RPG convention map

Originating from this post http://www.garycon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=5337#p5337, I have decided to start on this idea.

Gaming Convention Map with layers (combines the RPG and Other maps):
http://maps.google.com/?q=http://gokml.net/356.kml

Gaming Conventions (RPG) Map
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...558,-86.52832&spn=20.481276,37.353516&t=h&z=5

Gaming Conventions (Other) Map
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...278325756022030.00048b85044342a4e1f75&t=h&z=4

For my own reasons, I have tried to focus on Cons that are "near" Chicago or really big Cons. If others know of or want to research other cons in other areas feel free and post your info (con name, city, & website) and I will verify it and add it as time permits. I'm only interested in listing Cons with a fair level of RPG (not a token RPG presence, and certainly no cons that don't have RPGs).

If folks use the map and come across Con that have folded or changed dates or locations, let me know.

 

VERY KEWL!!

 

I know Troll Con isn't a huge Con but it does have a major amount of RPG gaming. I'm checking it out for the first time this year and I'll try and report back on how large a turn out arrives.

It's in Arkansas and should be a lot of fun.

 

Made some additions.

 

DunDraCon in San Ramon, CA and KublaCon in Burlingame, CA. There's also PolyCon in San Luis Obispo, though I've never attended, I'm pretty sure it has a decent RPG turnout. I've been to several ConQuests and they're all over the place, including cruise ship cons, but those are geared more toward minis, card and board games. There is a fair representation of RPGs, more in some years and places and less in others. The two that I've attended have been ConQuestSac and ConQuestSF, Sacramento and San Francisco. The Sacramento Con last year was rather a disappointment for me, but a lot of that had to do with my health. Still, there was not a great RPG turnout.

 

Great idea, and great job.

You might want to add FlatCon: http://www.flatcon.com

and

Little Wars: http://www.hmgsmidwest.com/main%20LW.html

and

North Texas RPG Con: http://ntrpgcon.com/

 

Added more.

I can't tell if the Con-Quest cons have a good RPG content or not and will delete them if I can't verify that - it is hard to tell because most of them have just run and are not showing next year's events, which makes sense.

Little Wars seems to be 100% war gaming as does FlatCon.

So I'm using green pins for Cons that I know have robust RPG content or where the website seems to indicate such. Yellow pins for Cons that seem to have a weak, but perhaps still worthy level of RPG. And I'm using Red pins for Cons where I have no indication of good RPG content, but I'm willing to wait and try and verify the reality.

 

Little Wars is all about war gaming, as far as I know. Mark Clover could elaborate, as he attends each year. Still, i think it is a pretty good fit for this crowd, and "red pin" worthy.

FlatCon certainly does have RPG content, according to the 2009 program of events: http://www.flatcon.com/09/09%20Event.pdf Looking it over, I'd say 15-18% of the events are RPG events, not counting the RPGA stuff. Probably a yellow pin for it.

 

Yupper. Little Wars is the flagship event of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, Midwest Chapter, and is primarily about miniatures wargaming in historical periods, as one might suspect. There are some games that ride the fence (Flames of War, which based on historical factors), some that get converted from boardgames into minis games (Kingmaker, Circus Maximus, etc.) and a few that cross the line (LotR boardgames converted to full size minis games, Lurch the Zombies Minis Chess game, etc.). The last are usually held for Sunday with a few exceptions. There has never been, as far as I know, any RPGing at LW.

 

I'll have to give it more thought. I think I will have to exclude those that don't have enough RPG content to keep an RPG ONLY person entertained if they attended something on the map. And perhaps even further refined by Cons that have enough "mainstream" games (D&D, AD&D, Shadowrun, Paranoia, etc.). Green pins would be for major prospects, yellow for iffy ones, and red for ones that need more research and will probably be deleted once the research is done - probably as each Con date gets closer and a current schedule is posted and inspected. Unfortunately I will probably need to start keeping a list of Cons that I've checked out just to save time in the long run.

I would encourage other folks to establish separate maps that focus on War Gaming, Board Games, Card Games, Etc. Yes, there would be overlap, but I don't have much interest in those other areas and don't want invest my time in those directions. Having the map focus on a narrowly define criteria, IMO, makes it more useful.

Upon a 2nd look Flatcon looks better than I realized - I think the blank page in the PDF prevented me from scrolling further to get to the RPGs.

