Terry Stawar
Posted: Thursday, June 11, 2015 8:00 am
I’ve only attended a few conventions in my life and most of these were related to psychology or mental health. The first was the American Psychological Association Convention in New Orleans back in the 1970s.
I was impressed to see so many prominent people in the field, but the most interesting sight was Bourbon Street, packed with thousands of psychologists. Almost all of them were sporting beards, smoking pipes and carrying copies of the “Underground Gourmet’s Guide to New Orleans.” As I walked down the street, two of them turned and greeted me. I was surprised to see that they were my old psychology professors from graduate school.
A few years later, my boss Malcom and I attended the annual APA convention in Washington, D.C. This convention was noteworthy for two reasons. First, my car blew its head gasket and we almost never made it home. Secondly, we met B.F. Skinner, who was the world’s most famous psychologist at the time.
We were going to where Skinner was supposed to give a lecture but got lost and went to the wrong room. Evidently, Skinner also got lost, so it was just the three of us there together. He was very polite, but seemed embarrassed to have made the same mistake as a couple of boobs like us. He asked for directions and we all eventually found our way to the lecture hall. It was too bad that this took place before the age of selfies.
None of this, however, prepared me for the convention I went to last Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Late last week, my wife Diane got a call from our youngest son, who told her that he was going to be at the Origins Game Fair convention in Columbus over the weekend. He had designed a card game and his publisher was going to have a booth at this convention. He was going to be demonstrating his game and hopefully selling some copies.
Since Columbus is only a few hours away, we decided to make the trip.
We registered online to attend the convention Saturday and made reservations at a downtown hotel, where our son and the publishing company people were staying.
I had heard of comic book conventions like Comic Con, but I knew nothing of game conventions. The Origin’s Game Fair was sponsored by the Game Manufacture’s Association and specialized in role playing games like “Dungeons and Dragons,” board games, card games and miniatures. In the Exhibitor’s Hall, manufacturers set up booths to promote and demonstrate their products. There were also people selling game accessories, such as game mats and those complicated multifaceted dice used in role-playing games.
In yet another large hall, dozens of tables were set up, where people were playing the various games. We saw our son at one of these tables teaching his card game to an attendee. There was also a lending library, where you could check out games to try them.
We also saw where they were demonstrating large floor games and where they showed miniatures. These miniature figurines were often displayed in dioramas, depicting historical events such as famous battles.
Last year, Indianapolis hosted Geneon, which was described as “the largest and nerdiest gaming convention in the world,” with more than 56,000 people in attendance and 14,000 separate events. I am not exactly sure how the Origin Game Fair stacked up to that, but the Origin program book was 80 pages long.
A comic book titled “Knights of the Dinner Table” was circulated at this convention. It portrayed a group of role playing gamers and the humorous aspects of game playing. The title referred to the fact that most such games are played around dinner tables.
The magazine included a satirical piece on how to get your dice to work better for you, describing how to train them and even exorcise unlucky ones. You had to know quite a bit about game playing to fully appreciate this comic.
Overall, this was a convention for serious hobbyists. I only recognized a couple of the thousands of games displayed and had never heard of any of the featured guest celebrities, which included game designers and illustrators, a science fiction writer and some obscure science fiction actors.
Although there was a section on electronic tabletop games, video games were conspicuously absent, since they evidently represent a slightly different market share and fan base. We learned that most of those in attendance came because the convention was an opportunity to play their favorite games in large tournaments. The gamers were relentless. Back at the hotel at night, the lobby was full of them sitting at tables still playing games.
The basic gamer uniform included camp shorts, a T-shirt with some comic book illustration and a backpack for supplies and purchases. There were also a smattering of people wearing costumes and there was a costume contest in the afternoon.
I saw a number of men in “Star Trek” uniforms, while other people were wearing superhero, sword and sorcery and steam punk attire. Beards were almost as pervasive as in psychology conventions. Instead of pipes, however, electronic cigarettes and vaping devices were commonplace. Mad hatter hats, fedoras and derbies were quite popular, but the fashion statement of the convention seemed to be kilt-wearing.
During the convention, there were new games introduced, auctions and award presentations. There was a kid’s room, Laser Tag and Origins University, which offered seminars on game design, illustration and tips on “how to make your hobby your business.” It did seem that most people were either playing games or trying to sell something.
Our son said that he thought the convention was successful, since he was able to promote his game, “Backstab,” as well as sell some copies. He also said that these conventions have helped him figure out who the best potential customers for his game are.
Personally, I’m not sure I’d ever go to one of these things again, although I’m sure I’d look great in a fedora and a kilt if I did.
— Terry L. Stawar, Ed.D. lives in Georgetown and is the CEO of LifeSpring, the local community mental health center in Jeffersonville. He can be reached at tstawar@lifespr.com or 812-206-1234. Check out his “Welcome to Planet-Terry” podcast at lifespr.com/podcast
We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Posted in
Opinion,
Columns
on
Thursday, June 11, 2015 8:00 am.
Open all references in tabs: [1 - 3]