[Deptheads] Meeting notes

[Ryan McMullan]

Hello team,

A quick update from LARP land.  I'm trying to catch up on the threads since
the last con.  Sorry I missed the meeting.  I've been reaching out to some
of the LARP GMs from previous games to test the waters.  Details below.

*Good News*
- I am back from the land of new baby care.  I will be back at LARPs for
Feb.
- I was able to get One World By Night (a persistent WoD LARP, like the
Cam).  Last time they had about 40 players that they brought, in addition to
the 5-6 general Con attendees that joined them.
- The Cam seems better organized and I'm hopeful that we can get them again
for a couple of events.
(Of course, these last two points presumes that we have suitable space for
LARPs)

*Bad News*
- The big feedback is that costumes + Cabana rooms without air conditioning
+ warm weather made for an unenjoyable experience.
- Dying Kingdoms, our largest LARP, has told me that they will not be coming
back to StratCon so long as the Con is at the Radisson.  They understood
that their poor treatment was the result of the hotel and not the con, so
they're not harboring hard feelings against Con management.  In addition to
the game space problems, their guest rooms were truly awful (broken air
conditioning, smoke-reeking "non-smoking rooms", dirty).
- (bad news for us) Next summer there will be a LARP-only con on June 11-13
in Costa Mesa <http://wyrdcon.com/index.html>, two weeks after Gamex.  While
not direct competition, planning a LARP takes a lot of prep time and our
LARP GMs will be hard-pressed to plan events for both Gamex and WyrdCon.
Given recent events, I don't think we'll be their first choice.  In
recognition of the large amount of prep time needed for the games, WyrdCon
is also stepping up the perks (full hotel room at 12 hours of game).

That's the LARP news.  I've fixed my filters so I should be getting the
all-depts chatter again.

Ryan


On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 10:45 PM, Eric M. Aldrich I <ealdrich at apple.com>
wrote:
> Rough Notes from the meeting:
>
> Agenda — 11 Oct 2009
>
> 0. Lunch
> 1. Welcome and Announcements
>        a. Tim Keennon is Event Coordinator
>        b. Chris Carlson is Head of Operations
>        c. Victor Bugg will be "Industry Liason" or something like that
> (title to be determined -- Victor can choose)
>        d. Norm Carlson will still be around.
> 2. Gateway 2009 and 2009 in general
>        a. How did we do? 950 people, close to break even
>        b. What went right? Demos, Dealer room had 4 new and happy vendors,
> RPGs good, feedback pizza went well, new volunteers, Board game transition
> smooth
>        c. What went wrong? LARPs had bad locations, climate control, Mike
F
> and Victor need minions, electrical in La Jolla
>        d. Department reports
>        e. Hotel(s)? Parking, food and its location, elevators
>        f. Has everyone got their money back yet? (no, unless they were at
> the meeting)
>        g. Things we've learned. Flea market can't start at or before
dealer
> room -- moving to 11 am to 3 pm Sat, Sun
>        h. Winners Lists -- need them if they didn't go through payouts
> 3. 2010
>        a. Hotel(s):
>        Westin and Sheraton contracts on par
>        Westin still has park and ride, Eric to check if that is scheduled
to
> go away.
>        Radisson trying to make last second offer -- if set up fee gets
> waived we'll talk
>        b. Special Guests and Events: Trying for Alan Emrich for Gateway,
> trying for Richard Borg for Gamex. AEG maybe at Orccon. Lonnie Gill at
> Orccon
>                All demos in Foyer (Except RPGA). No selling at demos. Eric
> Burgess going to Essen and will do some soliciting there
>        c. Publicity: Get events up
>        d. Website changes: Add required 3 different time options, limit
the
> time options for RPGs. Add an RPGA check box to adjust RPG time options
and
> modify listing in con book.
>        e. Job Descriptions: Eric will be writing some
>        f. We need an art director! Janice, see bottom of page for art
> details.
>        g. Resources: RPGs/LARPs tight on space, 12 cabanas, Newport, La
> Jolla, and Top of Radission
>                Dealer Rm will be lock-down for reg
> 4. Misc
>        a. NeonCon: Janice and Eric
>        b. GAMA Trade Show: Norm
>        c. Other conventions: HMGS, ComicCon, Next Oct. Camaria Ontario
>        d. Business cards: see below
>        e. T-Shirts: see below
> 5. Q & A
> Requests for Tracking new attendees.
>        Con videos for website
>
> Need artists for
> Revamped logo: up to $200 offered
> T-shirt design, 1 per year: Booth offered
> Con specific website art/conbook art: Booth offered for enough
> Conbook/Mailer, clip art: Art contest
>
> Tim handling sign printing
> Goodie bags?
> List RPGA events separately in master schedule, add midnight time slot for
> RPGs
> Need simple board game descriptions for con book -- will make all conbook
> descriptions shorter
> Broadside Bash needs to be connected with Tim
> _______________________________________________
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> Deptheads at strategicon.net
> http://mordred.punk.net/mailman/listinfo/deptheads
>
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