Origins Mid-point report
It's always hard to remember that Origins is not a great show for selling merchandise. We approach it with all the seriousness that we would give GenCon, the big daddy of RPG shows, but Origins never quite manages to pony up the interested buyers despite the continued claims of ever-increasing attendance at the show.
Even so, Thursday was a pretty good show. Four-day attendees who made it all the way down to the far end of the convention center where the dealer's room now sits were happy to see us and eager to pick up things they'd been waiting for. Despite there being no map of the events areas and despite events listings being ridiculously screwed up yet again this year, people did manage to find our events and play in the games our staff was running. I skipped the Origins Awards "announcement" which was, as threatened, a guy standing in front of the exhibit hall doors while (I kid you not) chicks in belly dancer costumes trotted out the "You're not the winner" certificates to those few nominees in attendance. Holy cow, talk about taking the bullet express to Lameville!
Friday, in contrast, was dead, dead, dead. The exhibit hall opened with an announcement over the loud speakers telling us not that the doors were open but with a rather self-congratulatory "We're proud to tell you that yesterday's attendance was 8,XXX unique attendees; last year it was 7,XXX. Hooray!" Weird. And for all those additional attendees, there were large periods of dead time in the hall. Disappointing, but again, that's just how Origins is. At this point I have no expectations.
I balanced out my business duties with my Mommy duties, leaving the hall early to bring Kate to Columbus's "Independence Day" parade*. Marching bands and Miss Teen Princesses were seen, staggering amounts of candy were scattered in front of us, and the parade lasted exactly the hour I had budgeted for it. Then it was back to the hotels to meet the team for dinner and business. When deep scheduling discussions began, I excused myself again and joined up with Spike and Mary just in time to drive off to the Columbus Crew's stadium, which held a big Fun Day in their facility to celebrate the Red White and Boom happenings. We arrived short minutes before the fireworks went off downtown, and had a nice, mostly unobstructed view (if a bit distant for the girls' tastes). We boogied to the patriotic music, Spike flashed a lot of photos, and then after the "official" fireworks were over, the facility lit off a second show they dubbed "Crew Boom" over our heads. We made our way back to the car, where we set off the confetti poppers that the security folks wouldn't allow Mary to bring into the stadium, the girls were gleeful, and we joined the intense traffic jam that surrounded the entire downtown (including our hotel).
Much, much more fun than attending the "If you pay $30 you can come to our party for the winners" so-called Origins Awards Celebration scheduled for the same time.
*Actually held on Canada Day.
Even so, Thursday was a pretty good show. Four-day attendees who made it all the way down to the far end of the convention center where the dealer's room now sits were happy to see us and eager to pick up things they'd been waiting for. Despite there being no map of the events areas and despite events listings being ridiculously screwed up yet again this year, people did manage to find our events and play in the games our staff was running. I skipped the Origins Awards "announcement" which was, as threatened, a guy standing in front of the exhibit hall doors while (I kid you not) chicks in belly dancer costumes trotted out the "You're not the winner" certificates to those few nominees in attendance. Holy cow, talk about taking the bullet express to Lameville!
Friday, in contrast, was dead, dead, dead. The exhibit hall opened with an announcement over the loud speakers telling us not that the doors were open but with a rather self-congratulatory "We're proud to tell you that yesterday's attendance was 8,XXX unique attendees; last year it was 7,XXX. Hooray!" Weird. And for all those additional attendees, there were large periods of dead time in the hall. Disappointing, but again, that's just how Origins is. At this point I have no expectations.
I balanced out my business duties with my Mommy duties, leaving the hall early to bring Kate to Columbus's "Independence Day" parade*. Marching bands and Miss Teen Princesses were seen, staggering amounts of candy were scattered in front of us, and the parade lasted exactly the hour I had budgeted for it. Then it was back to the hotels to meet the team for dinner and business. When deep scheduling discussions began, I excused myself again and joined up with Spike and Mary just in time to drive off to the Columbus Crew's stadium, which held a big Fun Day in their facility to celebrate the Red White and Boom happenings. We arrived short minutes before the fireworks went off downtown, and had a nice, mostly unobstructed view (if a bit distant for the girls' tastes). We boogied to the patriotic music, Spike flashed a lot of photos, and then after the "official" fireworks were over, the facility lit off a second show they dubbed "Crew Boom" over our heads. We made our way back to the car, where we set off the confetti poppers that the security folks wouldn't allow Mary to bring into the stadium, the girls were gleeful, and we joined the intense traffic jam that surrounded the entire downtown (including our hotel).
Much, much more fun than attending the "If you pay $30 you can come to our party for the winners" so-called Origins Awards Celebration scheduled for the same time.
*Actually held on Canada Day.
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