Review of DunDraCon Anyone?

[Nato]

I was wondering if anyone who attend the DDC would be so kind as to post a review of their experience. I've never been to a gaming convention and would love to know what they are like? Things that would be interesting to know about...

1)What are all the vendor booths like? Who had some interesting stuff? What was the Hero booth like?
2)Is there an artists alley like at comic conventions? If so, who did you see?
3)How are games organized and ran? How many usually go on? Did you play in any and what is a convention game like?
4)What were some of the panels?
5)Are there any minor celebrities?
6)Are there any booth babes?
7)Are there things other than comics there?
8)How big is the DDC? In terms of approximate attendees.


One last question... are there any game conventions near L.A.? And will Hero be attending any in the future? I'd love to make it to one and meet the gang.

Thanks!

[Nato]

Sorry, I just noticed a new conventions thread! I'll go check that out. Feel free to reply here though still.

[Darren Watts]

Originally posted by Nato

Well, this was my second DDC as President, after either six or seven as a fan.


1)What are all the vendor booths like? Who had some interesting stuff? What was the Hero booth like?

Booths at DDC are smaller than most cons, barely nine feet wide and maybe six deep. We scratched putting up the backdrop in favor of getting our bookrack out front, showing all our titles. Frankly, for game companies the only one besides ours that interested me was the joint GRG/Firefly/Citizen booth, as they always have cool stuff. Not many other publishers showed (Flying Buffalo was there), as most others were repped by distributors like Wizards Attic.

2)Is there an artists alley like at comic conventions? If so, who did you see?

Not really. There are artists selling portraits and the like, but not name comic guys. An amateur friend of mine makes some serious cash there every year, though.

3)How are games organized and ran? How many usually go on? Did you play in any and what is a convention game like?

Well, this is a big topic. There were about 150 organized games, plus dozens of impromptu ones in "Open Gaming" every day. Seventeen were Hero games, second only to D&D. The only one I got to play in, thanks to our busy schedule and Saturday-night party, was Derek Hiemforth's legendary Superfriends game, fast becoming a DDC and Kubla tradition.

4)What were some of the panels?
Steve and I did the "What's New With Hero" chat, and two others; "How to Break Into The Industry" with the estimable Ken Hite, and a round table on the future of the gaming industry with Ken, Mark Arsenault, Jim Butler and Steve Kenson. Both were excellent, I thought, and seemed well-received. The only seminar I attended I didn't speak at was Catseye's "Intro to the Hero Combat Simulator."


5)Are there any minor celebrities?
Of the gaming sort (talk about small ponds!) Apart from those listed above, cool game pros included Rick Loomis, Eric Rowe, Pat Sweeney, Greg Smith, Amy Crittinden, Bryce Nakagawa and several others. Also, Bruce Harlick, Steve Peterson, Ray and Randy Greer and even the elusive George MacDonald stopped in to wish us well.

6)Are there any booth babes?
Only Tina. And Ben.

7)Are there things other than comics there?
There are pretty much no comics at DDC. Games only, from boards to minis to RPGs. And lots of SCA people wacking each other with sticks, thanks to the presence of old Hero pal and High Muckymuck Steve Perrin.


8)How big is the DDC? In terms of approximate attendees.
I'm told attendance was off slightly, only about 1600 paid after last year's high of nearly 2000. My guess is that reservists lost to recent callups and general financial malaise are the culprits. Those who did show were enthusiastic, energized, and ready to play Hero!

One last question... are there any game conventions near L.A.? And will Hero be attending any in the future? I'd love to make it to one and meet the gang.

Well, GenCon West apparently is a go for December, and will be in Anaheim. Other than that, the only cons in LA I know of are the Gamex shows, which are too small to travel to and frequently are scheduled against other cons we attend every year. But hey! If Albert can make it up from southern Cal, so can you, my friend. No excuses! DDC is Hero's home field con, and we want to see *everybody* there. So get crackin'! dw

[Nato]

What was the 'How to Break Into the Industy" like? Was it geared mainly to writers or artists?

What was the "Intro to the Hero Combat Simulator" like? As I'm the hugest fan of that software I'd be interested in hearing about what was discussed.

Did Ben shave his legs for his position as Hero Booth Babe? Did he do anything real sleezy to try and one-up Tina?

By "GenCon West apparently is a go for December" do you mean that Hero will be there!?! Or just "yeah, they were thinking about doing one and aparantly they're still gonna do one."

Thanks Darren.

I guess I could have carpooled with Albert but I think he's still mad at me for calling him "Phat Albert." Which I meant as a compliment of course. Oh and I called him "Wierd Albert" once after every gamers favorite parady singer. Oh well. Better make up with him by next year.

[Steve Long]

Re: L.A. cons, there's OrcCon, which unfortunately is held the same damn weekend as DDC every year. There are two or three others run by the same group throughout the year; find the OrcCon page and you can probably get details.

[Darren Watts]

Originally posted by Nato

What was the 'How to Break Into the Industy" like? Was it geared mainly to writers or artists?

Well, since we're all writers it was weighted heavily that way, but most of the info could also be applied to artists as well. Mostly it was advice on presenting yourself professionally, using alternative outlets to get your name and work in front of people in a position to help you (like, for example, writing for Digital Hero or other mags), and amusing anecdotes on how we each got started.

What was the "Intro to the Hero Combat Simulator" like? As I'm the hugest fan of that software I'd be interested in hearing about what was discussed.

Jeff just set up a display screen of the program and talked about half-a-dozen attendees through how to use it.

Did Ben shave his legs for his position as Hero Booth Babe? Did he do anything real sleezy to try and one-up Tina?

Ben is outclassed by Tina in every way.

By "GenCon West apparently is a go for December" do you mean that Hero will be there!?! Or just "yeah, they were thinking about doing one and aparantly they're still gonna do one."

Well, there's not much info available yet except for location and dates. Assuming it'll be run similar to GenCon Indy and that Peter A. generally knows what he's doing, I assume Hero will be there in some capacity. We'll let everyone know more as we figure it out ourselves. dw