I would also like to see a few tables near the open gaming area designated for card and dice games, MtG is 25 years old now, it qualifies as old skool.
Exactly and I don't even need a special DM Gold badge. I'm happy to duke it out at a discounted rate with the other Gold Badgers. Yeah, I hear Jim is really only good for providing alcohol anyway.
I would rather not see any open gaming tables designated/reserved for certain types of games because then they're not really "open" and it creates unnecessary opportunities for conflict. Best case scenario, there are times when valuable table space sits empty because card/dice game people aren't playing and everyone else respects the designation even though they would love to use the table. Worst case scenario, someone says "Screw it, no one's using this table, I'm running my game here" and then a dice/card guy shows up and says, "That's supposed to be my table" and then it gets awkward.
I prefer to not see dedicated tables or people squatting at a table without actively running a game. The tablea are to be used, not reserved or squatted.
If I bought a Gold badge - as I have for pretty much every GaryCon as far as I can remember - why the fuck would someone get to go BEFORE me in registration? (other than those that purchased higher priority badges, of course) The best solution I've seen to this is the DM credit towards the next year's badges. This eschews all issues of whether or not someone actually ran games (you get the credit AFTER the con so they know). It avoids complicating the badge process - you're just getting a badge like everyone else getting a badge. It allows the person who ran the games decide if they want to pay the extra for a gold or just use the silver. It makes the badge half as expensive for someone who runs games as it does for a schmuck like me.
The chicken Caesar salad was very nice, and a good value for the price. Not fancy, but seven bucks for a decent if unexciting salad was nice.
I didn't get this put into the suggestions box but maybe create 3 kinds of events Legends Events Basically these are the Old Guard and the short list of people that are real luminaries in gaming. Special Events DMs that are a cut above the rest of us mooks and the stuff they put on. Like Kevin Cabai, Paul Stormberg, Allan Grohe, Jeff Talanian, etc. Regular Events The rest of us mongrels You could transfer what the different badges got for Featured Events this year and transfer them to LE, have an increased number as compared to LE for SE, and have RE kept as uncapped. For example, a silver badge would get 1 LE, 4 SE, and any number of FE. A gold badge would get roughly double that. I haven't done any analysis of events to see how many LE vs SE seats there would have been this year...but it's not that hard to do. Maybe next week after I finishing writing the talk I have to give next Wednesday (or perhaps as a procrastination avoiding such work).
I certainly would not want to be the one to decide the "special" GM's. One person's Legendary is another person's Regular and vice-versa.
Legendary is pretty easy at the moment, The Old Guard. As they shuffle off this mortal coil or can no longer attend cons is when that really begins in earnest.
Good thing you don't have to...that's why Luke is around! Seriously...this is already the case. No, really. There is a person or persons who determine what is and is not a featured event. Now they may be reading the chicken innards - but whatever method they use, they use one.
Yeah, and I'm exhausted. (it's not me, but I can tell you it's a decision by a small committee of three people. Many such games are foregone conclusions)
I'm never sure whether those tables are open or what - I feel like it is a risk to start a game at an open table, because what if someone comes along and says "hey, my table!" Be cool to have a little table-tent sign on the tables for pickup games that explain how they are to be used. The more little touches like that, so people can answer their own questions instead of having to find an expert, the more smoothly stuff will run.
Opening gaming is opening gaming. It should never be "hey, my table!". Ask them nicely to find another place to play. Gather a group to play, find a table and play. Heck sit at the bar area, order grub and play. Find a room to go play in.
Yeah, I get that. It just isn't clear to me which tables were fair game. I'm not yet enough of an insider to know intuitively how GaryCon is set up. Because of that, I also expect that others are confused. Is it that any tables in a hallway are open gaming?
Not bad, but let it carry over, please! I'm sure I'm not the only dde who can only afford Garycon every 2 years.