I’m no pollster, nor am I a statistician; but I’d love to run
a survey across the spectrum of the adventure gaming hobby to see how
often gamers attend conventions of any size. What percentage never
attend a convention each year? What percentage gets to a premiere
event like GenCon? How important are conventions to the average
gamer? My own involvement with gaming conventions (or media
conventions with gaming tracks) has varied as I’ve grown and
changed as a gamer. They offer opportunities to game with others,
hang out with members of the gaming community, discover new games,
and shop with vendors; but how important is the convention experience
to the average gamer?
 |
Running Valley of the Ape
at Barrage. |
Many hobbies sponsor conventions to promote their pursuits,
showcase vendors, and provide a forum for participants to share their
enthusiasm. Given adventure gaming’s social nature it makes sense
that conventions have played a key role in both promoting the hobby
but helping it evolve. Reading
Jon Peterson’s Playing at the World one sees how early conventions like the GenCon shows in
Lake Geneva (established in 1968) and the Origins Game Fair (started
in 1975) brought together enthusiast-designers such as Gary Gygax,
Dave Arneson, Rob Kuntz, and Jeff Perrin (to name a scant few) to
share ideas and forge partnerships in developing new games...not to
mention gamers eager for play experiences and new product. Reading
the game magazines of the time (primarily
Dragon Magazine) one
sees a host of ads for game conventions and reports of activities
there, giving average gamers the impression attending such cons was a
much a part of the hobby as creating characters, devising scenarios,
and running adventures. The magazine and other publications also ran
listings for smaller, regional conventions that might prove more
accessible to enthusiasts.
Conventions come in all different shapes and sizes, each one
offering a different experience. The massive crowds at GenCon might
seem daunting, but the event brings together gamers from across the
nation, showcases vendors and publishers in the dealers hall, and
provides a vast array of games, panels, and other activities where
gamers can network and indulge in their geeky interests. Smaller,
regional cons offer a similar experience on a more manageable scale
closer to home. Although not normally considered “conventions,”
local game days sponsored by clubs, libraries, and friendly local
game stores (FLGS) can offer similar experiences gaming and meeting
others. Many conventions focus exclusively on gaming; yet many media
conventions – those emphasizing author and artist guests, with
panels about various media properties and the obligatory costume
contest – offer gaming tracks that vary in their importance with
fan-attendees. I used to attend several in the mid-Atlantic region;
these days I don’t in part because the prominence of gaming has
dwindled in its competition with other fan-oriented activities over
the years to an almost token presence. Granted, this is only my
personal observation and opinion, and I’m sure other media
conventions across the country vary in this depending on attendance
numbers and the involvement of volunteers or even publishers who help
organize gaming tracks.
 |
Running a Star Wars Roleplaying
Game session (with Mos Eisley diorama)
at SciCon. |
As a youthful, casual gamer I rarely attended gaming conventions.
During my high school and college years I read about them in the
pages of
Dragon Magazine – print media being one of the few
ways of getting news from the industry and the gaming community –
but the only one I managed to attend was PointCon at nearby West
Point (a subject
I’ve discussed before). After college, when
living at home and working as a reporter for my weekly hometown
newspaper, I ran games at an annual gaming convention nearby...one
I’d read about in the con listings in
Dragon. All those
years I’d read about GenCon as the Mecca for “true” roleplaying
gamers, but the prospect of traveling from New England to Milwaukee,
WI, seemed far too daunting for a young adult in terms of travel,
time, and cost to attend. My convention attendance skyrocketed when I
started working as an on-staff editor for West End Games (and the
company picked up much of the bill). The trek to GenCon became an
annual tradition. With the contacts I made I had a regular schedule
of smaller, regional gaming conventions I attended each year,
officially or unofficially, where I ran games and promoted the
company’s product. Even after West End went into bankruptcy I still
attended conventions. But soon marriage and family life intervened
and convention attendance succumbed to financial and scheduling
concerns...and the logistics of traveling with a small child (or
leaving him home alone with mom for an extended weekend). I’ve
since veered away from roleplaying game and media conventions with
gaming tracks to focus more on cons featuring board games and
miniature wargames. This reflects not only my current focus as a
player but our family’s interests in gaming; the seven year-old
Little Guy has more easily grasped board and miniature wargames and
is only now slowly showing interest in kid-friendly roleplaying
games. For us conventions serve as family or father-son activities,
though I sometimes get a chance to promote my own games. I expect
we’ll find some new cons offering opportunities to further explore
roleplaying games together.
So how essential is the convention experience to the average
gamer? Everyone’s mileage will vary, depending on one’s degree of
involvement in the hobby, proximity to convention opportunities, and
scheduling and financial concerns. For many I’d guess it’s in the
category of “nice if you can get it, but not entirely necessary.”
Most adventure gaming activities still occur at the smallest level,
among groups of players meeting in homes and, perhaps, at a FLGS with
ample open play space and a hospitable management. A good FLGS can
provide many elements
one can find at a good friendly local game store: an
opportunity to try new games, make new friends, and buy new gaming
resources. Local club and
library events can also satisfy some of these requirements (albeit
not always the “shopping” aspect). Although they’re not full-on
conventions, they play a role in expanding gamers’ experiences and,
perhaps more importantly, exposing newcomers to the hobby. While
conventions undoubtedly remain part of the adventure gaming hobby –
past, present, and future – their importance to individual gamers
continues to vary based on their individual circumstances: access,
scheduling, financing, and, ultimately enjoyment.
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