GenCon UK

[davywavy]

Every year, some chums and I get together and run various jolly games at GenCon. I've definitely got better at writing and running as the years have gone by; "Bad Moon Risen", my first real effort, sucked totally, whilst some later efforts, such as "Hurrah for Saint Custards!", "Mars or Bust!", and "The going down of the Sun" have been much more positively received.
There's been a lot of to-and-fro-ing about GenCon this year, and a lot of my chums aren't going. Hopefully a lot of you are going (or might be persuadable), because I think we've got some crackers lined up: "Things to do in Bognor when you're dead", a thrilling Vampire: the Requiem LARP, "The League of Ornery Gentlemen", a tale of farce and horror in the Old West, and sesquipedality shall be introducing something Babylon-5-y.

All well and good; a solid lineup you might think, but there's more.
I went to the pub with Marc Torley on Friday night and after a few pints and half an hour watching the girls on the dancefloor like the letcherous pair we are, we suddenly had an idea.

And I think it's one of the finest we've had.


The Prime Minister normally hated these meetings. No matter how pressing the affairs of State, he would always sit in his office with a worried ear half-cocked in case the small portrait in the corner coughed and announced the imminent arrival of the Minister of Magic. Not so tonight. Tonight he was sitting in his plush leather armchair with an expectant air, and he was struggling to keep his face composed into what might be deemed an expression of polite welcome. If you had been listening closely, you might have occasionally heard him stifle a guffaw of laughter.
Suddenly a great burst of green flame exploded from within the fireplace and in the middle of it, spinning like a top, could be seen the figure of a portly man in tweed robes appearing from nowhere. The Minister for Magic strode briskly out of the fireplace, brushing ash from his shoulder, and stood in front of the Prime Minister's desk.
"Prime Minister", he began. "I am unaccustomed to being summoned in such a peremptory way?"
The Prime Minister shrugged, dismissively. "I'm afraid it was necessary", he said. "Something has...come up."
Something in the Prime Minister's tone made the Minister for Magic look at him harder. "What?" He asked.
"There has been a...catastrophic...bureaucratic error at the Ministry for Education and it seems that as a result, your people shall be having some new students this year." The Prime Minister dug into one of the many drawers in his desk and pulled out a file more than five inches thick, which he thumped onto his desk.
The Minister for magic bent over the file and read the opening page. He looked up, sharply. Suddenly he was pale, and beads of sweat stood out on his brow. "You can't mean this!"
"Oh, but I do, Minsiter."
"But...Prime Minister. We have problems to deal with. Werewolves. An invasion of Giants. Unauthorised Hexes. You can't mean for us to deal this as well?"
The Prime Minsiter sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "I'm afraid it's out of my hands, Minister. Nothing I can do."
"But...not them"
"I'm afraid so, Minister." The Prime Minsiter tried to sound sympathetic, and failed. "I'm afraid so."

Millennium Moon presents:
"The Belles of Saint Hogwarts"
By Marc Torley
Being a sequel, of sorts, to the infamous "Hurrah for Saint Custards!"

Comments

Re: GenCon

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

Its just not cost effective or helpful for me to go this year and can't afford to just go as a delegate. So Dragonmeet for me.

Re: GenCon

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

It's really upsets me to say it, but this year's GenCon has been pretty shambolic in organisation (even by their own low standards). I can understand what they're trying to do with the costings (see lengthy posts from me on the topic on the gencon boards) and can sympathise with them; however, their communications and customer relations suck and, speaking as MM (a fairly major contributor to the convention (flattering myself, as usual)), it seems like they've been actively trying to yank our chains as hard as they can, which doesn't bode well.
Like I say. we'll go - but I'm not hopeful.

Still, if GenCon doens't come off, I have bigger plans for next year.

Re: GenCon

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

Its a real shame GenCon over here is so often a shambles. I really wish someone would resurrect GamesFair as it was in the early 90's. That was a good con.

Re: GenCon

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

The thing I cannot understand about GenCon is this: how the hell do they manage to lose money on it?
Seriously; I've worked in conference organisation, and I'd love top look over their business plan - last year I see £50,000+ (1000 - 1200 geeks at £40+ a head) reveneue just on door take, excluding games - over a four day Con at Butlins.
Tracey (who used to work in Con organisation at Butlins) says that if they're paying more than 10k for the venue they're being robbed blind...so where is at least 40k going?
I can't see where the losses are, and I hear they lost 30k on it last year.
It beggars belief.

Re: GenCon

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

There must be lots of sundry costs, insurance and so on, that can all pile up but still, you have to wonder. *sigh*

Re: GenCon

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

How much are they asking from exhibitors this year? I hear they doubled or trebled the prices?

Re: GenCon

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

They're trying to say that the prices hadn't gone up, however, last time you got a good deal on accomodation as an exhibitor and you got trade passes free for the people paying for the accomodation.

You got your table and exhibition space in with that and then bought additional trader passes, chairs, power points etc.

This time all you get is the space, no tables, chairs or anything unless you pay for it seperately, accomodation/passes entirely seperately paid for. By my guesstimate it would have cost me 50-100% more than last time depending on how I sorted it out, more than the profit I made last time.

Re: GenCon

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

What are they asking for floor space? Is it square metre or what?
Pretty much every exhibition in the world charges for floor space + extras so what they're doing is industry standard, unpopular though it is.

My feeling is that they're trying to run GenCon as how a professional exhibition/convention is run in any industry - the problems from my POV have been presentation, organisation and communication, which have bene uniformly terrible.

Re: GenCon

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

That would be understandable if it wasn't coming across financially and presentation wise, as a way to rip exhibitors for more money.

People come to SEE games and buy them and play them, surely exhibitors should be encouraged?

I'm afraid I no longer remember all the details, once I'd worked out I couldn't do it I chucked the literature.

Re: GenCon

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

That's fair enough - 'flat fee' exhibitions are declining in popularity with exhibitors these days anyway. What's becoming more popular is a small basic charge, and then the exhibitor pays more depending on how many people actually attend the show. It reduces the risks and puts some of the onus on the organisers. It's a system I rather like.