 

I think Gary would have wanted to know about more than just RPG conventions and gamedays. Someone who knew his gaming habits more intimately, particularly in the later years, can certainly correct me if I am wrong. GaryCon is certainly about more than just RPGing. I hope that you will reconsider this stance, be all inclusive for tabletop gaming, I think, and just make sure to clarify. I think if someone is going to go to the trouble of creating a separate resource they will likely include all and then that becomes the one-stop shop and yours just becomes a resource for the other.

 

I don't doubt that Gary might have liked an all encompassing map as I realize that he had much broader gaming interests than I. The problem is that if I make my RPG map into something broader, then it will lose its usefulness for me and my purpose - finding, learning more about, and possibly attending more RPG cons. I don't want to have to filter the results on too many levels to assess a cons appeal. Even if limited to Cons with a robust level of RPG content one still has to analyze location, time of year, number of days, travel and lodging costs, etc. to determine if they should try attending. Also, expanding the coverage could easily double or triple the time it takes to keep it accurate and up to date. I don't even know if I can keep a map that serves my primary needs up to date over the long term, more than less a much more massive undertaking.

I suppose what seems to me to be the best compromise would be if there is a way to build the map with different layers for RPG, war gaming, table top games (board games, card games, etc?) so that people can select the layers that interest them. Additionally however, ideally, different people would take on the responsibility for creating and maintaining those other layers. I would consider altering the information contained in my pushpins if it helps reduce the work for someone keeping other layers.

If anyone wants to try taking responsibility for layer(s) with other focuses let me know and I will look into the feasibility and logistics. I know I can view multiple layers as a map owner, I will have to see if users can do the same.

If someone wants to create an all encompassing map - that is A-okay with me. My goal was to enlighten myself a bit (hopefully with assistance from others, such as the contributors to this thread) and if I could help people with a similar interest/goal at the same time - great. I would do what I could to assist them, to minimize their duplication of effort, etc. I had no intention or desire to become some one-stop resource for all things intellectually stimulating and entertaining (for lack of a better term ).

Another option that just occurred to me is that worst case I should be able to share map admin rights with someone(s) and they could use different color pins where I would have preferred different layers. This might be the fallback, in case layers is not feasible.

 

Okay it looks like layering is feasible. To test it, try this: click on the map link at the top of this thread, then when the map comes up type "Gary Con Map" in the search box and hit search. For me the top link is "my" Gary Con Map, click on that link. Then go to the bottom left of the window and click on the "+" and check the boxes for "Gary Con Map (www.GaryCon.com)" and "Gaming (RPG) Conventions". This merges the two, providing seeming proof of concept for a layered approach that would make for a more versatile and easily maintained tool.

We could either work together or someone could make a totally separate map that could be merged with my product at the whim of the end user.

 

It worked for me.

Sorry if you think I'm busting your nads over this, I didn't mean to. i guess when I saw InConJunction on there, I figured you were expanding your range a bit and suggested Little Wars. I'm certainly not trying to make more work for you.

 

Hey, its all good with you (francisca) and Mark!

You are contributing in a positive manner and expressing/advancing your opinions and preferences. I'm responding with insight into my thoughts and perceived limitations (of interest, time, etc). I know that I tend to stretch myself with too many hobbies, interests, and obsessions of the moment - I know that keeping this map current and "complete" will be a strain, so I am trying to be realistic about my abilities and goals.

 

Started working on a layered approach. It should be highly useful in any shared/combined effort. Below link added to top post. shorter URL is nice too.

http://maps.google.com/?q=http://gokml.net/356.kml

for one that includes the Gary Con pins:
http://maps.google.com/?q=http://gokml.net/355.kml

both links may show the same info at times, as it appears that changes are not reflected in real time.

 

Cool. Thanks. What's your cutoff for "RPG light?" Also, you have at least one one-day convention on the list. Do you want full day gamedays, too? The Chicago (area) EN World Gameday has been going strong three times per year (on a Saturday) for a while. This October will be number 27 (wow, nine years, I guess). It's two slots, six/seven/eight tables, 40 to 60+ attendees (our record was 76), and mostly RPGing. The next one is October 23rd and the home website (though it is mustered on EN World in a General Forum thread each time) is http://gameday.buzzmo.com/ It is held at Game Plus in Mount Prospect, IL http://www.games-plus.com/