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Gealcon 2003
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Hey,
w00t! Sensible criticisms. I don't know if I get to see enough of these these days. Sincere thanks for the detailed comments, let's see what I can do about answering them...Originally posted by Specky
Conventions should be about fun. As a result the games chosen, the scenarios played and the way in which they are presented should reflect this.
That's quite a worrying starting statement... erk... I'll guarantee you that the entire committee agree with you on this one. However, it isn't as if we have a vast, vast number of scenarios to chose from. Every year we open the con up to submissions, generally we then fall short and have to ask people to pretty please write us games, so we are limited in the choice we have, although with games like A-State, Silver Age Sentinels, Vesta the Vampire Slaver, Riddle of Steel and GURPS: Horror to name but a few I thought we'd done quite well.
Because of the way the schedules were worked out I only got to play in three RPGs during the two days I was there (couldn't make Monday), D&D (which I don't generally play but had no other choice), SLA (which I'm playing "in real life" anyway) and CoC (which I'm also playing in real life).
So not a lot of novelty factor there then.
Possibly not, but unfortunately limited time and space means that it's impossible to allow everyone play everything. Some years the timetable seems to be bang on, others not so, despite it being put together with the same base principles (or near enough) each time.
I can't really make answer to the quality of the games as I didn't see them or get to play them. I am sorry you didn't enjoy two of them, but equally I know there are people who did. We hope that the standard of our games goes up every year and your feedback will certainly be fed into the process.
The RPG room was WAY too crowded. I had a lot of trouble just hearing what was going on (ok, I have dodgy ears but even so...) and it was very hard to develop any atmostphere for the D&D and SLA games.
I hear you on this one, and the moment I'm rich enough to build a perfect convention centre I'll sort it out
In all seriousness, yes, I agree there are too many tables in there, if you have suggestions on rearrangement of the table space we have then please do tell us and we'll look into it. However the wargames have to be in the main hall, the LARPS need a room each, so do the cardgames and you'd be amazed how many complaints we get about games in the Great Hall. If you know of an affortable alternative venue we'll listen to that too.
By the way, we aren't going to stop thinking about it either, it's something we reaccess every year.
1. way too much waiting for games to start. The whole thing would have worked better with a number of overlapping sessions rather than a morning and an afternoon with a big gap in between. I can't remember how much time I spent sitting around just waiting for something to happen.
And Gar and I would have been carted off in a small cart to the nearest home. The gap was never more than an hour or so, time that a lot of people often use to go get lunch or whatever. Overlapping schedules are a nightmare beyond nightmares unless you're only running one table of things and you don't mind groups being seated and finishing up at even more regular intervals than happens with 'fixed' slots.
2. the scheduling of the games could have been done a lot better with very little effort so as to allow people the opportunity to play the games they wanted instead of (like me) finding yourself having to play D&D and missing In Nomine altogether on one day then having to make the choice between two games I wanted to play running at the same time on the next day!
How? Really, truly, how? I know this question will sound sarcastic no matter how I phrase it, but I've been wracking my brains for years to figure out a way to let more people play the games they want to play and still not make the committee burn out by lunch time on Saturday so I'd appreciate any other methods.
3. better / more demo games should have been running throughout so there was something new and interesting to watch (ok, so we could stand around and watch the tournaments but that's nothing like a good demonstration....and when I say demonstration I mean people actually demonstrating the stuff not sitting in a corner playing with themselves).
Yup, definitely, I agree with you 100%. There were supposed to be Living Greyhawk and another demo stand in addition to the mulitple special events and two or three demo stands (including Impact Games, MIB and... bugger, a third group) there, but they never showed. We need more demos, we also need people to do them, it's something we try to increase every year.
4. pub quiz....what was missing? The one essential ingredient....a pub. Long and drawn out to the point of excruciation...sorry to all those that thought it was a hoot...I didn't
Fergal and Fiki are an accquired taste I'll grand you
As to the pub... er... well we thought the bar ten feet away would be enough. Why go to a smaller place we have to pay more money for and get people to when we can use the facilities we have?
Hopefully all my companions (with whom I did have a jolly jape or two) don't think I'm a boring miserable old fart now, but I honestly think the whole event could have been a hell of a lot better with a bit more sensible planning and an eye to having a bit more fun....maybe the organisers have lost sight of the ball a little but it just seems to me that the games chosen should be something a bit out of the ordinary and the scenarios played should be better suited to convention playing (they should also be a lot better than the crap served up for the D&D game).
[/B]
God, I hope we haven't lost sight of why we do it or why we hope people enjoy the con, I really don't. Can you clarify what you mean by 'sensible planning' and 'an eye to having a bit more fun'? We get over five hundred people through the door so we have to keep things tight from a scheduling point of view and yes we have to tell people not to run through the halls or brandish their rubber swords, we do this because we don't want that fun to be marred by injuries or lawsuits. All of that said I hope I haven't sounded too dismissive in my reply, I certainly don't mean to make it sound like I amn't listening. A lot of what you've said are questions we ask ourselves every year, "Can we improve the timetable?", "Can we get more space?", "Can we improve the entire experience?", "Can we get more varied and better games?", but the answers don't come easily. We'd like to think we do a good job, but we don't think we're perfect. Not all of Gaelcon is to everyone's liking, however you seem to have had not a great time and I will tell you your concerns will be raised.
