Origins 2008 Report

[Dragondaddy]

DragonDaddy's Origins 2008 Report

This was the best Origins since 2001. Attendance was down, just a bit. I would estimate somewhere between 8-10,000 people showed up. This is hardly surprising in light of the tremendous increase in travel costs (Gas, Food and Lodging costs have jumped almost 50% over the last year, and that actually constitutes the majority of a convention attendance budget). I saw more families, and more children in attendance than in any previous year, There were a plenty of teachers there as well, and not a few school principals, I saw Anthony giving the teachers a tour of the convention to garner more support for fun learning and experiences, and for the first time ever, I didn't get a bye on one of my gaming rounds.

A bye happens when no one shows up to GM a gaming round. If no one shows up fifteen minutes after your scheduled gaming round, you get to go back to game HQ, Get the credit for running the game, and the block of time you would normally be Gming, or otherwise running a game, is now yours to go try a new game, go shopping, rest, eat, volunteer for something else interesting, whatever. Normally I get one or two gaming rounds that get canceled, and I get to go run around and have fun, This year, I GM'ed all seven gaming sessions that were scheduled over three days.

Good thing I came a day early, to check everything out, to get some shopping in, and on the last day managed to hit the dealer room on the way out, to beef up the dice collection and get a few fun games for the kids, and colleagues at work whom had expressed some curiosity about a big game convention that they had never heard of even though they have lived in the Buckeye state all of their life. You think Trailer Park Wars, and Twisted Fish, and the Austin Powers card game will provide some good MOJO for the folks at work here?

Anyway, I thought Origins is holding its' own in light of the economic downturn that is pretty much affecting the entire country. The dealers I spoke to said they were having a good year, and I expect the same attendance issues at other conventions this year for sure, with perhaps GenCon being the sole exception (then again, maybe not even GenCon). Economic troubles are actually good news for the dealers as people settle on less expensive forms of entertainment, and tabletop games, wargames, boardgames, Rpgs, and card games give folks a tremendous return in terms of what they cost, compared to say... sports, recreational vehicles, movies, and such.

On the lack of lines at registration, I would say registration has been much improved over the years. I can remember the past years when the registration computers crashed, and another year the badge printers went down, and things like that. There was none of that this year, it was in, Pick up your pre-printed badge if you were pre-registered and out to go game. Well Done!

Happenings of note: The Axis and Allies game was either canceled or moved. This is big in the minis arena and I had several people inquire after it at my minis gaming table. This is a moneymaker for the convention and should definitely receive some better care for next year. Alderac Entertainment Group had scheduled a small booth in the Dealer room, and were a no show for the convention. I don't know what happened to them, but for a time they really shined in introducing two groundbreaking and influential RPGs, Spycraft and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer into the game world. They will be missed. The Collectible card games room was jam packed with demos and tournaments both Friday and Saturday, with lots of young ones in attendance. This bodes well for the future of gaming as eventually they'll mature and begin exploring additional avenues (read-in here) genres, and categories of games. In addition, I had teens sitting in on two of my RPG gaming rounds, and saw some young ones signing up to try out Spycraft at the Crafty Games room, while I was visiting with control while checking in on new upcoming Crafty Games releases. Duke Siegfreid was out, recovering from quadruple heart bypass surgery, his doctors prohibited him from travelling this year, but his team put on a great show with an impressive early Roman/German battle, Warlords of Mars, and of course the ever famous British 1800's debacle in Africa, Rourke's Drift !

The Art show was awesome, as usual, and I spent a few dollars there buying a few prints for my kids. They were delighted with new pictures made especially for them from real artists. A big thank you on that. They'll be ready for their first Origins experience in 2010 or so. Until then they'll have to be content with Da bringing them back games and art when he goes every year.

On the games, I'll have detailed after-action reports on each in the next few days, but the Spycraft, Castles and Crusades, Dungeons and Dragon Eberron game went very well, The Terra Incognita game needs more work. The Siege of St. Augustine historical minis game could have used a few more participants. I guess it was a good idea to put a table tent on the table with the date and time of the next event so people walking by could add it to their schedule. That worked very well last year. With the new 1776 rules, the game started a bit slow, but went smoothly after all the mechanics were practiced a few times. For the record, with a determined attack, the British captured St. Augustine!

Many thanks to the HMGS folks for hosting this, to the RPG HQ, and for the Origins staff in putting together a great set of games!
P.S. did someone here need some Gamescience Hi-Impact precision dice? I stopped in with Lou Zocchi for a bit and picked up two extra sets of the flawless colored crystals in light blue and light green. I remember someone asking about it, not too long ago.

Until next year!

DragonDaddy

[Tadhg]

Thanks for your report, Dragondaddy. I so hope that I'll be able to attend a big CON like this someday.

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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

[Dragondaddy]

Rhuvein wrote:
Thanks for your report, Dragondaddy. I so hope that I'll be able to attend a big CON like this someday.

Right On! We'll save a table for you!

Quick Correction, on Alderac, they made also Stargate SG-1, not Buffy. Buffy was from Eden Studios, whom are also, now lamentably absent from the gaming dealer room.

I'm a bit tired, just got back after four days at the show, running a full boat. Will also say, could have sworn Mac was playing in my C&C round. The party Wizard chose to be CE while the party Cleric was LG, While visiting the tomb of the Clerics Patriarch, the Wizard took the dead patriarchs staff, and the player Cleric instantly challenged the Wizard to a duel for the staff.

The Wizard lit off a fireball, and flamebranded the Cleric, the rest of the party, and himself. They were all in a 10x20 Mausoleum at the time. The Rogue escaped harm by jumping into the sarcophagus with the dead patriarch, and the Cleric proceeded to slay the Wizard in close combat. The party stuck together well for the rest of the adventure, more on this later...

[jamesmishler]

Thanks for the report!

How was Lou Zocchi doing, by the way? Did you happen to chat with him at all?

Oh, and was that Alderac Entertainment (Spycraft) or Eden Studios (Buffy)that missed the con?
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James Mishler

Main Man, Adventure Games Publishing
jamesagp1@gmail.com
http://adventuregamespublishing.blogspot.com/
http://jamesmishler.blogspot.com

[Dragondaddy]

jamesmishler wrote:
Thanks for the report!

How was Lou Zocchi doing, by the way? Did you happen to chat with him at all?

Oh, and was that Alderac Entertainment (Spycraft) or Eden Studios (Buffy)that missed the con?

It was Alderac that was a no show. (see correction above) Eden never booked a booth for the show.

Lou was looking good, and in good spirits all things considered. He did his matchbox magic trick for a 10 year old kid that stopped by his booth and totally amazed the kid by making the matchbox dance and open and close while it sit in his open flat palm.

During the awards ceremonies they had tributes to Bob, and Gary, and Eric and actually four or five others. It's been a tough year in gaming. Rick Loomis was good too, Marcus King was looking better, he's been sleeping more, and Duke Siegfreied was unhappy his doctor wouldn't let him travel for the show.

[Fat Dragon Games]

We had a great time at Origins this year except for having a couple of games canceled due to the GM not showing up. I got mixed reactions from the dealers I spoke with, the majority feeling sales were a bit down from previous years. No WOTC or Wizkids has definitely had an impact on the exhibit hall, and a couple dealers said they would not be back next year. I hate to see this happen as I love Origins and would love to see attendance back up to it's previous heyday 5+ years ago.
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Thomas A. Tullis

Fat Dragon Games
www.fatdragongames.com

Castles & Crusades...more D&D than D&D.

[Omote]

great to hear the report about Origins. Origins is a good con, and I really hope this year did a lot to bring back fans in future years.

-O
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Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society