on the road to MEPACON

So with my growing pursuit of game design, I have started to gain interest in attending more of the smaller conventions that take place around my area of the country. The goal is to scout out 'local' conventions where there is a large enough audience to attend and demo and sell games. There is also the added benefit of being able to take the whole family along if we go to something that is only a few short hours in a car away.

This weekend we have set our sites on MEPACON in Clark's Summit, PA. I read a lot about the convention, and it looks to be a nice laid back affair that is family friendly. I see a lot of role playing games on the schedule, but also a lot of boardgames, and other more casual games as well. This I found very encouraging. Another nearby convention I was considering was crossed off the list because it focused very heavily on tabletop wargames, with little room for anything else. I want to make sure the places I attend are open to casual games, as most of my designs are of that nature.

This weekend I plan to travel with one completed game, one game that is ready to beta test, and another that is barely able to be demonstrated, really only discussed. My goal will be to draw folks in using the completed game, and if interested play-test my other game. I will keep the raw game to pull out if there is a lot of excitement, to help demonstrate the process that I go through with game creation. Naturally this is only what I plan to do now. When there I may be too busy, or just never get past playing my completed game. But, I like to think about what could happen, and ensure I am prepared.

So all of my energy has been focused on wrapping up a play test ready version of Some Assembly Required. We are just about there. I found robots for the playtest, I just need to give them a bit of a paint job. I think having a decent mini to move around will help folks understand what the end product will look like. Here is hoping that I can finish off the rest of the cards over lunch the next couple days.

Very exciting times.