Here's hoping that things weren't so bad you won't be back next year.
Lir
LARP Coordinator, Gaelcon 2003
PRO, Irish Games Association.0 -
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Originally posted by Specky
T'was the snowy valley one I'm afraid...
pooIt's probably fairly natural to be a little defensive when you run someone else's scenario, especially in a game where you're confronted by a whole bunch of people you don't know (and particularly at a con where you can sometimes be confronted with rule-book-omaniacs who pick up the most infinitesimal error and beat you to death with it) however it was a little worrying that the first words from both GMs were something along the lines of "erm...I'm sorry, I didn't write this..."
One day a GM will actually TELL the writer he doesn't like the damned thing and the world will end. That said, GMs who start an adventure like that need a harsh slap.You've said it yourself, the D&D was poorly presented and more than a little one dimensional. Not a bad idea as such but it rapidly descended into hack and slash, denying any opportunity to have any fun with the role playing possibilities of demonic posession. I don't play D&D as a rule for reasons too many to go into without copious amounts of beer,
If you'll forgive the expression, that was a sort of editorial decision, any "proper" rules for demonic possession aren't in any of the books I have. Deadlands D20 and the whole harrowed thing are about as close as you get and I lifted and simplified the rules from there. I didn't want the adventure to focus too sharply on one half of the party and not on the other.
I'm genuinely sorry about the character sheets though, they were bloody dreadful. The structure of the adventure itself and layout of the scenario got a few compliments though... thank christ.
The SLA game wasn't awful but I'd question the choice of a detective type BPN in a con setting where you need to assemble a body of evidence, ask a lot of questions, take a fair bit of time.... Also the room really didn't help as it was just SO LOUD I just couldn't hear half of what was going on. That's not the fault of the scenario or the scenario writer obviously.
It was a damned sight quieter in there the last time I was in that room basically.
Not to sound defensive but it's hard to win - if a game requires talking then the place is too loud for it, if you decide to go with something simpler then it's hack and slash. Striking a proper balance is trickier than I though.
Do the scenarios get play tested prior to being presented at the con? Hasn't a format for submitting scenarios to the con been defined? or are they so hard to come by that they're simply devoured in whatever state they arrive in?
I playtested mine, they worked well enough in a quiet sitting room but that's no real indicator - one man's gleeful march of destruction is another's yawnfest of dice rolling. That said though they weren't my finest work ever and they were hindered somewhat by a series of misfortunes with my PC which cost me a lot of time that could have been spent putting more life into them.
I'll just make it up to everyone some other way
Wombat0 -
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Originally posted by Lir
Hey,
w00t! Sensible criticisms. I don't know if I get to see enough of these these days.
well you may change your mind on that for here come some moreThat's quite a worrying starting statement... erk... I'll guarantee you that the entire committee agree with you on this one. However, it isn't as if we have a vast, vast number of scenarios to chose from. Every year we open the con up to submissions, generally we then fall short and have to ask people to pretty please write us games
lol well you may get a few for next year what have some involvement from me and my minionsI can't really make answer to the quality of the games as I didn't see them or get to play them. I am sorry you didn't enjoy two of them, but equally I know there are people who did. We hope that the standard of our games goes up every year and your feedback will certainly be fed into the process.
how the games goes can depend on who sits at the table with you and what the GM is like. I wish I could say at all the guys/gals that gm are wonderful
and give it there all but this year I was proved wrong, not me personally but others that I had draged along to the con.
yes larps need thier own room but honestly last year I played greyhawk int he main hall and despite all the war gaming and distractions could hear the GM and all 5 other players at the table unlike trying to play SLA this year in a room with 9 tables cramed into it each seating at least 6 people.
Last year there were games ran in the bar area and I played two there and coudl hear everyone clearly and didnt get a headache.The gap was never more than an hour or so, time that a lot of people often use to go get lunch or whatever.
oh yes It was if you arrive in and the only two rpgs you wanted to play in the morning slot was sold out, (this happened a lot) and you had to wait 4 hours till th enext one and there was no one at the demo tables. Yes I know there was board games but we were not bored enough to play them.
If you were stuck for GM's why not ask for people to give a hand. We ended up playing the sliver sentinals game only becuase we found some one and persuaded them to run it for us, other wise it woudl have been 3 mornings in a row and no games for us.
