The steering committee for Games on Demand GenCon 2019 is calling on GenCon, LLC. to strengthen their stance concerning the recent revelations around Zak Smith. The current response (linked here) is weak-spirited and does not provide satisfactory assurance that attendees can feel GenCon will take their side in cases of abuse. We strongly urge GenCon to provide a stronger statement as quickly as possible that names abusers, and distinctly calls out action that will be taken against them so attendees feel like concerns and incidents are taken seriously and dealt with appropriately. Continue reading
Come Volunteer with us at Gen Con 2015 Games on Demand!
The time has finally come to officially sign up for Games on Demand at Gen Con! We’re looking for people to help us welcome attendees, organize seating, and run games for enthusiastic players!
The show runs from July 30 to August 2, 2015, and we’ll be running games from Thursday through Sunday morning. Free badges are available for those volunteering for 16 or more hours.
If you’re interested in joining us, fill out this form and let us know!
Diversity is an important part of Games on Demand so we especially encourage women, people of color, and gamers of all ages, genders, races, and backgrounds to join us! We’ll provide training and support as needed.
Please share this post and link with anyone you think would like to join us.
Games on Demand will be returning to Gen Con again this year as a premiere event! We’re very excited to be able to offer an array of our favorite games and share them with you. If you’ll be at the show, please drop by to connect with other players, choose from a menu of rules-light, story-rich RPGs and small-scale LARPs and get playing!
LOCATION
Marriott Hotel, Ballroom 6 on the second floor
HOURS
Thursday – 10am-8pm
Friday – 10am-12am
Saturday – 10am-12am
Sunday – 10am-4pm
What’s Different About GoD This Year?
This year the event will be in the Marriott hotel instead of the convention center, and we will only be accepting generic tickets. We’ll also have more space, a better seating process, more diversity, family-oriented gaming, and freeform larps on demand!
Why Did the Location Change?
Because of the massive swell in attendance at this year’s Gen Con, every space is in short supply. The convention center filled up quickly and we opted to move to the Marriott (just across the Maryland St skywalk from the food court) in order to get a larger space of our own. Our hope is that the ballroom will give us plenty of space to meet demand at peak times.
Why Switch to Generic-only Tickets?
Games on Demand will be an all-generics event this year, meaning that there is no pre-registration available. Every 2-hour session will require one generic ticket, or a ticket from another event of equivalent value.
The purpose of the change is to simplify the process of choosing a game and getting a seat. Removing registration allows us to set aside priority seating and serve every player on a first-come-first-serve basis. We also have plans in the works to make the boarding process as smooth as possible and keep lines short
Why does the program list it as “Zed – Isle of Misfit Events”?
In the past we’ve been listed in the RPG category, and that is still primarily what we’ll be offering. That said, the Gen Con organizers want to make better use of the categories and our event has always been a strange fit. The RPG label is intended for events focused on a single game, rather than a buffet of options.
What’s the Deal with Diversity?
One of our goals is to even further diversify our volunteer team this year, and if you identify as a woman, POC, or are LGBTQ, we would love it if you would consider helping us out!
We also want to create a welcoming environment for players from any background to come play games with us. If you have suggestions or contributions that would help, we’d love to hear from you!
What if I want to help but not GM games?
This year you can sign up as a volunteer who solely does hosting. Hosting is the essential job of greeting potential players and helping them find a game they’ll enjoy. It’s a great way for people to get involved without having to run games.
This all sounds awesome! where do I go to volunteer?
If you’re interested in volunteering (as a GM, a host, or both) just fill out this form:
Even if you’ve already talked to the organizers and you’re on our lists to volunteer, please take a moment and fill out this form so we have it all in one place. Thanks!
I’m so excited! How else can I help?
Thanks for your enthusiasm! Please help us spread the word about the event by sharing this post and asking friends you might know are going to check us out. The move from our old location and the ticketing change are likely to confuse people, so we’re doing everything we can to make sure no one gets disappointed.
Gen Con 2013 has come and gone, and since then the Games on Demand team has been busy organizing data and making plans for next year. To help that process, we’d like to get some information from those of you who came to the event and played games with us! If you’d like to give us your feedback, we encourage you to come fill out our survey:
As you answer the questions, please bear in mind that Games on Demand is an all-volunteer event put together for you for free by enthusiastic people who love games. Keeping your comments focused and constructive will be a huge help to us!
If you didn’t attend the event this year, or if you are one of our volunteers, please hold off on filling out this form for now.
It’s been a few weeks since Gen Con, and we’ve finally pulled together most of the data from the event. I’ll share more of the details soon, as well as a link to a survey to gather feedback, but for now, here’s a summary:
– 354 game sessions run
– 92 distinct games (not including scenario variations)
– 232 two-hour games
– 122 four-hour games
– 1667 players seated
Nicely done, everyone! Thanks to the volunteers for helping to make it happen, and to the many players who joined us this year!
This is only tangentially related to GoD but if you are into GoD this may excite you. Also we may poach GoD space after hours if that is possible.
There are a bunch of us who are really into focused live action games, American Freeform, parlor larps and the like, and we are all bringing crazy stuff to try out and share. I’d like to discuss this, make some rough plans, figure out the logistics, and see who is interested.
At Origins this year there was a Jeepform sampler (Previous Occupants and Lady & Otto), a session of The Tribunal, and my big game Sirai got run twice. At Gen Con there will be more people and more game!
So: If you are bringing stuff you’d like to run, shout it out here. If you definitely want to try some live action games, shout out here. If you have a line on a good play space … shout out here.
