It was the best of GameStorms, it was the worst of GameStorms

[macmoyer]

I've thought GameStorm was a good con ever since my first in 2001, and I can truly say this one was exceptionally well put together. A lot of the little wrinkles have been ironed out (I'm looking at you, swag auction), and it seems to be running like a well-oiled machine (except for a couple of sticky little cogs... more on that below).
Some highlights:

• The hotel was very compatible with the con. It was easy to find. The rooms were a good price. The con layout, with everything radiating out from the main lobby, worked really well. There seemed to be plenty of space, and that was great!
• The restaurant/bar was open to the lobby, and the lobby was the central hub for the con. A couple of times, I spotted some friends in there, stopped in for a chat and a beer, and it was good.
• The swag distribution was silky smooth. Although pickings were pretty slim at the end, it was easy to pop in and pick up the swag, with minimum ado. And I picked up a copy of Blue Moon, which I've had my eye on for a while. Keen!
• The events at any given table were spaced out. I never had a single conflict with another game starting after mine at the same table, even though I was often running late, and I bet it took some creative scheduling to make that work out. Well done!
• The industry guests were plentiful and cool. A few years ago, it seemed like GameStorm was able to convince one or two industry folks to come to the con. Now it feels like a bunch of past guests of honor continue to be regulars, there are a bunch of folks bringing their own games to show off even though they're not the guest of honor, and we get to meet world-class guests like Reiner Knizia. That's sweet.

Nonetheless, I was pretty ground down by my GameStorm experience this year. But I have no one to blame but myself. The last couple of years, I've been running a little experiment to figure out just how much gaming is too much... and this year I found my limit. Still, I consider it a successful experiment, if not a successful way to enjoy a con... because now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
So, here's a list of things I need to note for the future. As long as the staff keeps putting on a good con, I believe I can engineer a great experience for myself, and I can definitely say where my limits are now. But the theme for me this year was being too busy and too stressed out.
Things I did wrong:

• I ran thirteen hours of events. This was a bit much, but just a bit. I think eight to ten hours will be my target in the future. I did pretty well with seven hours last year (although an extra four hours of late-night, pickup roleplaying on top of that wore me out on Saturday night). Thirteen was over the critical mass of how many games I had to haul around before it became a pain in the neck.
• I ran an RPG. In particular, the four-hour RPG session I ran was disproportionately stressful. I don't want to not run RPGs... I like RPGs, and I think I'm a good GM. But I need to figure out how to make it less stressful on myself. Perhaps I'll expand on this more later.
• I didn't schedule enough time to take luggage to the hotel room. I had a big pile of games and stuff, and Joellen wasn't able to help, in her blessed state. It didn't help that the hotel had only one luggage cart for guests, and it was hidden away so that I had to ask for it... and then I had wait around for something like fifteen minutes for somebody to bring it to me.
• I relied on Hospitality for dinner on Friday evening. This is the one place where the organizers failed utterly. From 11am to midnight, I had just one hour free, so I signed up for the lasagna dinner. The Hospitality staff totally failed to get the food ready on time, and I (a) wasted most of my free hour waiting around for the food, and (b) left hungry at the end of the hour. It was a mistake to count on them for dinner, even a free dinner... and I won't make it again. I think my annoyance on Friday evening spilled over into the rest of my con experience. Too bad.
• I stayed up too late on Friday night. I'm an eight-hour-a-night kinda guy, and I get grouchy if I get much less. In spite of that, I decided a midnight game of Arkham Horror would be a great idea. That left me with about four hours of sleep, and unable to tolerate That Guy At The Next Table Who Always Talks Too Loud, That Guy Who Tries To Help You Explain The Rules Right In The Middle Of Your Finely Tuned Spiel, and That Guy Who Smells Awful. Those guys are perennial, even charming parts of every con, but if I don't get enough sleep I can't take 'em.
• The window of our hotel room was cracked open. It seems like a little thing, but we didn't notice it before we went to bed. Keep in mind that the hotel was at Portland International Airport. From about 6am to 8am, planes seemed to be coming in or leaving every five or ten minutes, and we were hearing them all at full blast. It made for some pretty restless sleep. So, next time, I'll check the windows before I got to bed.
• I didn't schedule enough events with industry guests. The number of industry guests at GameStorm is getting to be downright impressive. I attended a presentation by Reiner Knizia on how to make a successful game, a Horror Rules game with Chris Weedin, and a Grimm 2nd ed. game with Rob Vaughn. They were the highlights for me, and I wish I'd been able to make more events like that. Unfortunately, the industry guests' events weren't scheduled until well after my events were scheduled, and I had too many conflicts. I think if I scale back my own events a bit (see above) it'll help, but I'm also inclined to wait until I schedule some industry guests' events for myself, then ask for my events to be scheduled at specific times, so I don't conflict with them. While I like to have my events scheduled nice and early, it seems like most attendees sign up at the last minute anyway.
• I ran Cobras in the Cockpit demo games too early in the morning. Attendance was low for my 9am games, especially on Sunday. Next time, I'll ask for my demo games to be scheduled at something like 11am and 8pm on Friday and Saturday, then noon on Sunday.
• I underestimated the time needed for some games, and didn't schedule much slack time. It's a lot less stressful to have a game that finishes fifteen minutes early than fifteen minutes late. Phoenix did a great job of scheduling events so that they didn't butt up against other events at the same table, so running a little long wasn't a problem there, but then I had to run to my next game five minutes late... pretty much every time. Not fun, and not polite to the other attendees! I need to remember that Blue Moon City takes about an hour and a half, if you're teaching it to new players. And I need to bring in a few house rules for HeroQuest before it's really friendly as a con event.

I'd like to see a few changes, too, though only one of these really seriously annoys me (I'll let you guess which one).
Complaints for the organizers:

• The LARPers need to be hidden away, for the sake of the non-con hotel guests. This year, the LARP area was a glass-walled room, next to the hallway between the main lobby and the only elevators in the hotel. I saw lots of mundanes looking in with horrified expressions at lots of costumed geeks. I don't begrudge the LARPers their own flavor of fun, but if their flavor of fun is too visible (and too scantily clad) it's going to be reported back to the hotel management by freaked-out hotel guests.
• The dealers' room should share space with the board gamers. I love having good dealers' booths at the con. Last year they were in the board game area, and I loved it. It was great when you just played a super-cool board game, and you notice that one of the dealers has a copy for sale. It's great when you need a set of dice, and there's one you can buy just a few feet away. I barely noticed the isolated dealers' room this year, and I only had a few minutes to slip in and glance around. I was disappointed, and I bet the dealer's were, too.
• What's wrong with Hospitality? I intend to write to the organizers with specifics... but something stinks in there.

My minor complaints and painful experiments aside, GameStorm continues to be a fantastic con that only gets better as it grows. Next year, I fully expect it will continue to be excellent, and I'll be there... a little more prepared to squeeze out the maximum amount of fun without overdoing it.