Gar already knows about the vampire : dark ages fiasco so I shant get into that, it was a wonderful story and a real shame the rest did not get to play it. I had never played Darkages until that session and yet won best player for it.Overlapping schedules are a nightmare beyond nightmares unless you're only running one table of things and you don't mind groups being seated and finishing up at even more regular intervals than happens with 'fixed' slots.
yes have to agree that sounds hellish but I do like the sound of Specky's idea of swaping morning and evening sessions so it becomes a lil more flexible.Fergal and Fiki are an accquired taste I'll grand you
ewwwwhhh you tasted them ?!!!!As to the pub... er... well we thought the bar ten feet away would be enough. Why go to a smaller place we have to pay more money for and get people to when we can use the facilities we have?
ah yes the Bar.
the queing for 20 mins to pay for the coffee you poured youself,
the waiting for there to be coffee or milk, and when you tell the 1 bar person they look as you as if you drank it all .
The barman who insisted there was no chocolate bars when they were right behind him by the till and refused to listen when he was told " look there they are"
The same barman who said there were no sandwhiches when they were in their trays stacked on the floor.
the sandwhiches, I would like to offer my sever pity to anyone who had an eggmayo sandwhich on the Sunday 3 people I know did all whom have con 15 + and were ill afterwards one was so bad he was not able to attend on the Monday.
Yes, the pub quiz and missing 2 rounds while trying to get served at the bar,
and the lil lounge girl only collecting empties and no lounge staff getting beer/drinks.Here's hoping that things weren't so bad you won't be back next year.
Nah what wont happen 0 -
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Thanks again for the comments, I amn't going to go through them one by one this time, sorry...
I'm really glad to hear that people are thinking about writing, the more the merrier, and to be honest the more submissions we get the more ruthless we can be in our selection process and hence the better quality of game we'll end up being able to offer to everyone who comes through the door.
The seating, well, as I said, it's not set in stone, so we'll see, but obviously as next year's committee hasn't been decided yet I can't promise anything just at the moment.
I'm rather distressed to hear about the bar situation, I didn't spend a lot of time near it during the day and in the evenings there was only one major delay (when I was sure the bar girl/lounge girl wasn't going to come back) that I experienced. We sometimes have a hard time persuading venues, even ones that we've been back to a few times, that the demand will be high, so it's something we'll have to hammer home again and again next year.
So, er, yeah, let me see what we can do...
Oh, and next time you guys are at a con, do grab me so I can put names to faces, I'm the overly large (well, I'm not Wookie, but...) guy with the beard and no hair and while I know there are people from here that go to the con it's a shameful admission of mine that I couldn't point any of you out in a lineup. Sorry.
Lir.0 -
Originally posted by Lir
I'm rather distressed to hear about the bar situation, I didn't spend a lot of time near it during the day and in the evenings there was only one major delay (when I was sure the bar girl/lounge girl wasn't going to come back) that I experienced. We sometimes have a hard time persuading venues, even ones that we've been back to a few times, that the demand will be high, so it's something we'll have to hammer home again and again next year.
So, er, yeah, let me see what we can do...
There was plenty of staff on during the day on the saturday and again for the afternoon on the Sunday but the Monday was pretty bad service wise I guess the Hotel didnt adjust thier staff rota.
well as for the whole coffee/tea thing
take the number of 500 and say at least 3 cups per person at 1.20 euros
you get a grand total of 1,800 euros on coffee/tea alone over the weekend.
And that is not any other beverage or
chocolate or sandwhiches.
Something to think about.
yes yes I know you are going to get people saying that they dont drink the stuff but then you have complete caffine fiends like me who had at least some where between 9 and 12 cups over the weekend. hmmmmm maybe next year I should bring a flask of esspresso hmmmm ok maybe not a Good Idea
Oh, and next time you guys are at a con, do grab me so I can put names to faces, I'm the overly large (well, I'm not Wookie, but...) guy with the beard and no hair and while I know there are people from here that go to the con it's a shameful admission of mine that I couldn't point any of you out in a lineup. Sorry.
lol and what makes you think that was not intentional,
we know who you are Brian
As for me I was the Loud one in the purple hat.
/me waits to hear the cry of " Dear Gods No !!! " and the sound of Lir Fleeing.0 -
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Originally posted by zenith
What I want to know is:
- Was Sal Roche there?
- Was Calen King there?
- Where was Dave Roe?
- Was Don Hoban around?
- Was Dorian whachamacallit there?
- Did ya miss me winning the pub quiz?
[/B]
Er, in order...
- Yes, and she even got a date.
- No.
- There some of the time, but he had to look after his daughter for a lot of the weekend.
- Oh yes, quite a bit.
- Yup, all weekend.
- Er... no?
Oh, and Thaed, I think it's a measure of how busy I was that I don't remember a purple hatted person, hence my need for people to come and talk to me, assuming they want to that is
Lir.0 -
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Innuendo??
There was nothing in my endo!!
We had a jolly spiffy time too Nick, thanks very much for sharing your vast array of accents with us. There was....erm...West country old woman....West country old man....other West country old woman...slightly younger West country woman... 0 -
here here absoulte cracking time CoC was deff game of the con for me really enjoyed it!!
big thanks to the GM's who stayed back and DM'ed our "crazy group" late into the nite when no one else wood!! you no who you are,
Innuendo.......in your endo!!! (i'll remove if this is a bit too much) 0 -
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