GenCon '97 and RPGnet
We have a booth in the dealer's room at GenCon this year, and will
cheerfully talk with anyone who stops by. If you're curious as to
why we're here, what we're hoping to do, or just want to be sociable,
come on by! And don't forget to peek at the
"How to survive GenCon" guide!
We are also running a pair of seminars about the Web, and helping
with other events:
Gaming and the World Wide Web, Friday 10:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m., Hyatt 2nd
floor, Regency D. Sandy Antunes will lead a moderated discussion on
gaming and the web.
This will actually be a panel-discussion, with a panel of 6 people.
We'll have two listkeepers (possibly woodelf and one of the Phoenyx
folks, still being decided), two e-zine start-ups (Gamers World and
Gamer's Haven), and two online gaming reps (GameVerse and WebRPG).
I'll be doing an introduction, then moderating a discussion on
issues including: what resources are out there, is the web shifting
to a pay-per-view approach, and how is technology improving web-based
real-time online gaming? It should be fun and lively, and we're
welcoming input and questions from the whole crowd.
Part of this will also simply talk about what is out there, and what
is useful. So, if you're new to the web, you'll get some good
information. If you've been on it for a while, you'll get to share
your experiences and get new information. And in both cases, you'll
get a good idea of what to expect for the next year or so (and you'll
find out why predicting web stuff further than 1 year is folly.)
Web Site Redesign: Why & How?, Saturday 10:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m., Hyatt 2nd
floor, Regency D.
Emma Kolstad will talk about role-playing-related sites and how to make
them more usable.
Emma will be starting this with her web redesign talk.
If you design your own pages, you really should attend to learn the
most efficient and useful ways to approach this. This will take up
the first half of the period. The second half will be a chance to
share anecdotal experiences of what has worked and what hasn't for
individual sites, and hopefully all participants will leave with lots
of new ideas on how to improve their sites. The first half is geared
towards novice and professional webmasters, and the second half is
useful to web novices and the web-curious as well.
After all, a web site isn't just "writing an HTML page" any more than
a role-playing Company is "writing a game system." There's a lot more
to the web that's within reach, if you are willing to approach it in
a professional manner.
If you maintain your own pages, you really have no excuse
not to attend and learn the simple tricks that make a site better,
faster, and cheaper.
In the freelance vein, we are also running the Chaosium "Cthulhu Live"
demos, in slots 8 (Friday, 8-midnight) and 12 (Saturday, 8-midnight).
The game itself is 1 hour long, so we'll run it four times in each
slot. Once you're registered for the game, go to the Chaosium booth
to get a specific time slot. It should be a lot of fun-- we have about
a dozen people helping to run this one! It will be run in the four
"secret" rooms (CHA13A, CHA13C, CHA13C and AXT), so expect to travel
into new realms of weirdness-- live!
The GPA (Game Publishers Association) is running
a pair of seminars on self-publishing. Although we (RPGnet) aren't
technically running these, as GPA members we thought it worth bringing
to your attention. The two are running back to back, and are:
700099, So, You Want to Publish Games?
Join members of the GPA (Game Publishers Association) to
discuss the joys and woes of publishing games. Learn what
the GPA can do for its members.
Slot 03B TH at 1800 to 1945,
EXEC-D/2nd Floor Hyatt/Hyatt Regency Hotel
700152, Publishing Your Own Game
Chris Clark will join James Wallis and other industry
figures to discuss the perils and pitfalls of self-publishing.
Don't make the same mistakes they did! Learn how to go
about putting out your own book.
Slot 04A TH at 8pm-9:45pm, Lake-B, 1st Floor Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Finally, the GPA Members Product Update #4 will be available at the
GPA booth. This lists all the products available from the many, many
small press companies that are part of the GPA. So if you're looking
for new games, and the "big four" aren't impressing you, this is
definitely the freebie to get!
We hope you enjoy GenCon, and will see you there!
Sincerely,
Sandy
sandy@rpg.net
