so a couple of observations here
1. this is definitely NOT a game convention, nor pretending to be. Obvs there's a lot of game playing going on b/c it's a con full of gamers and that's what they want to do in their downtime, plus they're showing off games for retailers & media folks to talk about what's coming. But there's no organized gaming sessions that you sign up for or register to get a seat at the table
2. Lots (and lots) of khakis and polo shirts. It almost looks like a US Army hail and farewell circa 1992, with pudgier people and more blue hair & tattoos (nothing wrong with any of that, of course). There's plenty of people wearing store / publisher 'uniforms' but there aren't a lot of sarcastic t-shirts like you see at most conventions. Again, this is business here
3. Way more alcohol than you see at a game convention. Game night has an open bar and lots of snacks (popcorn, pretzels, cookies, etc) and there are beer bottles / cocktail glasses on every table.
4. Not a single person has mentioned a "tee time" - fuck golf!
5. Seems like they're not 100% sure what to do with us media dudes outside of a couple of mass events. There's obviously a lot to be gained from having us cover things like the retailer awards and Origins Awards announcements, but the professional development sessions aren't really aimed at us, and the premier publisher presentations to the retailers are off-limits to us. It's not that there's nothing to do, but rather that it's soooo unstructured that there's a lot of open time in the schedule and not a lot of recommendations on where to spend it. A recommendation I'll make to them for next year is to work w/ some media folks (esp first-timers) ahead of time for a "suggested schedule" - here are the MUST-DO things, and here are the OUGHT-TO-DO things, and here are some things to fill up the rest of the schedule but if something else pops up, then go do that instead.
6. The media "first look' room was great for us to get dedicated time with the publishers to see what's coming up / what's new, but there were waaaaaaay too many retailers in there, which meant that (1) it was loud as hell and made conversation tough and recording impossible, and (2) you didn't get near enough time with the publishers b/c 2 hours wasn't nearly enough to get to them all (and I only really wanted to see about a half-dozen) but there were constant interruptions by people that really shouldn't've been in there in the first place
7. Definitely under-equipped for the media production I'm going to end up actually doing here. Lesson learned is to over-prepare for that facet of the Expo. Better to have the tripod or extra camera and not use it.
8. The couple of people I was really wanting to spend some time with are all on weird schedules - arriving late, leaving early, chasing their own agendas around, etc - which contributes to the big blocks of "free" time. I don't know enough people here to have arranged a lot of other meetings to fill the gaps in time I've got.
9. Haven't seen any problems with people not hitting the shower with regularity, which is odd in a gathering of this many gamers. But there's more than a few that could use a couple extra rounds with a toothbrush or some mouthwash.
more as it all unfolds!
Topic: Brant is at GAMA Expo 2023 (Read 6324 times)