[Deptheads] Meeting notes

[Janice Sellers]

On 10/14/09, Eric Burgess <erburgess at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Your lack of knowledge about those folks doesn't mean they are
> insignificant - it means that you don't know the best known designers in the
> largest and fastest-growing segment of our attendees. If you don't know
> award-winning games like Pandemic or Agricola or Galaxy Trucker/Space
> Alert/Through The Ages, it is quite natural that you wouldn't see the logic
> in having these folks in to drive attendance.


I never said those designers were insignificant.  All I said was that I had
not heard of them.  I apologize if I did not make my point clearly.  What I
was intending to illustrate was that not all people who come to the
convention look at these names as draws.

Furthermore, no other segment focuses on designers like Board Games. We'd
> discussed ad nauseum the fact that there are no 'rock star' designers in the
> RPG world, nor particularly the miniatures world. We have a ton in the Board
> Games space. Designers' names on the box is a big deal in board gaming and
> so people know them. Board Game designers are also natural fits, as a larger
> number of people play their games than RPGs (a far more splintered market
> these days for designers) or minis or CCGs. And someone can just walk up and
> try the game out with the designer and go buy it in the dealer room - an
> easier sell than RPGs/minis/CCGs. It's just natural synergy.
>

We have also discussed ad nauseum the fact that it is a dangerous path if we
focus too exclusively on board games.  We run the risk of doing what Rocky
did with the conventions during the card craze and alienating other segments
of the attendee base.  The reason board games were in such bad shape was
because the conventions threw everything behind cards and let the other
departments suffer.  We need to remember that while board games are huge
right now, we do not know what will happen in the future.

Alan and AEG are here in SoCal. Having them as the special guests will draw
> no additional attendees. Simple fact - why would they when you can meet them
> all over the place around here? I like AEG and Alan, too, but there is zero
> value monetary value in showcasing them other than championing local talent.
> No problem there and having them as guest as well is cool. But if we want to
> draw people, we should stick with names that (most) people know.
>

It is natural marketing to hype a significant anniversary.  Gateway will be
celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010.  That's the main reason to have
Alan as a guest at that show.  Also, Alan has been a guest several times at
Mondo's show up north.  It would be good to have him appear at our
convention, as some rumors have circulated that there are reasons he doesn't
come.

I don't know from where the perception came that AEG is being discussed as a
special guest.  That is not the case.  They would be a company running
events, and possibly have an exhibitor booth.  I don't know how familiar you
are with the recent history of the conventions vis-a-vis AEG, but it has
been acrimonious at best.  Individuals at AEG and associated with the
company have said negative things about the conventions to other
manufacturers.  I have been actively trying to repair that relationship for
the past three years.

Marketing in the game industry relies heavily on "face time" with potential
customers, and that often translates to convention attendance.  Most
companies have their strongest fan bases in the area that the company is
based because they usually attend, hold events at, and work with local
conventions.  It is noticed (and commented upon) when a company the size of
AEG is conspicuously absent from a decent-sized local convention.  So the
fact that they have not been to a Strategicon convention in the past three
or four years has not gone unnoticed within the industry.  It not only will
help AEG to be at our convention and run events, it will help our status
within the industry and perhaps convince other manufacturers to attend.

Also, though they have only just begun to release new products of this type,
AEG's new focus is going to be on family board games.  Three of the last
four projects I worked on for them were board games, and that's the area
they are now recruiting designers for.

Let me make it clear:  I am not trying to denigrate board games.  I like
board games.  I play them a lot myself.  I do know some designers' names,
and I even know some of the designers.  Reiner and I were guests at the same
convention once.  But I think it is imperative that we not only support
other departments internally, we make sure that externally we not give the
perception that the only segment of the industry we will heavily pursue and
publicize is board games, because it can easily come back to haunt us.

Janice
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