Origins Update
Origins has been going gangbusters! Wow, I've been so busy and my legs and feet are KILLING me because I've been standing and walking so much, but we're selling the heck out of our new releases and people are just loving Torches & Pitchforks. Christopher McGlothlin, author of Time of Crisis, has been wonderful with his tireless demoing. We've also been hosting Matt and Tim from Human Head, who are showing off the Dracula's Revenge board game. People have been really enjoying Rob's Freeport events, and Graveyard Greg was sweet enough to help us out with our Mutants & Masterminds and Skull & Bones event.
As tiring and stressful as conventions can be, there is also the wonderful chance to talk to our fans, to show our games to new players, to spend time with our industry friends and colleagues, to see the glowing enjoyment young and old alike experience while playing games, painting miniatures, meeting interesting guests and luminaries...conventions are a rollercoaster ride of all the best and some of the worst of the industry. Despite all of the stuff I've been through so far this week that has been awful, there's no denying that we've been surrounded by all of the best as well.
The awards show was a bit nerve-wracking as we had some technical troubles (from the wrong equipment for showing a contracted video to missing the special tool used to put together the Calliopes) and some missing guests and presenters, but overall I was very relieved and pleased at the way it went. I ended up having far too much time in the spotlight as I presented some awards myself and presided over some of the Hall of Fame inductions. I much prefer not to be in the spotlight, but literally ended up in the spotlight at this show.
Despite the cruel comments made by people who were not interested in seeing Luke Ski perform at the awards, even the person who (prior to the ceremony) told me that he didn't intend to come because it sounded like a horrible waste of three hours of his life somehow decided to attend anyway and later admitted (literally in passing) that it all turned out ok. In fact, Luke's performance of "Stealing Like a Hobbit" was a nice break between the sad memorial for Don Turnbull and the remainder of the awards for the night.
I was incredibly honored to be able to be a part of the ceremony to honor the contributions of all of our Hall of Fame members. I was a grinning fool just to be present to see our assembled members, let alone have the pleasure of being allowed to personally, formally induct Reiner Knizia into the Hall of Fame.
Tonight was the Hall of Fame banquet, where attendees and exhibitors were able to buy a ticket that included a nice buffet meal and the opportunity to sit with and discuss game design or whatever else struck your fancy with the likes of Sandy Peterson, Jim Dunnigan, Liz Danforth, Lou Zocchi, and all of the other attendees. Unfortunately for me, I was only able to attend the banquet for a brief time, just long enough to thank everyone for attending and apologize that I was expected at another event.
Tomorrow is the last day of the convention. I expect to hear a report that the numbers are up and that we are going to beat our projections. I'm trying to think of what I can do after the convention to thank the tireless efforts of GAMA's staff and Volunteers. They have worked so amazingly hard to make sure this convention was a smooth-running as possible, and that any difficulties were handled as quickly and with as little disruption as possible. SO much of what GAMA's people have done has been to shield everyone else from anything that might detract from them getting their full enjoyment out of their convention experience. Certainly there will always be incidents, challenges, and difficulties but I believe this convention has reflected wonderfully well on everyone involved and they deserve the deepest thanks of everyone dedicated to the game play and enjoyment.
As tiring and stressful as conventions can be, there is also the wonderful chance to talk to our fans, to show our games to new players, to spend time with our industry friends and colleagues, to see the glowing enjoyment young and old alike experience while playing games, painting miniatures, meeting interesting guests and luminaries...conventions are a rollercoaster ride of all the best and some of the worst of the industry. Despite all of the stuff I've been through so far this week that has been awful, there's no denying that we've been surrounded by all of the best as well.
The awards show was a bit nerve-wracking as we had some technical troubles (from the wrong equipment for showing a contracted video to missing the special tool used to put together the Calliopes) and some missing guests and presenters, but overall I was very relieved and pleased at the way it went. I ended up having far too much time in the spotlight as I presented some awards myself and presided over some of the Hall of Fame inductions. I much prefer not to be in the spotlight, but literally ended up in the spotlight at this show.
Despite the cruel comments made by people who were not interested in seeing Luke Ski perform at the awards, even the person who (prior to the ceremony) told me that he didn't intend to come because it sounded like a horrible waste of three hours of his life somehow decided to attend anyway and later admitted (literally in passing) that it all turned out ok. In fact, Luke's performance of "Stealing Like a Hobbit" was a nice break between the sad memorial for Don Turnbull and the remainder of the awards for the night.
I was incredibly honored to be able to be a part of the ceremony to honor the contributions of all of our Hall of Fame members. I was a grinning fool just to be present to see our assembled members, let alone have the pleasure of being allowed to personally, formally induct Reiner Knizia into the Hall of Fame.
Tonight was the Hall of Fame banquet, where attendees and exhibitors were able to buy a ticket that included a nice buffet meal and the opportunity to sit with and discuss game design or whatever else struck your fancy with the likes of Sandy Peterson, Jim Dunnigan, Liz Danforth, Lou Zocchi, and all of the other attendees. Unfortunately for me, I was only able to attend the banquet for a brief time, just long enough to thank everyone for attending and apologize that I was expected at another event.
Tomorrow is the last day of the convention. I expect to hear a report that the numbers are up and that we are going to beat our projections. I'm trying to think of what I can do after the convention to thank the tireless efforts of GAMA's staff and Volunteers. They have worked so amazingly hard to make sure this convention was a smooth-running as possible, and that any difficulties were handled as quickly and with as little disruption as possible. SO much of what GAMA's people have done has been to shield everyone else from anything that might detract from them getting their full enjoyment out of their convention experience. Certainly there will always be incidents, challenges, and difficulties but I believe this convention has reflected wonderfully well on everyone involved and they deserve the deepest thanks of everyone dedicated to the game play and enjoyment.
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