

So what I'm trying to say is that at two o'clock in the pm, I'm gonna be punching everyone I meet right in the arm. HARD.

Ha! You fool! Now I am prepared! Your style may be strong, but your chi is weak, anyway.

[greyorm]

Ideally, you should be able to call someone at the booth and have someone come out to meet you.

...make these numbers public to paid/legit people on my list.

Damn, there goes my plan to call everyone's cell phones from my house and say, "I'm here! Surprise! Come get me." and then when they come down to meet me, and can't find me, call them back, screaming, "What do you mean you don't see me?! I'm right in front of you, you fool!" thus ensuring I become a GenCon legend: the exhibitor/Indie Booth Whore whose existance slipped slightly out-of-phase with everyone else during GenCon 2003 -- able to see, but no be seen, and only able to communicate with others through a cell phone! *ring* "Roll my d20 for me, byatch!"

Ok, but seriously, everyone have a rocking good time, make some cash and contacts, and glorify your indie publishing machine, and I'm seriously miffed I won't be there to help.

[Ron Edwards]

All right now.

1. Hotel rooms, check.

2. Booth, check. And meeting up with folks to establish booth furnishings, check.

3. Cell phone contacts for meeting up prior to the Diana Jones ceremony, check. Cell phone contacts for the duration of the con, check.

Time to pack up and get ready to go.

Best,
Ron