Game Schedule

[Gotetsu]

Ok, as far as gaming goes, we should decide on what games are going to be played. To that end, I think we should come up with a list of “basic” games that will be played, allowing to account for the bulk of the turnout.

That being said, a little math: With an estimate of 100 people, and a max of 6 people (1 GM, 5 players) per game, we need to come up with at least 16 games (100/6=16.667).

Here is starting list of the games I think we should have:

D&D (multiple tables, probably)
M&M
Conan
D20 Modern (Urban Arcana)
D20 Future (Since it will be out by October)

Other possibles:
Jovian Chronicles/Heavy Gear (GM’s pick)
A-State
Tribe 8
Gamma World
Whatever else…

And we should have a few tables open for games brought in by participants.

Just my ideas on this. :D

[Cthulhu]

The new World of Darkness will be out by then too.

[Gotetsu]

[quote="Cthulhu"]The new World of Darkness will be out by then too.[/quote]

Good call.



"call" "Cthulhu" ... Call of Cthulhu? :D

[mordraine]

Yes we discussed last night that there would be plenty of D&D and D20 tables. White Wolf will have to be represented as well. Call of Cthulhu seems like a must-have! :)

[mordraine]

Most likely, we'll have to overbook GMs just to be on the safe side.

[Gotetsu]

That's what I thought. Plus, if we have the thing last 12-18 hours, a lot of people could be involved in 2, maybe even 3 games during the event. That leaves a LOT of room for adding games.

I guess we should have on the registration form some spaces for the person to let us know what games they are interested in playing/GMing, as well as signing up for specific games that we already have scheduled.

Hmmm...wish I could have made it to the meeting...

[Count Zero]

[quote="Gotetsu"]That being said, a little math: With an estimate of 100 people, and a max of 6 people (1 GM, 5 players) per game, we need to come up with at least 16 games (100/6=16.667).[/quote]

Where are you guys getting your numbers? That might be a little on the generous side for a turn out for a new con. I know there are some other cons in the area that are "little" and I am not sure how many people actually show. Maybe we should try to make contacts with those people so we can see where they failed and had success. Avoid the pitfalls of the past. :roll:



Sorry to be the devils advocate here... but we 100 people sounds like a little too many for a first time con. We should be happy with about 20-50 (not including ourselves).. that is more likely. But, we might be pleasently suprised. :)



Let's not try to be too big.



Jonathan

[BlanchPrez]

[quote="Count Zero"]Sorry to be the devils advocate here... but we 100 people sounds like a little too many for a first time con. We should be happy with about 20-50 (not including ourselves).. that is more likely. But, we might be pleasently suprised. :)



Let's not try to be too big.



Jonathan[/quote]

In my experience, it's better to estimate a little on the bigger side. 100 is not out of reach, and if we get 20 to 50 we'll all be very happy. I just think that if we plan for only 20 and 40 show up, we're not going to be ready for it.



Chris

[mordraine]

Yes, in practicality, we figure maybe 20-40 people will show. If we plan for 100, we won't be swamped.

[Gotetsu]

Well, if you count about 30 for us, and then 20 from each area we are going to advertise at...that comes pretty close to 100 to me...

[BreakfastOfChampions]

d20 Star Wars
EABA

[Gotetsu]

You EABA pimp. What is in that game, crack!?! ;)

(Yeah, I wouldn't mind taking a look at it...first hit's free, right?)

[mordraine]

[quote="BreakfastOfChampions"]EABA[/quote]

So, you're volunteering to GM an EABA game, am I reading that right?

[MarktheAnimator]

xx

[Count Zero]

[quote="Gotetsu"]Well, if you count about 30 for us, and then 20 from each area we are going to advertise at...that comes pretty close to 100 to me...[/quote]

Are there thirty of us now? Man... board is bigger than I thought.



Actually, my main point is that we should do some research on other cons in the area.... I think there was one called Condor a while back. Basically we should see how many people they had. Heck, Game Towne does a number of cons every year. We should do some info gathering on the subject so we are more prepared. Never assume you will have X number of people, back it up with facts. I will talk to Game Towne and get an average number of people. Simply keep in mind that we need to be prepared. If we don't do the research we could plan for 100 people to be safe and end up with 300 (however unlikely) and be swamped anyway.



