Origins 2007 Friday

The trip to Ohio ended up being uneventful, and the day before I headed to the con was filled with some Guitar Hero 2, Big Bumpin’, poker, and Omega Virus… and my glasses broke. It took two tries to find an eyeglasses store that could fit me in on the day after the 4th of July for an exam and to prepare a new set. They’re pretty snazzy looking, and I was way overdue for a set with a stronger prescription, but boy were they pricey. That’s certainly going to cut into how many games I’ll buy!

This morning I arrived around 11 and began to make the rounds here at Origins. There was a slight snafu with my press ribbon, since I applied for one at the last minute. I’ll have to remember for next year that it’s a good idea to have a picture of yourself on your website to prove that you write for it!

Today has mainly been to catch up with people that I know and take a big walk around the exhibit hall. I haven’t actually sat down to play any games yet, nor have I attended any events. So in Tao of Poker style, here’s my bouncing around the con so far (click any of the pictures to view at full size):

This fellow stands around outside the exhibit hall in his quest-giver hat. What kind of quest? He hands out cards with various company’s booths. To complete the quest, the con-adventurer must go to that booth and perform a task dictated by those running the booth. (In all the cases I’ve seen, it’s play a demo of one of their games.) Then the company punches part of the card. Get enough punches, and you are entered into a raffle for thousands of dollars in prizes and games. So far reaction has been very positive from both those playing and to the companies themselves: the con experience is turned into an adventure game, and companies receive visitors that they might not normally receive (and force people to play their games.)

The Origins Awards nominees case also sits outside the hall, showing those who are up for the coveted “Calliope”. This is the first year, to my knowledge, that attendees of the convention itself get to vote for who receives the awards. The ballot box sits in front of the fancy case, but I still have not yet figured out where to find the ballots themselves. The ceremony is tomorrow evening, so I’ll have to figure it out by then. I’m also hoping to attend the ceremony and post the winners.

I stopped by the booth for High School Drama, as I had been personally invited by the game designer to check it out. I was surprised to find that the game is nominated for an Origins Award, which is a great honor, but even more impressive given that the game is self-published. I received a walk-through of the rules and ended up buying the game. I’ll be sure to do a review of it after I play a few times, and I hope to talk to the designer later about the process of publishing it.

Pokemon remains a huge player in the industry, especially with the launch of a collectible miniatures game. The idea of a Pokemon CMG is a no-brainer to me, and it’s interesting that so many seem to have written off the license as having passed, but still remains a big deal to many players.

And of course, what better way to spend a convention 500 miles away than with people you see every week? I didn’t get a chance to say hi to Andy Looney as he was involved in playing many games at once in his “Andy vs. Everybody” event. It really is impressive to watch him run around and make moves in many different games, and what’s even more impressive is how many he wins. (Hey, isn’t the game designer supposed to lose his own games?)

Speaking of game designers… here pictured is a demo play of Get Bit! at the Robot Martini booth. I now have a copy of the game which I’ve been showing off to friends, and of course pressuring them into buying their own copy. So far I’ve been asked to sign one copy (and it wasn’t even someone I knew), and that was an exciting experience for me. I plan to stop by the booth for a while tomorrow during one of the scheduled demos to do a more official signing. I’ve brought some Lego sharks that I’ll give to anyone who asks me to autograph their game. As an aside, there’s a preview up for Get Bit on Boardgamenews, and an article that praises Nerd Trivia and Criminals.

And of course I’ve run into a number of friends and colleagues, who I am running to dinner now with. After dinner the plan is to catch The Gamers sequel in the screening room, and maybe another movie or two, and do some late night Werewolf. I may also head out to do a second straight night of heavy drinking in honor of a friend’s birthday who lives in the city. The life of a journalist is hard…