All I am asking is what kind of research has been done on potential attendence?



Jonathan

[BlanchPrez]

[quote="Count Zero"]All I am asking is what kind of research has been done on potential attendence?



Jonathan[/quote]

Ah... different question. And a good one. The answer is... none. If you can talk to Game Towne that would be great. I know some people that ran a small Sci-Fi convention not to long ago, I can get in touch with them and ask them the same question (as well as other organizational questions).



Chris

[Lowly Uhlan]

[quote="MarktheAnimator"]




Another thing. Game Towne runs their convention every year, but this year they may have a problem with where to do it. They've rented out the rest of the building and they may have a problem..... So its just an idea but perhaps they would be interested in co sponsoring the con?


[/quote]

They'll probably set up tables in the parking lot like in years past.



And I'll volunteer to run OGL Ancients and Transhuman Space.

[opwunder]

[quote="Count Zero"]


Are there thirty of us now? Man... board is bigger than I thought.



Actually, my main point is that we should do some research on other cons in the area.... I think there was one called Condor a while back. Basically we should see how many people they had. Heck, Game Towne does a number of cons every year. We should do some info gathering on the subject so we are more prepared. Never assume you will have X number of people, back it up with facts. I will talk to Game Towne and get an average number of people. Simply keep in mind that we need to be prepared. If we don't do the research we could plan for 100 people to be safe and end up with 300 (however unlikely) and be swamped anyway.



All I am asking is what kind of research has been done on potential attendence?



Jonathan[/quote]

[size=200]I think the Count just volunteered to do research into the other games and their attendence. Check out what kind of publicity they did as weel if you can. [/size]



Oh, and, "he who sees only small will never be disappointed but neither will he ever see beyond himself."



Let us plan for more rather then less.

[opwunder]

Hokay, judging by the plethora of posts since my last one, I guess my attempt at humor in the previous statement about the Count volunteering went over like the proverbial lead balloon! :oops: Sorry about that...it was just a joke, albeit, an obvious poor one.

[Count Zero]

[quote="opwunder"]
Oh, and, "he who sees only small will never be disappointed but neither will he ever see beyond himself."



Let us plan for more rather then less.[/quote]

Sorry, I haven't had the chance to post... I finally got in contact with Game Towne and John said that on average (not including GM's), they have about 70 people. Now keep in mind that John tends to see things from a slightly odd perspective and he factors in the people who were showing up for events not related to Gamefest, but I would say considering his number it would be about 50-60 people. Now, keep in mind that I didn't include the 40+ GM's which will probably get in free to the con that also show up at Gamefest.



One thing to consider though, is that Gamefest has been around for about 25 years, so it does have a rather dedicated following of core people who show up every year. So our attendence will probably be at least 20% lower. But, it does seem that around 75 or maybe 100 as the max might be a good number to play for as a whole.


[quote="opwunder"]Hokay, judging by the plethora of posts since my last one, I guess my attempt at humor in the previous statement about the Count volunteering went over like the proverbial lead balloon! Sorry about that...it was just a joke, albeit, an obvious poor one.[/quote]

As to your joke, I agree we shoudn't think too small, but if we think to big we will waste tons of our own money on something that is a disappointment because we had our hopes to high. I have planned a lot of special events, we can hit up a bunch of people prize support and such. It doesn't just have to be RPG related prizes... hell maybe we could get prizes for things like Outback Steakhouse and Krispy Creme. I mean come on, gamer geeks have got to love Krispy Creme.



In relation to getting stuff for other games... once we have dates established, then it is easier to start hitting game companies up for prize support. They want to have something more than... sometime in the future, but I am more than happy to do the prize support aspect for all companies. I have helped with that for Gamefest and for other events I have planned.



Speaking of money, have we established any bugets. How much money will we have to play with (if any)? There might be community groups that we might be able to get a little bit of funding from. We might also consider a recreation/community center for the con... since they will be free or really cheap.



Jonathan

[Cthulhu]

Just checking the internet, I found a few pages about convention support for various game companies:

Palladium
Steve Jackson Games
Green Ronin

I'll edit my post as I find more. If someone's already done this, just let me know and I'll knock it off.

[Count Zero]

[quote="Cthulhu"]Just checking the internet, I found a few pages about convention support for various game companies:



[url=http://palladiumbooks.com/convent.html]Palladium[/url]

[url=http://www.sjgames.com/con/guests.html]Steve Jackson Games[/url]

[url=http://www.greenronin.com/cons/conform.php]Green Ronin[/url]



I'll edit my post as I find more. If someone's already done this, just let me know and I'll knock it off.[/quote]

Most of them won't have convention support stuff on their page, you have to send them a letter. They will probably ignore e-mail since it takes no effort to mail out an e-mail and could be a scam. An actual letter gets their attention and it takes time so it seems more legitimate... and professonal. Unless of course... they have a form like Green Ronin does... :roll:



Jonathan

[opwunder]

[quote="Count Zero"]
Now keep in mind that John tends to see things from a slightly odd perspective [/quote]
aren't all game people...?


[quote] Now, keep in mind that I didn't include the 40+ GM's which will probably get in free to the con that also show up at Gamefest. [/quote]

I thought we were going to charge everyone. Is it normal to not charge the GM's?


[quote] So our attendence will probably be at least 20% lower. But, it does seem that around 75 or maybe 100 as the max might be a good number to play for as a whole. [/quote]

I think aiming for 100 is the way to go. Nothing tics people off like waiting in line and then being told there is no room left...'course nothing sells like a sell out!


[quote] I mean come on, gamer geeks have got to love Krispy Creme. [/quote]

Personally, I prefer a nice Cabernet...


[quote]Speaking of money, have we established any bugets. How much money will we have to play with (if any)? There might be community groups that we might be able to get a little bit of funding from. We might also consider a recreation/community center for the con... since they will be free or really cheap. [/quote]

Money as always is a determining factor and has yet to be established. If everyone I play with cleans out their savings, we can probably come up with at least $12.75 if that helps... :roll:



Actually, funding should be one of our main concerns at our next meeting. :!:

[Cthulhu]

[quote="Count Zero"]Most of them won't have convention support stuff on their page, you have to send them a letter. They will probably ignore e-mail since it takes no effort to mail out an e-mail and could be a scam. An actual letter gets their attention and it takes time so it seems more legitimate... and professonal. Unless of course... they have a form like Green Ronin does... [/quote]

I figured it would mostly be phone calls/letters. I just wanted to help with contact info. I'll leave the contacting to those who are better informed about all this.

[MarktheAnimator]

xx

[PMvanova]

Great Mark! I have no regular game now ... hmmm... opportunity here.

Thing is, it's a good idea for GM's to play in other games just for the experience. I've got a link here on my webpage, and plan on talking to the RPG Meet Up crowd about it as well. (My 14 year old son wants to game with a few of his friends..he's all for the idea of a con. So there's three players at least)

(Opwunder has made an appearance or two there as well as a few others I suspect)

I came up with a great idea for a logo and a name for the con but am no graphic artist. Going to do my best at an attempt and will post the link for the page as soon as it's done.

Just as a teaser:

SanDiCon - San Diego Gaming Convention

hehe, beach scene with gaming stuff instead of beach toys.

[PMvanova]

Have a page loaded at my site with a very rough draft of the idea that came to mind.

Just happen to have the right kind of lettering for it too! (Arriba Arriba)

http://infinityofstars.com/sdrpgtest.html

Let me know what you think. It's not linked to any other pages and if you want to put it here so everyone can see it, let me know what thread to put it in.


<-- getting way too into this too early.

[BlanchPrez]

Hey PMvanova,

Nice! I like SanDiCon, that's a great name. :)

Welcome to the efforts, we can use all the help we can get.

Chris

[Old Gamer From the Sea]

Hi there

I could run Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon or Star Wars (WEG) at the con. If you need any more GMs I have a few more friends that might be interested.

Let’s get some more discussion on the con going.